Amman, Jordan, was once called Philadelphia.

World History

T here's more than one city of brotherly love. Long before the Liberty Bell or cheesesteaks, Amman, Jordan, was known as Philadelphia, which comes from the Greek words phileo ("love") and adelphos ("brother"). As one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world — there's evidence that people have lived there since the Neolithic Period — Amman has, unsurprisingly, been known by many names. Its current moniker derives from the ancient kingdom of Ammon, whose capital it was. The city was known as Rabat ʿAmmān, with Rabat meaning either "capital" or "king's quarters."

After occupying the city during his reign over the Ptolemaic Kingdom (283-246 BCE), Ptolemy II Philadelphus humbly renamed the city after himself; Amman regained its older, and current, name thanks to the Rashidun Caliphate in the seventh century CE. By the time Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1682, the name hadn't been in use in Jordan for nearly 1,000 years. Today, there are also Philadelphias in Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, and Tennessee, but only the one in Pennsylvania has Gritty.

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By the Numbers

Jordan's calling code

+962

Years that Philadelphia was the U.S. capital

Did you know?

A restaurant in Philadelphia sells a $140 cheesesteak.

Lots of places in Philly claim to have the best cheesesteak — Pat's and Geno's are the most famous (especially since they're across-the-street rivals) — but only one has the most expensive. That would be Barclay Prime, whose pricey menu features a $140 cheesesteak. The full list of ingredients includes hand-cut wagyu, black truffle, foie gras, fried onions, and Cooper Sharp on a freshly baked sesame roll; it also comes with half a bottle of champagne, which probably isn't the alcoholic beverage most Philadelphians would pair with a cheesesteak.