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Petra and the Nabataeans
Located near the Jordan Rift Valley at the crossroads of international
trade routes, Petra was one of the most influential and prosperous
commercial centers in antiquity. The forbidding desert was transformed
by the Nabataeans into a bustling metropolis with monumental
tombs carved directly into the red sandstone hills and thousands
of other
structures including temples, burial chambers, funerary banquet
halls, residences and theaters. Through a complex system of water
channels and reservoirs, skilled Nabataean engineers developed
and maintained an elaborate network of damming, terracing and
irrigation that allowed them to maximize the agricultural potential
of the
surrounding plateau. The development of Nabataean writing coincided
with and facilitated urbanization, and the rich cultural life
of the city reflected a confluence of Eastern and Western styles
and
traditions. From the first century B.C. through the third century
A.D., Petra prospered. A massive earthquake in A.D. 363 destroyed
much of the city, and, although partially revived after that,
Petra was no longer the economic powerhouse it had been. Much
of the
technological infrastructure that had made life in Petra possible
fell into disuse, and political and religious changes in the
ancient world led to the eventual abandonment of the city in
the seventh
century A.D.
From
its rediscovery by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in
1812, Petra, with the mystery and splendor of
its rock-carved architectural
ruins, its savage beauty and the variegated color of its cliff
faces, has been a source of deep fascination for Westerners.
It became a
major pilgrimage site for 19th-century European and American
artists and other travelers and it continues to enthrall. It
was even used
as a location for the popular 1989 feature film Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade. |
