Pétra 🇯🇴
Petra (which means Rock in ancient Greek), is one of the most impressive cities of the ancient world. Popularized in 1989 by the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and known for its monumental tombs carved into the rock, it is an archaeological site that fascinates. And that's the topic we're going to explore today!
So what is the story of Petra , this city forgotten for several centuries?
So what is the story of Petra , this city forgotten for several centuries?
Known today as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World , Petra was once a great trading city located within an important trading hub of antiquity, south of present-day Jordan .
It was founded towards the end of the 8th century BC. JC by the Edomites (a small kingdom of the ancient Near East), but was inhabited by different peoples during its history.
Peoples such as the Nabataeans —the famous builders of the monumental tombs of Petra — who began to inhabit this site around the 6th century BC. JC.
The Nabataeans are a nomadic trading Arab people of antiquity who gradually settled in Petra .
The Nabataean Kingdom—whose capital was none other than Petra —flourished from 400 to 106 BC. JC. Indeed, at their peak, the Nabataeans controlled a vast territory encompassing Jordan, southern Syria and the northwestern part of present-day Saudi Arabia, and were then among the richest Arab tribes.
Petra is thus endowed with a rich history, of which we do not know a great deal, but of which many vestiges have remained.
It was founded towards the end of the 8th century BC. JC by the Edomites (a small kingdom of the ancient Near East), but was inhabited by different peoples during its history.
Peoples such as the Nabataeans —the famous builders of the monumental tombs of Petra — who began to inhabit this site around the 6th century BC. JC.
The Nabataeans are a nomadic trading Arab people of antiquity who gradually settled in Petra .
The Nabataean Kingdom—whose capital was none other than Petra —flourished from 400 to 106 BC. JC. Indeed, at their peak, the Nabataeans controlled a vast territory encompassing Jordan, southern Syria and the northwestern part of present-day Saudi Arabia, and were then among the richest Arab tribes.
Petra is thus endowed with a rich history, of which we do not know a great deal, but of which many vestiges have remained.
The best known of these remains are the famous tombs carved into the rock by the Nabataeans and mixing Hellenistic architectural styles with theirs. Most of the tombs and temples having been built during the reign of the Nabataean king Aretas IV , from around 9 BC. AD to 40 AD. JC, according to archaeologists.
The best known of these tombs is the Khazneh (from Arabic الخزنة Khazne al-Firaun, "treasury of the Pharaoh"), which you can see below.
The best known of these tombs is the Khazneh (from Arabic الخزنة Khazne al-Firaun, "treasury of the Pharaoh"), which you can see below.
But many other monuments and vestiges exist such as a theater, temples, and impressive canals, tunnels, diversionary dams or even reservoirs which made it possible to control and conserve rainwater.
Then in 106 AD. JC, Petra is annexed by the Roman Empire. Moment from which it will gradually begin to lose its commercial importance following various earthquakes and the development of new maritime trade routes.
A commercial monopoly on the region, as well as a culture which will end up dissolving under the Roman province of Arabia, and the Roman Empire of the East which will succeed, until the oblivion of the city around 700 of our era .
A magical city, of just incredible wealth, and of which you should know that only 15% of the city has been excavated!
A commercial monopoly on the region, as well as a culture which will end up dissolving under the Roman province of Arabia, and the Roman Empire of the East which will succeed, until the oblivion of the city around 700 of our era .
A magical city, of just incredible wealth, and of which you should know that only 15% of the city has been excavated!