The Nabataeans built Petra, the ancient rock-cut city now located in Jordan. Petra became the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom and a major trading centre linking Arabia with the Mediterranean world.
The city flourished from around the 4th century BCE until the 1st century CE. Nabataean wealth came partly from controlling trade routes that carried frankincense, myrrh, spices and other goods. Petra's monumental façades were carved into rose-coloured sandstone cliffs.
Water engineering made settlement possible in the arid landscape. The Nabataeans built channels, cisterns, dams and reservoirs that captured and stored seasonal water. This infrastructure supported residents, travellers and agriculture.
Rome annexed the Nabataean Kingdom in 106 CE, creating the province of Arabia Petraea. Petra later declined as trade routes changed and earthquakes damaged its systems. The city became less known in Europe until Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited it in 1812. UNESCO listed Petra as a World Heritage Site in 1985.