Petra

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This article is about the Jordanian site of Petra. For other meanings see Petra (disambiguation)

Image:PetraTreasury.JPG Petra (from "petra", rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, al-Bitrā) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock. Location Template:Coor dm

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History

The descriptions of Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans and the centre of their caravan trade. Walled in by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf.

Although in ancient times Petra might have been approached from the south (via Wadi Araba on a track leading around Jabal Haroun, Aaron's Mountain, on across the plain of Petra), or possibly from the high plateau to the north, most modern visitors approach the ancient site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark and narrow gorge (in places only 3-4 metres wide) called the Siq (the shaft), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh (the Treasury) hewn directly out of the sandstone cliff.

A little farther on from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr is a massive theatre, so placed as to bring the greatest number of tombs within view; and at the point where the valley opens out into the plain the site of the city is revealed with striking effect. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-coloured mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures, and lined with tombs cut from the rock in the form of towers.

Image:PetraMonastery.JPG A position of such natural strength must have been occupied early, but we have no means of telling exactly when the history of Petra began. The evidence seems to show that the city was of relatively late foundation, though a sanctuary (see below) may have existed there from very ancient times. This part of the country was assigned by tradition to the Horites, i.e. probably "cave-dwellers", the predecessors of the Edomites (Genesis xiv. 6, xxxvi. 20-30; Deut. ii. 12); the habits of the original natives may have influenced the Nabataean custom of burying the dead and offering worship in half-excavated caves. But that Petra itself is mentioned in the Old Testament cannot be affirmed with certainty; for though Petra is usually identified with Sela which also means "a rock", the Biblical references (Judges i. 36; Isaiah xvi. i, xlii. 11; Obad. 3) are far from clear. 2 Kings xiv. 7 seems to be more explicit; in the parallel passage, however, Sela is understood to mean simply "the rock" (2 Chr. xxv. 12, see LXX). Hence many authorities doubt whether any town named Sela is mentioned in the Old Testament.

What, then, did the Semitic inhabitants call their city? Eusebius and Jerome (Onom. sacr. 286, 71. 145, 9; 228, 55. 287, 94), apparently on the authority of Josephus (Antiquities iv. 7, 1~ 4, 7), assert that Rekem was the native name. But in the Aramaic versions Rekem is the name of Kadesh; Josephus may have confused the two places. Sometimes the Aramaic versions give the form Rekem-Geya, which recalls the name of the village El-ji, south-east of Petra; the capital, however, would hardly be defined by the name of a neighbouring village. The Semitic name of the city, if it was not Sela, must remain unknown. The passage in Diodorus Siculus (xix. 94-97) which describes the expeditions which Antigonus sent against the Nabataeans in 312 BC is generally understood to throw some light upon the history of Petra, though it must be admitted that the petra referred to as a natural fortress and place of refuge cannot be a proper name, and the description at any rate implies that the town was not yet in existence. Brünnow thinks that "the rock" in question was the sacred mountain en-Nejr (above); but Buhl suggests a conspicuous height about 16 miles north of Petra, Shobak, the Mont-royal of the Crusaders.

More satisfactory evidence of the date at which the earliest Nabataean settlement began is to be obtained from an examination of the tombs. Two types may be distinguished broadly, the Nabataean and the Graeco-Roman. The Nabataean type starts from the simple pylon-tomb with a door set in a tower crowned by a parapet ornament, in imitation of the front of a dwelling-house; then, after passing through various stages, the full Nabataean type is reached, retaining all the native features and at the same time exhibiting characteristics which are partly Egyptian and partly Greek. Of this type there exist close parallels in the tomb-towers at el-I~ejr [?] in north Arabia, which bear long Nabataean inscriptions, and so supply a date for the corresponding monuments at Petra. Then comes a series of tombfronts which terminate in a semicircular arch, a feature derived from north Syria, and finally the elaborate façades, from which all trace of native style has vanished, copied from the front of a Roman temple. The exact dates of the stages in this development cannot be fixed, for strangely enough few inscriptions of any length have been found at Petra, perhaps because they have perished with the stucco or cement which was used upon many of the buildings. We have, then, as evidence for the earliest period, the simple pylon-tombs, which belong to the pre-Hellenic age; how far back in this stage the Nabataean settlement goes we do not know, but not farther than the 6th century BC. A period follows in which the dominant civilization combines Greek, Egyptian and Syrian elements, clearly pointing to the age of the Ptolemies. Towards the close of the 2nd century BC, when the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms were equally depressed, the Nabataean kingdom came to the front; under Aretas III Philhellene, (c.85 - 60 BC), the royal coins begin; at this time probably the theatre was excavated, and Petra must have assumed the aspect of a Hellenistic city. In the long and prosperous reign of Aretas IV Philopatris, (9 BC - AD 40), the fine tombs of the el-I~ejr [?] type may be dated, and perhaps also the great High-place.

Image:Jordan-Petra.jpg

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Roman Rule

In 106, when Cornelius Palma was governor of Syria, that part of Arabia under the rule of Petra was absorbed into the Roman Empire as part of Arabia Petraea, and the native dynasty came to an end. But the city continued to flourish. A century later, in the time of Alexander Severus, when the city was at the height of its splendour, the issue of coinage comes to an end, and there is no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to some sudden catastrophe, such as an invasion by the neo-Persian power under the Sassanid dynasty. Meanwhile as Palmyra (fl. 130 - 270) grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from Petra, the latter declined; it seems, however, to have lingered on as a religious centre; for we are told by Epiphanius of Cyprus (c.315 - 403) that in his time a feast was held there on December 25 in honour of the virgin Chaabou and her offspring Dusares (Haer. 51).

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Religion

The chief god of Petra was Dushara, i.e. the lord or owner of Shara he was worshipped under the form of a black rectangular stone. Associated with Dushara was Allat, the chief goddess of the ancient Arabs. Sanctuary chambers may be seen at various points in the site of Petra, and many places of sacrifice open to the sky are met with among the tombs, marked by remains of altars. But most eminent of all was the great High-place which has recently been discovered on en-Nejr (or Zibb at 61). It consists of a rock-hewn altar of burnt-offering with a place for killing the victims beside it and a shallow court, perhaps intended to hold water, in front: the most complete specimen of an ancient Semitic sanctuary that is known. Not far off are two obelisks cut out of the solid rock which has been removed to the level of their bases; these were either idols of Dushara, and Allat, or more probably were designed to mark the limits of the izaram of the sanctuary. West of the obelisks are three other places of sacrifice; and on the rocks below worshippers have carved their names (Cf S. ii. 390-404). En-Nejr, with the theatre at its foot, must have been the sacred mountain, the original sanctuary of Petra, perhaps the very high mountain of Arabia called Dusare after the god Dusares referred to by Steph. Byz. .

Christianity found its way into Petra in early times; Athanasius mentions a bishop of Petra (Anhioch. 10) named Asterius; at least one of the tombs (the "tomb with the urn?") was used as a church; an inscription in red paint records its consecration "in the time of the most holy bishop Jason" (447). The Christianity of Petra, as of north Arabia, was swept away by the Islamic conquest of 629 - 632. Under the Kingdom of Jerusalem Petra was occupied by Baldwin I and formed the second fief of the barony of Kerak (in the Lordship of Oultrejordain) with the title Château de la Valée de Moyse or Sela; it remained in the hands of the Franks till 1189; fragments of the Crusaders' citadel are still standing near the High-place on en-Nejr.

The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity in the middle ages and were visited by the Sultan Baibars of Egypt towards the close of the 13th century. The first European to describe them was Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1812).

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Petra today

  • On December 6, 1985 Petra was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
  • In 2004 London-based Edward Cullinan Architects was appointed to design a new £3 million gateway to Petra to enhance access for all visitors, whether archaeological or tourist. It is working in joint venture with Jordanian firm Bitar Consultants on the project, run under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and funded by the World Bank. Design work began in September 2004 and construction is scheduled to begin in early 2006.
  • John William Burgon famously wrote that Petra was a "rose red city half as old as time." Although at that time Burgon had never been to Petra himself, the phrase has become strongly associated with Petra. In fact the rocks of Petra are of many hues, few of which could properly be described as "rose red".
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The speculative future of Petra

Due to its remote location, and difficult accessibility, Petra is believed by some American Pentecostal and Baptist Christians to be the city of refuge that God will one day use to protect the remnant of Israel from the forces of the Antichrist, during the end times. This is based on an interpretation of several passages of the Book of Revelation, in the Bible.

In these passages, a pregnant woman from Israel (believed to represent Israel itself) who gives birth to a man child—a reference to Christ's advent from Israel is allowed to flee to the desert in order to escape the forces of the Antichrist, which is represented by the figure of a dragon. The woman is then supernaturally protected in the "desert" for three and a half years until Christ's second coming.

This view was fictionalized in the popular book series Left Behind, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

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Petra in movies and popular culture

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Gallery

The first glimpse of Petra when exiting the Siq

The urn atop the Treasury, rumored to contain a secret treasure

A number of dwellings

A line of tombs

The stage of the Roman Theater

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External links

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References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition{{#if:{{{article|}}}| article {{#if:{{{url|}}}|[{{{url|}}}}} "{{{article}}}"{{#if:{{{url|}}}|]}}{{#if:{{{author|}}}| by {{{author}}}}}}}, a publication now in the public domain.Template:Link FA

ar:بتراء bg:Петра (Йордания) de:Petra (Stadt) es:Petra eo:Petra (urbo) fr:Pétra hr:Petra id:Petra it:Petra (Giordania) he:פטרה nl:Petra (historische stad) ja:ペトラ pl:Petra pt:Petra sr:Петра fi:Petra sv:Petra, Jordanien zh:佩特拉

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