The Nabataeans

The Nabataeans were one of the Bedouin tribes (or nomadic Arabs) that roamed the Arabian Desert in search of pasture and water for their livestock. 

They slowly emerged as a distinct civilization and powerful political entity between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. Their kingdom was centered around a loosely controlled trading network that brought considerable wealth and influence across the ancient world.

According to biblical tradition, the Nabataeans derived their name from Nābit (Arabic for: Nebaioth, son of Ishmael), as they were descended from Ishmael's son. This nomadic people originated from the Northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula; their settlements once laid in the borderlands between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates River to the Red Sea. Little is known about the Nabataeans before 312 BC, when they were unsuccessfully attacked by [Demetrius I] king of Macedonia in their mountain fortress of Petra south of the Dead Sea. 

Petra Monastery

Petra, the capital of the Nabataean kingdom, became a new and thriving civilization before the conquest of Alexander and most scholars place the Nabataean [gradual] migration from Arabia into the region during the 6th century BC. 

Although Petra was inhabited by the Edomites before the arrival of the Nabataeans, the latter carved grandiose buildings, temples and tombs out of solid sandstone rock. Today, Petra is located in Jordan and considered the most famous tourist attraction for that country.

Building an empire in the arid desert forced the Nabataeans to excel in water conservation. They were highly skilled water engineers, and irrigated their land with an extensive system of dams, canals and reservoirs. They were also exceptionally skilled traders. The Nabataean kingdom facilitated commerce between China, India, Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. Their main export was: spices, incense, gold, iron, copper, sugar, medicines, ivory, perfumes and fabrics. Petra may have grown to house 20,000-30,000 people during its heyday.

An artist's impression of the Nabatean army in battle, here 

recognised by their shields. (From the PC game Total War: 

Rome II - Desert Kingdoms by the Creative Assembly)

While there is comparatively little known about the Nabataean society, according to Roman scholar, Strabo, he proclaimed this nomadic empire was governed by a royal family, although a strong spirit of democracy prevailed in the community. Strabo also recorded that the Nabataeans spoke a dialect of Arabic and later adopted Aramaic. Slavery was not existent in Nabataean society; all residents of the city shared the work duties. The Nabataeans worshipped various deities, chief among them were the sun god, Dushara, and the goddess, Allat. 

Not long after Alexander's kingdom was divided, King Antigonus of the Seleucid kingdom attacked Petra in 312 BC and sacked the city with little resistance. However, the quantity of the booty taken was so great that it slowed the Seleucids down. This enabled the Nabataeans to obliterate them in the desert as they headed north back to their empire. Throughout much of the 3rd century BC, the Ptolemies and Seleucids warred over control of Jordan, with the Seleucids emerging victorious in 198 BC. The Nabataean remained essentially untouched and independent throughout this period. The Nabataeans were allies of the [first] Hasmoneans in their struggles against the Seleucid sovereignty. They then became rivals of the Judaean dynasty, and a chief element in the disorders that invited Pompey's intervention in Judea. According to historian Paul Johnson, many Nabataeans were forcefully converted to Judaism by Hasmonean king, Alexander Jannaeus.

Nabataean Zodiac-Tyche (Cincinnati Art Museum)

As the Seleucid kingdom grew weaker in the 2nd century BC, the Nabataean kingdom increased in strength and prosperity; its frontiers extended to the north (Damascus) and east (Duma) and into the south along the eastern coast of the Red Sea. Although the Nabataeans resisted military conquest, the Hellenistic culture of their neighbors influenced them greatly. Hellenistic influences can be seen in Nabataean art and architecture, especially at the time that their empire was expanding northward into Syria, around 150 BC. However, the growing economic and political power of the Nabataeans began to worry the Romans. In 65 BC, the Roman legion arrived in Damascus and ordered the Nabataeans to withdraw their forces. Two years later, Pompey dispatched a force to cripple Petra. The Nabataean King, Aretas III, either defeated the Roman legions or paid a tribute to keep peace with them.

The assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC foreshadowed a period of anarchy for the Romans in Jordan; the Parthian kings of Persia and Mesopotamia took advantage of the turbulent situation to attack. The Nabateans made a mistake by siding with the Parthians in their war with the Romans, and after the Parthians’ defeat, Petra had to pay tribute to Rome. When the Nabataean kingdom fell behind in paying this tribute, they were invaded twice by the Roman vassal, King Herod the Great. The second attack, in 31 BC, saw Herod take control of a large swath of Nabataean territory, including the lucrative northern trading routes into Syria.

Nabataean Kingdom. Silver drachma (obverse).
King Aretas IV. 9-16 AD. From a private collection.

Nonetheless, the Nabataeans continued to prosper for a while. King Aretas IV, who ruled from 9 BC - 40 AD, built a chain of settlements along the caravan routes to develop the prosperous incense trade. When the Nabataeans realized the power of Rome, they subsequently allied themselves with the Romans to quell the Jewish uprising of 70 AD. However, it was only a matter of time before Nabataea would fall under direct Roman rule. The last Nabataean monarch, Rabbel II, struck a deal with the Romans that as long as they did not attack during his lifetime, they would be allowed to move in after he died. Upon his death in 106 AD, Nabataea was annexed into the Roman Empire by Emperor Trajan. Not long after, the Nabataean kingdom was renamed Arabia Petrea. The city of Petra was redesigned according to traditional Roman architectural designs, and a period of relative prosperity ensued under the Pax Romana.

Although Petra continued to flourish for many years, its importance waned as the overland trade in South Arabian incense declined and the Roman imperial economy collapsed. The city, like much of southern Palestine, was then devastated by an earthquake in 363 A.D. Petra carried on and even saw the rise of a significant Christian community, but it never again attained its former glory. However, even that was short-lived as the city soon began to fall into decline. Petra eventually sank into obscurity after a shift in trade routes that was caused by the powerful earthquake. Sometime during the 4th century AD, the Nabataeans left their capital at Petra. No one really knows why. It seems the withdrawal was an unhurried and organized process, as very few silver coins or valuable possessions have been unearthed at Petra. After the 4th century AD, Nabataea became yet another lost civilization and its people dispersed to various parts of the Middle East and beyond.

Nabataea remained independent from the 4th century BC until it was annexed in 106 AD by the Roman Empire. However, the Nabataeans remained a small society until the 4th century AD. From its origins as a fortress city, Petra became a wealthy commercial crossroads for many centuries that spanned across Arabian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures.

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