The Spatial Ordering of Nabataea: An Integrated Analysis of the

Geography, Architecture, and Morphology of Nabataean Petra

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Dynamics

by

Christopher C. Angel
Arkansas Technical University

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Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science, 2006
University of Arkansas
Master of Arts in Geography, 2009
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May 2017
University of Arkansas
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This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council.

________________________________________
Dr. Thomas R. Paradise
Dissertation Director

________________________________________ _______________________________________
Dr. Joel Gordon Dr. Jackson Cothren
Committee Member Committee Member




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Abstract

The Nabataean city of Petra is well known for its sandstone architecture and rock-hewn funerary

landscape. Over the last few decades, numerous studies examined their history, culture, art, and

architecture. The few studies that assessed the urban space of Petra focused on the functional properties

of individual architectural forms and their nominal placement within the overall landscape. This study

focused on the spatial configurations of architecture as relational to the dynamics of Nabataean politics and

ritual where shifts in social order manifested similar shifts in spatial order which in turn produced and

reproduced forms of social order. The production of space within Petra’s urban milieu was analyzed as

relational to the social forces that sought to reproduce the power and legitimacy of the prevailing political

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authority. Borrowing from recent theoretical frameworks where landscapes may be assessed through

experiences, perceptions, and representations, it was possible to develop an innovative and practical set of
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spatial analyses that assessed the functional, political, and ritual properties of the environmental dynamics

of Petra’s landscape in order to elucidate the planning strategies implemented by Nabataean authorities in
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establishing new forms of political and spatial order. The functional properties were determined by

analyzing the structural arrangement in relation to their topography including their accessibility and water

networks. The perceptual properties of structures were assessed through visibility analysis and the
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modelling of viewsheds and isovists. The representational properties of structures were assessed through

the implementation of horizon diagrams to model the visible sky, solar pathways, and structural orientation.

This study found that the spatial ordering of Nabataean Petra occurred through i) the functional ordering of

movement and flow of people and water that legitimized the perceived control of both, ii) the framing of new

forms of political institutions within previously established spatial domains of ritual, iii) the exclusive control

of elevated urban spaces and the cooperative relationships between elevated institutions, iv) and the

cosmic ordering of significant ritual spaces and institutions in order to portray new representations of

political constitution. The results of this study demonstrate clear efforts by Nabataean authorities to

implement planning strategies that spatially ordered Petra’s landscape towards establishing and

constituting new forms of social order.

 ©2017 by Christopher C. Angel
All Rights Reserved

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Acknowledgments

With a background in history, geography, informatics, and education, I was fortunate to find an

opportunity to continue my academic career as a student in the interdisciplinary Environmental Dynamics

program. An integrated study such as this would not have been possible without the existence of the this

program and the faculty and staff that support it. I would like to give special thanks to Jo Ann Kvamme, a

pillar of the ENDY program, for her magnanimous support over the years.

I am especially grateful to Dr. Tom Paradise, an advisor, colleague, and life-coach whose

guidance, advisement, and encouragement was critical to my success in this endeavor and many others.

Much of what I have accomplished and will accomplish can be traced to Dr. Paradise. I am forever grateful

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to Dr. Paradise for introducing me to this spectacular region of study, assisting and facilitating many of

these opportunities for comprehensive research, and demonstrating the value of commitment, passion, and
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patience in advising, teaching, research, and overall life objectives.

I would also like to thank the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies whose generous support
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enabled the necessary field-based methodologies during summers of 2010, 2012, and 2013 and facilitated

the acquisition of the comprehensive resulting datasets required for this research. Additionally I must thank

the former director of the King Fahd Center, Dr. Joel Gordon, for both the willingness to participate as a
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committee member and the invaluable conversations and exchanges we have shared over the years.

Also, I am indebted to the staff at the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies for their technical

expertise and solutions for many of the more complex scripting and data analyses conducted within this

study and for allowing me to gain innumerable supplemental experiences and skillsets that will further my

career going forward. CAST provided a powerful technical foundation from which I could explore a number

of methodological possibilities. This would not have been possible without the guidance and leadership of

CAST’s director, Dr. Jack Cothren and I am grateful for his willingness to participate as a committee

member for this dissertation.

 I was fortunate to be nominated and selected for a Doctoral Academy Fellowship from the

University of Arkansas which supported much of the research design for this dissertation and was

essential in alleviating common financial pressures early in the program.

In Jordan, I am grateful to the American Center for Oriental Research, especially Humi al Ayoubi

for maintaining an excellent collection of archival material on Nabataean research and assisting me in

finding the latest materials and maps cited throughout this work. I would like to thank the Jordanian

Department of Tourism/Antiquities for graciously allowing me entry into the Petra Park while conducting my

research. And also I would like to thank the Petra National Trust and Petra Regional Council.

A number of friends, colleagues, and fellow graduate students were crucial to my continued

success in my academic career, research, and overall life objectives and without their support, this

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research would have been a more lonely and less interesting endeavor. While there were many, I must

extend my gratitude to Will Anderson, Dr. Kwasi Asante, Rashauna Hintz, Nani Verzon, Ryan Cochran,
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Malcolm Williamson, Tim Sexton, John Wilson, Mick Frus, Brian Larsen, and Katie Simon. Thank you all

for being such motivating figures, contributors, teachers, debaters, and dear friends in my life over the
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years.

Finally, I would like to thank those who struggled with me through the toughest times and
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celebrated alongside me during the best moments - my family. To my wonderful parents, Claude and Leah

Angel, whose constant support throughout my life and upbringing instilled in me a passion for discovery and

the ambition to follow through on my objectives. And of course, for their gentle yet firm reminder that “it’s all

up to you.” I am forever grateful to my amazing parents-in-law, Gary and Diane Nishmuta, who were an

ever-present support system for me and my family throughout much of this work. I cannot thank them

enough.

This work would not have been possible or even initiated without the unwavering love and support

of my wife, Hannah Angel. Our two wonderful sons, Declan and Donovan, were born during the compilation

of this work, and it was due to her sustained patience, strength, and grace that it was even remotely

possible to complete it. She is an extraordinary companion and friend and I could not imagine a better

partner with whom to continue exploring the world. Thank you for being there for me and our children.
Dedication

For Hannah, Declan, and Donovan

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Table of Contents

I. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
II. Study Site ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
A. Climate …………………………………………………………………………………………………... 8
B. Natural Resources & Trade ………………………………………………………………………….. 9
C. The Geographies of Petra ……………………………………………………………………………. 12
III. Political Narratives of Nabataea ..…………………………………………………………………... 17
A. Geopolitical Considerations ..……..………………………………………………………………... 19
B. The Nabataeans and Tribal Origins ………………………………………………………………... 25
C. Initializing Nabataean Territory and Authority …………………………………………………... 29
D. The Polity of Nabataea ……………………………..………………………………………………... 39
E. Regime, Urbanization, and the City of Petra .....………………………………………………... 53

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IV. Prior Research .................................................………………………………………………... 59
A. Modelling Spatial Patterns ................................………………………………………………... 61
B. Social Process and Urban Patterns ...................………………………………………………... 67
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C. Formal and Functional Approaches ..................………………………………………………... 77
Organic Patterning ……………………....................………………………………………………... 80
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Levant & North Africa ..………………....................………………………………………………... 80
Ancient Greece ………..………………....................………………………………………………...83
Etruscans & Early Rome .……………....................………………………………………………... 86
Imperial Rome …………...……………....................………………………………………………... 88
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Orthogonal Layouts …......……………....................………………………………………………...89

Early Greek Grid ……......……………....................………………………………………………... 89
Distributing the Grid ........……………....................………………………………………………... 90
Etruscans & Greeks in Italy …………....................………………………………………………... 91
Roman Colonization …………….……....................………………………………………………... 92
Alternatives to the Organic versus Grid Paradigm ..………………………………………………... 94
Multiscalar Classifications: Cities, States, and Civilizations ………...…………………………... 96
The Nabataean State …………………………………………...………...…………………………... 103
D. Extending the Spatial Narrative .........................……………………………………………….. 105
Theories of Space and Place ………..………………………...………...…………………………… 109
Political Ordering of Space ……...…..………………………...………...…………………………… 112
Political Landscapes: Constitution of Political Authority …...………...…………………………… 116
Sacred Ordering of Space ……………………………………...………...…………………………… 120
V. Methodology …………………………....................………………………………………………… 127
A. Data Collection and Preparation ......................………………………………………………… 128
B. Functional Methods …………….........................………………………………………………… 130
C. Perceptual Methods …………….........................………………………………………………… 133
Visibility …………………..……………………………………...………...…………………………… 134
Legibility and Imageability ……………………………………...………...…………………………… 136
D. Representational Methods ….….........................………………………………………………… 139
VI. Results & Analysis ……….….….........................………………………………………………… 147
A. Functional Results ……….….….........................………………………………………………… 149
B. Perceptual Results ……….….….........................………………………………………………… 154
C. Representational Results .….….........................………………………………………………… 162
VII. Discussion ………………...….….........................………………………………………………… 164
A. Movement and Flow of Authority ......................………………………………………………… 164
The Confluence of Authority ...………………………………...………...…………………………… 167

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B. Framing New Forms of Order …........................………………………………………………… 171
C. The Elevation of Spatial Order ..........................………………………………………………… 178
D.
VIII.
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Cosmic Order …………………............................………………………………………………… 185
Conclusion ..……..……………............................………………………………………………... 197
IX. Bibliography ……..……………............................………………………………………………… 202
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Appendix A: List of Significant Points Considered .......………………………………………………... 226
Appendix B: Viewshed & Isovist Results ……………….…………………………………………………. 230
Appendix C: Python Script to Reproduce Viewshed .......…………………………………………….... 239
Appendix D: Python Script to Reproduce Isovists .......………………………………………………... 240
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Appendix E: Horizon Diagrams …………………….........………………………………………………... 242

Appendix F: Python Script to Reproduce Horizon Diagrams .......…………………………………... 264
List of Figures

1.1 Photo of the Khasneh al-Fahroun …………………………………………………………………….... 2

1.2 Photo depicting an example of the haphazard arrangement of facades along the cliff face of
Jabal Madbah in the outer Siq ………………………………………………………………………….. 3
1.3 Photo of the Colonnaded Street demonstrating a spatially different focus on orthogonality….…. 3
1.4 Photo of the Monastery and its secluded location atop Jabal ad-Deir ………………………….…. 4
2.1 Map showing known Nabataean trade routes throughout the region during the first
centuries BC/CE ……………………………………………………………………………………...…. 10
2.2 Model of the geologic cross section of the sandstone layers at Petra ………………………….….13
2.3 Isometric view of the topography of Petra ………………………………………………………….….14
2.4 Reference map of Petra including some of the physical geographies ………………………….…. 15
3.1 Map of the Nabataean Kingdom under Aretas IV ………………………………………………....…. 48
5.1 Clipped preview of the GeoEye satellite image used for the area of study …………………….….129
5.2 Digital elevation model of Petra layered with the GeoEye-1 image ………………………….....…. 130
5.3 Conceptual model detailing the workflow for extracting that physical geographic attributes
for all spatial data ……………………………………………………………………………………..…. 132

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5.4 Conceptual model for analyzing the relationship between the networks, both the waterways
and the pathways, and the structures and monuments ………………………………………….…. 133
5.5 Conceptual workflow of the script of the visibility analysis implemented from Appendix B ...…. 136
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5.6 Angles of vision and how fields of view affects the perception of the percipient ……………..…. 138
5.7 Isovist views both at nadir position and from a profile position ………………………………….… 138
5.8 Conceptual model explaining how isovists were generated within ArcGIS for each structure … 139
5.9 A generalized model of archaeoastronomical measurement and technique …………………...… 143
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5.10 This figure demonstrates how the azimuth were taken of each external architectural
Structure ………………………………………………………………………………………………..… 144
5.11 This figure demonstrates how internal alignments and azimuths were measured. Each niche,
room, or bas relief will be taken into consideration ………………………………………………..… 144
5.12 A generalized model of an horizon diagram indicating structural orientation and the rising
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and setting points of the celestial object in question in relation to the topographical setting ...… 145
5.13 Conceptual model detailing the creation of the horizon diagrams using ArcGIS and
PyEphem …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 146
6.1 Cartographic representation of significant points collected throughout Petra ……………………. 147
6.2 Cartographic representation of the generalized accessibility networks …………………………... 148
6.3 Modelled water runoff networks for the main valley of Petra ………………………………………. 149
6.4 Histogram demonstrating the physical topographical elevations extracted from the
digital elevation model ………………………………………………………………………………...... 150
6.5 Elevation profile of the pathway through the Siq and exiting at the Wadi Musa onto
the Main Collonaded Street …………………………………………………………………………….. 151
6.6 Histogram demonstrating the idiographic distribution of topographic slopes extracted from
the digital elevation model ……………………………………………………………………………... 151
6.7 Histogram demonstrating the physical topographical azimuths (aspect) extracted from
the digital elevation model ……………………………………………………………………………... 152
6.8 Histogram of measured orientations of points focusing on those with clearly defined
azimuths ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 152
6.9 Isovist map of the Qasr al-Bint ………………………………………………………………………... 156
6.10 Isovist map of the Khasneh ……………………………………………………………………………. 157
6.11 Isovist map of the Monastery ………………………………………………………………………….. 158
6.12 Isovist map of the Corinthian Tomb …………………………………………………………………... 160
6.13 Isovist map of the Palace Tomb ………………………………………………………………………. 161
7.1 Accessibility near Royal Tombs showing the proposed small theater, weirs, pathways
and the processional way to access the high place atop Jabal Khubtha ………………………... 166
7.2 Photo view of the Qasr al-Bint from the main street ..………………………………………………. 170
7.3 The narrowing of the Siq just before the open forecourt of the Khasneh …………………………. 172
7.4 The Khasneh in full vertical view ……………………………………………………………………... 173
7.5 Monumental staircase to enter the Lower Market from the main street ………………………….. 177
7.6 Schematic map of the high place atop Jabal Madbah ………………………………………………. 179
7.7 Schematic map of the high place most relational to the Monastery ………………………………. 180
7.8 The clustered distribution of elevation for most known high places throughout the
main valley ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 181
7.9 Viewshed map of the proposed palatial structure located atop Umm al-Biyarah ……………….. 182
7.10 Photo demonstrating the direct sight line between the altar at the High Place of Sacrifice
atop Jabal Madbah and the pilgrimage site at Jabal Haroun ………………………………………. 184
7.11 Tyche sculpture centered in the zodiac supported by Nike ………………………………………... 188
7.12 Layout of the institution at Khirbet et-Tannur ………………………………………………………... 189

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7.13 Viewshed and orientation map of the Palace Tomb demonstrating visual relationships
with both the Collonaded Street and the high place atop Jabal ad-Deir ………………………….. 190
7.14 Horizon diagram of the Monastery with orientations directed towards the setting sun
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of the winter solstice ……………………………………………………………………………………. 191
7.15 Layout of the Monastery highlighting the offset of the chamber in relation to the entryway ……. 192
7.16 Horizon diagram of the Urn Tomb oriented towards the solar equinox ……………………………. 193
7.17 Horizon diagram with dual orientations demonstrating the relationship between the east and
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west obelisks atop Jabal Madbah oriented to the rise and set of the solar equinox …………….. 195
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List of Tables

5.1 A sample of the monumental structures and sites ………………………………………………. 128

5.2 Technical specifications for the GeoEye satellite image ………………………………………... 129
6.1 Statistical results of the proximity analysis between all points measured and their
relationship to networks ………………………………………..……………………………………. 153
6.2 Statistical results of the proximity analysis between only those points near the main
street and the Wadi Musa measured and their relationship to networks ………………………. 153
6.3 Collection of significant findings related to ritual order including alignments and
Non-alignments ………………………………………..……………………………………………… 162
7.1 Visibility matrix demonstrating the terrestrial relationships between elevated locations …….. 181

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I. Introduction

Upon visiting the site of Petra, Jordan one is immersed in a realm of spatial experiences

associated with the myriad of rock-hewn sandstone architecture lining many of the cliff faces. The

juxtapositions of the torrid temperatures in the open desert air is in contrast to the cool breezes flowing

through the narrow wadis and the ease of the mostly downhill entry into the main valley in opposition to the

gruelling uphill exit. During their trek into the long, narrow gorge known as the Siq, visitors are forced to

pause and visually consume the massive and impressive Khasneh al-Fahroun, one of the first tombs en

route to the valley. Continuing through the Siq, the visitor passes numerous tombs seemingly haphazardly

arranged along and into the cliff faces, the massive rock-hewn theater to the west, until finally exiting into

the mostly open valley in full view of the Wadi Musa and the main Colonnaded Street. Immediately one is

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struck again by the experiential and perceptual contrast of the spatial ordering of the main street - its

orthogonality quite familiar to Western conceptions of urban formalities. From the top of the street (the
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eastern node), the city appears in full view, ordered in a quaint and structured manner akin to the

Hippodamian layouts exported throughout the Hellenistic world after Alexander’s conquests (Kostof 1990).
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From a visitor’s vantage point looking outward across the Colonnaded Street in Petra, one is given

an impression of coherence - an ordering of space. This ordering appears in strong contrast to the myriad of
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tombs lining the cliff faces throughout much of Petra. For the visitor experiencing this space entering from

the Siq, the entirety of the experience is framed within particular contexts. Unless the visitor is made aware

of the numerous so-called “high places,” or the elevated platforms and their associated religious

significances located at key points of elevation throughout Petra, the visitor remains in ignorance. The

same lack of understanding holds true of the second largest rock-hewn structure in Petra, the Monastery

(ad-Deir) located beyond the street to the west atop the Jabal ad-Deir. Accessing this point requires

crossing the full extent of the main street through the highly religious temenos, until finally ascending a

rock-hewn staircase to the northwest to the plateau in front of the Monastery.

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Figure 1.1: Photo of the Khasneh al-Fahroun. Note that the viewer must pause at this point in the Siq
before changing orientation from the west to the north to continue towards the main valley (image
source: author).

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Figure 1.2: Photo depicting an example of the haphazard arrangement of facades along the cliff face of
Jabal Madbah in the outer Siq (image source: author)
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Figure 1.3: Photo of the Colonnaded Street demonstrating a spatially different focus on orthogonality
(image source: author).

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 Experientially, the routing of the visitor from the entrance of Petra, through the valley, the street,

and the temenos, was spatially ordered as profoundly as the water the Nabataeans masterfully channelled

throughout the city. Perceptually, entirely new forms of order were rendered in profound and demanding

ways where the viewer was forced to conceive of a new way of thinking about Petra’s environmental

dynamics. In other ways, the viewer was specifically restricted from perceiving entire institutionalized

spaces, such as the numerous high places and the Monastery, where order was conceivable to a select

few. The ordering of Nabataea emerged out of fluid social relations that were dynamic and related to

politics and ideology and multiple scales.

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Figure 1.4: Photo of the Monastery and its secluded location atop Jabal ad-Deir (image source: author).

While their origins are far from conclusive, the Nabataeans were clearly of nomadic origin; pastoral

nomads who were able to gain control of key connections in the emerging trade networks that spanned the

desert region. This particular tribe was able to negotiate inter-tribal relations to a point of forming a sort of

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tribal confederacy that was finally situated at Petra (Wenning 2007; 2013) while simultaneously forming

geopolitical relations between Ptolemaic Egypt, Judaea, Achaemenid Persia, southern Arabian polities

such as Saba, and later Rome, and Parthia (Bowersock 1994). Their presence and power is attested at

sites throughout the Negev desert in southern Palestine, the Sinai, the northern Arabian peninsula, Hijaz

mountains and coastline, the Transjordan Desert east of the Wadi Araba extending northward to the Ajlun

Highlands and the more fertile Syrian Hauran.

The formation of confederations, or states, out of multiple tribes is inherently tied to the ability of

tribal elites to adhere to or route accepted ideology and societal values (Caton 1990). Within Hellenistic

contexts, ideological discourse often manifested in the form of discrete religious spaces, such as the

Acropolis, or the temenos that were often framed within the experiential and perceptual core of the city,

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often atop the most visible hill or mountain (Kostof 1990; Gates 2003). Transplanting the notion of city

formalities from the Greek world into previously nomadic contexts was likely a difficult endeavor and
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certainly one that occurred late in their overall history under Aretas IV (r. 9 BCE-40 CE). The spatial

production of Petra was clearly based on the ideological discourses manifested in the previously
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established funerary architecture. The establishment of new spatial orders in Petra was likely viewed as

oppositional to these values, especially following a time when Aretas’ ascension appears to be
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controversial and contested. And yet Aretas reigned for nearly 50 years. Perhaps the answer as to how

their political authority remained constituted in Petra and throughout Nabataea lies in their ability to produce

spatial representations of new orders of established ideologies.

The scope of this study is to investigate how the vast arrays of experiences, perceptions, and

representations manifested various forms of spatial order through the environmental dynamics of social

relations within Nabataean Petra. Here the relationship between social action and the spaces created by

powerful agents were interactive components in reproducing socio-spatial relations over time. Within

Nabataean Petra these interactive components were inherently bound to politics and ritual. Politics was a

public affair acted out in the rhetoric of public architecture and space. So too was the Nabataean ritual in

the sense that “ritual spaces are distinguished from other constructed environments in that they are public,

special, and unique” (Moore 1996: 139). Much of the analysis and discussion herein is from social and

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spatial theories of political authority and space, borrowing from the practical analytical domains of political

authority outlined by Adam T. Smith in The Political Landscape (2003). In this view, authority is understood

to be encompassed by the underlying components of i) power, the ability to direct and control the actions of

others at multiple scales, and ii) legitimacy, the ability to “generate the allegiance of subjects” (2003:108).

Additionally, space is understood to be relational, multiplicitous, and in a constant state of becoming

(Massey 2006). Considering these ever-changing relations, authority must produce and reproduce spaces in

order to reproduce the underlying components of political authority at multiple spatial scales. Within these

practical domains of spatial analysis - experience, perception, and representation - I developed a series of

empirically rooted innovative methodologies that focused on the ordering of Nabataean space within

functional, political, and ritual social domains.

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This study may be compartmentalized into multiple parts. First, I contextualized Nabataea,

especially Petra, through its physical geographies (chapter two) and Nabataean historical and political
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narratives (chapter three) focusing on the productions of the territorialization and the regime at Petra.

Second, I assessed the predominant trends in urbanism research borrowing from a wide variety of social
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science disciplines including assessments of the urban or spatial studies of Petra (chapter four). This

approach provided a foundation from which to derive a relational socio-spatial methodology relevant to
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Nabataean urbanism at Petra (chapter five). Once implemented and analyzed (chapter six), I discuss the

relational spatial dynamics of experiential, political, and ritual order at Petra (chapter seven) and included

implications of this study and recommendations for future research (chapter eight). The thrust of this study

was to integrate empirically rooted yet theoretically centered analytical methodologies in order to

investigate the relational properties of social and spatial order in Nabataean Petra as manifested in spatial

forms of experience, perception, and representation.

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II. Study Site

The geographical context of Petra provides interesting information about the production of

landscapes within this region. In order to understand how Petra’s urban landscapes related to the

functional, perceptual, and conceptual components of socio-spatial production in Nabataea, it is important

to gain a clear sense of the physical geographies of Petra and the region, the climate, the political and

economic geographies through which the city was instantiated, the general layout of the city, and a

practical understanding of its architecture. These are used to provide context to the succeeding chapter

that explores the social narratives of Nabataea by way of its geopolitics, territorial productions, and

institutions.

In the modern era Petra is located within the Ma’an Governorate of the Hashemite Kingdom of

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Jordan about 300 km south of Amman at approximately N 30° 19.718 E 35° 26.329. With an elevation

averaging about 900 m above sea level, Petra features a highly diverse terrain of mountains and valleys
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(wadis) that afforded the Nabataeans unique possibilities with regard to water capture techniques and a

geologic past that produced fine malleable sandstone that permeates the site lending to its abundantly red
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appearance (Paradise 1998). The physical geographical ecumene of the Nabataeans encompassed regions

throughout the Transjordan, where their capital at Petra was situated just east of the Wadi Araba, the
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eastern bank of the Jordan Valley and the Jordan River floodplain, the Negev desert in Palestine, the

northwestern portions of the Arabian peninsula including the Tihamah coastal regions along the Red Sea

and the Hijaz, and the more fertile regions of the Syrian Hawran (Bowersock 1990).

The most common set of physical barriers within this region of the Near East was the Wadi

Araba-Jordan Rift valley. This is a seismically active geologic system that runs north-south (~015°N) from

Lake Tiberias (ie. the Sea of Galilee) through the Dead Sea and the Wadi Araba, to the Gulf of Aqaba

(Paradise 1998). This system was commonly used as a physical division between provinces and kingdoms

along its western bank (ex. Judaea, Idumaea) and those along its eastern bank (ex. Moab, Nabataea)

(Bowersock 1990). The width of this rift maintains increased variance from the north averaging around 5 km

to the south at around 20 km (Rababeh 2005). In the north the Jordan River meanders through the rift

connecting Lake Tiberias to the Dead Sea cutting through old Pleistocene lake bed deposits (Held 2006).

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 In the Wadi Araba, the southern portions of the Jordan Rift Valley, the depression is broadest and

consisted historically of riverbeds that extended southward into the Gulf of Aqaba. The heat increases

within the Araba itself encouraging pedestrian traffic to traverse the region in parallel to the wadi rather than

descending into the wadi itself. In antiquity, there were a few break points for crossing the Wadi Araba into

the Negev desert to its west. Gaza was a major trade port located along the Mediterranean Sea coast in

Palestine in the western Negev. Accessing this city from the Transjordan east of the Wadi Araba was

exceedingly difficult. Petra emerged as a central junction point by the second century BCE for goods

moving from the Arabian peninsula, via the Hijaz region, through Petra and the Wadi Araba to the port of

Gaza (Negev 1966; Bowersock 1994).

A. Climate

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Flanking the Wadi Araba-Jordan Rift along the eastern side is the Highland Belt. These uplands

range from the Yarmuk River in the north to the Gulf of Aqabah in the south. Due to orographic lifting, the
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majority of the moisture arriving from the Mediterranean Sea is precipitated in this belt. Historically the

Highland Belt “has always served as the core of settlement, development, and culture east of the Jordan
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Valley” (Held 2006:328). Within this belt are five sub-regions that are divided by climate, agricultural,

topographical, and geological variability. These regions are i) the Ajlun Highlands ranging from the Yarmuk
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River to the Wadi Zarqa, which receives the most water (600-750 mm/yr), maintains a highly dense

population, and hosted cities of the Decapolis like Gerasa (ie. Jerash) during the Nabataean period; ii) the

Balqa (or Amman) Highland, with its rolling hills maintaining significant populations since it hosted the cities

of Ammon, Philadelphia, and modern as-Salt and Amman; iii) the Southern Balqa, sometimes called the

Karak Plateau, is flanked to the south by the Wadi Mujib and was home to Moab (at Kir Hareseth), Madaba

and Mount Nebo, and Nabataean Dibon; iv) the Shara Mountains, where the aridity increases to an extent

that dramatically decreases the existence of settled villages and is where Petra and its iconic Nubian red

sandstone lies; and iv) the Hisma, the mostly arid Nubian sandstone landscape that affords few villages

apart from the famous Wadi Ram (Held 2006).

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 While the Highland Belt receives nearly all of the rainfall east of the Jordan Valley, there is a

precipitation gradient that exists in the amount of rainfall from north, which receives the most annual

precipitation and is home to the more densely populated communities and forms of agriculture; to the south

where Petra averages about 130 mm of annual precipitation. Climate and weather data records are not

available for much of the history of Petra. Fortunately, the nearby town of Wadi Mousa has enough to give

some clue of the history of the climate in Petra, the mean annual precipitation totals approximately 130 mm

and occurs primarily from November through March, with most precipitation recorded as rain. Subzero

temperatures are infrequent and mostly occur at night. Temperatures can range from 6° to 12° Celsius in

January and can rise to between 15° to 32° Celsius in August (Paradise 1996). Considering that much of

the area is protected by high cliffs, valleys, and wadis much of the area is not affected by climatic erosion.

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Most of the winds that occur in this region of Jordan do not strike the valley of Petra directly. This

protection has enabled much of the area to sustain the integrity of its archaeological landscape (Paradise
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1996).

B. Natural Resources & Trade

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It is difficult to ascertain the wide variety of goods and resources that flowed through the

Nabataean region. It is clear that gold and silver were common features of the Nabataeans whose
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acquisition and wealth often gained the attention of Greek and Roman officials and military leaders long

before their monumental establishment at Petra (Graf & Sidebotham 2003). Gold crowns were crafted as

gifts in 17 AD by Aretas IV for Germanicus and Agrippina with “lighter” ones to others in attendance at a

banquet (2003; citing Tacitus, Annals 2.57), ostensibly held in Petra (Pearson 2011). Indications of

luxurious tradecrafts appear throughout the kingdom in the Negev at Mampsis and Oboda (Patrich 1984;

Goldman 1996; Negev 1997), not to mention the discovery of unworked amethyst beads within Petra that

were likely exported to Ptolemaic Egypt (Graf & Sidebotham 2003; citing Meredith 1957; Johnson

1987:75-78). While the Nabataeans were central to the overland trade routes associated with the incense

trade (Bowersock 1994), it is possible that they themselves exported “from their own kingdom a number of

valuable items normally associated with south Arabia” (Graf & Sidebotham 2003:72; Strabo Geog. 16.4.26).

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 Additionally, the Nabataeans likely engaged in mining activities. Small deposits of gold are often

found scattered throughout the northern Hijaz associated with what appears to be early mining settlements

(2003; Kisnawi 1983). Copper mining activities at Wadi Faynan were conducted alongside highly effective

water management techniques that reduced the likelihood of soil erosion, a system more effective than the

later Roman/Byzantine approaches that led to desertification in area (Barker 2002). Bitumen was also a

common resource extracted specifically from is natural source in the Dead Sea (Taylor 2007).

Technological innovation and engineering increased the water surpluses throughout Nabataea alleviating

pressures on more traditional sources such as oases and springs (ayn) (Rababeh 2005).

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Figure 2.1: Map showing known Nabataean trade routes throughout the region during the first century CE.
(Paradise 2011: used with permission)

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 The physical geography of the region directly influenced the effectiveness of the Nabataeans to

position their unique role within Hellenistic economic contexts (Bowersock 1994). It was through their

ability to master the incense trade networks within harsh arid environments that enabled them to

accumulate the surpluses that gave way to their affluent society in the first century BCE. These networks

were likely borrowed from previously rendered nodes developed by others such as the Qedarites (see

discussion below). Neighboring the western side of the Wadi Araba is the rocky Negev desert, which was

an important geographical region of the Nabataeans early in their history. In fact, one of the earliest

references for their existence refer to their contact with Antigonus in Gaza where they offered a branch of

an incense tree (Wenning 2013:12). Predominantly a desert region, the terrain of the Negev hosts a series

of cross-folds and basins with the highest point of elevation at 1033 m (Held 2006).

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In some of the rocky outcrops in the Negev emerged some of the more important Nabataean sites

were stopovers and connection points between Petra and Gaza. Apart from Gaza, many of the more
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significant sites include Oboda, Elusa, Mampsis, Nessana, and Be-ersheva (Erickson-Gini 2006).

Economically the most significant of these was Gaza with its important port. Historically and
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geographically the site of Oboda is geographically centered within the Negev along the Petra-Gaza trade

route and culturally tied to the Nabataean religion through a potentially deified king (arguably Obodas III)
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(Alpass 2013). A much longer trade route is believed to exist from the port of Aila (modern Aqaba) at the

Red Sea to Gaza via Nessana (Erickson-Gini 2006).

To the south, the Arabian Peninsula is vast in comparison to the regions occupied by the

Nabataeans. The relevant portions mostly resided within the narrow coastal plain along the Red Sea known

as the Tihamah, which traverses the full length of the peninsula along the coastline, the Hijaz mountainous

region, and the Arabian Shield. The Tihamah is relatively thin in the northern portions, sometimes only a

few meters in width gradually increasing farther south (Held 2006) where Nabataean presence during their

maritime trade existed such as the famous but elusive port of Leuke Kome (Graf & Sidebotham 2003).

Natural harbors are rare along the coastline (Held 2006). The Tihamah is lined by a mountainous barrier

known as the Hijaz Mountains with peaks averaging 2100 m and lines the western edge of the

Nubian-Arabian Shield. The Hijaz maintains an elevation gradient from north (lowest) to south (highest).

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The ancient Nabataean town of Hegra (modern Mada’in Saleh) is located along the confluence of the lower

northern Hijaz Mountains and the Nubian-Arabian Shield providing it an appearance similar to the red

sandstone in Petra. In the southern portions of the Hijaz, rainfall is highest with averages ranging 300-500

mm annually and historically facilitated trade connections between the Nabataeans and Asir, Najran, and

Saba in this region (Graf & Sidebotham 2003; citing Zarins 1981; 1983; Stucky 1983). Mostly consisting of

metamorphic rock perched along a massive plateau, the Arabian Shield spans much of the peninsula and

hosts numerous volcanic features, faultlines, and occasional mountainous outcrops (Held 2006).

In the northern Arabian Peninsula, trade extended east of Petra through the oasis of Dumat

al-Jandal at al-Jawf, located about 300 km east of Petra. This was an important node en route to Charax in

the Parthian Empire (Graf & Sidebotham 2003). This node also served as a nexus of networks departing

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from the northern Highland Belt (the Ajlun Highlands) through the important geographic depression known

as the Wadi Sirhan. This important wadi makes up a portion of the Eastern Desert whose shallow
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depression served trade purposes historically for caravans and Bedouins migrating to southern portions of

the Parthian Empire and the Persian Gulf. Historically al-Jawf served as a capital for the Qedarites and “a
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series of north Arabian queens in the Neo-Assyria era” (2003:70) and was likely a stopover for Nabonidus

during the Babylonian invasion of the Arabian peninsula that ended with the establishment of a temporary
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capital at Tayma to the south (2003).

C. The Geographies of Petra

As part of the Wadi Araba rift system, Petra formed through years of faulting, erosion, and

weathering of the Cambrian sandstone and the pre-Cambrian basement layers that were exposed following

the removal of the capping Cretaceous limestones linked to the rift’s seismic activity (Paradise 2013). The

resulting sandstone cliffs in the valley consists of the “Ram Group [a] stratigraphic sequence begins with

the Salim at the bottom, overlain by the Cambrian Umm Ishrin, Ordovician Disi and Umm Sahm at the top”

(2013:178). The Umm Ishrin sandstone is the stratigraphic base that permeates the more famous portions

of Petra with its rustic, red-toned appearance and is while the Disi sandstone capping the stratigraphy is “a

coarse-grained distinctive light beige, cream to white color, and spheroidal” producing the series of “domes

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