By Loay Al-Zube
Petra is called the lost city because it was hidden away in the mountains of Jordan for centuries. It was only discovered in 1812 by a Swiss explorer named Johann Ludwig Burckhardt discovered the ancient city. Petra was the capital of the ancient Nabataean kingdom and is best known for its rock-cut architecture.
The ancient city of Petra was originally established around the 6th century BC by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic people who settled in the area and made it their capital city. The city was later conquered by the Romans in the 2nd century AC. Petra flourished under Roman rule and became an important center of trade and culture. The city was later abandoned after the Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century AC.
The ancient city of Petra is located in the modern-day country of Jordan. It is one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites, and was once the capital of the Nabataean kingdom. The Nabataeans were a nomadic Arab people who settled in the region in the 4th century BC. They built Petra as a trading center and capital city, and it quickly became an important hub for the region. The city was home to a number of temples, tombs, and other monumental architecture, and was a major center of trade and culture. The Nabataeans were conquered by the Romans in 106 AC, and Petra became a Roman province. The city continued to flourish under Roman rule, and remained an important center of trade and culture. However, it began to decline in the 4th century AC, and was eventually abandoned.
The History of Jordan
The ancient kingdom of Jordan was settled by a number of Semitic-speaking peoples in the late Bronze Age, including the Amorites, the Moabites, the Canaanites, and the Israelites. After being conquered by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC, the region became known as Assyria’s province of Transjordan. The region then came under the control of the Persian Achaemenid Empire during the 6th century BC, before being conquered by the Greeks in the 4th century BC.
In the early 2nd century BC, the Hasmonean Kingdom, under the leadership of the Maccabees, successfully revolted against the Greek Seleucid Empire and established an independent Jewish state (the ancient city of Petra existed then). This kingdom later expanded to include much of the modern day territory of Jordan, as well as parts of Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank. The kingdom reached its height under the rule of King Herod the Great, but began to decline after his death in 4 BC. In the 1st century AC, the Romans conquered the kingdom, which became part of the Province of Arabia. The Romans ruled the region for over four centuries, until the Emperor Diocletian divided the province into two parts in 296 AC.
To learn more about Petra’s history and culture, check Petra’s top 10 books to read.