within the empire in 313 AD after Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. The Edict of Thessalonka made Christianity the official state religion in 380 AD. Transjordan prospered during the Byzantine era, and Christian churches were built everywhere. The Aqaba Church in Ayla was built during this era, it is considered to be the world's first purpose built Christian church. Umm ar-Rasas in southern Amman contains at least 16 Byzantine churches. Meanwhile, Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after a 363 earthquake destroyed many structures, it declined further, eventually being abandoned. The Sassanian Empire in the east became the Byzantines' rivals, and frequent confrontations sometimes led to the Sassanids controlling some parts of the region, including Transjordan. Middle Ages In the early 7th century, the area of modern Jordan became integrated into the new Arab-Islamic Umayyad Empire (the first Muslim dynasty), which ruled much of the Middle East from 661 until 750 CE. At the time, Amman, today the capital of the Kingdom of Jordan, became a major town in "Jund Dimashq" (the military district of Damascus, itself a subsection of the Bilad al-Sham province), and became the seat of the provincial governor. Incidentally, there was also a "Jund al-Urdunn" ("Realm of Jordan") district, but that encompassed a more northerly area than modern Jordan. Under the Umayyad's successors, the Abbasids (750–1258), Jordan was neglected and began to languish due to the geopolitical shift that occurred when the Abassids moved their capital from Damascus to Kufa and later to Baghdad. After the decline of the Abbasids, parts of Jordan were ruled by various powers and empires including the Crusaders, the Ayyubids, the Mamluks as well as the Ottomans, who captured most of the Arab world around 1517. Ottoman rule In 1516, Ottoman forces invaded the Levant and gained control. Agricultural villages in Jordan witnessed a period of relative prosperity in the 16th century, but were later abandoned. For the next centuries, Ottoman rule in the region, at times, was virtually absent and reduced to annual tax collection visits. This led to a short-lived occupation by the Wahhabi forces (1803–1812), an ultraorthodox Islamic movement that emerged in Najd in Saudi Arabia. Ibrahim Pasha, son of the governor of the Egypt Eyalet under the request of the Ottoman sultan, rooted out Wahhabi power in a successful campaign between 1811 and 1818. In 1833 Ibrahim Pasha turned on the Ottomans and established