Petra Historical Timeline

Origins

Petra was built by the Nabataeans, an Arab people who settled the region and, by around the 4th century BC, had turned it into the capital of their kingdom and a major hub on the incense and spice trade routes linking Arabia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean. Controlling that trade made the Nabataeans wealthy enough to fund the monumental carving the city is known for today, and their engineering -- dams, cisterns, and channels -- let a city flourish in a canyon with almost no natural water source of its own.

Turning points

Petra reached its architectural peak in the 1st centuries BC and AD, under kings including Aretas IV, widely credited with much of the monumental building from this era, possibly including the Treasury itself. In 106 AD, the Roman Empire annexed the Nabataean Kingdom under Emperor Trajan, folding Petra into the province of Arabia Petraea; the city continued to prosper under Roman rule for a time. A major earthquake in 363 AD severely damaged Petra's buildings and water systems, and as sea trade routes gradually replaced overland caravans, the city's commercial importance faded along with it. By the early Islamic period, Petra had been largely abandoned by its urban population, though local Bedouin communities continued to live in and around its caves. In 1812, Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt became the first Westerner to document the site, reaching it disguised as a local traveler.

Influential people

Aretas IV presided over Petra during its most productive building era. Johann Ludwig Burckhardt's 1812 account introduced Petra to the West -- though it was never truly "lost," having remained known to and inhabited by local Bedouin throughout the centuries Western sources described it as forgotten.

Cultural evolution

Nabataean culture itself was a genuine fusion -- Arab in origin, but shaped by Hellenistic, Egyptian, and Assyrian influences absorbed through trade, visible directly in the architecture of the city's facades. The local Bedouin, particularly the Bdoul tribe, maintained a direct connection to Petra for generations, living within its caves and tombs until being relocated to the purpose-built village of Umm Sayhoun in the 1980s as Petra moved toward UNESCO protection.

Present-day significance

Petra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and one of the New7Wonders of the World in 2007. An estimated more than 80% of the ancient city remains unexcavated, and active archaeological work continues today. Its appearance in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) introduced it to a global audience well beyond archaeology and travel circles, cementing its place as Jordan's single most important tourism site.