Petra was the capital of the ancient Nabataean kingdom.
Located in present-day Jordan, Petra developed as a major center of trade between Arabia, the Levant, Egypt, and the Mediterranean world. Its buildings were carved into rose-colored sandstone cliffs, earning it the modern nickname “Rose City.”
The Nabataeans controlled important caravan routes and built sophisticated systems to collect and store water in the region’s dry environment. The most famous façade is Al-Khazneh, or the Treasury, but it was probably a monumental tomb rather than a treasury.
Petra later came under Roman rule in 106 CE and gradually declined as trade routes changed and earthquakes damaged the city. It became widely known in the West after its description by the Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. UNESCO listed Petra as a World Heritage Site in 1985.