The Nabataeans were a Semitic people who lived in ancient times. At various points in history, the Nabataean kingdom included areas of present-day Jordan, parts of Syria and northern Arabia, and the Sinai and Negev deserts.

Nabataeans were expert traders, and they built their main city, Petra, at the crossroads of a number of caravan routes linking the lands of China, India, and Arabia with the Mediterranean world. At its height, Petra was a bustling trading center with a population of almost 30,000 people. Many of the city’s buildings, tombs, and infrastructure remain to this day -- a testament to the Nabataeans’ aptitude for construction and engineering.

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Text & Image: Adam Sewall