Located in the Jordanian desert, Umm al-Jimal lies 20 km east of Al-Mafraq and 86 km from the capital Amman.

The city was built from black basalt stone, earning it the nickname “The Black Oasis” due to the color of its volcanic rocks. It is also called “Umm al-Jimal” (Mother of Camels) because of the abundance of camels in the area.

Umm al-Jimal was a major center of human settlement and is considered one of the largest—if not the largest—cities of the Roman province. Its classical-period ruins remain visible to this day. The city played a significant role in trade due to its strategic location along major ancient trade routes linking Philadelphia (Amman)  with Syrian Bosra.

Human settlement in Umm al-Jimal dates back to the Nabataean period, around the mid-3rd century BC. This is evidenced by the Zenon papyrus, which mention the Nabataeans in the region as early as 259 BC. The city was a key Nabataean trade center and also witnessed extensive agricultural activity, as seen in the numerous water basins and cisterns from that period. Settlement continued through the Byzantine and Islamic periods.