es at Madeba. One estimate of the population of the town and the surrounding area at this time gives a total of 10,000. Of these 2,000 were Orthodox whose Church, St George, had been built in 1849. The Latin Mission was established in 1874 and in 1886 el Mujely gave permission to the English Mission to work in the town. The town's Orthodox school had 120 boys and 60 girls. The same source notes that the town's Mufti had been educated in Hebron and al Azhar, Cairo, and that there was a newly built mosque. Merchants from Damascus came to the town twice each year.
Following the San Remo conference, 1920, Great Britain was given a mandate to govern the area. The newly appointed High Commissioner in Jerusalem, Herbert Samuel, sent several officials east of the River Jordan to create a local administration. Major Alec Kirkbride was based in al-Karak with a small detachment of policemen. He established what he named The National Government of Moab with himself as president. In January 1921 Emir Abdullah Hussein began assembling an army in Ma'an and announced his intention to attack the French in Syria. After a brief consultation with his superiors Kirkbride's Government welcomed the arrival of the Emir. At the Cairo conference, March 1921, Abdullah was recognised by the British as ruler of Transjordan.
In August 1996 there were riots in the town after the government increased the price of bread
