Petra-The+City

Petra is called the Lost City of Stone. It is located in Jordan south of the Dead Sea, near the Arabian boundary. It is found through a slim gorge in the deserts of Jordan. People lived in Petra approximately two thousand years ago. The people of Petra were called the Nabataeans. They were Arabian drifters. They didn't have houses in Petra because they believed that houses would enslave them. Instead, they used goatskin tents.

Around 50 AD, 20,000 people lived in Petra. There were many tombs and temples there. The tombs are stone cut. The entrances were beautifully carved in honor of those inside. Wealthier families had larger and more elaborate tombs.

Petra suffered from many earthquakes. One that is remembered is the [|Great Earthquake]. The Great earthquake occured on May 19, 363 AD. The worst aspect of the earthquake was that it disrupted the water supply. The Qasr al-Bint, a major temple, was destroyed. It was so damaged that they couldn't rebuild it.

Petra thrived for centuries. It was a wealthy and independant city. But, the Romans soon took over Petra and its surrounding cities around 106 AD. Life continued and most things stayed the same. Two hundred years later, in the early 300's, the Roman's first Christian leader, [|Constantine the First], moved the capital to Byzantine. The Nabataean's religion was inspired by the Greeks. Petra's citizens tried to follow this religion but, Christianity soon took over. Soon they had Christian churches instead of temples. By this time, Petra had become less popular. Slowly but surely the city lost all power.

External Links [|American Museum of Natural History: Petra Lost City of Stone] [|Brown University: Petra The Great Temple Excavation] [|Rain God: Petra]