What was the purpose of the Petra?

Petra began as a main stopping point for Nabataean and foreign traders. These nomadic merchants carried textiles, incense, spices, ivory, and other precious goods grown or manufactured in Arabia, Asia, and Africa. As the trade market grew, so did Petra.

Who built Petra in Jordan?

the Nabateans
Petra was built by the Nabateans in what is now southern Jordan, while the civilization was amassing great wealth trading with its Greek and Persian contemporaries around 150BC.

Who built the rock city of Petra?

the Nabataeans
The spectacular sandstone city of Petra was built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabataeans, who carved palaces, temples, tombs, storerooms and stables from the soft stone cliffs.

What did they use to build Petra?

The scale of Petra is just immense – 10,000 people lived there. So it’s huge, and it is made of sandstone – in the desert.

How long did Petra take to build?

On the basis of discussions with Bedoul stone workers, and his own experience as an architect, R. calculates that “it would have taken approximately three years to complete el-Khazneh” (p. 71), one of the largest and certainly the most elaborate of the tomb facades at Petra.

How was Petra constructed?

As the Treasury sits between the canyons’ gorges, the Nabateans had to come up with a way to control flash floods and sudden water surges that may potentially ruin the carved structure. They did this by constructing a series of dams made from stone blocks mortared together and anchored to carved out canyon groves.

Where was Petra Jordan built?

The ruins of the ancient city Petra are in southwest Jordan. Petra was built on a terrace, pierced from east to west by the Wadi Mūsā (the Valley of Moses).

Who built Petra Treasury?

Petra was built by the Nabateans. These people shared the world they lived in with two other great civilisations, the Romans and the Egyptians. Originally nomadic, they prospered off the trade that flowed from East Asia to Europe through their territories in the Middle East.

Who built the Treasury at Petra?

King Aretas IV
The results of this excavation indicate that the Khazneh was built in the second half of the reign of King Aretas IV (18-40 AD). Aretas IV Philopatris (“who loves his people”), also known as “the Great”, ruled from 9 BC to 40 AD. His reign is considered the zenith of the Nabataean Kingdom.

What happened to the Petra?

Petra fell to the Romans, who annexed Nabataea and renamed it as Arabia Petraea. Petra’s importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 destroyed many structures.

What is the history of Petra in Jordan?

The city of Petra was established as a trading post by the Nabateans, an Arab Bedouin tribe indigenous to the region in what is now southwestern Jordan. The Nabateans living and trading in Petra soon accumulated a significant amount of wealth, and an envious Greek Empire attacked the city in 312 B.C.

How did the Romans build Petra?

The Romans also constructed an enormous outdoor theater by surrounding the walls of a gorge with columns. The theater could fit up to 4,000 people. The city of Petra was probably built sometime between the 4th and 2nd centuries BCE by the Nabateans who carved much of the city out of sandstone.

What is Petra Petra made of?

Petra consists of temples, tombs, and other structures carved into the colorful sandstone, which ranges from white to shades of red. Buildings carved into rock include the Khaznah, which is also referred to as the Treasury and the Qasr Al-Bint Temple, which is speculated to have been a place of worship to Dusares, one of the Nabatean gods.

Did the Nabateans build Petra?

Large and ornate tombs built by the Nabateans eventually gave way to Christian churches constructed by the Byzantines, who considered Petra the capital of the province of Palaestina. During this evolution, while the Romans ruled the city after the Nabateans and before the Byzantines, the Petra Roman Road was built.