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104-617: The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and was settled by the Nabataeans , a nomadic Arab people, in the 4th century BC. Petra would later become the capital city of the Nabataean Kingdom in the second century BC. The Nabataeans invested in Petra's proximity to the incense trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub, which gained them considerable revenue. Unlike their enemies,

208-534: A Danish scholar, excavated and surveyed Petra. The archaeologist Philip Hammond from the University of Utah visited Petra for nearly 40 years. He explained that the local folklore says it was created by the wand of Moses , when he struck the rock to bring forth water for the Israelites . Hammond believed the carved channels deep within the walls and ground were made from ceramic pipes that once fed water for

312-504: A Nabataean perspective, Dhushara was probably associated with the heavens. However, one theory which connects Dushara with the forest gives a different idea of the god. The eagle was one of the symbols of Dushara. It was widely used in Hegra as a source of protection for the tombs against thievery. Nabataean inscriptions from Hegra suggest that Dushara was linked either with the sun, or with Mercury , with which Ruda , another Arabian god,

416-726: A Nabataean word referring to the famous carved rock façades. In 1964, workmen clearing rubble away from the cliff at the entrance to the gorge found several funerary inscriptions in Nabatean script. One of them was to a certain Petraios who was born in Raqmu (Rekem) and buried in Garshu ( Jerash ). An old theory held that Petra might be identified with a place called sela in the Hebrew Bible . Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) states that

520-450: A bribe of 300 talents to lift the siege of Petra, partly because of the difficult terrain and the fact that he had run out of supplies. Hyrcanus II , who was a friend of Aretas, was despatched by Scaurus to the King to buy peace. In so obtaining peace, King Aretas retained all his possessions, including Damascus, and became a Roman vassal. In 32 BC, during King Malichus I 's reign, Herod

624-586: A bright red produced from madder . Blue textiles were also found. When it comes to the types of clothing and what can be surmised from these finds are that Nabatean men wore a tunic and a mantle both made of wool.The tunic in a Roman style (sleeveless) and with the mantle cut in a Greek style. This, as stated before, reflects a popular style rather than an ethnic style exclusive to the Nabateans. Nabataean women wore long tunics along with scarves and mantles. These scarves were loosely woven and sported fringes at

728-807: A conversion narrative, the Bedul Bedouins are believed to have adopted Islam later in their history, possibly with Jewish or Nabatean origins. Today, alongside their traditional activities, they engage in local tourism, alongside the more prominent Liyathnah tribe. Numerous scrolls in Greek and dating to the Byzantine period were discovered in an excavated church near the Temple of the Winged Lions in Petra in December 1993. In December 2022, Petra

832-484: A deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa . Petra is known primarily for its Hellenistic architecture . The facades of the tombs in Petra are commonly rendered in Hellenistic style, reflecting the number of diverse cultures with which the Nabataeans traded, all of which were in turn influenced by Greek culture. Most of these tombs contain small burials niches carved into

936-484: A large swimming pool, an island-pavilion, and an intricate hydraulic system. Ahead of the Petra Pool and Garden Complex lies Colonnaded street, which is among few artifacts of Petra that was constructed rather than natural. This street used to hold a semi-circle nymphaeum , which is now in ruins due to flash flooding, and used to hold Petra's only tree. This was intended to be a symbol for the peaceful atmosphere that

1040-569: A letter to Antigonus in Syriac letters, and Aramaic continued as the language of their coins and inscriptions when the tribe grew into a kingdom and profited by the decay of the Seleucids to extend its borders northward over the more fertile country east of the Jordan River . They occupied Hauran , and in about 85 BC their king Aretas III became lord of Damascus and Coele-Syria . Petra

1144-581: A loosely controlled trading network that brought considerable wealth and influence across the ancient world. Described as fiercely independent by contemporary Greco-Roman accounts, the Nabataeans were annexed into the Roman Empire by Emperor Trajan in 106 AD. Nabataeans' individual culture, easily identified by their characteristic finely potted painted ceramics, was adopted into the larger Greco-Roman culture . They converted to Christianity during

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1248-458: A monumental mausoleum for his son near the end of the al-Hubta (King's Wall) tombs, which had been generally reserved during the Nabataean period for the royal family. The interest that Roman emperors showed in the city in the 3rd century suggests that Petra and its environs remained highly esteemed for a long time. An inscription to Liber Pater , a god revered by Emperor Septimius Severus ,

1352-585: A probable candidate. However, John F. Healey states that: "The Nabataean origin of the Arabic script is now almost universally accepted". In surviving Nabataean documents, Aramaic legal terms are followed by their equivalents in Arabic. That could suggest that the Nabataeans used Arabic in their legal proceedings but recorded them in Aramaic. The name may be derived from the same root as Akkadian nabatu , to shine brightly. Although not as dry as at present,

1456-560: A recipe for fermented Nabatean water bread ( khubz al-ma al-nabati ). The yeast-leavened bread is made with a high quality wheat flour called samidh that is finely milled and free of bran and is baked in a tandoor . Based on coins, inscriptions and non-Nabatean contemporary sources, Nabataean women seem to have had many legal rights. Inscriptions on tombs demonstrate the equality of property rights between man and woman and women's rights in matters of inheritance and also their ability to make decisions about their own property. That set

1560-544: Is Allah' or 'Qos the god', by Qosmilk ( melech : king) is found at Petra (Glueck 516). Qos is identifiable with Kaush (Qaush) the God of the older Edomites. The stele is horned and the seal from the Edomite Tawilan near Petra identified with Kaush displays a star and crescent (Browning 28), both consistent with a moon deity. It is conceivable that the latter could have resulted from trade with Harran (Bartlett 194). There

1664-475: Is Petra's largest monument and is similarly carved into the rock face. The facade of this again features a broken pediment, similar to the Treasury , as well as another central tholos. The Monastery displays more of a Nabataen touch while at the same time incorporating elements from Greek architecture. Its only source of light is its entrance standing at 8 meters (26 ft) high. There is a large space outside of

1768-464: Is a standing stone, obeliskoid in shape, often featuring a blossom/pinecone or stylized crown on the top. Roughly carved or engraved in bas-relief , these structures are often set upon a base that bears the name of the deceased. Occurring outside and inside tombs, some are engraved near or in votive niches. However, many nepheshes can be found unconnected from tombs, and many line the paths to Petra or along other protruding rock faces such as those of

1872-547: Is also found in Sinai in South Arabian language. Allah occurs particularly as Garm-'allahi: "god decided" (Greek Garamelos) and Aush-allahi: "gods covenant" (Greek Ausallos). We find both Shalm-lahi "Allah is peace" and Shalm-allat, "the peace of the goddess". We also find Amat-allahi "she-servant of god" and Halaf-llahi "the successor of Allah". Recently, Petra has been put forward as the original direction of Muslim prayer,

1976-464: Is among his most important and well-documented. Missionary Archibald Forder published photographs of Petra in the December 1909 issue of National Geographic. Because the structures weakened with age, many of the tombs became vulnerable to thieves, and many treasures were stolen. In 1929, a four-person team consisting of British archaeologists Agnes Conway and George Horsfield , Palestinian physician and folklore expert Tawfiq Canaan and Ditlef Nielsen,

2080-421: Is continuing debate about the nature of Qos ( qaus : bow) who has been identified both with a hunting bow (hunting god) and a rainbow (weather god) although the crescent above the stele is also a bow. Nabataean inscriptions in Sinai and other places display widespread references to names including Allah, El and Allat (god and goddess), with regional references to al-Uzza, Baal and Manutu (Manat) (Negev 11). Allat

2184-594: Is described as "for Allat and her wgr ", a term equated to the Hasaitic nephesh . In Sabaean , this term could mean a tumulus above a tomb, while in Arabic this term could indicate a grotto or a tomb. The term nephesh is also linked to the Greek stele . An aniconic culture, the Nabataean representation of deities lacked figural imagery. Related to betyls, nepheshes served as aniconic memorial markers for

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2288-430: Is visited by flash floods , but archaeological evidence shows that the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams , cisterns , and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought and enabled the city to prosper from its sale. In ancient times, Petra might have been approached from the south on a track leading across the plain of Petra, around Jabal Haroun ("Aaron's Mountain"),

2392-669: The Pax Romana , this route revived trade between Arabia, Syria, and Mediterranean harbors. In 125 AD, one of Emperor Hadrian 's administrators left marks in Petra, pointed out by documents found at the Dead Sea . In 130 AD, Hadrian visited the former Nabataean capital, giving it the name of Hadriānī Petra Metropolis , imprinted on his coins. His visit, however, did not lead to any boom in development and new buildings as it did in Jerash . The province's governor, Sextius Florentinus, erected

2496-485: The Alwaeira Castle , but were forced to abandon Petra after a while. As a result, the location of Petra was lost until the 19th century. Two further Crusader-period castles are known in and around Petra: the first is al-Wu'ayra, situated just north of Wadi Musa. It can be viewed from the road to Little Petra . It is the castle that was seized by a band of Turks with the help of local Muslims and only recovered by

2600-644: The Byzantine period were excavated in and around Petra. In one of them, the Byzantine Church , 140 papyri were discovered, which contained mainly contracts dated from 530s to 590s, establishing that the city was still flourishing in the 6th century. The Byzantine Church is a prime example of monumental architecture in Byzantine Petra. The last reference to Byzantine Petra comes from the Spiritual Meadow of John Moschus , written in

2704-489: The Later Roman Era . They have been described as one of the most gifted peoples of the ancient world and one of the "most unjustly forgotten". The Nabataeans were an Arab tribe who had come under significant Babylonian - Aramaean influence. The first mention of the Nabataeans dates from 312/311 BC, when they were attacked at Sela or perhaps at Petra without success by Antigonus I 's officer Athenaeus in

2808-522: The Monastery complex , probably had a ceremonial function of which not even a speculative explanation has yet been offered by the researchers. Pliny the Elder and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom and the centre of their caravan trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream , Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled

2912-644: The Palace Tomb , is speculated to be the tomb for the kings of Petra. The Corinthian Tomb, which is right next to the Palace Tomb, has the same Hellenistic architecture featured on the Treasury . The two other Royal Tombs are the Silk Tomb and the Urn Tomb; the Silk Tomb does not stand out as much as the Urn Tomb. The Urn Tomb features a large yard in its front, and was turned into a church in 446 AD after

3016-493: The Qasr al Bint i temple was dedicated to Dushara then the other major temple must have been al-Uzzas. This is just a theory however, based on conjecture, and it can only be said that the temple is likely dedicated to the supreme goddess figure of the Nabateans, but the exact identity of this goddess is uncertain. Excavated from The Temple of the Winged Lions was the "Eye Baetyl " or "Eye-Idol". Numerous Nabatean bas-relief busts of

3120-517: The Qibla , by some that the earliest mosques faced Petra, not Jerusalem or Mecca . This view is also shared by Abdullah Hashem , the self-proclaimed Qa'im of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light . However, others have challenged the notion of comparing modern readings of Qiblah directions to early mosques’ Qiblahs as they claim early Muslims could not accurately calculate the direction of

3224-630: The Ruwafa inscriptions . They are ascribed to an auxiliary military unit drawn from the Roman-allied Thamud tribe and were built to describe the temple they were inscribed in and to recognize the authority of the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus . By the 3rd century AD, the Nabataeans had stopped writing in Aramaic and begun writing in Greek instead. By the 5th century AD, they had converted to Christianity. The new Arab invaders, who soon pressed forward into their seats , found

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3328-658: The Seleucids , marrying a female member of the Nabatean royal family reinforced a ruler's position or one whose claim to the throne was not as strong as his wife's. The Nabatean royal house like the Ptolemaic and Seleucids later adopted sibling marriage. Not much is known for certain about the fashions of ancient Nabateans and before the Hellenization and Romanization of the region but based on extant clothes and textiles found in graves and tombs on Nabatean territory,

3432-589: The Semitic name of the city, if not Sela, would remain unknown. It nevertheless cautioned that sela simply means "rock" in Hebrew, and thence might not be identified with a city where it occurs in the biblical text in the book of Obadiah. It is possible that the city was part of the nation of Edom. The passage in Diodorus Siculus (xix. 94–97) which describes the expeditions which Antigonus sent against

3536-565: The Siq . An example of this type of funerary marker can be found in the Obelisk Tomb and Bab el-Siq Triclinium, Petra , Jordan . Some examples of monumental funerary sculpture near Jerusalem bear inscriptions that include the term nephesh , and the word is generally accepted as a reference to the pyramid structure above or beside the tomb. Standing among a group of tombs in Jerusalem ,

3640-612: The southern Levant . Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city of Raqmu (present-day Petra , Jordan ) —gave the name Nabatene ( Ancient Greek : Ναβατηνή , romanized :  Nabatēnḗ ) to the Arabian borderland that stretched from the Euphrates to the Red Sea . The Nabateans emerged as a distinct civilization and political entity between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC, with their kingdom centered around

3744-413: The tomb of Absalom is an important example of Late Second Temple funerary architecture. To the lower left of the entrance to the tomb, the word nephesh is inscribed in Greek. In this context, the Greek nephesh is translated as two Hebrew-Aramaic words as nephesh and qubr , now interpreted as an amalgam of "tomb" and "stele." The carved rock is thus a memorial that evokes the essence or spirit of

3848-581: The 1st century. Its power extended far into Arabia along the Red Sea to Yemen, and Petra was a cosmopolitan marketplace, though its commerce was diminished by the rise of the Eastern trade-route from Myos Hormos to Coptos on the Nile . Under the Pax Romana , the Nabataeans lost their warlike and nomadic habits and became a sober, acquisitive, orderly people, wholly intent on trade and agriculture. The kingdom

3952-464: The 3rd century, states that in Dūmah , a boy was sacrificed annually and was buried underneath an altar. Some scholars have extrapolated this practice to the rest of the Nabataeans, but this view is contested due to the lack of evidence. The Nabataeans used to represent their gods as featureless pillars or blocks . Their most common monuments to the gods, commonly known as "god blocks", involved cutting away

4056-644: The Crusaders after they began to destroy the olive trees of Wadi Musa. The potential loss of livelihood led the locals to negotiate a surrender. The second is on the summit of el-Habis, in the heart of Petra, and can be accessed from the West side of the Qasr al-Bint. The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity during the Middle Ages and were visited by Baibars , one of the first Mamluk sultans of Egypt , towards

4160-656: The Great , with the support of Cleopatra , started a war against Nabataea. The war began with Herod plundering Nabataea with a large cavalry force, and occupying Dium . After this defeat, the Nabataean forces regrouped near Canatha in Syria, but were attacked and routed. Cleopatra's general, Athenion , sent Canathans to the aid of the Nabataeans, and this force crushed Herod's army, which then fled to Ormiza. One year later, Herod's army overran Nabataea. After an earthquake in Judaea,

4264-521: The Monastery, which is purposefully flattened for worship purposes. Formerly, in the Byzantine period , this was a place for Christian worship, but is now a holy site for pilgrims to visit. At the end of the narrow gorge, the Siq , stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, popularly known as Al-Khazneh ("the Treasury"), hewn into the sandstone cliff. While remaining in remarkably preserved condition,

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4368-533: The Nabataean Arabs , and was the official god of the Nabataean Kingdom who enjoyed special royal patronage. His official position is reflected in multiple inscriptions that render him as "The god of our lord" (The King). The name Dushara is from the Arabic "Dhu ash-Shara": which simply means "the one of Shara", a mountain range south-east of Petra also known as Mount Seir . Therefore, from

4472-413: The Nabataeans had already some trace of Aramaic culture when they first appear in history. Some of the authors of Safaitic inscriptions identified themselves as Nabataeans. The extent of Nabataean trade resulted in cross-cultural influences that reached as far as the Red Sea coast of southern Arabia. The major gods worshiped at Petra were notably Dushara and Al-‘Uzzá . Dushara was the supreme deity of

4576-408: The Nabataeans in 312 BC, was understood by some researchers to throw some light upon the history of Petra, but the "petra" (Greek for rock) referred to as a natural fortress and place of refuge cannot be a proper name, and the description implies that there was no town in existence there at the time. In AD 106, when Cornelius Palma was governor of Syria , the part of Arabia under the rule of Petra

4680-428: The Nabataeans were accustomed to living in the barren deserts and thus were able to defend their kingdom. They were particularly skillful in agriculture , stone carving , and rainwater harvesting . Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its Al-Khazneh structure, possibly the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV , was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants. Nabataea fell to

4784-436: The Nabataeans were initially embedded in Aramaic culture, theories about them having Aramean roots are rejected by many modern scholars. Instead, archaeological, religious and linguistic evidence confirm that they are a northern Arabian tribe . Current evidence suggests that the Nabataean name for Petra was Raqēmō, variously spelled in inscriptions as rqmw or rqm . The Jewish historian Josephus (ca. 37–100 AD) writes that

4888-405: The Nabataeans' trade routes and the origins of their goods were regarded as trade secrets, and disguised in tales that should have strained outsiders' credulity. Diodorus Siculus (book II) described them as a strong tribe of some 10,000 warriors, preeminent among the nomads of Arabia, eschewing agriculture, fixed houses, and the use of wine, but adding to pastoral pursuits a profitable trade with

4992-553: The Nabataens were able to construct in Petra. Once the Romans took control of the city, Colonnaded street was narrowed to make room for a side walk, and 72 columns were added to each side. The High Place of Sacrifice is perched atop Jebel Madbah Mountain. The beginning of the hike is near Petra's theatre. From there, the site of The High Place of Sacrifice is around an 800-step hike. One commonly believed sacrifice that took place there

5096-470: The Nabateans apart from the attitudes on a woman's role in society by their neighbours in the region. Women also participated in religious activities, and had a right to visit the temples and make sacrifices. Archeological evidence strongly suggest that the Nabataean women had a role in the social and political life by the first century AD, which is shown by the fact that Nabatean queens were depicted on coins, both independentely and together with their spouse

5200-464: The Nabateans rebelled and invaded Judea, but Herod at once crossed the Jordan river to Philadelphia (modern Amman ) and both sides set up camp. The Nabataeans under Elthemus refused to give battle, so Herod forced the issue when he attacked their camp . A confused mass of Nabataeans gave battle but were defeated. Once they had retreated to their defences, Herod laid siege to the camp and over time some of

5304-534: The Northern Syrian goddess Atargatis were identified by Nelson Glueck at Khirbet et-Tannû . Atargatis was amalgamated into the worship of Al-‘Uzzá. However, when the Romans annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, Dushara still had an important role despite losing his former royal privilege. The greatest testimony to the status of the god after the fall of the Nabataean Kingdom was during the 1000th anniversary of

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5408-542: The Petra area was occupied by the Edomites . The configuration of mountains in Petra allowed for a reservoir of water for the Edomites. This made Petra a stopping ground for merchants , making it an outstanding area for trade. Things that were traded here included wines, olive oil, and wood. Initially, the Edomites were accompanied by Nomads who eventually left, but the Edomites stayed and made their mark on Petra before

5512-517: The Qiblah to Mecca and so the apparent pinpointing of Petra by some early mosques may well be coincidental. The Monastery , Petra's largest monument, dates from the 1st century BC. It was dedicated to Obodas I and is believed to be the symposium of Obodas the god. This information is inscribed on the ruins of the Monastery (the name is the translation of the Arabic Ad Deir ). The Temple of

5616-526: The Romans in 106 AD, who annexed and renamed it as Arabia Petraea . Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 destroyed many structures. In the Byzantine era , several Christian churches were built, but the city continued to decline and, by the early Islamic era, it was abandoned except for a handful of nomads. It remained unknown to the western world until 1812, when Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it. UNESCO has described Petra as "one of

5720-560: The Winged Lions is a large temple complex dated to the reign of King Aretas IV (9 BC–40 AD). The temple is located in Petra's so-called Sacred Quarter, an area situated at the end of Petra's main Colonnaded Street consisting of two majestic temples, the Qasr al-Bint and, opposite, the Temple of the Winged Lions on the northern bank of Wadi Musa. Christianity found its way to Petra in the 4th century AD, nearly 500 years after

5824-475: The accumulation of loess in wadis and create an infrastructure for agricultural activity. This theory has also been explored by E. Mazor, of the Weizmann Institute of Science . Nefesh A nefesh (plural: nefashot ) is a Semitic monument placed near a grave so as to be seen from afar. In a Nabataean votive inscription from Salkhad , an Aramaic heap of stones set up in memorial

5928-422: The area occupied by the Nabataeans was still a desert and required special techniques for agriculture. One was to contour an area of land into a shallow funnel and to plant a single fruit tree in the middle. Before the ' rainy season ', which could easily consist of only one or two rain events, the area around the tree was broken up. When the rain came, all the water that collected in the funnel would flow down toward

6032-414: The area of Nabataean culture, which extended as far north as the north end of the Dead Sea , and testify to widespread literacy; but except for a few letters no Nabataean literature has survived, nor was any noted in antiquity. Onomastic analysis has suggested that Nabataean culture may have had multiple influences. Classical references to the Nabataeans begin with Diodorus Siculus . They suggest that

6136-490: The bottom. The upper class of Nabataean society, what can be seen on coins, show an even stronger Greek and Roman influence. The kings are depicted clean-shaven with long curled hair while queens are depicted wearing headcoverings with curled hair and long tunics and highnecked garments. Purple cloth seems to have been associated with the king based on Strabo's account of Nabatean men going outside "without tunics girdles about their loins, and with slippers on their feet – even

6240-446: The city centre, but is facing east, not towards the city, and has no visible relationship to it. The structure consists of a huge, 184 by 161 ft (56 by 49 m) platform, with a monumental staircase along its eastern side. The large platform enclosed a slightly smaller one, topped with a comparatively small building, 28 by 28 ft (8.5 by 8.5 m), which was facing east toward the staircase. The structure, second in size only to

6344-532: The city, from rock-cut systems on the canyon rim. In the 1980s, the Bedul Bedouin , once inhabitants of Petra, were relocated by the Jordanian government to the nearby settlement of Umm Sayhoun, a process spanning two decades. This move was part of broader initiatives aimed at settling Bedouin communities and promoting tourism in Petra. With a name meaning "the changing ones" and oral traditions recounting

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6448-400: The clothing worn by the Nabateans during the first and second century were not unlike their neighbour Judaeans. Its hard to say with any certainty what the Nabateans wore in more ancient times since their art before this period was non-figurative. That is based on finds of similar clothing and textiles being found in both places. Among the most common colors were yellow made from saffron and

6552-518: The course of the Third War of the Diadochi ; at that time Hieronymus of Cardia , a Seleucid officer, mentioned the Nabataeans in a battle report. About 50 BC, the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus cited Hieronymus in his report, and added the following: "Just as the Seleucids had tried to subdue them, so the Romans made several attempts to get their hands on that lucrative trade." They wrote

6656-554: The dead. Unlike the Israelite prohibition of the graven image, Nabataean aniconism allows anthropomorphic representation of deities but demonstrates a preference for non- figural imagery. Betyls are one form of Nabataean aniconic sculpture. Often explained as representations of Dushara , the central Nabataean deity, betyls occur in a wide variety of shapes, groupings, and niches. This variety suggests that betyls may be representative of other deities as well. The Nabataean nephesh

6760-421: The defenders surrendered. The remaining Nabataean forces offered 500 talents for peace, but this was rejected. Lacking water, the Nabataeans were forced out of their camp and battled but were defeated. Aretas, IV king of Nabatea, defeated Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, in a battle after he intended to divorce his daughter Phasaelis An ally of the Roman Empire, the Nabataean kingdom flourished throughout

6864-476: The emergence of the Nabataens. It is said that 10,000 men were thrown off of the mountain Umm el-Biyara, but this story has been debated by scholars. The Edomite site excavated at the top of the Umm el-Biyara mountain at Petra was established no earlier than the seventh century BC (Iron II). The Nabataeans were one among several nomadic Bedouin tribes that roamed the Arabian Desert and moved with their herds to wherever they could find pasture and water. Although

6968-437: The end of the 13th century. The first European to describe them was the Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt during his travels in 1812. At that time, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem operated a diocese in al-Karak named Battra (Arabic: باطره , Ancient Greek: Πέτρας ) and it was the opinion among the clergy of Jerusalem that Kerak was the ancient city of Petra. Burckhardt already spoke Arabic fluently, and

7072-441: The enigmatic phenomenon of "Tuleilat el-Anab". Evenari showed that the runoff rainwater collection systems concentrate water from an area that is five times larger than the area in which the water actually drains. Another study was conducted by Y. Kedar in 1957, which also focused on the mechanism of the agriculture systems, but he studied soil management , and claimed that the ancient agriculture systems were intended to increase

7176-408: The establishment of Petra as a trade centre. The start of Christianity in Petra started primarily in 330 AD when the first Christian Emperor of Rome took over, Constantine I , otherwise known as Constantine The Great. He began the initial spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire . Athanasius mentions a bishop of Petra (Anhioch. 10) named Asterius . At least one of the tombs (the "tomb with

7280-413: The expansion of Christianity. In 2016, archaeologists using satellite imagery and drones discovered a very large, previously unknown monumental structure whose beginnings were tentatively dated to about 150 BC, the time when the Nabataeans initiated their public building programme. It is located outside the main area of the city, at the foot of Jabal an-Nmayr and about 0.5 mi (0.8 km) south of

7384-406: The face of the structure is marked by hundreds of bullet holes made by the local Bedouin tribes that hoped to dislodge riches that were once rumoured to be hidden within it. A little farther from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr , is a massive theatre , positioned so as to bring the greatest number of tombs within view. At the point where the valley opens out into the plain,

7488-531: The first accurate drawings of Petra in 1828. The Scottish painter David Roberts visited Petra in 1839 and returned to Britain with sketches and stories of the encounter with local tribes, published in The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia . Frederic Edwin Church , the leading American landscape painter of the 19th century, visited Petra in 1868, and the resulting painting El Khasné, Petra

7592-565: The first decades of the 7th century. He gives an anecdote about its bishop, Athenogenes . It ceased to be a metropolitan bishopric sometime before 687 when that function had been transferred to Areopolis . Petra is not mentioned in the narratives of the Muslim conquest of the Levant , nor does it appear in any early Islamic records. In the 12th century, the Crusaders built fortresses such as

7696-549: The founding of Rome where Dushara was celebrated in Bostra by striking coins in his name, Actia Dusaria (linking the god with Augustus victory at Actium ). He was venerated in his Arabian name with a Greek fashion in the reign of an Arabian emperor, Philip . Other gods worshipped in Nabatea during this period were Isis , Balshamin and Obodat Sacrifices of animals were common, and Porphyry 's De Abstenentia , written in

7800-462: The fruit tree and sink into the ground. The ground, which was largely loess , would seal up when it got wet and retain the water. In the mid-1950s, a research team headed by Michael Evenari set up a research station near Avdat (Evenari, Shenan and Tadmor 1971). He focused on the relevance of runoff rainwater management in explaining the mechanism of the ancient agricultural features, such as terraced wadis, channels for collecting runoff rainwater, and

7904-453: The king. The assumption to be made from this were that they ruled together and that the Nabatean queens and other female members were given or already had political importance and status. One can surmise other Nabatean women also benefited from this by extension. Though admittedly Nabatean culture seems to have favored male succession rather than female or equal succession, it seems plausible that like their neighbouring Ptolemaic dynasty and

8008-580: The kings, though in their case the colour is purple." Historians such as Irfan Shahîd , Warwick Ball , Robert G. Hoyland , Michael C. A. Macdonald , and others believe Nabataeans spoke Arabic as their native language. John F. Healy states that "Nabataeans normally spoke a form of Arabic, while, like the Persians etc., they used Aramaic for formal purposes and especially for inscriptions." Proper names on their inscriptions suggest that they were ethnically Arabs who had come under Aramaic influence, and

8112-471: The location of the Tomb of Aaron , said to be the burial place of Aaron , brother of Moses . Another approach was possibly from the high plateau to the north. Today, most modern visitors approach the site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge, in places only 3–4 m (10–13 ft) wide, called the Siq ("shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from

8216-459: The main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea , and across the desert to the Persian Gulf . The Nabataeans worshipped Arab gods and goddesses during the pre-Islamic era as well as a few of their deified kings. One, Obodas I , was deified after his death in 85 BC. Dushara was

8320-478: The most audience, although no gladiator was able to gain any momentum or fame due to the heavy mortality rate that came with it. The theatre was one of many structures in Petra that took significant damage due to the 363 Galilee earthquake . The Petra Pool and Garden Complex is a series of structures within the city center. Originally said to be a market area, excavations at the site have allowed scholars to identify it as an elaborate Nabataean garden, which included

8424-670: The most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. Visitor numbers reach close to a million tourists every year. By 7000 BC, some of the earliest recorded farmers had settled in Beidha , a Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement just north of Petra. Petra is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the Amarna letters as Pel , Sela , or Seir . The Iron Age lasted between 1200 and 600 BC; in that time,

8528-469: The neo- Persian power under the Sassanid Empire . Meanwhile, as Palmyra ( fl. 130–270) grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from Petra, the latter declined. It appears, however, to have lingered on as a religious center. Another Roman road was constructed at the site. Epiphanius of Salamis (c.315–403) writes that in his time a feast was held there on December 25 in honor of

8632-426: The primary male god accompanied by his three female deities: Al-‘Uzzā , Allat and Manāt . Many statues carved in the rock depict these gods and goddesses. New evidence indicates that broader Edomite , and Nabataean theology had strong links to Earth-Sun relationships, often manifested in the orientation of prominent Petra structures to equinox and solstice sunrises and sunsets. A stele dedicated to Qos-Allah 'Qos

8736-538: The province of Palaestina Salutaris . Petra may be seen on the Madaba mosaic map from the reign of Emperor Justinian . Petra declined rapidly under Roman rule, in large part from the revision of sea-based trade routes. In 363, an earthquake destroyed many buildings and crippled the vital water management system. The old city of Petra was the capital of the Byzantine province of Palaestina III and many churches from

8840-645: The region was inhabited by the Midianites during the time of Moses , and that they were ruled by five kings, one of whom was Rekem. Josephus mentions that the city, called Petra by the Greeks, "ranks highest in the land of the Arabs" and was still called Rekeme by all the Arabs of his time, after its royal founder (Antiquities iv. 7, 1; 4, 7). The Onomasticon of Eusebius also identified Rekem as Petra. Arabic raqama means "to mark, to decorate", so Rekeme could be

8944-544: The region's lingua franca . Therefore, Aramaic was used for commercial and official purposes across the Nabataean political sphere. The Nabataean alphabet itself also developed out of the Aramaic alphabet , but it used a distinctive cursive script from which the Arabic alphabet emerged. There are different opinions concerning the development of the Arabic script. J. Starcky considers the Lakhmids ' Syriac form script as

9048-745: The remnants of the Nabataeans transformed into peasants . Their lands were divided between the new Qahtanite Arab tribal kingdoms of the Byzantine vassals, the Ghassanid Arabs, and the Himyarite vassals, the Kingdom of Kinda in North Arabia. The city of Petra was brought to the attention of Westerners by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. Many examples of graffiti and inscriptions—largely of names and greetings—document

9152-484: The seaports in frankincense , myrrh and spices from Arabia Felix (today's Yemen), as well as a trade with Egypt in bitumen from the Dead Sea. Their arid country was their best safeguard, for the bottle-shaped cisterns for rain-water which they excavated in the rocky or clay-rich soil were carefully concealed from invaders. Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq 's Kitab al-Tabikh , the earliest known Arabic cookbook , contains

9256-571: The site of the city is revealed with striking effect. The theatre was cut into the hillside and into several of the tombs during its construction. Rectangular gaps in the seating are still visible. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-coloured mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures and lined with knobs cut from the rock in the form of towers. The theatre was said to hold around 8,500 people. The performances that audiences were able to attend here were poetry readings and dramas. Gladiator fights were also said to be held here and attracted

9360-476: The stone. Perhaps the best example of the Hellenistic style is seen in the Treasury , which is 24 meters (79 ft) wide and 37 meters (121 ft) tall and references the architecture of Alexandria. The facade of the Treasury features a broken pediment with a central tholos inside, and two obelisks appear to form into the rock at the top. Near the bottom of the Treasury are the twin Greek gods Castor and Pollux , who protect travellers on their journeys. Near

9464-518: The title Château de la Valée de Moyse or Sela. It remained in the hands of the Franks until 1189. It is still a titular see of the Catholic Church . Nabataeans The Nabataeans or Nabateans ( / ˌ n æ b ə ˈ t iː ən z / ; Nabataean Aramaic : 𐢕𐢃𐢋𐢈 ‎, NBṬW , vocalized as Nabāṭū ) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and

9568-479: The top of the Treasury, two victories are seen standing on each side of a female figure on the tholos. This female figure is believed to be the Isis-Tyche, Isis and Tyche being the Egyptian and Greek goddesses, respectively, of good fortune. Another prime example of Hellenistic architecture featured in Petra is its Monastery , which stands at 45 meters (148 ft) tall and 50 meters (160 ft) wide; this

9672-557: The urn"?) was used as a church. An inscription in red paint records its consecration "in the time of the most holy bishop Jason" (447). After the Islamic conquest of 629–632, Christianity in Petra, as of most of Arabia, gave way to Islam. During the First Crusade Petra was occupied by Baldwin I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and formed the second fief of the barony of Al Karak (in the lordship of Oultrejordain ) with

9776-580: The virgin Khaabou (Chaabou) and her offspring Dushara . Dushara and al-Uzza were two of the main deities of the city, which otherwise included many idols from other Nabataean deities such as Allat and Manat. Between 111 and 114 Trajan built the Via Traiana Nova , running from the Syrian border to the Red Sea through Petra. This road followed the old routes of Nabataean caravans. In the shadow of

9880-476: The whole top of a hill or cliff face so as to leave only a block behind. However, over time the Nabataeans were influenced by Greece and Rome and their Gods became anthropomorphic and were represented with human features. The Nabataeans spoke an Arabic dialect but, for their inscriptions, used a form of Aramaic that was heavily influenced by Arabic forms and words. When communicating with other Middle Eastern peoples, they, like their neighbors, used Aramaic,

9984-558: Was libation . Another common form of sacrifice that took place there was animal sacrifice; this is due to the belief that the tomb of the Prophet Aaron is located in Petra, which is a sacred site for Muslims. In honor of this, a goat was sacrificed annually. Other rituals also took place there, including the burning of frankincense . The Royal Tombs of Petra are in the Nabatean version of Hellenistic architecture , but their facades have worn due to natural decay. One of these tombs,

10088-519: Was a bulwark between Rome and the wild hordes of the desert except in the time of Trajan, who reduced Petra and converted the Nabataean client state into the Roman province of Arabia Petraea . There was a Nabataean community in Puteoli , in southern Italy, that reached its end around the establishment of the province. Five Greek-Nabataean bilingual inscriptions are known dating to AD 165–169, known as

10192-624: Was absorbed into the Roman Empire as part of Arabia Petraea , and Petra became its capital. The native dynasty came to an end but the city continued to flourish under Roman rule. It was around this time that the Petra Roman Road was built. A century later, in the time of Alexander Severus , when the city was at the height of its splendor, the issue of coinage came to an end. There was no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to some sudden catastrophe, such as an invasion by

10296-516: Was found in the temenos of the temple known as Qasr al-Bint , and Nabataean tombs contained silver coins with the emperor's portrait, as well as pottery from his reign. Emperor Elagabalus declared Petra to be a Roman colony , when he reorganized the Roman Empire towards the end of the 3rd century. The area from Petra to Wadi Mujib , the Negev , and the Sinai Peninsula were annexed into

10400-509: Was hit by heavy flooding . Petra is adjacent to the mountain of Jabal Al-Madbah , in a basin surrounded by mountains forming the eastern flank of the Arabah valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba . Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, creating an artificial oasis . The area

10504-411: Was identified. "His throne" was frequently mentioned in inscriptions; certain interpretations of the text consider it as a reference for Dushara's wife, goddess Harisha. She was probably a solar deity. Dushara's consort at Petra is considered to have been al-Uzza and the goddess has been associated with Temple of Winged Lions on the basis that if the divine couple of Petra was Dushara and al-Uzza and

10608-601: Was on his way to explore the Niger River when he heard stories of a dead city that held the tomb of the Prophet Aaron , and became fascinated with finding the city. He then dressed himself up as a local, and only spoke in Arabic, bringing a goat with him with the intent of sacrificing it in honor of Aaron's Tomb. After one day of exploring, he was convinced that he had found the lost city of Petra. Léon de Laborde and Louis-Maurice-Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds made

10712-637: Was rapidly built in the 1st century BC, and developed a population estimated at 20,000. The Nabataeans were allies of the first Hasmoneans in their struggles against the Seleucid monarchs. They then became rivals of the Judaean dynasty, and a chief element in the disorders that invited Pompey 's intervention in Judea . According to popular historian Paul Johnson , many Nabataeans were forcefully converted to Judaism by Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus . It

10816-486: Was this king who, after putting down a local rebellion, invaded and occupied the Nabataean towns of Moab and Gilead and imposed a tribute of an unknown amount. Obodas I knew that Alexander would attack, so was able to ambush Alexander's forces near Gaulane destroying the Judean army (90 BC). The Roman military was not very successful in their campaigns against the Nabataeans. In 62 BC, Marcus Aemilius Scaurus accepted

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