Habaka (Arabic: حَبَكا) is a small hill town in northern Jordan, located 75 km north of the capital Amman, and about 5 km south of Irbid. The region has a very fertile soil along with suitable climate allows the growing of a wide variety of high-quality crops. The main products are olives and grapes. There is a substantial area of pine forests on the hills that are extending from Ajloun.
Habaka had a population of 4114 in 2015.[1]
History
Recent discoveries in the area of Tell Johfiyeh, which is in Johfiyeh near Habaka, goes back to the Iron Age.[2]
The town was home to Islamic scholar Ali bin Ziadah bin Abd Alrahman Alhabaki Alshafie (Arabic: علي بن زيادة بن عبد الرحمن الحبكي الشافعي), died in 1364.[2][3]
In 1596, during the Ottoman Empire, Habaka was noted in the census as being located in the nahiya of Bani al-Asar in the Liwa of Hawran. It had a population of 18 households and 11 bachelors, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on various agricultural products which includes wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards/fruit trees, goats and beehives in addition to occasional revenues. The total comes to 8,000 akçe.[4]
In 1838 Habaka was noted as being ruined/deserted.[5]
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 428 inhabitants in Habaka.[6]
