Petra

Petra is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. This article is about the Jordanian city. For other uses, see Petra (disambiguation). The name Petra comes from the Ancient Greek word Πέτρα, which means 'Rock' (lit.). In Arabic, it is called ٱلْبَتْراء, or romanized as al-Batrāʾ. The people who first lived there called it Raqmu. They wrote this name in Nabataean Aramaic.

Petra is famous for its rock-cut architecture and its water systems. It is called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the sandstone it is carved from. The city is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

People have lived in the area around Petra since very long ago, as early as 7000 BC. In the 4th century BC, the Nabataeans settled there. They were an Arab people who moved from place to place. In the second century BC, Petra became the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom. The Nabataeans became rich because the city was near the incense trade routes. It became a major trading centre in the region. They were able to live in the desert by collecting rainwater and by desert farming.

Petra grew strong in the 1st century AD, when its Al-Khazneh structure was built. It may have been a tomb for the Nabataean king Aretas IV, though this is not certain. At its largest, about 20,000 people lived there. In 106 AD, the Romans took control of Nabataea and renamed it Arabia Petraea. Petra became less important as sea trade routes grew. An earthquake in 363 damaged many buildings. Later, during the Byzantine era, several churches were built, but the city kept getting smaller. By the early Islamic era, most people had left, and only a few nomads lived there. For a long time, the western world did not know about Petra. This changed in 1812, when Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt discovered it again.

UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." It is a symbol of Jordan. It is the country's most-visited tourist attraction, with close to a million tourists coming every year.

History

By 7000 BC, some of the earliest known farmers had settled in Beidha, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic village just north of Petra. Petra appears in Egyptian records and the Amarna letters under names such as Pel, Sela, or Seir. The Iron Age ran from 1200 to 600 BC, and the Edomites lived in the Petra area then. The mountains held water, so Petra became a stopping place for merchants and a good place to trade. Traders sold wine, olive oil, and wood. At first, the Edomites were joined by Nomads, who later moved on. The Nabataeans were one of several nomadic Bedouin tribes that traveled across the Arabian Desert. Many modern scholars do not believe they had Aramean roots. Evidence suggests they were a northern Arabian tribe. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Midianites lived in the region at the time of Moses. Josephus wrote that people in his time still called the city Rekeme.

See also: Sela (Edom) § Confusion with Petra

In 106, when Aulus Cornelius Palma Frontonianus was governor of Roman Syria, the area became part of the Roman Empire as Arabia Petraea. The city kept growing under Roman rule. Between 111 and 114, Trajan built the Via Traiana Nova, a road that ran through Petra and helped trade grow again during the peaceful Pax Romana. In 130, Hadrian visited the city. Later, Palmyra became more important and drew trade away from Petra. Petra became smaller but remained a religious center. In 363, an earthquake destroyed many buildings and damaged the city's water system. In the 12th century, the Crusaders built castles such as the Alwaeira Castle, but they had to leave Petra. The city's location was then forgotten until the 19th century. The first European to describe Petra was the Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, who visited in 1812. In 1929, a team of archaeologists and scholars dug at and studied the site. In the 1980s, the Bedul Bedouin, who had once lived in Petra, were moved by the Jordanian government to the nearby village of Umm Sayhoun. In December 2022, Petra was hit by heavy flooding.

Further information: History of the Romans in Arabia

Layout

Petra sits next to the mountain of Jabal Al-Madbah, in a basin surrounded by mountains. These mountains form the eastern side of the Arabah valley, which runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Digs have shown that the Nabataeans built the desert city by controlling its water. This created an artificial oasis. The area is sometimes hit by flash floods, but the Nabataeans controlled them with dams, cisterns, and water channels. These stored water through long periods of drought, so the city could grow rich by selling it. In ancient times, visitors may have come from the south, around Jabal Haroun ("Aaron's Mountain"), the place of the Tomb of Aaron. It is said to be the burial place of Aaron, brother of Moses. Today, most visitors enter from the east through the Siq ("shaft"). This is a narrow gorge, only 3–4 m (10–13 ft) wide in some places. It was formed by a deep split in the sandstone rocks. It also serves as a waterway that flows into Wadi Musa.

Petra is known mainly for its Hellenistic architecture. Many tomb fronts show this style. It reflects the different cultures the Nabataeans traded with, which were all influenced by Greek culture. The best example is the Treasury. It has a central tholos and two obelisks at the top. Near its bottom are the twin Greek gods Castor and Pollux, who protect travellers. A female figure on the tholos is believed to be Isis and Tyche, the Egyptian and Greek goddesses of good fortune. The Monastery, Petra's largest monument, is also carved into the rock. It has a similar broken pediment and central tholos. In the Byzantine period it was a place of Christian worship. It is now a holy site for pilgrims.

At the end of the Siq stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al-Khazneh ("the Treasury"). It has many marks from bullets, left by local Bedouin tribes who hoped to find riches that were once rumoured to be hidden inside. A little farther on is a large theatre. It was built to give the best view of the greatest number of tombs. It was said to hold around 8,500 people, who watched poetry readings and dramas. Gladiator fights also drew large crowds. The theatre was damaged by the 363 Galilee earthquake, along with many other buildings in Petra. The Petra Pool and Garden Complex was once thought to be a market. Excavations show it was an elaborate Nabataean garden. It had a large swimming pool, an island-pavilion, and a complex water system. Nearby, a semi-circle nymphaeum once stood on the Colonnaded street. The street was narrowed and given 72 columns on each side after the Romans took control of the city.

The High Place of Sacrifice sits on top of Jebel Madbah Mountain, about an 800-step hike from the theatre. Rituals there included libation and the burning of frankincense. Animals were also offered there, including a goat each year. This is because it is believed that the tomb of the Prophet Aaron is in Petra, a sacred site for Muslims. The Royal Tombs in the southern part of the city are also built in the Nabataean version of Hellenistic style, though their fronts have worn away over time. One of them, the Palace Tomb, is thought to be the tomb of the kings of Petra. In 2016, archaeologists used satellite imagery and drones to discover a very large structure outside the main city. No one had known about it before. It has a huge platform with a grand staircase. It is second in size only to the Monastery complex. Its purpose is still unknown.

Geostrategic importance

Pliny the Elder and other writers describe Petra as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom and the center of its caravan trade. Tall rocks surrounded the city, and a perennial stream flowed through it, so Petra was protected like a fortress. Petra also controlled the main trade routes that passed through it. These routes led west to Gaza, north to Bosra and Damascus, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf.

Religious importance

Further information: Nabataean religion

The Nabataeans worshipped Arab gods and goddesses before the pre-Islamic era. They also honoured some of their kings after they died. Obodas I was honoured as a god after he died in 85 BC. Dushara was the main male god. Three goddesses were also important: Al-‘Uzzā, Allat and Manāt. Many statues carved into the rock show these gods and goddesses. New evidence suggests that Edomite and Nabataean beliefs were closely linked to the Earth and Sun. Many buildings in Petra line up with the sunrise and sunset on the equinox and solstice. The Monastery is Petra's largest monument. It dates from the 1st century BC and was dedicated to Obodas I. The Temple of the Winged Lions was built during the reign of King Aretas IV (9 BC–40 AD). It is in Petra's Sacred Quarter, near the Qasr al-Bint.

Christianity reached Petra in the 4th century AD. This was nearly 500 years after the city became a trade centre. Over that century, the city slowly became Christian, and this may have continued into the early 5th century. The first Christian emperor of Rome, Constantine I, took power in 330 AD. Together with Licinius, he issued a decree of tolerance. This decree stopped the mistreatment of Christians in the Roman Empire. Athanasius wrote about a bishop of Petra named Asterius. After the Muslim conquest of 629–632, Islam gradually replaced Christianity in Petra, as it did in most of Arabia. After the First Crusade, King Baldwin I of Jerusalem took control of part of Transjordan, including Petra. Petra became the second fief of the barony of Krak, within the lordship of Oultrejordain. It stayed under Frankish control until 1189.

According to a tradition, Petra is where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came out. It is also said that Moses' brother, Aaron, is buried at Mount Hor. Placing Aaron's grave on a mountain peak near Petra is an idea that goes back at least to the time of Josephus. Petra is still a titular see of the Catholic Church, see Archbishop of Petra and List of Catholic titular sees. A shrine to Moses' sister Miriam was shown to pilgrims in the 4th century, during the time of Jerome.

Climate

Petra has a semi-arid climate, which means it is dry. Most of its rain falls in the winter. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification for Petra is BSk. The average temperature there is 15.5 °C (59.9 °F) each year, and about 193 mm (7.60 in) of precipitation falls each year.

Conservation

See also: List of World Heritage Sites in Jordan

In 1985, the Jordanian government moved the Bedul (Petra Bedouin) from their cave homes in Petra to Umm Sayhoun. Soon after, the site became a World Heritage Site on December 6, 1985. The families were given block houses with sewage and drainage systems. The Bedoul belong to a Bedouin tribe. Their traditional skills were added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2005 and officially recorded in 2008. In 2011, a Strategic Master Plan was published to guide the planned growth of the Petra Region over the next 20 years. In a popular poll in 2007, Petra was named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

Petra is a special place where natural and cultural heritage meet. Together they form a unique cultural landscape. In 1812, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, also known as Sheikh Ibrahim, rediscovered the ruined city. Since then, people who are interested in the culture of the Nabataeans have come to visit. Archaeologists began studying the ruins carefully in the late 1800s.

Petra faces many challenges. Some buildings are collapsing, and floods wear away the rock. Salt in the air and stone causes damage over time. Some past repair work was not done well, and too many visitors can harm the site. Tourism grew a lot after Petra was featured in the New 7 Wonders of the World campaign in 2007. In 2019, Petra had 1.2 million visitors. To help protect the site, the Petra National Trust was set up in 1989. Many conservation projects have been carried out since then. These include restoring the Al-Khazneh, which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development. Work was also done on the Winged Lions Temple with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. Other projects include a Great Temple project funded by Brown University. The Siq was restored with help from the Swiss Agency for Development and the World Monuments Fund. Wall paintings were protected with the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Another project was funded by the German Research Foundation. In 2018, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released a video showing working animals being treated badly in Petra. The Jordanian authorities responded by proposing a veterinary clinic.

Popular culture

In 1845, British poet John William Burgon won Oxford University's Newdigate Prize for his poem "Petra." In it, he called the city "...a rose-red city half as old as time." In 1977, the Lebanese Rahbani brothers wrote the musical Petra as a response to the Lebanese Civil War.

Petra appears in many novels, including Bartleby, Left Behind Series, Appointment with Death, The Eagle in the Sand, The Red Sea Sharks (the nineteenth book in the The Adventures of Tintin series), and Kingsbury's The Moon Goddess and the Son. It plays a major role in the Marcus Didius Falco mystery Last Act in Palmyra. It is also the setting of Agatha Christie's Appointment with Death. In Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer, the character Petra Andalee is named after the site. The playwright John Yarbrough wrote a tragicomedy called Petra. It debuted in 2014 and later won awards at the Hudson Guild in New York.

The site has appeared in many films, such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Arabian Nights, Passion in the Desert, Mortal Kombat Annihilation, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, The Mummy Returns, Krrish 3, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Samsara, and Kajraare. An episode of Time Scanners, made for National Geographic, scanned six ancient structures, including Petra, with lasers. The 3D models showed how Petra was built. An American PBS Nova special, "Petra: Lost City of Stone," premiered in 2015. Netflix's Jinn, its first Arabic original series, is set in Petra. It follows young people who deal with the djinn.

Petra has also appeared in a Lego set featuring Wonders of the World. It shows up in the video game Overwatch as a made-up arena, and in every Civilization game since Civilization V. Israeli youth hikes across the region often went to Petra. These hikes were pioneered by Meir Har-Zion. Haim Hefer wrote the lyrics for the 1958 ballad HaSela haAdom ("The Red Rock"), which is about one such trip.