Petra: The Rise and Legacy of the Rose City

Petra, often called the Rose City because of the pinkish-red hue of its stone, is one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in the world. Located in present-day southern Jordan, Petra was built and developed by the Nabataeans, a nomadic Arab people who settled the area in the 4th century BC. Although the surrounding region had been inhabited as early as 7000 BC, it was the Nabataeans who transformed Petra into a thriving and sophisticated capital city by the 2nd century BC.

The Nabataeans were highly skilled traders who took advantage of Petra’s strategic position near major incense and spice trade routes linking Arabia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean. By controlling these routes, they accumulated great wealth and influence. Their deep understanding of desert life also gave them a defensive advantage over rival powers unfamiliar with the harsh environment. Beyond trade, the Nabataeans excelled in agriculture, stone carving, and especially rainwater harvesting. They engineered an advanced system of dams, cisterns, and channels that collected and stored scarce rainfall, allowing a large population to survive in an arid landscape.

Petra is best known for its extraordinary rock-cut architecture, carved directly into sandstone cliffs. The most famous structure is Al-Khazneh, or the Treasury, believed by many scholars to be the mausoleum of King Aretas IV. Temples, royal tombs, a theater, and extensive water systems highlight the city’s architectural and engineering achievements. At its peak in the 1st century AD, Petra’s population is estimated to have reached around 20,000 inhabitants.

In 106 AD, the Nabataean Kingdom was annexed by the Roman Empire and renamed Arabia Petraea. While Petra continued to exist under Roman rule, its importance gradually declined as maritime trade routes replaced overland commerce. A devastating earthquake in 363 AD further damaged the city’s infrastructure. During the Byzantine period, several Christian churches were constructed, but Petra never fully recovered. By the early Islamic era, it was largely abandoned, inhabited only by small groups of nomads.

Rediscovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812, Petra later gained global recognition and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Today, it stands as a powerful symbol of human ingenuity, resilience, and cultural exchange across ancient civilizations.
Petra: The Rise and Legacy of the Rose City

Hashemite royal family of Jordan

The Hashemites, or “Bani Hashem,” are descendants of the Arab chieftain Quraysh, a descendant of the Prophet Ismail, himself the son of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). Quraysh first came to the holy city of Mecca during the second century AD.

The Hashemite name is derived from Hashem, a grandson of Qusai and the great-grandfather of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). The Hashemites of Jordan are thus direct descendants of the Prophet through his daughter, Fatima, and her husband, Ali.

Ali and Fatima had two sons: Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein. The direct descendants of their eldest son, Hassan, are known as “Sharifs” (nobles), while the descendants of Hussein are called “Sayyids” (lords). Hassan was the last of this line to hold disputed claim to the caliphate, but his progeny eventually established themselves as hereditary emirs of Mecca, the role continuing under Ottoman rule.

They ruled Mecca for 724 years (598-1344 Hijri, corresponding to 1201-1925 AD). Under the Hashemite banner and his father’s inspiration, Abdullah (the founder of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan) led the Arab forces of the Great Arab Revolt, with his brothers Ali, Feisal and Zeid against the Ottoman occupational forces.

By the end of the First World War, they had liberated Damascus, modern Jordan, and most of the Arabian Peninsula.

The royal family of Jordan, the Hashemites, is descended through the Sharifian branch of lineage, in which they have ruled Jordan since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921–1958), following their World War I alliance with the British Empire; this arrangement became known as the "Sharifian solution".
Hashemite royal family of Jordan

History of Jordan

Humans have inhabited this land since the Paleolithic era. The people were hunter-gatherers who led a nomadic life moving from place to place in search of game. In time, they began building permanent settlements and establishing agricultural communities.

During the Neolithic Age, the largest settlement in Jordan was Ain Ghazal located in the north-west. Inhabited c. 7000 BCE, Ain Ghazal was an agricultural community whose artisans created some of the most striking anthropomorphic statuary in early history.

By about 5,000 BC people in Jordan were making pottery. By 4,000 BC they smelted copper and about 3,200 BC they learned to make tools of bronze.

During the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1950-1550 BCE), people began to move around the Middle East to a far greater extent than before. Trading continued to develop between Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Palestine and Jordan, resulting in the refinement and spread of civilization and technology.

After 1,500 BC Jordan was divided into highly organized kingdoms. The most important were Moab, Edom, and Amon. Together with other Middle Eastern territories, Jordan passed in turn to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, and, about 330 B.C., the Seleucids

Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BC) founded cities in the region and the Nabateans carved their capital city of Petra there from sandstone cliffs.

In A.D. 106 it became part of the Roman province of Arabia and in 633 was conquered by the Arabs. In the 16th century, Jordan submitted to Ottoman Turkish rule and was administered from Damascus until the Great Arab Revolt occurred against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I.

In 1920, Prince Abdullah bin Hussein, a descendent of the Prophet Mohammed, arrived in the southern city of Maan and stayed there for four months, where he met with the Jordanian tribes to make the necessary arrangements to establish the Jordanian state, and then moved to Amman, where he arrived on March 2, 1921.

In 1923, Britain recognized Jordan's independence, subject to the mandate. When the British mandate ended on 22 May 1946, Amir Abdullah was crowned king of the now independent state of Jordan

Jordan became officially an independent state, known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. However, it was renamed to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan post the country took over the West Bank during the Arab–Israeli War of 1948. King Abdullah was assassinated in 1951. He was replaced by his son Talal. However, in 1952 he was followed by Hussein. During the 1960s and 1970s, economic growth took place in Jordan.
History of Jordan