البتراء (al-Batrā')

البتراء (al-Batrā'), formerly Batrā and Πέτρα (Pétra) and Petra, is a formerly important city in what is now southern الادنن (al-'Urdunn or Urdun or Jordan). It rose to power on the edges of the Senatvs Pvblvsqve Romanvs (Roman Empire), paying tribute by 100 CE, and eventually ruled directly. In the later empire it declined, becoming a village by the sixth century. It briefly revived under the Crusaders, only to decline to insignificance again. Tourists frequent the ruins, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Khazneh el Faroun ('Treasury of the Pharaoh') being the centerpiece. To its north are the rock tombs known as the King's Wall.¹

External references

exterior of the Khazneh el Faroun, Batrā

Historical maps

Footnotes

1. UNESCO, World Heritage Sites (Firefly Books, 2010).
2. Tertius Chandler, Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth, 2nd ed. (The Edwin Mellen Press, 1987), "Tables of World's Largest Cities". It was the largest city in what is now الادنن (Jordan) in 100 CE.