Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
3.TeArabsbeforeIslam…
43
expandingthebordersoftheirstate,whichreachedasfarnorthasDamascus,
theystretchedtheirinfluenceoverAl-HidjśzandEgypt.Nabateanmerchants
travelledallovertheMediterranean,includingItaly.
Petra,knownfromthefourthcenturyBC,wasNabatea’scapital.Tecity’s
nameistranslatedas“arock”
.Indeed,itwassituatedamongrocksand,surround-
edbysteepclils,couldbeaccessedonlythroughanarrowandwindingpass.
Becauseofitsgeographicallocation,thecitywasverydifculttoconquer.Its
naturalconditionswiththestreamsflowingallyearround,providedenough
waterfornormalfunctioning,whichwasnotalwaystheruleinthatdesertre-
gion
16.Besides,itsinhabitants,unlikethepeoplelivingintheneighbouringter-
ritories,neversuleredfromwatershortages.Bytheendofthefourthcentury
BC,Petrahadalreadybecomeanimportanthubonthecaravanroutefrom
southernArabiatotheMediterraneanSea.Ofcrucialimportanceinthelifeof
thekingdomwasitsintermediaryroleinspicetrade.Tecityreachedtheheight
ofitsdevelopmentinthefirstcentury,duringthereignofKingAl-Har.thIII.
Temonumentalremainsofthecityareevidenceofthesplendouroftheep-
och17.Followingtheshifofthecaravanroutestothenorth,Petrawasbeginning
tofadeinimportanceinfavouroftheneighbouringPalmyra.105sawthefall
oftheNabateankingdomanditscapital.OneyearlaterArabiaPetreawasin-
corporatedintotheRomanEmpireasProvinciaArabia.Petra’sfatewassealed
bytheearthquakesthattookplace,in110,303,and505.Later,beforeitfell
intooblivion,thecitywasbrieflyusedbycrusadersastheirstronghold.Itwas
notuntilthenineteenthcenturythatitwasrediscovered.Seriousarcheological
excavationshavecontinuedtheresince1965.
AlthoughtheNabateanshadtheirownlanguage,theyquicklyadopted
thelinguafancaofthetime,thatis,Aramaic.However,Arabic(Nabatean)
remainedaspokenlanguage,withaversionoftheAramaicalphabet,called
theNabateanscript,usedinwriting.Overthecenturiesitunderwentgradual
modification,finallyassumingtheformofmodernArabic.
AtfirsttheNabateansledanexclusivelypastoralnomadiclife.Withtime,
someofthemsettledincitiesandbegantooccupythemselveswithtrade.Tecities
16C.Blánquez-Pérez,Cisternas,canalesypresas:elsistemahidráuliconabateoenPe-
tra,[in:]Dialécticahistóricaycompromisosocial.HomenajeaDomingoPlácido,vol.III,Zaragoza
2010,pp.1493-1506.
17ApartfromthemonographsIhavealreadymentioned,seealso:T.R.Paradise,Ar-
chitectureandDeteriorationinPetra:Issues,trendsandwarnings,[in:]ArchaeologicalHeritage
atPetra:DrivetoDevelopmentorDestruction?,ed.D.Comer,NewYork2011,pp.87-119;
idem,WeatheringofSandstoneArchitectureinPetra,Jordan:InfluencesandRates,[in:]Stone
DecayintheArchitecturalEnvironment,ed.A.V
.Turkington,NewYork2005,pp.39-49.