Who were the Nabataeans?
The Nabataeans were an ancient nomadic people whose geographic
origin is unknown. Their earliest settlements were in southern
Jordan and Israel and were often used for storing accumulated
wealth. As nomads, they wandered the countryside with their flocks
of sheep and camel. The Nabataeans were skilled in creating underground
cisterns to collect water, which enabled them to move about far
into the desert.
By the end of the fourth century B.C., a burgeoning caravan trade
encouraged the Nabataeans to join the commercial world. It was
in southern Jordan, south of the Dead Sea, that the Nabataeans
settled and thrived for centuries, exploiting their position at
the nexus of several trade routes. They became successful merchants,
trading incense, spices and ivory from southern Arabia and India
in the east to the Roman Empire in the west.
For several reasons, including its prosperous location for trade
and natural protection from foreigners, the Nabataeans settled
within the sandstone cliffs of Petra. Their far-flung trading empire
created an unusually cosmopolitan society; inscriptions in Nabataean
settlements were written in early Arabic, Greek, and Aramaic.
Utilizing their skills with water, the Nabataeans mastered the
transport and storage of the valuable desert water with the construction
of canals and cisterns. The land around Petra, in contrast to other
nearby areas, was fertile and conducive to agricultural pursuits,
although their main source of wealth had always been commerce.
While there were several foreign threats to the Nabataean stronghold,
it wasn’t until A.D. 106 that the Nabataeans lost their autonomy
when the Roman emperor Trajan annexed their kingdom. Under Trajan’s
reign, Petra became one of the principal cities of the Roman
province of Arabia. Petra began a slow economic decline, starting
in the
second century A.D. and culminating in the earthquakes of A.D.
363.
What is Petra?
Petra is the ancient capital city of the Nabataeans and is located
in present-day southwestern Jordan to the east of the Wadi Araba,
the great rift valley that runs from the Red Sea in the south
to the Dead Sea in the north. From the Greek, the word Petra
literally
means “rock.” The word is fitting: the monuments and
tombs of the city have been literally cut from the living rock
formations.
Petra served the Nabataeans in many ways. Initially it was inhabited
as a depot for accumulated wealth and other goods too heavy to
be compatible with a nomadic lifestyle. Later, its location along
major trade routes allowed the Nabataeans to control the caravan
routes from Arabia to Syria and gave them access to the Mediterranean
Sea. It also became the religious and administrative center for
the Nabataeans; the remains of their most important structures
can still be seen today in the form of rock-cut tombs. Indeed,
it is the marvelous rock-carving skills of the Nabataeans, which
required both strength and finesse, that have left the most enduring
impression on the modern world. The elaborate facades that grace
the monumental rock faces inspired many nineteenth-century artists,
such as David Roberts and Frederic Edwin Church, who captured
their beauty and mystery in painting.
The range of artistic styles found at Petra reflect the Nabataeans’ success
at trade, which brought foreigners from distant lands through
Petra for business. Influences from neighboring cultures such
as Rome,
Greece, and Egypt mingled with local traditions to produce a
unique, cosmopolitan style. The capital city of Petra, as well
as many
other cities and outposts, constituted a thriving center of commerce
until the second century A.D., when an economic downturn began
the city’s long, slow decline, punctuated by the devastating
earthquake of A.D. 363.
Why did the Nabataeans choose this area
in which to settle?
This region of modern day Jordan was located between the source
of frankincense, myrrh, and other commodities of Yemen and the
Mediterranean cultures to whom these luxury goods were sold.
The city of Petra was settled and grew due to its proximity to
several
springs and oases and its exceptional natural defenses. The Nabataeans,
whose time in the deserts of Arabia taught them to be expert
hydraulic engineers, were able to harness these underground water
sources
using a complex system of aqueducts and cisterns to support a
city of some tens of thousands. Further, the city was located
in a natural
basin with high, vertical walls and one long, narrow ravine,
known as the Siq (pronounced “seek”), serving as the only
entry. This made Petra nearly invulnerable to attack from neighboring
powers.
How did the Nabataeans build their rock-carved tombs?
The Nabataeans took full advantage of the layers of rock that
surrounded the city. Because these layers are comprised of
alternately hard
and soft layers, Nabataean masons were able to carve large, open
spaces out of the soft layers and use the harder layers as structurally
stable ceilings and floors. The rock-carved structures were therefore
shaped in large part by the geological formations that surrounded
them.
What other types of art did they create?
Many of the works that are still in existence are architectural
decorations consisting of sculpted busts, column capitals, and
friezes of acanthus leaves, grape vines, and other vegetable
and animal motifs. In addition, there survived several statuettes
of
gods, goddesses, and legendary and mythic figures. These sculptures
originally would have been brightly colored and would have complemented
frescoes on the interior walls of temples, tombs, and residences.
The art of Petra is characterized by a variety of styles, including
the indigenous Arabic, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Syrian, and Persian
forms.
What religion(s) did the Nabataeans practice?
Like most ancient cultures, the Nabataeans were polytheistic,
worshipping a variety of deities. The variety of their religious
practices
reflects their cosmopolitan society as does the variety of styles
of art used in their worship. Religious beliefs were blended
with those of foreign civilizations who came into contact with
the Nabataeans.
Among the traditional Nabataean gods was Dushara, whose name
was connected to the large limestone plateau of Shera to the
east of
Petra. His position as king of gods allowed Nabataeans to merge
him with the Greek god Zeus and later the Roman god Jupiter in
a practice common to other polytheistic religions. In addition,
the Nabataeans adopted the gods of the people on whose lands
they settled, the Edomites. Monuments to Qaws and his consort
Atargatis,
goddess of the springs and vegetation, can be found at many Nabataean
cities and landmarks. Other religious practices and cults were
imported from neighboring lands, including the Egyptian cult
of Isis, which was as popular in Petra as it was throughout most
of
the Roman Empire.
In A.D. 313, Christianity became the state religion of the Roman
Empire, of which Petra was still a part. Although earlier pagan
practices continued longer in the province of Arabia Petraea,
an active Christian community converted several disused monuments
and buildings into churches. Later, during the Byzantine period,
Petra was made the seat of the Byzantine diocese and a church
was
constructed of which only the foundation and the floor mosaic
remain. One of the latest and most spectacular remains is a large
floor
mosaic from a Byzantine church, constructed in the sixth century
A.D.
What was the political structure of the Nabataeans
Community?
Few specifics are known about the Nabataean system of government,
although it seems that they transitioned from a loose confederation
of tribes led by chiefs into a kingdom shortly after forming
permanent settlements around the third century B.C. The first
known Nabataean
king was King Aretas I (around 169–168 B.C.). The names of
several other monarchs are recorded on coins and in some inscriptions,
and their chronology has been reconstructed. A Western writer of
the second century B.C. observed a legal system capable of dealing
with international parties and also praised the democratic character
of the Nabataean king. In A.D. 106 the Roman emperor Trajan annexed
the kingdom of the Nabataeans, apparently without armed struggle
and with little change in the daily lives of the inhabitants. The
administration and military defense of the new province were centered
in Petra and the northern town of Bostra, which is today in southern
Syria. A major earthquake in A.D. 363 marked the end of Petra as
a major city and of Nabataean dominance of the region. Although
it was sparsely inhabited for another two centuries, Petra would
never again become a regional political and economic force.
What caused the decline of the Nabataean civilization?
The discovery of alternate trade routes to the north and south
of Nabataean cities meant that they no longer had a monopoly
on the huge caravans of luxury goods on their way to Europe and
northern
Africa. The Romans annexed the region in A.D. 106 without a struggle,
and by the earthquake of A.D. 363, which destroyed most of the
city of Petra, the Nabataeans had virtually ceased to be a political
or economic entity. Most of the remainder of Petra was leveled
during a series of earthquakes in the sixth century.
Why were the Nabataeans
"lost" to the modern Western
world for so long? How were they "rediscovered"?
After most of the inhabitants of Petra were driven out by the
earthquakes of the fourth and sixth centuries A.D., the city
was conquered
by Muslims in the seventh century and Crusaders in the twelfth
century, all the while being used as a stopover or fortified
outpost. Knowledge of its location became lost to all but the
local Bedouin
tribes. Due in part to its geographical isolation and in part
to local political instability, Petra was not rediscovered to
the
West until 1812. In that year, the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig
Burckhardt, disguised as a local Bedouin, found the ruins of
Petra and returned to Cairo with maps and descriptions. Burckhardt
would
be the first of a stream of Western visitors and tourists at
the ancient site.
Why does the Cincinnati Art Museum have so much
Nabataean artwork?
Cincinnati has the largest collection of Nabataean artifacts
outside of Jordan, the bulk of which are architectural sculptures
from
the sanctuary of Khirbet et-Tannur, located about 70 miles north
of Petra. The site was excavated by a Cincinnati Biblical archaeologist,
Nelson Glueck, in 1937, and the finds were divided between Jordan
and the United States. In 1939, the Cincinnati community purchased
the American share of the artifacts for the Cincinnati Museum
of Art.
Does anyone live at Petra today?
The most recent Bedouin tribes who lived at the site of Petra,
the Bedoul, were moved by the Jordanian government in 1985 (when
Petra was declared a World Heritage site) to modern homes in
a newly constructed village in an effort to preserve, excavate,
and
restore the city.
Do tourists visit Petra today?
Petra has been the subject of increasing interest, tourism,
and scrutiny since its "rediscovery" in 1812
by Johann Burckhardt. However, efforts are being made to
secure and preserve
the site. The current Jordanian government considers Petra to
be a national treasure, and in 1985, it was designated as
a World
Heritage Site. The Petra National Trust was created in 1989 under
the support of Queen Noor Al Hussein to form a network of those
"who are committed to a collective international effort to
safeguard
Petra’s unique physical and human heritage."
