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Nabataean Kingdom and Petra

• 
  Open bowl, 1st century a.d.
  Nabataean; Jordan
  Ceramic

  Diam. 8 5/8 in. (22 cm)
  Purchase, H. Dumscombe Colt Gift, 1977 (1977.234.12)

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The city of Petra is as famous now as it was in antiquity for its remarkable rock-cut tombs and temples.

Related

Cited Works of Art or Images (3)

• 
• 
• 

Timelines (3)

• Arabian Peninsula, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
• Arabian Peninsula, 1–500 A.D.
• The Eastern Mediterranean, 1–500 A.D.

Primary Thematic Essays (3)

• Palmyra
• The Roman Empire (27 b.c.–393 a.d.)
• Trade Routes between Europe and Asia during Antiquity

Other Thematic Essays (8)

• Colossal Temples of the Roman Near East
• The Damascus Room
• Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900)
• Han Dynasty (206 b.c.–220 a.d.)
• List of Rulers of Mesopotamia
• Trade Between the Empires of Asia and Rome
• West Asia: Ancient Legends, Modern Idioms
• The Year One

Maps (2)

• West Asia, 1000 b.c.–1 a.d.
• World, 1000 b.c.–1 a.d.

Index Terms (8)

Art Movement/Style

• Early Imperial Art in Ancient Rome
• Han Dynasty of China
• Republican Art in Ancient Rome

Geography/Place

• Rome (Ancient)
• The Eastern Mediterranean

Subject Matter/Theme

• Archaeology from West Asia
• Trade and Travel (1–500 A.D.)
• Trade and Travel (1000 B.C.–1 A.D.)

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Straddling the northern end of the caravan route from South Arabia to the Mediterranean, the Nabataean kingdom emerged as a great merchant-trader realm during the first centuries B.C. and A.D. Previously nomads in northern Arabia, the Nabataeans had already settled in southern Jordan by 312 B.C., when they attracted the interest of Antigonus I Monophthalmos, a former general of Alexander the Great, who unsuccessfully attempted to conquer their territory. By that time, the city of Petra (ancient Raqmu) was the center of the Nabataean kingdom, strategically situated at the crossroads of several caravan routes that linked the lands of China, India, and South Arabia with the Mediterranean world. The fame of the Nabataean kingdom spread as far as Han-dynasty China, where Petra was known as Li-kan. The city of Petra is as famous now as it was in antiquity for its remarkable rock-cut tombs and temples, which combine elements derived from the architecture of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Hellenized West.

During the reign of King Aretas III (r. 86–62 B.C.), the Nabataean kingdom extended its territory northward and briefly occupied Damascus. The expansion was halted by the arrival of Roman legions under Pompey in 64 B.C. At various times the kingdom included the lands of modern Jordan, Syria, northern Arabia, and the Sinai and Negev deserts. At its height under King Aretas IV (r. 9 B.C.–40 A.D.), Petra was a cosmopolitan trading center with a population of at least 25,000. The kingdom remained independent until it was incorporated into the Roman province of Arabia under the emperor Trajan in 106 A.D.

Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. "Nabataean Kingdom and Petra". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/naba/hd_naba.htm (October 2000) Further Reading Markoe, Glenn, ed. Petra Rediscovered: Lost City of the Nabataeans. New York: Abrams, 2003. Milleker, Elizabeth J., ed. The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Taylor, Jane. Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002. Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions) The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West

These related Museum Bulletin or Journal articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship. Harper, Prudence O., Barbara A. Porter, Oscar White Muscarella, Holly Pittman, and Ira Spar. "Ancient Near Eastern Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 41, no. 4 (Spring, 1984). JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs "Director's Note" PDF "Introduction" PDF