The Nabataeans: Petra's Rise as a Desert Trading Empire and its Final Days

This episode of Fall of Civilizations begins with the dramatic rediscovery of Petra in 1812 by the eccentric Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burkhardt, disguised as Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Abdullah. Tasked by the African Association to find Timbuktu, Burkhardt instead stumbled upon the legendary city of Petra, known locally as Wadi Musa, a site of immense ancient artistry carved into the red sandstone. His diary entries vividly capture the awe and fear of being the first modern European to witness the monumental structures, like 'Pharaoh's Castle,' and ponder the fate of the civilization that built such wonders in the harsh Arabian desert.

The narrative then delves into the geological origins of Petra, explaining how the unique Um Ishrin sandstone, formed over hundreds of millions of years and exposed by the immense pressures of the Arabian plate's tectonic movement, created the stunning red landscape. The episode traces the earliest hints of the Nabataeans (possibly the ancient Nabatu) as nomadic desert tribes in Assyrian records, initially engaging in piracy before realizing the greater profitability of protecting and organizing trade caravans. By the end of the first millennium BC, they had established a dominant position in the lucrative spice and incense trade, becoming masters of the desert routes.

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the critical role of frankincense and myrrh in the ancient world. It details their botanical origins, extraction methods (including the myths of winged serpents guarding them, possibly disinformation), and their profound cultural significance. These resins were not mere luxuries but essential commodities used for sanitation in pungent ancient cities, for creating sacred spaces in temples (as detailed in Homer's Odyssey and the Book of Exodus), and as symbols of royalty and state power, exemplified by their presentation to Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. This high demand fueled the Nabataean economy, positioning Petra as a crucial crossroads of global trade.

Finally, the episode explores Petra's strategic location and the Nabataeans' unparalleled ingenuity in water management. The city, built around the miraculous Musa's Spring, grew to support 20,000 residents and vast trade caravans through sophisticated aqueducts, underground terracotta plumbing, stucco-lined reservoirs, and dams designed to capture rare rainfall and prevent flooding. Their unique contour farming techniques allowed orchards to flourish in the desert. This mastery of water not only sustained their civilization but also provided a strategic military advantage, as secret desert reservoirs ensured their independence and made their territory impenetrable to enemies, showcasing their remarkable adaptation and resilience in one of Earth's most challenging environments.

I was particularly desirous of visiting Moses's valley the antiquities of which i had heard the country people speak in terms of great admiration.

I was without protection in the midst of a desert when no traveller had ever before been seen and a close examination of these works of the infidels as they are called would have excited suspicions that i was a magician in search of treasures future travelers may visit the spot under the protection of an armed force and the antiquities of wadi musa will then be found to rank amongst the most curious remains of ancient art.

It is one of the most elegant remains of antiquity existing in syria its state of preservation resembles that of a building recently finished and on closer examination i found it to be a work of immense labor.

each episode i look at a civilization of the past that rose to glory and then collapsed into the ashes of history i want to ask what did they have in common what led to their fall and what did it feel like to be a person alive at the time who witnessed the end of their world

the tamuna the ubudu the damanu the nabatu who were not submissive at all all of them i conquered

They follow this custom because they believe that those who possess these things are in order to retain the use of them easily compelled by the powerful to do their bidding.

the nabataeans far surpass the others in wealth although they are not much more than ten thousand in number for not a few of them are accustomed to bring down to the sea frankincense and myrrh and the most valuable kinds of spices which they procure from those who convey them.

Then the lord said to moses take fragrant spices gum resin onika and galbanum and pure frankincense all in equal amounts and make a fragrant blend of incense the work of a perfumer it is to be salted and pure and sacred grind some of it to a powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting it shall be most holy to you do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.

the napatians inhabit a town named petra it lies in a deep valley in little less than two miles wide and is surrounded by inaccessible mountains with a river flowing between them.

this tomb and the large burial chamber within it and the small burial chamber beyond it the enclosure in front of them and the porticos and the rooms within it and the gardens and pleasure garden and the walls of water and the system and walls and all the rest of the property which in these places are sacred and dedicated to douchera the god of our lord and his sacred throne and all the gods

they are exceptionally fond of freedom and whenever a strong force of enemies comes near they take refuge in the desert using this as a fortress for it lacks water and cannot be crossed by others but to them alone since they have prepared subterranean reservoirs lined with stucco