View source for Petra

{{Short description|Ancient rock-cut historical city in Jordan}}
{{About|the ancient Jordanian city of Petra}}
{{infobox historic site
| name           = Petra ({{script|Nbat|𐢛𐢚𐢓𐢈}})
| image          = {{multiple image|perrow = 2/1/2|border = infobox|total_width = 280
|image1   = Urn Tomb, Petra 01.jpg
|caption1 = Urn Tomb
|image2   = Petra - 286630893.jpg
|caption2 = Roman-period theatre
|image3   = treasury petra crop.jpeg
|caption3 = [[Al-Khazneh]] (Treasury)
|image4   = Jordan-18C-108.jpg
|caption4 = [[Qasr al-Bint]] temple
|image5   = 31 Petra Monastery Trail - Magnificent Views in Petra - panoramio.jpg
|caption5 = [[Ad Deir]] (Monastery) trail
}}
| location       = [[Ma'an Governorate]], [[Jordan]]
| coordinates    = {{coord|30|19|43|N|35|26|31|E|region:JO-MN_type:landmark|display=inline}}
| locmapin       = Jordan
| map_relief     = 1
| built          = Possibly as early as the 5th century BC<ref>Browning, Iain (1973, 1982), ''Petra'', Chatto & Windus, London, p. 15, {{ISBN|0-7011-2622-1}}</ref>
| elevation      = {{convert|810|m|abbr=on|0}}
| beginning_label=
| beginning_date=
| architect=
| architecture=
| area           = {{convert|264|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Management of Petra|url=http://petranationaltrust.org/UI/ShowContent.aspx?ContentId=207|publisher=Petra National Trust|access-date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419110653/http://petranationaltrust.org/UI/ShowContent.aspx?ContentId=207|archive-date=19 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| visitation_num = 1,135,300
| visitation_year= 2019
| governing_body = Petra Region Authority
| embedded = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
|child    = yes
|ID       = 326
|Year     = 1985
|Criteria = Cultural: i, iii, iv
|Area     = 26,171 ha
}}
| website        = {{URL|https://www.visitpetra.jo/}}
}}

'''Petra''' ({{langx|ar|{{script|Arab|ٱلْبَتْراء}}|translit=Al-Batrāʾ}}; {{langx|grc|{{script|Grek|Πέτρα}}|lit=Rock}}), originally known to its inhabitants as '''Raqmu''' ({{langx|sem-x-nabat|{{script|Nbat|𐢛𐢚𐢒}}}} or {{langx|sem-x-nabat|{{script|Nbat|𐢛𐢚𐢓𐢈}}|translit=*Raqēmō|label=none}}),<ref>{{cite book |author=Stephan G. Schmid and Michel Mouton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bpWGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |title=Men on the Rocks: The Formation of Nabataean Petra |year=2013 | publisher=Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH |isbn=9783832533137 |language=en-US |access-date=14 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318201053/https://books.google.com/books?id=bpWGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |archive-date=18 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Shaddel|first=Mehdy|date=2017-10-01|title=Studia Onomastica Coranica: AL-Raqīm, Caput Nabataeae*|url=http://academic.oup.com/jss/article/62/2/303/4364805/Studia-Onomastica-Coranica-ALRaqīm-Caput-Nabataeae|journal=Journal of Semitic Studies|language=en|volume=62|issue=2|pages=303–318|doi=10.1093/jss/fgx022|issn=0022-4480|access-date=2020-12-08|url-access=subscription}}</ref> is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern [[Jordan]]. Famous for its [[rock-cut architecture]] and water conduit systems, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the [[sandstone]] from which it is carved.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=MAT |first1=Mahmut |title=The Petra in Jordan » Geology Science |journal=Geology Science |date=7 January 2023 |url=https://geologyscience.com/gallery/geological-wonders/the-petra-in-jordan/?amp}}</ref> The city is one of the [[New 7 Wonders of the World]] and a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-01-26|title="The Lost City" of Petra Still Has Secrets to Reveal|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/archaeology/lost-city-petra/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010181043/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/archaeology/lost-city-petra/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 10, 2019|access-date=2021-01-15|website=Science|language=en}}</ref>

The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000&nbsp;BC,<ref name="PNF"/> and was settled by the [[Nabataeans]], a nomadic [[Arab]] people, in the 4th century BC. Petra would later become the capital city of the [[Nabataean Kingdom]] in the second century BC.<ref name="PNF"/><ref name="NGlost">{{cite news |title= Petra. The "Lost City" still has secrets to reveal: Thousands of years ago, the now-abandoned city of Petra was thriving. |author= Mati Milstein |work= National Geographic |url= https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/archaeology/lost-city-petra/ |access-date= 27 December 2019 |archive-date= 20 December 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191220003644/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/archaeology/lost-city-petra/ |url-status= dead }}</ref> The Nabataeans invested in Petra's proximity to the [[incense trade route]]s by establishing it as a major regional trading hub, which gained them considerable revenue.<ref name="PNF"/><ref>{{cite book | author= Jack D. Elliott Jr. |title= The Nabatean Synthesis of Avraham Negev: A Critical Appraisal |editor= Joe D. Seger |work= Retrieving the Past: Essays on Archaeological Research and Methodology in Honor of Gus W. Van Beek |year= 1996 |publisher= Eisenbrauns |isbn= 9781575060125 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2PWC98JLn7QC&pg=PA56 |page= 56 |access-date= 27 December 2019 |archive-date= 14 June 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200614160326/https://books.google.com/books?id=2PWC98JLn7QC&pg=PA56 |url-status= live }}</ref> Unlike their enemies, the Nabataeans were accustomed to living in the barren deserts and thus were able to defend their kingdom. They were particularly skillful in [[agriculture]], [[stone carving]], and [[rainwater harvesting]].

Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its [[Al-Khazneh]] structure, possibly the [[mausoleum]] of Nabataean king [[Aretas IV Philopatris|Aretas IV]], was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2016/01-02/petra/|title=Petra Lost and Found|work=National Geographic|date=2 January 2016|access-date=8 April 2018|archive-date=8 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408210210/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2016/01-02/petra/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nabataea fell to the Romans in 106&nbsp;AD, who annexed and renamed it [[Arabia Petraea]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-02-09|title=Petra lost and found|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2016/01-02/petra/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806194914/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2016/01-02/petra/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 6, 2020|access-date=2021-01-15|website=History Magazine|language=en}}</ref> Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an [[Galilee earthquake of 363|earthquake in 363]] destroyed many structures. In the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine era]], several Christian churches were built, but the city continued to decline and, by the early Islamic era, it was abandoned except for a handful of nomads. It remained unknown to the western world until 1812, when Swiss traveller [[Johann Ludwig Burckhardt]] rediscovered it.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/17/arts/art-review-rose-red-city-carved-from-the-rock.html|title=ART REVIEW; Rose-Red City Carved From the Rock|first=Grace|last=Glueck|date=17 October 2003|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=29 January 2018|archive-date=28 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228165453/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/17/arts/art-review-rose-red-city-carved-from-the-rock.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/326.pdf |title=UNESCO advisory body evaluation |access-date=2011-12-05 |archive-date=2012-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113042025/http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/326.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. Visitor numbers reach close to a million tourists every year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/petra-welcomed-905000-visitors-2022-%E2%80%94-pdtra|title=Petra welcomed 905,000 visitors in 2022 |work=The Jordan Times|date=2 January 2023|access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Neolithic ===
[[File:Petra, Jordan, Base of Mount Hor.jpg|thumb|Cliffs near Petra, View over Wadi Arabah]]

By 7000 BC, some of the earliest recorded farmers had settled in [[Beidha (archaeological site)|Beidha]], a [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic]] settlement just north of Petra.<ref name="PNF">{{cite web|title=A Short History |url= http://www.petranationalfoundation.org/history.html |publisher= Petra National Foundation| access-date=13 February 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171204141534/http://www.petranationalfoundation.org/history.html|archive-date=4 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Bronze Age ===

Petra is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the [[Amarna letters]] as ''Pel'', ''Sela'', or ''Seir''.<ref name=Leoussi>{{cite book |author= Steven Grosby |author-link= Steven Grosby |title= Nationalism and Ethnosymbolism: History, Culture and Ethnicity in the Formation of Nations |publisher= Edinburgh University Press |isbn= 9780748629350 |page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=aNuqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 109] |date= 2007 |access-date=19 December 2017 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aNuqBgAAQBAJ&q=Seir}}</ref>

=== Iron Age Edom ===

The [[Iron Age]] lasted between 1200 and 600 BC; in that time, the Petra area was occupied by the [[Edomites]]. The configuration of mountains in Petra allowed for a reservoir of water for the Edomites. This made Petra a stopping point for [[merchant]]s, making it an outstanding area for trade. Some wares that were traded included wines, olive oil, and wood.

Initially, the Edomites were accompanied by [[Nomad]]s who eventually left, but the Edomites stayed and made their mark on Petra before the emergence of the Nabataens. It is said that 10,000 men were thrown off of the mountain Umm el-Biyara, but this story has been debated by scholars.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Petra {{!}} Bible Interp|url=https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2003/04/ham278001|access-date=2021-12-03|website=bibleinterp.arizona.edu}}</ref>

The Edomite site excavated at the top of the Umm el-Biyara mountain at Petra was established no earlier than the seventh century BC (Iron II).<ref>{{cite journal|last= Bienkowski| first= P. |year= 1992| title= The beginning of the Iron Age in Edom: A reply to Finkelstein| journal= Levant| volume= 24| number= 1| pages= 167–169|doi= 10.1179/007589192790220919}}</ref>

=== Emergence of Petra ===

The [[Nabataeans]] were one among several nomadic Bedouin tribes that roamed the [[Arabian Desert]] and moved with their herds to wherever they could find pasture and water.<ref name="lost kingdom">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FcAoBq4_EnEC |title= Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans |last= Taylor |first= Jane |pages= 14, 17, 30, 31 |year= 2001 |publisher= [[I.B.Tauris]] |location= London |access-date= 8 July 2016 |isbn= 9781860645082 |archive-date= 3 July 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190703151114/https://books.google.com/books?id=FcAoBq4_EnEC |url-status= live }}</ref> Although the Nabataeans were initially embedded in Aramaic culture, theories about them having [[Aramean]] roots are rejected by many modern scholars. Instead, archaeological, religious and linguistic evidence confirm that they are a northern [[Tribes of Arabia|Arabian tribe]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=A0BdsFRX55cC |title= Arabs in the Shadow of Israel: The Unfolding of God's Prophetic Plan for Ishmael's Line |access-date=8 July 2016 |publisher= Kregel Academic |first= Tony |last= Maalouf |year= 2003 |isbn= 9780825493638}}</ref> Current evidence suggests that the Nabataean name for Petra was Raqēmō, variously spelled in inscriptions as ''rqmw'' or ''rqm''.<ref name=":1" />

The Jewish historian [[Josephus]] (ca. 37–100 AD) writes that the region was inhabited by the [[Midianites]] during the time of [[Moses]], and that they were ruled by five kings, one of whom was Rekem. Josephus mentions that the city, called Petra by the Greeks, "ranks highest in the land of the Arabs" and was still called ''Rekeme'' by all the Arabs of his time, after its royal founder (Antiquities iv. 7, 1; 4, 7).<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.loebclassics.com/view/josephus-jewish_antiquities/1930/pb_LCL490.79.xml?mainRsKey=zBRKmE&result=1&rskey=O69i4Z |doi=10.4159/DLCL.josephus-jewish_antiquities.1930 |title=Jewish Antiquities |year=1930 |last1=Josephus |via=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-date=2018-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226020351/https://www.loebclassics.com/view/josephus-jewish_antiquities/1930/pb_LCL490.79.xml?mainRsKey=zBRKmE&result=1&rskey=O69i4Z%20 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Onomasticon (Eusebius)|Onomasticon of Eusebius]] also identified Rekem as Petra.<ref>{{cite book | author = Hagith Sivan | title = Palestine in Late Antiquity | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2008 | page = 254}}</ref> Arabic ''[[wikt:رقم|raqama]]'' means "to mark, to decorate", so ''Rekeme'' could be a Nabataean word referring to the famous carved rock façades. In 1964, workmen clearing rubble away from the cliff at the entrance to the gorge found several [[nefesh|funerary inscriptions]] in Nabatean script. One of them was to a certain Petraios who was born in Raqmu (Rekem) and buried in Garshu ([[Jerash]]).<ref>{{cite journal|author = J. Starcky | title = Nouvelle épitaphe Nabatéenne donnant le nom Sémitique de Pétra | journal = Revue Biblique | year = 1965 | volume = 72 | number = 1 | pages = 95–97 | jstor = 44087833 | url =  https://www.jstor.org/stable/44087833}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author = J. Starcky | journal = Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan | volume = 10 | year = 1965 | title = Nouvelles stelles funeraires a Petra | pages = 43–29 & plates | url = http://publication.doa.gov.jo/uploads/publications/55/ADAJ_1965_10-43-49.pdf}}</ref>

{{see also|Sela (Edom)#Confusion with Petra}}

An old theory held that Petra might be identified with a place called ''sela'' in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (1911) states that the [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] name of the city, if not Sela, would remain unknown. It nevertheless cautioned that ''sela'' simply means "rock" in Hebrew, and thence might not be identified with a city where it occurs in the biblical text in the book of Obadiah. It is possible that the city was part of the nation of Edom.<ref name=EB1911/>

The passage in [[Diodorus Siculus]] (xix. 94–97) described the Nabataeans at the time as a nomadic group of people who believed that those who owned possessions could be easily compelled by those who held power, this would drastically change as the centuries went on.<ref>Diodorus Siculus, *Library of History*, Book 19, Section 94.2, translated by C.H. Oldfather, in the Loeb Classical Library, via LacusCurtius. University of Chicago. [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/19E*.html#94.2]</ref>
This text further describes the expeditions which [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus|Antigonus]] sent against the Nabataeans in 312 BC, was understood by some researchers to throw some light upon the history of Petra, but the "petra" (Greek for rock) referred to as a natural fortress and place of refuge cannot be a proper name, and the description implies that there was no town in existence there at the time.<ref name=EB1911/><ref>{{cite book| author-link= Diodorus Siculus| author= Diodorus Siculus| title= Account of Antigonus' expedition to Arabia| volume= xix| chapter-url = https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/19E*.html#93| chapter= Section 95 (note 79)| access-date= 2016-08-07| archive-date= 2020-05-27| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200527185917/http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/19E%2A.html#93| url-status= live}}</ref> 

=== Roman period ===
[[file:View of Petra.jpg|thumb|General view]]
[[file:Roman bronze coin of Geta showing the Petra temple.jpg|thumb|Roman bronze coin of Geta showing the Petra temple with statue of Tyche]]
{{further|History of the Romans in Arabia}}

In 106, when [[Aulus Cornelius Palma Frontonianus]] was governor of [[Roman Syria]], the part of the [[Arabian Peninsula]] under the rule of Petra was absorbed into the [[Roman Empire]] as part of [[Arabia Petraea]], and Petra became its capital.<ref>Dio Cassius, LXVII. 14, 5.</ref> The native dynasty came to an end but the city continued to flourish under Roman rule. It was around this time that the Petra Roman Road was built. A century later, in the time of [[Severus Alexander]], when the city was at the height of its splendor, the issue of coinage came to an end. There was no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to some sudden catastrophe, such as an invasion by the [[Sasanian Empire]].<ref name= EB1911/>

Meanwhile, as [[Palmyra]] ([[floruit|fl.]] 130–270) grew in importance and attracted the [[pre-Islamic Arab trade]] away from Petra, the latter declined. It appears, however, to have lingered on as a religious center. Another [[Roman road]] was constructed at the site. [[Epiphanius of Salamis]] (c.315–403) writes that in his time a feast was held there on December 25 in honor of the virgin [[Khaabou]] and her offspring [[Dushara]].<ref name= EB1911/> Dushara and [[al-Uzza]] were two of the principal deities of the city, which otherwise included many idols from other Nabataean deities such as Allat and Manat.<ref>{{cite book| title= The Religious Life of Nabataea| chapter= Chapter 2| year= 2013| first= Peter| last= Alpass}}</ref>

Between 111 and 114, [[Trajan]] built the [[Via Traiana Nova]], running from the Syrian border to the Red Sea through Petra. This road followed the old routes of Nabataean caravans. In the shadow of the ''[[Pax Romana]]'', this route revived trade between Arabia, Syria, and Mediterranean harbors. In 125 AD, one of Emperor [[Hadrian]]'s administrators left marks{{dubious|Meaning what?|date=December 2019}} in Petra, pointed out by documents found at the [[Dead Sea]]. In 130, Hadrian visited the former Nabataean capital, giving it the name of ''Hadriānī Petra Metropolis'', imprinted on his coins. His visit, however, did not lead to any boom in development and new buildings as it did in [[Jerash]]. The province's governor, Sextius Florentinus, erected a monumental [[mausoleum]] for his son near the end of the al-Hubta (King's Wall) tombs, which had been generally reserved during the Nabataean period for the royal family.

Roman emperors' interest in the city in the [[3rd century]] suggests that Petra and its environs remained highly esteemed for a long time. An inscription to [[Liber Pater]], a god revered by Emperor [[Septimius Severus]], was found in the ''[[temenos]]'' of the temple known as [[Qasr al-Bint]], and Nabataean tombs contained silver coins with the emperor's portrait as well as pottery from his reign. Emperor [[Elagabalus]] declared Petra to be a [[Colonia (Roman)|Roman colony]], when he reorganized the Roman Empire towards the end of the 3rd century.<ref>{{cite web| website= jordantourspetra.com| url= http://www.jordantourspetra.com/en/petra-jordan.html| title= Petra Jordan| date= 21 June 2019| access-date= 2019-11-22| archive-date= 2019-12-08| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191208154128/https://www.jordantourspetra.com/en/petra-jordan.html| url-status= live}}</ref> The area from Petra to [[Wadi Mujib]], the [[Negev]], and the [[Sinai Peninsula]] were annexed into the province of [[Palaestina Salutaris]]. The [[Madaba Map]] from the reign of Emperor [[Justinian I]] is missing the section that would include Petra.

=== Byzantine period ===
[[file:Bizantine Church (12294138186).jpg|thumb|The [[Byzantine Church (Petra)|Byzantine Church]]]]

Petra declined rapidly under Roman rule, in large part from the revision of sea-based trade routes. In 363, [[Galilee earthquake of 363|an earthquake]] destroyed many buildings and crippled the vital water management system.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E3DF143EF934A25753C1A9659C8B63 | work=The New York Times | title=ART REVIEW; Rose-Red City Carved From the Rock | first=Grace | last=Glueck | date=2003-10-17 | access-date=2010-05-22 | archive-date=2006-04-18 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060418052143/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E3DF143EF934A25753C1A9659C8B63 | url-status=live }}</ref> The old city of Petra was the capital of the Byzantine province of [[Palaestina Salutaris|Palaestina III]] and many churches from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]] were excavated in and around Petra. In one of them, the [[Byzantine Church (Petra)|Byzantine Church]], [[Petra papyri|140 papyri]] were discovered, which contained mainly contracts dated from 530s to 590s, establishing that the city was still flourishing in the 6th century.<ref>{{Cite book| title=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History|last=Frösén|first=Jaakko|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd.| year= 2012| doi= 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah06244|chapter = Petra papyri|isbn = 9781444338386}}</ref> The Byzantine Church is a prime example of monumental architecture in Byzantine Petra.

The last reference to Byzantine Petra comes from the ''[[Spiritual Meadow]]'' of [[John Moschus]], written in the first decades of the 7th century. He gives an anecdote about its bishop, [[Athenogenes of Petra|Athenogenes]]. It ceased to be a [[metropolitan bishop]]ric sometime before 687 when that function had been transferred to [[Rabba|Areopolis]]. Petra is not mentioned in the narratives of the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]], nor does it appear in any early Islamic records.<ref>Zbigniew T. Fiema, Ahmad Al-Jallad, Michael C. A. Macdonald, and Laïla Nehmé, "Provincia Arabia: Nabataea, the Emergence of Arabic as a Written Language, and Graeco-Arabica, in Greg Fisher (ed.), ''Arabs and Empires before Islam'' (Oxford University Press, 2015), p. 394.</ref>

=== Crusaders and Mamluks ===
[[file:Crusader_Tower_Petra_Jordan1429.jpg|thumb|[[Wu'ayra Castle|Alwaeira Castle]]]]

In the 12th century, the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Crusaders]] built fortresses such as the [[Alwaeira Castle]], but were forced to abandon Petra after a while. As a result, the location of Petra was lost until the 19th century<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/reconstructing-petra-155444564/|title=Reconstructing Petra|last=Lawler|first=Andrew|website=Smithsonian|language=en|access-date=2018-12-25|archive-date=2018-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225175508/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/reconstructing-petra-155444564/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Two further Crusader-period castles are known in and around Petra: the first is al-Wu'ayra, situated just north of Wadi Musa. It can be viewed from the road to [[Little Petra]]. It is the castle that was seized by a band of Turks with the help of local Muslims and only recovered by the Crusaders after they began to destroy the olive trees of Wadi Musa. The potential loss of livelihood led the locals to negotiate a surrender. The second is on the summit of el-Habis, in the heart of Petra, and can be accessed from the West side of the Qasr al-Bint.

The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity during the [[Middle Ages]] and were visited by [[Baibars]], one of the first [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk sultans of Egypt]], towards the end of the 13th century.<ref name=EB1911/>

=== 19th and 20th centuries ===
[[file:Comparative Petra siq.jpg|thumb|Petra [[Siq]] in 1947 (left) compared with the same location in 2013]]

The first European to describe them was the Swiss traveler [[Johann Ludwig Burckhardt]] during his travels in 1812.<ref name= EB1911/><ref name= "Burckhardt1822">{{cite book| first=John Lewis |last= Burckhardt|title=Travels in Syria and the Holy Land| url= https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22956| year=1822 |publisher= J. Murray}}</ref> At that time, the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem]] operated a diocese in [[al-Karak]] named Battra ({{langx|ar|باطره|link=no}}, {{langx|grc|Πέτρας|link=no}}) and it was the opinion among the clergy of Jerusalem that Kerak was the ancient city of Petra.<ref name= "Burckhardt1822"/>

Burckhardt already spoke Arabic fluently, and was on his way to explore the [[Niger River]] when he heard stories of a dead city that held [[Tomb of Aaron (Jordan)|the tomb of the Prophet Aaron]], and became fascinated with finding the city. He then dressed himself up as a local, and only spoke in Arabic, bringing a goat with him with the intent of sacrificing it in honor of Aaron's Tomb. After one day of exploring, he was convinced that he had found the lost city of Petra.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The discovery of Petra {{!}} History Today|url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/discovery-petra|access-date=2021-12-03|website=www.historytoday.com}}</ref>

[[Léon de Laborde]] and [[Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds|Louis-Maurice-Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds]] made the first accurate drawings of Petra in 1828.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Carr|first=Gerald L.|title=Frederic Edwin Church: Catalogue Raisonne of Works at Olana State Historic Site, Volume I|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0521385404|location=Cambridge|pages=386–396}}</ref> The Scottish painter [[David Roberts (painter)|David Roberts]] visited Petra in 1839 and returned to Britain with sketches and stories of the encounter with local tribes, published in ''[[The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia]]''. [[Frederic Edwin Church]], the leading American landscape painter of the 19th century, visited Petra in 1868, and the resulting painting ''[[El Khasné, Petra (painting)|El Khasné, Petra]]'' is among his most important and well-documented.<ref name=":0" /> Missionary Archibald Forder published photographs of Petra in the December 1909 issue of National Geographic.
[[File:Petra (9779016262).jpg|thumb|the "Street of Facades"]]

Because the structures weakened with age, many of the tombs became vulnerable to thieves, and many treasures were stolen. In 1929, a four-person team consisting of British archaeologists [[Agnes Conway]] and [[George Horsfield]], Palestinian physician and folklore expert [[Tawfiq Canaan]] and Ditlef Nielsen, a Danish scholar, excavated and surveyed Petra.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Conway |first1=A. |last2=Horsfield |first2=G. |year=1930 |title=Historical and Topographical Notes on Edom: with an account of the first excavations at Petra |journal= The Geographical Journal |volume=76 |issue=5 |pages=369–390|doi=10.2307/1784200 |jstor=1784200 |bibcode=1930GeogJ..76..369H }}</ref>

The archaeologist Philip Hammond from the [[University of Utah]] visited Petra for nearly 40 years. He explained that the local folklore says it was created by the wand of [[Moses]], when he struck the rock to bring forth water for the [[Israelites]]. Hammond believed the carved channels deep within the walls and ground were made from ceramic pipes that once fed water for the city, from rock-cut systems on the canyon rim.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP9ku2EAahM|url-status=dead|title=Forbidden Archaeology of Petra and Nazca|publisher=National Geographic|year=2018|format=documentary|via=YouTube|access-date=2020-02-12|archive-date=2020-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502074933/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP9ku2EAahM&gl=US&hl=en}}</ref>

In the 1980s, the [[Bedul]] Bedouin, once inhabitants of Petra, were relocated by the Jordanian government to the nearby settlement of Umm Sayhoun, a process spanning two decades. This move was part of broader initiatives aimed at settling Bedouin communities and promoting tourism in Petra.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal |last=Simms |first=Steven |date=1996 |title=The Bedul Bedouin of Petra, Jordan: Traditions, tourism, and an uncertain future |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287496244 |journal=Cultural Survival Quarterly |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=22–25}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=After the world heritage classification: Bedouins have been forcibly relocated from Petra - FUF.se |url=https://fuf.se/en/korrar/efter-varldsarvsklassningen-beduiner-har-tvangsforflyttats-fran-petra/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=fuf.se |language=en}}</ref> With a name meaning "the changing ones" and oral traditions recounting a conversion narrative, the Bedul Bedouins are believed to have adopted Islam later in their history, possibly with [[Jews|Jewish]] or Nabatean origins.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Peake |first=Frederick Gerard |url=https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_isl_history-trans-jordan-tribes_DS1544B551934_vol1-5254/page/n117/mode/2up |title=A history of Trans-Jordan and its tribes |year=1934 |volume=1 |location=Amman |pages=109}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last=Ben-Zvi |first=Itzhak |author-link=Yitzhak Ben-Zvi |title=שאר ישוב: מאמרים ופרקים בדברי ימי הישוב העברי בא"י ובחקר המולדת |publisher=none |year=1967 |location=תל אביב תרפ"ז |pages=374–378 |language=Hebrew |trans-title=She'ar Yeshuv}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Kanʿān |first=Tawfīq |title=Studies in the Topography and Folklore of Petra |publisher=Beyt-Ul-Makdes Press |year=1930 |series=Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society |volume=IX |pages=216}}</ref> Today, alongside their traditional activities, they engage in local tourism, alongside the more prominent [[Liyathnah]] tribe.<ref name=":42" />

Numerous scrolls in Greek and dating to the [[Byzantine]] period were discovered in an excavated church near the [[Temple of the Winged Lions]] in Petra in December 1993.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/archaeology/lost-city-petra/ | title= Petra | work= National Geographic | access-date= 2017-08-20 | archive-date= 2017-08-20 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170820160051/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/archaeology/lost-city-petra/ | url-status= dead }}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
In December 2022, [[2022 Jordan floods|Petra was hit by heavy flooding]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-27 |title=Tourists evacuated after floods lash Jordan's ancient city of Petra |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2022-12-27/tourists-evacuated-in-ancient-city-of-petra-flooded-after-record-heavy-rainfall |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=ITV News |language=en}}</ref>

== Layout ==
[[file:Al-Siq 2.jpg|thumb|The narrow passage ([[Siq]]) that leads to Petra]]

Petra is adjacent to the mountain of [[Jebel al-Madhbah|Jabal Al-Madbah]], in a [[Depression (geology)|basin]] surrounded by mountains forming the eastern flank of the [[Arabah]] valley running from the [[Dead Sea]] to the [[Gulf of Aqaba]].<ref name="EB1911" />

Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, creating an artificial [[oasis]]. The area is visited by [[flash flood]]s, but archaeological evidence shows that the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of [[dam]]s, [[cistern]]s, and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of [[drought]] and enabled the city to prosper from its sale.<ref>{{cite web |author=Lisa Pinsker |url=http://www.agiweb.org/geotimes/june04/feature_petra.html |title= Petra: An Eroding Ancient City |publisher=Agiweb.org |date=2001-09-11 |access-date=2011-12-05 |archive-date=2012-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331130050/http://www.agiweb.org/geotimes/june04/feature_petra.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In ancient times, Petra might have been approached from the south on a track leading across the plain of Petra, around Jabal Haroun ("Aaron's Mountain"), the location of the [[Tomb of Aaron]], said to be the burial place of [[Aaron]], brother of [[Moses]]. Another approach was possibly from the high plateau to the north. Today, most modern visitors approach the site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge, in places only {{convert|3|–|4|m|0|abbr=on}} wide, called the [[Siq]] ("shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the [[sandstone]] rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into [[Wadi Musa]].<ref name="Fulford97">{{cite web |url= http://www.robertfulford.com/petra.html |title= Robert Fulford's column about Petra, Jordan |publisher= Robertfulford.com |date= 1997-06-18 |access-date= 2014-02-06 |archive-date= 2015-09-24 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924091633/http://www.robertfulford.com/petra.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

=== Hellenistic architecture ===
[[File:البتراء.JPG|thumb|The Hadrian Gate also known as the Temenos Gate]]

Petra is known primarily for its [[Hellenistic architecture]]. The facades of the tombs in Petra are commonly rendered in Hellenistic style, reflecting the number of diverse cultures with which the [[Nabataeans]] traded, all of which were in turn influenced by Greek culture. Most of these tombs contain small burials niches carved into the stone.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Petra: Rock-cut façades (article)|url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/west-and-central-asia-apahh/west-asia/a/petra-rock-cut-facades|access-date=2021-12-03|website=Khan Academy|language=en}}</ref>

Perhaps the best example of the Hellenistic style is seen in the [[Al-Khazneh|Treasury]], which is {{convert|24|meters}} wide and {{convert|37|meters}} tall and refers to the architecture of Alexandria.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alexandria |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Alexandria-Egypt|access-date=2021-12-03|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> The facade of the Treasury features a broken pediment with a central [[Tholos (architecture)|tholos]] inside, and two [[obelisk]]s appear to form into the rock at the top. Near the bottom of the Treasury are the twin Greek gods [[Castor and Pollux]], who protect travellers on their journeys. Near the top of the Treasury, two victories are seen standing on each side of a female figure on the tholos. This female figure is believed to be the Isis-Tyche, [[Isis]] and [[Tyche]] being the Egyptian and Greek goddesses, respectively, of good fortune.<ref name=":3" />

Another prime example of Hellenistic architecture featured in Petra is its [[Ad Deir|Monastery]], which stands at {{convert|45|meters}} tall and {{convert|50|meters}} wide; this is Petra's largest monument and is similarly carved into the rock face. The facade of this again features a broken pediment, similar to the [[Al-Khazneh|Treasury]], as well as another central tholos. The Monastery displays more of a Nabataen touch while at the same time incorporating elements from Greek architecture.<ref name=":3" /> Its only source of light is its entrance standing at {{convert|8|meters}} high. There is a large space outside of the Monastery, which is purposefully flattened for worship purposes. Formerly, in the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]], this was a place for [[Christians|Christian]] worship, but is now a holy site for [[pilgrim]]s to visit.

=== City centre ===
[[file:Amphitheatre, Petra, Jordan1.jpg|thumb|The Theatre]]

At the end of the narrow gorge, the [[Siq]], stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, popularly known as [[Al-Khazneh]] ("the Treasury"), hewn into the sandstone cliff. While remaining in remarkably preserved condition, the face of the structure is marked by hundreds of bullet holes made by the local Bedouin tribes that hoped to dislodge riches that were once rumoured to be hidden within it.<ref name="Fulford97"/>

A little farther from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called ''en-Nejr'', is a massive [[Theater (structure)|theatre]], positioned so as to bring the greatest number of [[tomb]]s within view. At the point where the valley opens out into the plain, the site of the city is revealed with striking effect. The theatre was cut into the hillside and into several of the tombs during its construction. Rectangular gaps in the seating are still visible. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-coloured mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures and lined with knobs cut from the rock in the form of towers.<ref name=EB1911/> The theatre  was said to hold around 8,500 people.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Theatre {{!}} Jordan Attractions|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/jordan/the-ancient-city/attractions/theatre/a/poi-sig/1446303/1332397|access-date=2021-12-03|website=Lonely Planet|language=en}}</ref> The performances that audiences were able to attend here were poetry readings and dramas. [[Gladiator]] fights were also said to be held here and attracted the most audience, although no gladiator was able to gain any momentum or fame due to the heavy mortality rate that came with it. The theatre was one of many structures in Petra that took significant damage due to the [[363 Galilee earthquake]].<ref name=":4" />
[[File:Ornamental Garden and Pool Complex (12294195964).jpg|thumb|[[Petra Pool and Garden Complex]]]]

The [[Petra Pool and Garden Complex]] is a series of structures within the city center. Originally said to be a market area,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Petra, vol 3. Wissenschaftliche Vero¨ffentlichungen des Deutsch-Turkischen Denkmalschutz-Kommandos 3.|last=Bachmann, W., Watzinger, C. Wiegand, T.|publisher=De Gruyter|year=1921|location=Berlin|pages=37–41}}</ref> excavations at the site have allowed scholars to identify it as an elaborate Nabataean garden, which included a large swimming pool, an island-pavilion, and an intricate hydraulic system.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Petra Pool-Complex: a Hellenistic Paradeisos in the Nabataean Capital|last=Bedal, L-A|publisher=Gorgias Press|year=2004|location=Piscataway (NJ)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bedal L-A, Gleason K. L., Schryver J. G.|date=2007|title=The Petra Garden and Pool Complex, 2003–2005|journal=Annu Dep Antiq Jordan|volume=51|pages=151–176}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bedal L-A, Schryver J. G., Gleason K. L.|date=2011|title=The Petra Garden and Pool Complex, 2007 and 2009 field seasons.|journal=Annu Dep Antiq Jordan|volume=55|pages=313–328}}</ref>

Ahead of the Petra Pool and Garden Complex lies Colonnaded street, which is among few artifacts of Petra that was constructed rather than natural. This street used to hold a semi-circle [[nymphaeum]], which is now in ruins due to flash flooding, and used to hold Petra's only tree. This was intended to be a symbol for the peaceful atmosphere that the Nabataens were able to construct in Petra. Once the Romans took control of the city, Colonnaded street was narrowed to make room for a side walk, and 72 columns were added to each side.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/archaeology/the-ancient-city-of-petra2|title=The Ancient City of Petra &#124; AMNH}}</ref>

=== High Place of Sacrifice ===
The High Place of Sacrifice is perched atop Jebel Madbah Mountain.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-05-05|title=Petra- City of mysteries|url=https://thejordanianmappers.com/petra-Itinerary-trip|access-date=2024-05-25|website=The Jordanian Mappers|language=en-US}}</ref> The beginning of the hike is near Petra's theatre. From there, the site of The High Place of Sacrifice is around an 800-step hike. One commonly believed sacrifice that took place there was [[libation]]. Another common form of sacrifice that took place there was animal sacrifice; this is due to the belief that the tomb of the [[Tomb of Aaron (Jordan)|Prophet Aaron]] is located in Petra, which is a sacred site for Muslims. In honor of this, a goat was sacrificed annually. Other rituals also took place there, including the burning of [[frankincense]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Petra|url=https://www.memphistours.com/Jordan/Jordan-Travel-Guide/Petra-Attractions/wiki/Petra|access-date=2021-12-03|website=www.memphistours.com|language=en}}</ref>

=== Royal Tombs ===
{{wide image|Koenigsgraeber.jpg|950|align-cap=center|The Royal Tombs in the southern part of the city}}
[[file:Palace Tomb, Petra.jpg|thumb|The [[Palace Tomb]]]]

The Royal Tombs of Petra are in the Nabatean version of [[Hellenistic architecture]], but their facades have worn due to natural decay. One of these tombs, the [[Palace Tomb]], is speculated to be the tomb for the kings of Petra. The Corinthian Tomb, which is right next to the Palace Tomb, has the same Hellenistic architecture featured on the [[Al-Khazneh|Treasury]]. The two other Royal Tombs are the Silk Tomb and the Urn Tomb; the Silk Tomb does not stand out as much as the Urn Tomb. The Urn Tomb features a large yard in its front, and was turned into a church in 446 AD after the expansion of Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Royal Tombs, Petra. Art Destination Jordan|url=https://universes.art/en/art-destinations/jordan/petra/royal-tombs|access-date=2021-12-03|website=universes.art|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Exterior platform ===

In 2016, archaeologists using [[satellite imagery]] and [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drones]] discovered a very large, previously unknown monumental structure whose beginnings were tentatively dated to about 150 BC, the time when the Nabataeans initiated their public building programme. It is located outside the main area of the city, at the foot of Jabal an-Nmayr and about {{cvt|0.5|mi|1}} south of the city centre, but is facing east, not towards the city, and has no visible relationship to it. The structure consists of a huge, {{cvt|184|by|161|ft}} platform, with a monumental staircase along its eastern side. The large platform enclosed a slightly smaller one, topped with a comparatively small building, {{cvt|28|by|28|ft}}, which was facing east toward the staircase. The structure, second in size only to the [[Ad Deir|Monastery complex]], probably had a ceremonial function of which not even a speculative explanation has yet been offered by the researchers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Parcak |first1= Sarah |last2= Tuttle |first2= Christopher A. |title= Hiding in Plain Sight: The Discovery of a New Monumental Structure at Petra, Jordan, Using WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 Satellite Imagery |journal= Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume= 375 |date= May 2016 |issue= 375 |pages= 35–51 |jstor= 10.5615/bullamerschoorie.375.0035 |issn= 0003-097X |doi= 10.5615/bullamerschoorie.375.0035|s2cid= 163171099 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Archaeologists discover massive Petra monument that could be 2,150 years old |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/09/petra-buried-monument-discovered-jordan |access-date= 10 June 2016 |work= The Guardian |date= 10 June 2016 |archive-date= 10 June 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160610072915/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/09/petra-buried-monument-discovered-jordan |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Massive New Monument Found in Petra |url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/space-archaeology-satellite-petra-ancient-city-discovery-jordan-monument/ |access-date= 10 June 2016 |work= National Geographic |date= 8 June 2016 |archive-date= 9 June 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160609215944/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/06/space-archaeology-satellite-petra-ancient-city-discovery-jordan-monument/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>

==Geostrategic importance==
[[Pliny the Elder]] and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the [[Nabataean Kingdom]] and the centre of their [[camel train|caravan]] trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a [[perennial stream]], Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to [[Gaza City|Gaza]] in the west, to [[Bosra]] and [[Damascus]] in the north, to [[Aqaba]] and Leuce Come on the [[Red Sea]], and across the desert to the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name=EB1911/>

==Religious importance==
[[file:Karta Petra.PNG|thumb|upright=1.55|Map of Petra]]

===Nabataean religion===
{{further|Nabataean religion}}
[[File:Great Temple of Petra 02.jpg|thumb|The [[Great Temple (Petra)|Great Temple]] of Petra]]

The Nabataeans worshipped [[Arab mythology |Arab gods]] and [[goddess]]es during the [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic]] era as well as a few of their [[Apotheosis |deified]] kings. One, [[Obodas I]], was deified after his death in 85 BC. [[Dushara]] was the primary male god accompanied by his three female deities: [[Al-Uzza|Al-‘Uzzā]], [[Allat]] and [[Manāt]]. Many statues carved in the rock depict these gods and goddesses. New evidence indicates that broader [[Edom]]ite, and Nabataean theology had strong links to Earth-Sun relationships, often manifested in the orientation of prominent Petra structures to [[equinox]] and [[solstice]] sunrises and sunsets.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Paradise |first1=Thomas R. |author-link1=Tom Paradise |last2=Angel |first2=Christopher C. |title=Nabataean Architecture and the Sun: landmark discovery using GIS in Petra, Jordan |url=http://www.esri.com/esri-news/arcuser/winter-2015/nabataean-architecture-and-the-sun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402172511/http://www.esri.com/esri-news/arcuser/winter-2015/nabataean-architecture-and-the-sun |archive-date=2015-04-02 |magazine=ArcUser |publisher=[[Esri]] |pages=16–19 |issue=Winter 2025}} [https://www.academia.edu/10814083/Nabataean_Architecture_and_the_Sun_landmark_discovery_using_GIS_in_Petra_Jordan] as PDF at academia.edu.</ref>

[[file:The Monastery, Petra, Jordan8.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ad Deir]] ("The Monastery")]]

[[Ad Deir|The Monastery]], Petra's largest monument, dates from the 1st century BC. It was dedicated to Obodas I and is believed to be the symposium of Obodas the god. This information is inscribed on the ruins of the Monastery (the name is the translation of the Arabic [[Ad Deir]]).{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

The [[Temple of the Winged Lions]] is a large temple complex dated to the reign of King [[Aretas IV Philopatris|Aretas IV]] (9 BC–40 AD). The temple is located in Petra's so-called Sacred Quarter, an area situated at the end of Petra's main Colonnaded Street consisting of two majestic temples, the [[Qasr al-Bint]] and, opposite, the Temple of the Winged Lions on the northern bank of Wadi Musa.

===Late Roman and Byzantine-period Christianity===
[[Christianity]] found its way to Petra during the 4th century AD, nearly 500 years after the establishment of Petra as a trade centre, and the city was gradually converted over the course of the 4th century and possibly into the early 5th century AD.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Al-Nasarat |first=Mohammed |date=2018-12-30 |title=From Paganism to Christianity. General Remarks on the Religious Changes in Petra (1st–6th Cent. AD) |url=https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/sceranea/article/view/4257 |journal=Studia Ceranea |volume=8 |pages=209–236 |doi=10.18778/2084-140X.08.12 |issn=2449-8378|hdl=11089/26905 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The start of Christianity in Petra started primarily in 330 AD when the first Christian emperor of Rome took over, [[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]], otherwise known as Constantine the Great.{{cn|date=May 2025}} Together with [[Licinius]], he issued a [[Edict of Milan |decree of tolerance]] which stopped the persecution of Christians in the [[Roman Empire]]. [[Athanasius of Alexandria| Athanasius]] mentions a bishop of Petra (Antioch. 10) named [[Asterius of Petra|Asterius]]. At least one of the tombs (now known as the "Urn Tomb") was used as a church. An inscription in red paint records its consecration "in the time of the most holy bishop Jason" (447).<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Petra |volume=21 |pages=309–310 |first=George Albert |last=Cooke|inline=1}}</ref>

===Early Muslim and Crusader periods===
After the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant| Muslim conquest]] of 629–632, Christianity in Petra, as of most of Arabia, gave way to Islam.<ref name=EB1911/>

In the wake of the [[First Crusade]], part of [[Transjordan (region)|Transjordan]] including Petra was conquered by King [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem]] and formed the second [[fief]] of the [[feudal barony|barony]] of [[Al Karak |Krak]] (in the lordship of [[Oultrejordain]]) with the title ''Château de la Valée de Moyse'' or ''Sela''. It remained in the hands of the [[Name of the Franks#Crusaders and other Western Europeans as "Franks" |Franks]] until 1189.<ref name=EB1911/> It is still a [[titular see]] of the [[Catholic Church]]<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Petra}}</ref> - see [[Archbishop of Petra]] and [[List of Catholic titular sees]]: Petra in Palaestina.

===Traditional connection to Moses, Aaron and Miriam===
According to a tradition, Petra is the spot where [[Moses]] (Musa in Arabic) struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where Moses' brother, [[Aaron]] (Harun in Arabic), is [[Tomb of Aaron|buried]], at [[Mount Hor#Jebel Harun|Mount Hor]], known in Arabic as Jabal Haroun, 'Mount Aaron'.<ref name= Gray>{{cite web |last= Gray |first= Martin |title=World Pilgrimage Guide: Petra |website= SacredSites.com |url=http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/jordan/petra_ruins.htm |access-date=2011-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821023038/http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/jordan/petra_ruins.htm |archive-date=2010-08-21 |url-status= live}} Direct access as of May 2025 [https://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/jordan/petra_ruins.htm here].</ref>{{better source needed |date= May 2025}} Placing the death of Aaron on a mountain peak near Petra dates back to at least the time of [[Josephus]] (see ''Antiquities'' IV. 4, 7<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-4.html ''Antiquities'', Book IV] at penelope.uchicago.edu. Accessed 27 May 2025.</ref>).<ref name= Darb>{{cite thesis |last= Miettunen |first= Päivi |title= Darb al-Nabī Hārūn: The veneration of the prophet Hārūn in the Petra region - Tradition and change 1812 - 2003 |degree= MA |publisher= University of Helsinki |url= http://www.helsinki.fi/~phmiettu/gradu.doc |access-date= 6 July 2009 |archive-date= 9 December 2004 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041209222212/http://www.helsinki.fi/~phmiettu/gradu.doc |url-status= dead }}</ref> A memorial church built in the saddle under the peak in the 5th century became the nucleus of a monastery frequented by pilgrims, named in a document from among the [[Petra papyri]] and dated to 573 as "the House of ... High Priest Aaron."<ref name= Fiema>{{cite journal |last= Fiema |first= Zbigniew T. |title= The Byzantine monastic/pilgrimage center of St. Aaron near Petra, Jordan |journal= Arkeologipäivät |year= 2002 |page= 34-49 (34) |url= http://www.sarks.fi/ap/ap2002/ap2002_04_fiema.pdf |access-date= 7 May 2024}}</ref><ref name= JJ>{{cite book |last= Jandora |first= John |title= The Latent Trace of Islamic Origins: Midian's Legacy in Mecca's Moral Awakening |year= 2012 |publisher= Gorgias Press |place= Piscataway, NJ |page= 113, n. 15 |isbn= 978-1607240457 |url= https://dokumen.pub/the-latent-trace-of-islamic-origins-midians-legacy-in-meccas-moral-awakening-9781463234034.html |access-date= 27 May 2025}}</ref> Wadi Musa or the "Wadi of Moses" is the Arabic name for the narrow valley at the head of which Petra is sited.<ref name= Gray/>

A mountaintop shrine of Moses' sister [[Miriam]] was still shown to pilgrims at the time of [[Jerome]] in the 4th century, but its location has not been identified since.<ref name= Gray/>

==Climate==
In Petra, there is a [[semi-arid climate]]. Most rain falls in the winter. The [[Köppen-Geiger climate classification]] is BSk. The average annual temperature in Petra is {{convert|15.5|°C|1}}. About {{convert|193|mm|2|abbr=on}} of precipitation falls annually.

{{Weather box|location = Petra
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y

|Jan high C = 11.0											
|Feb high C = 13.1
|Mar high C = 16.6
|Apr high C = 20.9
|May high C = 25.1
|Jun high C = 28.6
|Jul high C = 29.8
|Aug high C = 30.0
|Sep high C = 28.1
|Oct high C = 24.6
|Nov high C = 18.2
|Dec high C = 13.4

|Jan low C =  2.2								 				
|Feb low C =  2.8
|Mar low C =  5.6
|Apr low C =  8.7
|May low C = 11.7
|Jun low C = 14.1
|Jul low C = 16.1
|Aug low C = 16.5
|Sep low C = 14.2
|Oct low C = 11.2
|Nov low C =  7.1
|Dec low C =  3.4

|Jan precipitation mm = 45												
|Feb precipitation mm = 38
|Mar precipitation mm = 36
|Apr precipitation mm = 12
|May precipitation mm = 4
|Jun precipitation mm = 0
|Jul precipitation mm = 0
|Aug precipitation mm = 0
|Sep precipitation mm = 0
|Oct precipitation mm = 2
|Nov precipitation mm = 15
|Dec precipitation mm = 41
|year precipitation mm= 193
|source = Climate-Data.org, Climate data
|date=17 January 2018}}

== Conservation ==
{{see also|List of World Heritage Sites in Jordan}}
[[file:Al khazneh.jpg|thumb|Night event at [[Al-Khazneh]]]]
[[file:TreasuryPetra.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Al-Khazneh]], the most popular tourist attraction]]

The [[Bedul]] (Petra [[Bedouin]]) were forcibly resettled from their cave dwellings in Petra to Umm Sayhoun/Um Seihun by the Jordanian government in 1985, prior to the UNESCO designation process.<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":5" /> They were provided with block-built housing with some infrastructure including in particular a sewage and drainage system. Among the six communities in the Petra Region, Umm Sayhoun is one of the smaller communities. The village of Wadi Musa is the largest in the area, inhabited largely by the Layathnah Bedouin, and is now the closest settlement to the visitor centre, the main entrance via the Siq and the archaeological site generally. Umm Sayhoun gives access to the 'back route' into the site, the Wadi Turkmaniyeh pedestrian route.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.go2petra.com/guide_inside_clickmap.htm|title=Map of the area| website= go2petra.com |access-date= 2015-06-04|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180313061923/http://www.go2petra.com/guide_inside_clickmap.htm| archive-date= 2018-03-13| url-status= dead}}</ref>

On December 6, 1985, Petra was designated a [[World Heritage Site]]. In a popular poll in 2007, it was also named one of the [[New 7 Wonders of the World]]. The Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) became an autonomous legal entity over the management of this site in August 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://visitpetra.jo/Pages/viewpage.aspx?pageID=129|title=Archeological Park|website=VisitPetra.jo|access-date=2018-12-25|archive-date=2018-09-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902223532/http://visitpetra.jo/Pages/viewpage.aspx?pageID=129|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Urn Tomb, Petra 01.jpg|thumb|The Urn Tomb]]

The Bedoul belong to one of the Bedouin tribes whose cultural heritage and traditional skills were proclaimed by UNESCO on the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|Intangible Cultural Heritage List]] in 2005 and inscribed<ref name=bedu>{{cite web | title= The Cultural Space of the Bedu in Petra and Wadi Rum | url= http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00122 | publisher= UNESCO Culture Sector | access-date= 2015-06-02 | archive-date= 2015-11-05 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151105112951/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00122 | url-status= live }}</ref> in 2008.

In 2011, following an 11-month project planning phase, the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority in association with DesignWorkshop and JCP s.r.l published a Strategic Master Plan that guides planned development of the Petra Region. This is intended to guide planned development of the Petra Region in an efficient, balanced and sustainable way over the next 20 years for the benefit of the local population and of Jordan in general. As part of this, a Strategic Plan was developed for Umm Sayhoun and surrounding areas.<!-- <ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.pdtra.gov.jo/SchemeFiles/English/communities%2520master%2520plans/Umm%2520Sayhoun%2520Strategy.pdf&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s&sa=U&ei=hUxsVY_FLsuNsgHv7aHoAw&ved=0CBQQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNHSZAz2PGlfOtLIHYBNhXxtIjoPTA |work= pdtra.gov.jo| publisher= Development and Tourism Region Authority in association with DesignWorkshop and JCP s.r.l. |title=Strategic Plan for Umm Sayhoun and surrounding areas |date=February 2017}}</ref> --><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.pdtra.gov.jo/UploadedFiles/PDETRA_Folder/English/communities%20master%20plans/Umm%20Sayhoun%20Strategy.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230718031417/http://www.pdtra.gov.jo/UploadedFiles/PDETRA_Folder/English/communities%20master%20plans/Umm%20Sayhoun%20Strategy.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= July 18, 2023 |work= pdtra.gov.jo| publisher= Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority in Association with DesignWorkshop and JCP s.r.l. |title=Strategic Plan for Umm Sayhoun and surrounding areas |access-date=8 April 2017 }}</ref>

The process of developing the Strategic Plan considered the area's needs from five points of view:

* A socio-economic perspective
* The perspective of Petra Archaeological Park
* The perspective of Petra's tourism product
* A land use perspective
* An environmental perspective

The site suffers from a host of threats, including collapse of ancient structures, erosion due to flooding and improper rainwater drainage, weathering from salt upwelling,<ref>{{cite journal| last1= Heinrichs| first1= K.| last2= Azzam| first2= R.| title= Investigation of salt weathering on stone monuments by use of a modern wireless sensor network exemplified for the rock-cut monuments in Petra / Jordan&nbsp;– a research project| journal= International Journal of Heritage in the Digital Era| volume= 1| number= 2 | date= June 2012| pages= 191–216| doi= 10.1260/2047-4970.1.2.191}}</ref> improper restoration of ancient structures, and unsustainable tourism.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.icomos.org/risk/2004/jordan2004.pdf |title= Heritage at Risk 2004/2005: Petra |website=icomos.org |access-date= 27 March 2017 |archive-date= 8 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160308175559/http://www.icomos.org/risk/2004/jordan2004.pdf |url-status= live}}</ref> The last has increased substantially, especially since the site received widespread media coverage in 2007 during the [[New7Wonders of the World|New 7 Wonders of the World]] Internet and cellphone campaign.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/03/content_7006318.htm |title=Heritage Conservation Grips Jordan's Petra Amid Booming Tourism |publisher=[[Xinhua News Agency]] |date=November 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090918212011/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/03/content_7006318.htm |archive-date= September 18, 2009}}</ref> Tourism has steadily grown, with Petra receiving 1.2 million total visitors in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Petra Visitors - Visit Petra |url=https://visitpetra.jo/DetailsPage/VisitPetra/StatisticsDetailsEn.aspx?PID=5 |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=visitpetra.jo }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In an attempt to reduce the problems, the [[Petra National Trust]] (PNT) was established in 1989. It has worked with numerous local and international organisations on projects that promote the protection, conservation, and preservation of the Petra site.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.petranationaltrust.org/UI/ShowContent.aspx?ContentId=1 |title=Petra National Trust-About |website= petranationaltrust.org |access-date=2011-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111228122554/http://petranationaltrust.org/ui/ShowContent.aspx?ContentId=1 |archive-date= 2011-12-28 }}<!-- Live again 30 March 2017 --></ref> Moreover, UNESCO and ICOMOS recently collaborated to publish their first book on human and natural threats to the sensitive World Heritage sites. They chose Petra as its first and the most important example of threatened landscapes. The presentation ''Tourism and Archaeological Heritage Management at Petra: Driver to Development or Destruction?'' (2012) was the first in a series to address the very nature of these deteriorating buildings, cities, sites, and regions.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://openarchive.icomos.org/1208/1/III-1-Article2_Comer_Willems.pdf| first1= Douglas C.| last1= Comer| first2= Willem J. H.| last2= Willems| title= Tourism and Archaeological Heritage Management at Petra: Driver to Development or Destruction?| website= icomos.org| access-date= 2015-09-10| archive-date= 2016-03-04| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064044/http://openarchive.icomos.org/1208/1/III-1-Article2_Comer_Willems.pdf| url-status= live}}</ref>

[[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]] (PETA) released a video in 2018 highlighting the abuse of working animals in Petra. PETA claimed that animals are forced to carry tourists or pull carriages every day. The video showed handlers beating and whipping working animals, with beatings intensifying when animals faltered. PETA also showed some wounded animals, including camels with fly-infested, open wounds.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42692743 |title=Jordan urged to end animal mistreatment at Petra site |last=Usher |first=Sebastian |date=January 16, 2018 |newspaper=[[BBC News]] |access-date=February 28, 2018 |archive-date=February 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213133231/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42692743 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Jordanian authority running the site responded by proposing a veterinary clinic, and by undertaking to spread awareness among animal handlers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jordantimes.com/news/local/stakeholders-take-steps-address-animal-abuse-petra |title=Stakeholders take steps to address animal abuse in Petra |first=Saeb |last=Rawashdeh |work=The Jordan Times |access-date=19 April 2018 |date=5 April 2018 |archive-date=19 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419183636/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/stakeholders-take-steps-address-animal-abuse-petra |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, more video released by PETA indicated that conditions for the animals had not improved and, in 2021, the organization was running what appeared to be the only veterinary clinic in the area.<ref>"PETA says 'donkeys need to be banned' after new video reveals animals being abused at Petra site in Jordan," [https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/peta-says-donkeys-banned-video-150000063.html?guccounter=1 Yahoo.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718040417/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/peta-says-donkeys-banned-video-150000063.html?guccounter=1 |date=2023-07-18 }}, 8 February 2020.</ref><ref>"PETA veterinary clinic in Petra is the only facility in the area providing free emergency medical care to injured and neglected donkeys, horses, and other animals used to give tourist rides, [https://197lines.com/peta-veterinary-clinic-in-petra-is-the-only-facility-in-the-area-providing-free-emergency-medical-care-to-injured-and-neglected-donkeys-horses-and-other-animals-used-to-give-tourist-rides 197Lines.com], 4 May 2021."</ref>
[[File:Roman Soldier Tomb Facade Petra Jordan1410.jpg|thumb|[[Tomb of the Roman Soldier]]]]

Petra is a site at the intersection of [[Natural heritage|natural]] and [[cultural heritage]] forming a unique [[cultural landscape]]. Ever since [[Johann Ludwig Burckhardt]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Petra : Begleitbuch zur Ausstellung "PETRA&nbsp;— Wunder in der Wüste : Auf den Spuren von J.L. Burckhardt alias Scheich Ibrahim" : Eine Ausstellung des Antikenmuseums Basel und Sammlung Ludwig in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities/Department of Antiquities of Jordan und dem Jordan Museum, Amman, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, 23. Oktober 2012 bis 17. März 2013 = Batrāʼ|date=2012|publisher=Schwabe|others=Meijden, Ella van der., Schmid, Stephan G., Voegelin, Andreas F., Antikenmuseum Basel., Museum Ludwig.|isbn=978-3-7965-2849-1|location=Basel|pages=15–17|oclc=818416033}}</ref> aka Sheikh Ibrahim had re-discovered the ruin city in Petra, Jordan, in 1812, the cultural heritage site has attracted different people who shared an interest in the ancient history and culture of the [[Nabataeans]] such as travellers, pilgrims, painters and savants.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Meijden|first=Ella van der|title=Petra : Begleitbuch zur Ausstellung "PETRA&nbsp;— Wunder in der Wüste : Auf den Spuren von J.L. Burckhardt alias Scheich Ibrahim" : Eine Ausstellung des Antikenmuseums Basel und Sammlung Ludwig in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities/Department of Antiquities of Jordan und dem Jordan Museum, Amman, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, 23. Oktober 2012 bis 17. März 2013 = Batrāʼ|date=2012|publisher=Schwabe|others=Meijden, Ella van der., Schmid, Stephan G., Voegelin, Andreas F., Antikenmuseum Basel., Museum Ludwig.|isbn=978-3-7965-2849-1|location=Basel|pages=39–40|chapter=Reisende und Gelehrte. Die frühe Petra-Forschung nach J. L. Burckhardt|oclc=818416033}}</ref> However, it was not until the late 19th century that the ruins were systematically approached by archaeological researchers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Meijden|first=Ella van der|title=Petra : Begleitbuch zur Ausstellung "PETRA&nbsp;— Wunder in der Wüste : Auf den Spuren von J.L. Burckhardt alias Scheich Ibrahim" : Eine Ausstellung des Antikenmuseums Basel und Sammlung Ludwig in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities/Department of Antiquities of Jordan und dem Jordan Museum, Amman, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, 23. Oktober 2012 bis 17. März 2013 = Batrāʼ|date=2012|publisher=Schwabe|others=Meijden, Ella van der., Schmid, Stephan G., Voegelin, Andreas F., Antikenmuseum Basel., Museum Ludwig.|isbn=978-3-7965-2849-1|location=Basel|pages=41|chapter=Reisende und Gelehrte. Die frühe Petra-Forschung nach J. L. Burckhardt|oclc=818416033}}</ref> Since then regular archaeological excavations<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 December 2020|title=Visit Petra|url=https://www.visitpetra.jo/Pages/viewpage.aspx?pageID=128|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208221131/http://www.visitpetra.jo/Pages/viewpage.aspx?pageID=128|archive-date=8 February 2020}}</ref> and ongoing research on the Nabataean culture have been part of today's UNESCO world cultural heritage site Petra.<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 December 2020|title=Culture in Crisis: Flows of Peoples, Artifacts and Ideas, ICHAJ 14|url=http://ichaj.org.10-0-0-4.mint.imagine.com.jo/Documents/4683f707-942d-4a95-a50d-45093964b11b.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208135216/http://ichaj.org.10-0-0-4.mint.imagine.com.jo/Documents/4683f707-942d-4a95-a50d-45093964b11b.pdf|archive-date=8 December 2020|website=CAMNES- Center for Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies}}</ref> Through the excavations in the Petra Archaeological Park an increasing number of Nabataean cultural heritage is being exposed to environmental impact. A central issue is the management of water impacting the built heritage and the rock hewn facades.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Wedekind|first=Wanja|date=2005|title=Preventive Conservation for the Protection of the sandstone Facades in Petra/Jordan|journal= Bulletin -- Journal of Conservation-Restoration|volume= 16| issue = 1 (60)|pages=48–53}}</ref> The large number of discoveries and the exposure of structures and findings demand conservation measures respecting the interlinkage between the natural landscape and cultural heritage, as especially this connection is a central challenge at the UNECSO World Heritage Site.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Kühlenthal, Michael.|title=Petra : die Restaurierung der Grabfassaden = The restoration of the rockcut tomb facades|date=2000|publisher=Bayerischen Landesamt für Denkmalpflege|others=Fischer, Helge., Germany. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung.|isbn=3-87490-707-4|location=München|oclc=44937402}}</ref>

In recent years different conservation campaigns and projects were established at the cultural heritage site of Petra.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Bala‟awi|first1=Fadi|last2=Waheeb|first2=Mohammed|last3=Alshawabkeh|first3=Yahya|last4=Alawneh|first4=Firas|title=Conservation work at Petra: What had been done and what is needed|url=https://eis.hu.edu.jo/deanshipfiles/conf10591605.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212111657/http://www.eis.hu.edu.jo/deanshipfiles/conf10591605.pdf|archive-date=12 February 2013|access-date=8 December 2020|publisher=Queen Rania's Institute of Tourism and Heritage Hashemite University}}</ref> The main works first focussed on the entrance situation of the Siq to protect tourists and to facilitate access. Also, different projects for conservation and conservation research were conducted. Following is a list of projects, to be continued.

* 1958 Restoration of the third pillar of the Treasury building ([[Al-Khazneh]]).  This project was funded by the [[United States Agency for International Development]] (USAID)
* 1974–1990 Conservation work in the excavated area of the [[Temple of the Winged Lions|Winged Lions Temple]]
* 1981 Different restoration works by the [[Department of Antiquities (Jordan)|Department of Antiquities of Jordan]]<ref>Zayadine, F., 1981, Recent Excavation & Restoration of the department of Antiquties (1979- 1980), ADAJ (Annual of the Department of Antiquities, Amman- Jordan), Vol. 24. pp: 341-355</ref>
* 1985 Restoration works at the Qasr El Bint Temple by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zayadine|first=F.|date=1986|title=Recent Excavation & Restoration at Qasr El Bint of Petra|journal=ADAJ (Annual of the Department of Antiquities, Amman- Jordan)|volume=29|pages=239–249}}</ref>
* 1990–1998 Excavation and Conservation of the Byzantine Church by the American Centre of Research (ACOR)
* 1992–2002 Conservation and Restoration Center in Petra CARCIP, German GTZ Project.<ref name=":02" />
* 1993–2000 Excavation, conservation and restoration of the Great Temple, funded by the Brown University, USA.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Joukowsky|first=M.|date=1999|title=The Brown University 1998 Excavations at The Petra Great Temple|journal=ADAJ (Annual of the Department of Antiquities, Amman- Jordan)|volume=43|pages=195–222}}</ref>
* 1996 onwards, Restoration of the [[Siq]] and rehabilitation of the Siq floor by the Petra National Trust foundet by the Jordanian-Swiss counterpart Fund, the [[Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation|Swiss Agency for Development]] and the [[World Monuments Fund]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 December 2020|title=Petra National Trust|url=http://petranationaltrust.org/SubDefault.aspx?PageId=186&MenuId=19|access-date=11 December 2020|archive-date=7 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307031138/http://petranationaltrust.org/SubDefault.aspx?PageId=186&MenuId=19|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 2001 Restoration of the altar in front of the Casr Bint Firaun by UNESCO
* 2003 Development of a conservation and maintenance plan of the ancient drainage systems to protect the rock-cut facades<ref name=":2" />
* 2003–2017 Evaluation of desalination and restoration at the tomb facades<ref>W. Wedekind, H. Fischer: ''Salt weathering and the evaluation of desalination and restoration in Petra/Jordan.'' In: Laue, S. (Hrsg.) ''SWBSS 2017 4th International Conference on Salt Weathering of Buildings and Stone Sculptures,'' 20–22 September 2017&nbsp;– Potsdam, Potsdam 2017, pp: 190–299.</ref>
* 2006–2010 Preservation and consolidation of the Wall Paintings in Siq al Barid by the Petra National Trust in cooperation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and the [[Courtauld Institute of Art]] (London).
* 2009 onwards, renewed effort to preserve and rehabilitate the [[Temple of the Winged Lions|Winged Lions Temple]] by The Temple of the Winged Lions Cultural Management (TWLCRM) Initiative, the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan
* 2016–2019 Characterisation and Conservation of Paintings on Walls and Sculpture from Nabataean Petra "The Petra Painting Conservation Project (PPCP)",<ref>{{Cite web|title=CICS&nbsp;– Petra Painting Conservation Project&nbsp;– Workshop 2019&nbsp;– TH Köln|url=https://www.th-koeln.de/en/cics---petra-painting-conservation-project---workshop-2019_64865.php|access-date=2020-12-08|website=www.th-koeln.de|language=en|archive-date=2020-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208135219/https://www.th-koeln.de/en/cics---petra-painting-conservation-project---workshop-2019_64865.php|url-status=live}}</ref> funded by the [[Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft|German Research Foundation]] (Project number 285789434).<ref>{{Cite web|title=DFG&nbsp;– GEPRIS&nbsp;– Characterisation and Conservation of Paintings on Walls and Sculpture from Nabataean Petra|url=https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/285789434?language=en|access-date=2020-12-08|website=gepris.dfg.de|archive-date=2020-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208135253/https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/285789434?language=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Popular culture ==
* In 1845, British poet [[John Burgon|John William Burgon]] won Oxford University's [[Newdigate Prize]] for his poem "Petra", containing the description "...a rose-red city half as old as time".
* In 1977, the Lebanese Rahbani brothers wrote the musical ''Petra'' as a response to the Lebanese Civil War.<ref>Stone, Christopher. Popular Culture and Nationalism in Lebanon.</ref>
* Petra appeared in the novels ''[[Bartleby, the Scrivener|Bartleby]]''; ''[[The Remnant (novel)|Left Behind Series]]''; ''[[Appointment with Death]]''; ''[[Eagle Series|The Eagle in the Sand]]''; ''[[The Red Sea Sharks]]'', the nineteenth book in ''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]'' series; and in Kingsbury's ''[[The Moon Goddess and the Son]]''. It played a prominent role in the [[Marcus Didius Falco]] mystery novel ''[[Last Act in Palmyra]]'', and is the setting for [[Agatha Christie]]'s ''[[Appointment with Death]]''. In [[Blue Balliett]]'s novel ''[[Chasing Vermeer]]'', the character Petra Andalee is named after the site.<ref>{{cite book|last=Balliett|first=Blue|title=Chasing Vermeer |chapter=Afterwords by Leslie Budnick: Author Q&A |year=2004|publisher=Scholastic|isbn=978-0-439-37294-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/chasingvermeer000ball}}</ref>
* In 1979 Marguerite van Geldermalsen from New Zealand married Mohammed Abdullah, a Bedouin in Petra.<ref>{{cite book|last=Geldermalsen|first=Marguerite|title=Married to a Bedouin|year=2010|publisher=Virago UK|isbn=978-1844082209|url=http://marriedtoabedouin.com/|access-date=2013-10-25|archive-date=2013-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194738/http://marriedtoabedouin.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> They lived in a cave in Petra until the death of her husband. She authored the book ''Married to a Bedouin''.
* An Englishwoman, Joan Ward, wrote ''Living with Arabs: Nine Years with the Petra Bedouin''<ref>{{cite book|last=Ward|first=Joan|title=Living With Arabs: Nine Years with the Petra Bedouin|year=2014|publisher=UM Peter Publishing|isbn=978-1502564917}}</ref> documenting her experiences while living in Umm Sayhoun with the Petra Bedouin, covering the period 2004–2013.
* The playwright John Yarbrough's [[tragicomedy]], ''Petra'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcMb53MqYEA|title=John Yarbrough's ''Petra'' on Youtube|website=[[YouTube]]|date=12 February 2015 |access-date=2015-05-05|archive-date=2016-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129112810/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcMb53MqYEA|url-status=live}}</ref> debuted at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre in 2014<ref>{{cite web|url=http://manhattanrep.com/fall-one-act-competition-2014/|title=Manhattan Repertory Theatre fall one act competition 2014 including John Yarbrough's ''Petra''|access-date=2015-06-04|archive-date=2015-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518051506/http://manhattanrep.com/fall-one-act-competition-2014/|url-status=live}}</ref> and was followed by award-winning performances at the [[Hudson Guild]] in New York in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/off-off-broadway/article/Playwright-John-Yarbrough-Wins-Strawberry-One-Act-Festival-20150308|title=Broadwayworld, Off-Off-Broadway, article: 'Playwright John Yarbrough Wins Strawberry One Act Festival'|access-date=2015-06-04|archive-date=2015-05-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505094650/http://www.broadwayworld.com/off-off-broadway/article/Playwright-John-Yarbrough-Wins-Strawberry-One-Act-Festival-20150308|url-status=live}}</ref> It was selected for the ''Best American Short Plays 2014-2015'' anthology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THE-BEST-AMERICAN-SHORT-PLAYS-2014-15-Hits-the-Shelves-20160718|title=Broadwayworld, Off-Off-Broadway, article: 'The Best American Short Plays 2014-15 Hits the Shelves'|access-date=2016-08-10|archive-date=2016-08-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822142159/http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THE-BEST-AMERICAN-SHORT-PLAYS-2014-15-Hits-the-Shelves-20160718|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The site appeared in [[film]]s such as ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'', ''[[Arabian Nights (1942 film)|Arabian Nights]]'', ''[[Passion in the Desert]]'', ''[[Mortal Kombat Annihilation]]'', ''[[Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger]]'', ''[[The Mummy Returns]]'', ''[[Krrish 3]]'', ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]'', ''[[Samsara (2011 film)|Samsara]]'' and ''[[Kajraare]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mourby |first1=Adrian |title=Can Jordan's 'Indiana Jones' city survive? |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/jordan-petra-tourism/index.html |website=CNN Travel |date=16 September 2016 |access-date=17 April 2019 |archive-date=17 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417035831/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/jordan-petra-tourism/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Petra appeared in an episode of ''Time Scanners'', made for [[National Geographic (U.S. TV channel)|National Geographic]], where six ancient structures were laser scanned, with the results built into 3D models.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlanticproductions.tv/productions/time-scanners/#readmore|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928045932/http://www.atlanticproductions.tv/productions/time-scanners/|url-status=dead|title=Time Scanners|archivedate=September 28, 2015}}</ref> Examining the model of Petra revealed insights into how the structure was built.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/time-scanners-how-was-petra-built/|title=Time Scanners: How was Petra built?|date=24 February 2014 | publisher = BBC Focus Magazine|access-date=2019-01-05|archive-date=2019-01-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106010920/https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/time-scanners-how-was-petra-built/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Petra was the focus of an American [[PBS]] ''[[Nova (American TV series)|Nova]]'' special, "Petra: Lost City of Stone",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/series/building-wonders/|title=Petra-Lost City in building-wonders at pbs.org|website=[[PBS]]|date=11 February 2015 |access-date=2017-09-08|archive-date=2017-08-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828050729/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/building-wonders.html#petra-lost-city|url-status=live}}</ref> which premiered in the US and Europe in February 2015.
* Petra is central to Netflix's first Arabic original series ''Jinn,'' which is a young adult supernatural drama about the [[djinn]] in the ancient city of Petra. They must try and stop the demons from destroying the world. The show is shot in Jordan and has five episodes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/netflix-arabic-original-series-sparks-uproar-jordan-190614172753351.html|title=Netflix's first Arabic original series sparks uproar in Jordan|website=www.aljazeera.com|access-date=2020-02-19|archive-date=2020-02-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219190857/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/netflix-arabic-original-series-sparks-uproar-jordan-190614172753351.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Lego]]'' released a gift with purchase of [[Wonders of the World]] including Petra's Al-Khazneh.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lego.com/en-au/product/world-of-wonders-40585?CMP=AFC-AffiliateUK-JF2DY0n6uhs-3146997-1539294-10|title=World of Wonders (40585)}}</ref>
* A fictionalized version of Petra appears as a playable arena in the video game ''[[Overwatch]]'', having been added in a 2018 update.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/overwatch/overwatch-petra-map-trailer|title=Here is Overwatch's upcoming Petra map in action|date=May 20, 2018|last=Boudreau|first=Ian|website=www.pcgamesn.com|access-date=2024-08-13}}</ref>
* Petra has appeared in every ''[[Civilization (series)|Civilization]]'' game since ''[[Civilization V]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/civilization-7/Wonders|title=Wonders|last=Stella|first=Marloes|date=February 17, 2025|access-date=July 13, 2025|publisher=[[IGN]]|website=IGN.com}}</ref>

==="Rite of passage" of the Israeli youth===
A part of the Zionist Youth movement was hikes across the Land of Israel. These often involved cross-border incursions into Syria and Jordan, reportedly pioneered by [[Meir Har-Zion]]. Petra was a popular, often deadly, destination. In 1958 [[Haim Hefer]] wrote the lyrics for a ballad called [[HaSela haAdom]] ("The Red Rock") about one such trip ended in death.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/tra.2015.13.issue-2/tra-2015-0011/tra-2015-0011.pdf|title=Melody of a Myth: The Legacy of Haim Hefers Red Rock Song|access-date=2019-09-23|archive-date=2019-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925003608/https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/tra.2015.13.issue-2/tra-2015-0011/tra-2015-0011.pdf|url-status=live|author=Dominik Peters|date=2015}}<br>- {{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/17/archives/the-ballad-of-red-rock.html|title=The Ballad of Red Rock|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 17, 1971|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-date=2019-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923105211/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/17/archives/the-ballad-of-red-rock.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="120">
File:Petra Siq, entrance to the ancient Nabatean city of Petra, Jordan.jpg|Siq, rays of light
File:Obelisk Tomb (35317131770).jpg|The Obelisk Tomb
File:Jordan-18B-050 - Garden Tomb.jpg|The Garden Temple
File:20100926 petra150.JPG|The Colored Triclinium
File:Petra ancient rock-cut city in desert, Petra, Jordan.jpg|Rock graves
File:31 Petra Monastery Trail - Magnificent Views in Petra - panoramio.jpg|Petra Monastery Trail
File:Temple of Dushares, Petra.jpg|Temple of Dushares, Petra
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{Portal|History|Architecture|Jordan|Christianity}}

* {{annotated link|Hegra (Mada'in Salih)}}
* {{annotated link|Bedul}}
* {{annotated link|Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev}}
* {{annotated link|List of colossal sculptures in situ}}
* {{annotated link|List of modern names for biblical place names}}
* {{annotated link|Ridge Church}}

== Notes ==

{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==

* {{cite book|last=Bedal|first=Leigh-Ann|title=The Petra Pool-Complex: A Hellenistic Paradeisos in the Nabataean Capital|publisher=[[Gorgias Press]]|location=[[Piscataway Township, New Jersey|Piscataway]], [[New Jersey|NJ]]|year=2004|isbn=978-1-59333-120-7}}
* [[Brown University]]. [https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/Petra/excavations/history.html "The Petra Great Temple; History"] Accessed April 19, 2013.
* Glueck, Nelson (1959). ''Rivers in the Desert: A History of the Negev''. New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy/London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
* {{cite web|url=http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0607/petra.html|title=The Bedouin Tribes of Petra Photographs: 1986–2003|last=Harty|first=Rosemary|access-date=2008-07-17}}
*  {{cite web|last=Diodorus Siculus|title=Library of History,Book 19,Section 94.2|translator=C.H. Oldfather|website=LacusCurtius|publisher=University of Chicago|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/19E*.html#94.2|access-date = 14 June 2025}}
* {{cite book|last=Hill|first=John E.|title=The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢 : A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE|year=2004|quote=Draft annotated English translation where Petra is referred to as the Kingdom of Sifu.|url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html}}
* [[Judith McKenzie (archaeologist)|McKenzie, Judith]] (1990). ''The Architecture of Petra.'' (Oxford University Press)
* Mouton, Michael and Schmid, Stephen G. (2013) "Men on the Rocks: The Formation of Nabataean Petra"
* Paradise, T. R. (2011). "Architecture and Deterioration in Petra: Issues, trends and warnings" in Archaeological Heritage at Petra: Drive to Development or Destruction?" (Doug Comer, editor), ICOMOS-ICAHM Publications through Springer-Verlag NYC: 87–119.
* Paradise, T. R. (2005). "Weathering of sandstone architecture in Petra, Jordan: influences and rates" in GSA Special Paper 390: Stone Decay in the Architectural Environment: 39–49.
* Paradise, T. R. and Angel, C. C. (2015). [http://www.esri.com/esri-news/arcuser/winter-2015/nabataean-architecture-and-the-sun.html Nabataean Architecture and the Sun: A landmark discovery using GIS in Petra, Jordan]{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. ArcUser Journal, Winter 2015: 16-19pp.
* {{cite book|last=Reid|first=Sara Karz|title=The Small Temple|publisher=[[Gorgias Press]]|location=[[Piscataway Township, New Jersey|Piscataway]], [[New Jersey|NJ]]|year=2006|isbn=978-1-59333-339-3|quote=Reid explores the nature of the small temple at Petra and concludes it is from the Roman era.}}
* [[UNESCO World Heritage Centre]]. [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/326 "Petra"] Accessed April 19, 2013.
* {{Cite web|title=The Zamani Project, Petra, Jordan (مشروع زماني، البترا) - MaDiH (مديح)|url=https://madih-data.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/dataset/the-zamani-project-petra-jordan|access-date=2020-07-09|website=maDIH|archive-date=2020-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712175954/https://madih-data.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/dataset/the-zamani-project-petra-jordan|url-status=live}}

== External links ==
{{sister project links|auto=yes|commons=Petra, Jordan|commonscat=yes |q=yes|wikt=yes}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170328021343/http://fulbright.uark.edu/departments/geosciences/research/petraproject.php University of Arkansas Petra Project. Retrieved 27 March 2017]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181010174301/https://opencontext.org/projects/A5DDBEA2-B3C8-43F9-8151-33343CBDC857 Open Context, "Petra Great Temple Excavations (Archaeological Data)", Open Context publication of archaeological data from the 1993–2006]
* [https://archive.today/20130104005854/http://www.lahistoriaconmapas.com/imperios-reinos/reino-nabateo/petra-la-capital-del-reino-nabateo-nabatean-kingdom-capital/ Petra History and Photo Gallery, history with maps. Retrieved 27 March 2017]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151129094632/http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/697725 Parker, S., R. Talbert, T. Elliott, S. Gillies, S. Gillies, J. Becker. "Places: 697725 (Petra)", ''Pleiades''. Retrieved 27 March 2017]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181010060847/http://www.doa.gov.jo/En/inside.php?src=sublinks&SlID=5194&MlID=5024 Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities]
* [https://journals.ju.edu.jo/JJHA/issue/view/751 Special Issue on Petra and Nabatean Culture, Jordan Journal for History and Archaeology, 2020] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202024300/https://journals.ju.edu.jo/JJHA/issue/view/751 |date=2022-12-02 }}
* [https://acor.digitalrelab.com/index.php?s=filter=place_name:Petra%20(Jordan) Photos of Petra] at the [[American Center of Research]]

{{Jordan topics}}
{{Cliff dwellings}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Jordan}}
{{Roman colonies in ancient Levant}}
{{New7Wonders of the World}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Petra| ]]
[[Category:Arabic architecture]]
[[Category:Cliff dwellings]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Jordan]]
[[Category:Levant]]
[[Category:Nabataea]]
[[Category:Nabataean architecture]]
[[Category:Populated places along the Silk Road]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1985]]
[[Category:Rock-cut architecture]]
[[Category:Rock-cut tombs]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Jordan]]
[[Category:Sandstone buildings]]
[[Category:Subterranea (geography)]]
[[Category:Tourism in Jordan]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Jordan]]