Which ancient civilization built the city of Petra in modern Jordan?

The Nabataeans built the ancient city of Petra in modern Jordan.

Petra was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom, an Arab trading state that flourished from around the fourth century BCE. The city lies in a basin surrounded by mountains and is entered through the Siq, a narrow natural gorge. Nabataean engineers carved monumental facades, tombs, temples, and other structures directly into rose-coloured sandstone.

Petra prospered because it controlled routes linking Arabia with the Levant and the Mediterranean. Its inhabitants also developed sophisticated water-management systems, including channels, cisterns, dams, and pipes, allowing the settlement to thrive in a dry environment. The famous Treasury is a monumental facade, probably associated with a tomb, rather than a treasure store.

Rome annexed the Nabataean Kingdom in 106 CE, and Petra gradually declined as trade routes changed and earthquakes damaged the city. It became widely known in the modern West after Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited in 1812. Petra was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.