The Nabataeans Builders of Petra Dan Gibson Copyright © 2013, CanBooks Cover photograph courtesy of Peter Law. Illustrations by David Hammond and Dan Gibson Distributed by Smashwords 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, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. First Edition, first printing, (cloth) 2002, CanBooks, Amman Jordan First Edition: second printing (paperback) 2003, Xlibris ISBN: 978-1-927581-10-0 Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: Who Were the Nabataeans? Chapter 2: Nabataean History Part I (300-26 BC) Chapter 3: Nabataean History Part II (26 -40 AD) Chapter 4: Nabataean History Part III (40 AD- now) Chapter 5: Nabataeans on the High Seas Chapter 6: The Incense Trade Chapter 7: The Spice Trade Chapter 8: Other Trade Items Chapter 9: Nabataeans and the Oil Industry Chapter 10: The Southern Arabian Kingdoms Chapter 11: Nabataean Economics Chapter 12: Nabataean Cities Chapter 13: Nabataean Defenses Chapter 14: The Nabataean Pantheon Chapter 15: Nabataean Burial Practices Chapter 16: Nabataean Culture Chapter 17: Nabataean Language Chapter 18: Desert Life Chapter 19: The Price of Honor Chapter 20: Architectural Glory Chapter 21: Byzantine Influence Chapter 22: Two Nabataean Sites Today Appendix A: Timeline of Nabataean History Appendix B: Ancient Historians Appendix C: Notable Internet Sites Appendix D: Bibliography Acknowledgements How can I possibly thank all those who have helped me 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 aspects 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 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 checked this manuscripts, duly pointing out the grammar and spelling mistakes that word processors could never find. Dan Gibson Introduction Few people have ever heard of the Nabataean Empire. Yet, this 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, he 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 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 came about through an agreement between the publishing house, CanBooks, and the Ministry of Tourism in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the year 2000. At that time most of the books available to tourists were mostly filled with photographs with little information about the Nabataean people themselves. This book was designed to combine the reports of historians and archeologists, making the information simple and available for the man on the street. Most 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 recently published my book on the geography of the Arabian Peninsula under the title: Qur’anic Geography. I also hope to publish a more academic book on the Nabataeans in the future. In this book the term Nabataean applies to an ethnic group or tribe of Arabs, rather than a specific kingdom (which lasted for only a few centuries.) Before this the Nabataeans existed without a formal empire or even an area controlled by them. Eventually an area did become associated with their name, although the borders would continually change over the centuries. From around 200 BC to 106 AD kings appeared (or at least rulers or leading sheiks) sometimes accompanied by their spouses. In 106 AD the Romans occupied much of the formal Nabataean area, but people continued to call themselves Nabataeans long afterwards. This is testified to by a Greek inscription found in Namara, written during Roman times which refers to Mushammar… the Nabataean. There is also a Safiatic inscription mentioning hnbty the Nabataean. In Palmyra there is an inscription from 132 AD in which a cavalryman describes himself as a Nabataean from the Rawā? tribe. (Knauf 1989, 56-57) As late as 900 AD, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Qais ibn Wahsiyah describes himself as a Nabataean in his books Al-Filiāheh an-Nabātiyah (904 AD) and As-Sumum wat-Tiyaqat. Traditionally scholars have used two indicators to identify the Nabataeans. The first is Nabataean fine-ware pottery, and the second is the Nabataean script. It is interesting to note that Nabataean pottery production continued until the third century AD (Dijkstra 1995, 39) and that the script survived in Egypt, across Arabia and even into Europe, wherever Nabataean merchants traveled. Post-Nabataean script eventually evolved into the Arabic language of the seventh century. (Healy, 2001, 10) Those who want to study the formal Nabataean Kingdom must restrict themselves to the period when the Nabataeans controlled specific areas under that name. This name is testified to by Josephus Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, who identified the Nabataeans with Ishmael’s eldest son (Genesis 25:13). He claimed that the Nabataeans of his time lived through the whole country extending from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. He refers to this area as Nabatene, or the area in which the Nabataeans ranged. Josephus goes on to say that it was the Nabataeans who conferred their names on the Arabian nations. (Jewish Antiquities I.22, 1) During this time it appears that their capital was located at Petra. Despite Josephus’ claim of the origins of the Nabataeans, today it is unpopular to associate the Nabataeans with the Nebayot, the na-ba-a-a-ti or the nbyt of Mesopotamia and Taymanite origins. The origin of the Nabataeans are now more associated with the šlmw or šalamu (Hegra inscriptions H 1:4, 8:9, 19:3; Stephanus of Byzantieium Ethnika, 550: 12-13, Healey 2001, Pp 40). Despite this, I believe that both the earlier association with Mesopotamia (and Tayma) as well as the association with the šalamu are tenantable. It is not a case of either/or but rather requires identifying this elusive group of Arab merchants who claimed no homeland as their own, but rather situated themselves in or near the great cities of the ancient Near East. It is my opinion that the Nabataeans have been greatly misunderstood as a people. Powerful sociological factors drove these people to leave their pastoral life to become masters of the desert, only to move on years later and become masters of the sea, enabling 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 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? At its peak, the Nabataean Empire seems to have stretched from modern-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 of their travel. Written records of the Nabataean kingdom are sparse as there are only a few surviving documents and scattered inscriptions and graffiti. This also is strange, as the thousands of graffiti carved onto rocks and canyon walls clearly demonstrate that almost every Nabataean could read and write; even the shepherds. So, why not write their history? The Egyptians wrote on the walls of their temples, the Jews wrote on scrolls, and the Babylonians wrote on clay tablets. Kings and rulers over the centuries wrote down their triumphs and exploits. The Nabataeans, however, seem to have refused to write. Their temple walls are bare; their cities contain no libraries, and to date, archeologists have found only a few scraps of writing. Why? What secrets did the Nabataeans have that they wished to withhold? Even the ancient historians of Greece and Rome, who wished to write about the Nabataeans, recorded mostly the amazing tales that the Nabataeans invented to hide their history, their trade routes, and the sources of their goods. And, that's not all. There are other puzzling questions. History tells us that the Nabataeans were nomads, dwelling in tents in the desert. Yet, within a few short years they built spectacular and awe-inspiring monuments. The magnificent city of Petra is so impressive, that, even today, tourists stare in awe at the great ruins. Yet, this impressive city was hidden away in a cleft in the rock with access through a narrow crack in a mountain. The crack is over 1200 meters long and 3 to 6 meters wide, flanked by 100- meter high canyon walls. Why hide a city? Moreover, why was it built in such a hurry, only a few short years before Christ walked on this earth? Thousands of monuments and tombs were erected in this hidden city, and then suddenly, the Nabataeans handed their empire over to the Romans soldiers, and seemed to fade from the scene. Who were these Nabataeans who suddenly appeared in history? What was it that allowed these men from the desert to profit so richly from the frankincense and spice trade? Why did they build such tremendous monuments and then disappear? These are only some of the questions that archeologists have been asking as they have dug through the sands of time. The answers they are finding are full of surprises. If you like history, you will truly enjoy the unique story of the Nabataeans. A Starting Place Nabataean history goes back thousands of years, but since it is so illusive, most historians start in 586 BC, when the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar's leadership captured Jerusalem and the Jewish people were hauled off as captives to distant lands. During this time, Jerusalem lay deserted and destroyed. The emptying of Jewish lands provided an opportunity for the Edomites, the enemies of Judah from the south. With no one to stop them, the Edomites began packing up and moving from the barren hills of the southland into the rich abandoned lands of Judah to their north. About this time, we begin to find records of Nabataeans living in Edomite territory. Did they immigrate into the area when the Edomites left or had they been present for hundreds of years, living quietly alongside of the Edomites? Most historians believe that the Nabataeans must have migrated into Edomite territory when the Edomites started their move north. However, I now believe that the Nabataeans were living in Edomite territory long before this, and it was only when the Edomites left that the Nabataeans gained enough prominence to obtain a homeland that they could call their own. I also believe that Nabataeans lived in other places in the Middle East at the same time, setting up their small tent communities on the outskirts of the ancient cities of Arabia. Modern parallels to this can be found among the Turkomen and the Gypsies of the Middle East today. These groups live in most of the countries of the Middle East, yet they have no territory that they call their own. They set up their tents outside of major cities, yet they have no cities of their own. The Turkomen buy goods from their communities in one country and sell them in other countries. Yet they have no trade agreements with any of the governments involved. They are almost invisible in today's modern world, because they move in the shadows of established civilization. Yet, they have their own culture, language, and history. So it is, that the Nabataeans keep popping up in the very ancient historical records, but historians cannot pin them down to a particular location that can be called Nabataea. In their early history they quietly carried goods from one place to another, selling them at local markets, but never establishing diplomatic ties with the great historical empires. They lived on the margins of society, and people saw them as such and left them alone. But, all the while, they grew richer and richer as they traded in more and more types of goods, until finally history could ignore them no longer. Early Origins Historians have uncovered a number of places in history where the Nabataeans seem to be mentioned. But, unfortunately, no one is sure that the Nabataeans who built Petra are one and the same with these ancient peoples. First, Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, identified the Nabataeans with Ishmael's eldest son (Genesis 25:13). He claimed that the Nabataeans lived through the whole country extending from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. He refers to this area as Nabatene, or the area in which the Nabataeans ranged. Josephus goes on to say that it was the Nabataeans who conferred their names on the Arabian nations. (Jewish Antiquities I.22, 1) Josephus lived and wrote during the time that the Nabataeans were in existence, and supposedly, he obtained his information directly from the Nabataeans themselves. David Graf, in his book Rome and the Arabian Frontier: from the Nabataeans to the Saracens, believes that the Nabataeans were originally from Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq). Assyrian records tell of King Ashurbanipal (668-663 BC) fighting with the Nabaiateans of Arabia. Are these the same people? Some years earlier, in 703 BC, a group of Chaldaeans and neighboring tribes rebelled against Sennacherib, the Assyrian ruler. The ancient records of Tiglathpilezeer III list, among the rebels, the Hagaranu (perhaps the descendants of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael), the Nabatu (perhaps the Nabataeans, descendants of Nebayoth, the son of Ishmael) and the tribe of Qedar. The Qedarites are mentioned in Genesis 25:13 as descendants of a son of Ishmael named Qedar. These tribes fled into the desert, and could not be conquered. Some historians have proposed that the Nabataeans descended from Nabaioth, a sister of Bashemath, one of Esau's three wives. While the Edomites claimed decent from Bashemath the Nabataeans simply referred to themselves as the Nabatu, meaning people who draw water. The Assyrian kingdom eventually broke into two as two brothers began to rule: one, the King of Babylonia, and the other, the King of Assyria. In 652 BC, conflict broke out between these two brothers, and in support of the Babylonian king, the Qedarites invaded western Assyria, were defeated, and fled to Natnu, the leader of the Nabayat, for safety (as described in the records of Esarhaddan). Later the Qedarites and the Nabayat attacked the western borders of Assyria but were defeated. After their defeat, Natnu's son, Nuhuru, was declared the leader of the Nabatu. Arab literature from the much later Islamic period mentions that there were at least two distinct groups of Nabataeans in the Middle East at that time. First, there was a group of Nabataeans from Iraq that were known as Nabat al-'Irak (Iraqi Nabataeans). Second, there were the Nabat al-Sham or Nabataeans of Damascus. As you will discover later, the Nabataeans controlled Damascus during the time of the Apostle Paul, and perhaps these Nabataeans were descendants of the Nabataeans from Damascus. The distinction between these two groups of Nabataeans is outlined very well in an article in the Encyclopedia of Islam Volume VII, under “Nabat.” The existence of several Nabataean groups helps explain the issue, that is sometimes raised of how the Yezidis of Iraq and Turkey could claim connections with Nabataean, and why the Nabataeans are mentioned in Arabic literature as being in Iraq. As we will explain later, Nabataean merchants were present in most Middle Eastern cities, and over the centuries their numbers grew until they were identified as a tribal or ethnic group. The Zenon papyri from 259 BC, mention that the Nabatu were trading Gerrhean and Minaean frankincense, and transporting them to Gaza and Syria at that time. They transported their goods through the Qedarite centers of Northern Arabia, Jauf, and Tayma. Early Nabataean pottery has also been found in locations on the Persian Gulf, along the coasts of Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. Tuwayr, Zubayda, Thaj, and Ayn Jawan) There are also ancient references to the Nabatu as living along the western edges of the Arabian Peninsula and in the Sinai. These Nabatu were pirates who sailed the Red Sea plundering trading vessels. Later they established bases in a number of seaports, including the port city of Aila (modern day Aqaba), which is only 120 km from present day Petra. While most of us think of the Nabataeans as people who transported goods in the desert by camel caravan, it has become increasingly obvious to me that the Nabataeans preferred sea trade, and that they built and maintained a large and impressive merchant marine. More on that later, but right now we are trying to figure out who these people originally were. Despite all of these occurrences in history, it is still unclear where the Nabataeans came from. Language specialists tell us that Nabataean names were Arab names, that their language was old Arabic, and that they seem to be found from the borders of Iraq to the depths of the Arabian desert. However, it appears that different groups of Nabatu wrote their names in slightly different ways, so that some archeologists today are reluctant to say that they are all the same tribe, or that any one group is the original