The Nabataeans
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THE NABATAEANS THE NABATAEANS Builders Of Petra Dan Gibson Copyright © 2003 by Dan Gibson. Library of Congress Number: 2003095887 ISBN: Hardcover 1-4134-2735-9 Softcover 1-4134-2734-0 Cover photographs (Deir & Treasury Monuments in Petra) courtesy of Peter Law Illustrations on page 60, 208, 254 courtesy of David Hammond All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. This book was printed in the United States of America. Requests for further information should be addressed to: CanBooks Box 518 Osler, SK, Canada S0K 3A0 Email: [email protected] Web: http://canbooks.com Web: http://nabataea.net To order additional copies of this book, contact: Xlibris Corporation 1-888-795-4274 www.Xlibris.com [email protected] 20996 CONTENTS Acknowledgments ................................................................ 7 Introduction ....................................................................... 11 Chapter One Who were the Nabataeans? .....................................15 Chapter Two Nabataeans in History Part One (300 BC-26 BC) .....................................26 Chapter Three Nabataeans in History Part II (26 BC-40 AD) ...........................................36 Chapter Four Nabataeans in History Part III (40 AD-Present) .........................................45 Chapter Five Nabataeans on the High Seas..................................52 Chapter Six The Incense Trade.................................................72 Chapter Seven The Spice Trade .....................................................81 Chapter Eight Other Trade Items .................................................89 Chapter Nine Nabataeans and the Oil Industry ..........................102 Chapter Ten The Southern Arabian Kingdoms .........................109 Chapter Eleven Nabataean Economics ..........................................126 Chapter Twelve Nabataean Sites and Cities ....................................131 Chapter Thirteen Nabataean Defenses .............................................154 Chapter Fourteen The Nabataean Pantheon .....................................166 Chapter Fifteen Nabataean Burial Customs ...................................180 Chapter Sixteen Nabataean Culture...............................................193 Chapter Seventeen Nabataean Language ............................................206 Chapter Eighteen Desert Life ...........................................................217 Chapter Nineteen The Price of Honor ..............................................228 Chapter Twenty Architectural Glory ..............................................244 Chapter Twenty One Byzantine Influence .............................................250 Chapter Twenty Two Nabataean Sites Today ..........................................259 RESOURCES Appendix A Short Timeline of 1500 Years of Nabataean History ...........................................267 Appendix B Ancient Historians ...............................................271 Appendix C Notable Internet Sites...........................................288 Appendix D Selected Bibliography...........................................290 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ow can I possibly thank all those who have helped me H over the last twenty years as I have traced the Nabataean Kingdom through the various countries of the Middle East? The list of names would be far too long, but special thanks must be given to Dr. George Kelsey, Dr. Dieter Kuhl, and Dr. Philip C. Hammond for their help with the technical and historical as- pects of this book. Special thanks must also go to my sons Michael, Matthew, and Josiah and also to my daughter Julie. They were not only willing to spend several years of their teenage lives in a small village in the south of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, but they willingly accompanied me on many exploratory trips across the desert, over mountains and down to the depths of tremendous gorges. Their sharp eyes and quick feet often beat me to new sites and they never seemed to tire of discovering ancient ruins, inscriptions, or even pottery shards. Another friend that must be mentioned is John Krahn, of Neuanlage Saskatchewan, Canada, who keeps CanBooks running smoothly. Along with this, John used his unique hobby of reading ancient historians to give timely advice; not to mention hours spent in libraries searching for tidbits of information that I requested. Thanks must also go to His Excellency Dr. Taleb Rifai, the Minister of Tourism in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and each of his helpful staff who cooperated with CanBooks in a 7 8DAN GIBSON number of projects, including the research that went into this book. And of course, special thanks must go to my wife Mary, who not only endured my obsession with old ruins and dusty treks, but who has faithfully stood with me during these last years of research and writing in the deserts of southern Jordan. And of course there is Bryan Wyllie who faithfully checks my manuscripts, duly pointing out the grammar and spelling mistakes that word processors could never find. Dan Gibson Also by the same author: * The Nabataean Collection (Collection of research papers) * Petra’s Secrets (Children’s Activity Book) * Creative Pain Management (Handbook for those with Fibromyalgia) * Various articles on Nabataea.net INTRODUCTION ew people have ever heard of the Nabataean Empire. Yet, this F small desert kingdom stood against the Greeks, and almost brought the Roman Empire to its knees. Their secret was not so much a powerful army, but rather, economics. Using their monopoly on the supply of frankincense to Europe’s temples, the Nabataeans built an empire of wealth and opulence never before seen in the deserts of Arabia. Their secret to survival lay, not in their powerful military, but in their use of economics, secrecy, deception, and diplomacy. Today the spectacular ruins left in the ancient city of Petra, the most famous city in the Nabataean Kingdom, awe tourists and historians alike. Across the deserts of Arabia, other Nabataean cities lie beneath the dust and sands of time. For thousands of years the Nabataean Kingdom has been lost and forgotten. Today, however, thanks to the renewed efforts of archeologists and historians, the extent of the kingdom is finally becoming known. For over twenty years, I have made repeated visits to many Nabataean sites, seeking to understand these ancient peoples and their culture. I have visited the frankincense fields of Yemen, traced their caravan routes through the Arabian deserts, visited the caves and temples of Petra, and followed the frankincense route on to the ancient cities of Syria and Egypt. I have also studied and lived among the Bedouin tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, endeavoring 11 12 DAN GIBSON to understand their cultural and social makeup. Admittedly, much of my interest has been more sociological than archeological, and this has influenced my writing considerably. My quest has always been focused on discovering what motivated the Nabataeans to try to conquer the desert. Other Arabian tribes simply chose to live within the limitations that the desert put upon them. So, what was it that motivated these people to leave their pastoral, nomadic lifestyle and build cities and monuments of staggering proportion? Lastly, I have sought to discover, why there are so many anomalies between the historical records and the interpretations that modern day archeologists take from the scant Nabataean artifacts we have today. This book is the culmination of my research. Much of what I write is taken from the pages of history. The rest is based on my opinions of Nabataean life, taken from my observations of their cities, inscriptions, and graffiti. In this book I have endeavored to mention some of the more significant historical sources whenever possible. However, for those who would like a more scholarly approach, CanBooks has kindly consented to publish a collection of my research papers in a single hardbound volume which is entitled “The Nabataean Collection.” This book can be purchased through http://nabataea.net. It is my opinion that the Nabataeans have been greatly misunderstood as a people. Powerful sociological factors drove these people to leave their sea-based life to become masters of the desert, enabled them to travel where other civilizations could not. These factors motivated them to develop water- management systems that allowed them to thrive where others died of thirst. They were similarly motivated when they left their nomadic lifestyle and began to erect cities and monuments to match any civilization up to their time, including the Romans. On top of this, they were masters at profiteering, deception, and diplomacy. This allowed them to survive for hundreds of THE NABATAEANS 13 years with only a token army, while draining the coffers of the Greek and Roman Empires. They were truly a unique civilization, and this is their story. Dan Gibson CHAPTER ONE Who were the Nabataeans? t its peak, the Nabataean Empire stretched from modern- A day Yemen to Damascus and from western Iraq into the Sinai Desert . at least, according to some historians. No one is really sure how large their empire really was. That is how illusive and mysterious the Nabataeans were. While their caravans traveled widely, it is hard to be certain of the borders of their kingdom, or the extent