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Petra Garden-Pool Complex
The garden and pool complex in Petra (Jordan) is an ornamental Nabataean garden situated on an artificial terrace west of the Great Temple and overlooking the main colonnaded street. It includes a large swimming pool, an island pavilion, and an intricate hydraulic system on a series of large terraces. A stone dam served to store the water from the canals and was distributed through the channel along the walls of the pond. Based on excavations, the complex appears to have been built during the reign of the Nabataean king, Aretas IV (9 BCE to 40 CE) and remained in use throughout the Roman annexation of the city in 106 CE.
Questions & Answers
Who built Petra?
- The sandstone city of Petra was built in the 3rd century BCE by the Nabataeans, an Arab Bedouin tribe indigenous to the region who established it as a trading post and accumulated significant wealth.
When did the Romans rule Petra?
- The Roman Empire expanded eastward and took over Petra in 106 CE during the reign of Emperor Trajan (r. 98-117 CE). The city became part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea and became its capital.
What did Petra look like in ancient times?
- At its peak, 2,000 years ago, Petra was home to as many as 30,000 people, full of temples, theatres, lush gardens, tombs, luxurious Roman-style villas, and busy marketplaces brimming with exotic goods from India, Arabia, and Egypt.
When was Petra discovered?
- Petra had remained hidden from Western eyes for centuries until it was rediscovered on 22 August 1812 by Swiss traveller and orientalist Johannes Ludwig Burckhardt. His entry to Petra, in the disguise of an Arab traveller, was recorded in a vivid and detailed account, describing exactly where he went and what he saw.
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License & Copyright
This image was first published on Flickr.
Original image by Carole Raddato. Uploaded by Carole Raddato, published on 18 April 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
