Jordan, officially The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية‎‎), is an Arab kingdom on the East Bank of the Jordan River, bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and south, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, Israel, Palestine and the Dead Sea to the west. The capital, Amman, is Jordan's most populous city as well as the country's economic, political and cultural centre. After the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned by Britain and France. The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the then Emir Abdullah I and became a British protectorate. In 1946, Jordan became an independent state officially known as The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan