Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans [Hardcover]

Jane Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2002

The Nabataean Arabs, one of the most gifted peoples of the ancient world, are today known only for their hauntingly beautiful rock-carved capital--Petra. Here, in the wild and majestic landscapes of southern Jordan, they created some of the most prodigious works of man in the vast monuments that they chiseled from the sandstone mountains. The very scale of their achievement is breathtaking, but beyond mere magnitude is their creative vision, for they transformed the living rock of Petra into an enduring architectural masterpiece.

For nearly two thousand years, their civilization has been lost and all but forgotten. Yet the Nabataeans were famous in their day--Herod the Great and his sons, and a kaleidoscope of Roman emperors, were keenly aware of their power and wealth. Often victims of Greek, Roman, or Herodian duplicity, murder, and power politics, the Nabataeans were major players in the drama of the Middle East in biblical times.

This richly illustrated volume recounts the story of a remarkable but lost civilization and the capacity of its people to diversify their skills as necessity demanded. It describes their nomadic origins, the development of their multifaceted culture, their relations with their now famous neighbors, and the demise of their kingdom. It looks at their continued, if unrecognized, survival as Christians and farmers under the Byzantine Empire and into the early years of Islam.

(20020908)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Writer and photographer Taylor (High Above Jordan) has created a beautifully illustrated work covering the history of the Nabataeans, an Arab people who lived in the area of present-day southern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia from about the third century B.C.E. until the sixth century C.E. The Nabataeans remain largely forgotten and are known today mainly for their spectacular rock-hewn city of Petra, located in the rugged mountains of southern Jordan. Taylor provides an intimate look at Nabataean life and culture based on archaeological evidence and written records of the period. She thoroughly examines the development and architecture of Petra and describes the Nabataean domination of the Middle Eastern spice trade, as well as giving detailed information on their changing religious practices over the centuries. For several centuries, Nabataean culture flourished and adapted to many outside influences, including Roman rule. The Nabataean civilization gradually declined beginning in the third century C.E. as overland caravan trade routes ceased to be used. Taylor's clear, incisive writing and copious photographs bring the ancient world of the Nabataeans to life. Highly recommended for archaeology and history collections in academic libraries. Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Coll. Lib., Westerville, OH
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

Writer and photographer Taylor has created a beautifully illustrated work covering the history of the Nabataeans, an Arab people who lived in the area of present-day southern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia from about the third century BCE until the sixth century CE...Taylor's clear, incisive writing and copious photographs bring the ancient world of the Nabataeans to life. Highly recommended. (Elizabeth Salt Library Journal )

For anyone who wants to know more about Jordan's most admired landmark--basically, a narrow canyon chiseled into a kind of Middle Eastern Main Street, from its fancy façades to its recessed rooms--or the people who created it, this book offers excellent photography. (Christopher Reynolds Los Angeles Times )

This is an excellent book for the intelligent reader seeking an introduction to this field. The author, a writer and a photographer, has done a fine job, reflecting her love of the subject matter...The book, skillfully written, richly illustrated, and reasonably priced, will serve well its purpose to promote updated knowledge of a fascinating ancient Arab culture beyond the limited circle of professional scholars. The author and the publishers should be congratulated for this achievement. (Joseph Patrich Bryn Mawr Classical Review )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (September 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674008499
• ISBN-13: 978-0674008496
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,046,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars finally, a great book on Petra is here...., September 16, 2002

By 

Thomas R. Paradise (Fayetteville, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans (Hardcover)

As an architecural historian and researcher who has worked in Petra for fifteen years, I was thrilled to see a book of this caliber on the market. Books on Petra and/or the Nabataeans typically target the tourist market and either do not address its history accurately or they may do so in a way where that information is incorrect, obsolete or just boring. The research that went into this book is obviously up-to-date and relevant but as importantly, this is one interesting and beautiful book; Jane Taylor comes from a strong journalistic background and it shows! This book contains beautiful photographs, laid-out in a straightforward manner all coming together in one invaluable book. I would strongly recommend this book to scholars, students, teachers and all of those interested in this amazing part of our Mediterranean and global heritage.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Paperback Fell Apart, December 24, 2005

By 

Michael Gunther (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans (Paperback)

Taylor's book is a fine introduction to Petra and the Nabataeans. It is full of reliable information, and written so clearly that it will appeal to just about everyone. The photographs, taken by the author herself, are breathtaking.

The book is organized chronologically, with separate chapters on Petra, religion, language, and the Babatha archive. I wish the book had even more coverage of Petra, since that is the one Nabataean site that most people visit.

Unfortunately, the paperback edition of this book is so poorly bound that, in my copy at least, many of the pages actually separated from the binding, after turning them only once or twice. Since this is a book that most readers (including me) will want to keep and refer to again, I do recommend that you buy the hardback version, unless you are willing to put up with loose pages in your book.

Nevertheless, just about anyone who is interested in the Nabataeans, or visiting Jordan, will want to have this book in their library (loose pages and all).

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just a coffee-table book, May 28, 2009

By 

Max Blackston (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans (Hardcover)

This book's appearance and title are deceptive. It is in fact beautifully illustrated with the author's photographs, but there the resemblance to a coffee table book ends. It is a serious popular history of the Nabateans, with good notes and bibliography. I suspect that the impetus for the rather "Harry Potter-ish" title came from the publisher, rather than the author, in the attempt to give the book more popular appeal.

This is not a guide book for Petra; there is in fact a just one chapter dealing specifically with Petra - in context with its role in the history of the Nabateans. After speculating on the origins of the Nabateans in the early part of the first millenium BCE, the narrative starts at the time of Alexander the Great and expands on the first documented accounts of the Nabateans - from Hieronymus of Cardia and the Zenon Papyri. The Nabateans' transformation, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, from nomads and spice traders into a kingdom controlling large parts of the Hejaz, much of what is now the Kingdom of Jordan, and the Negev westward to the Mediterranean can only be deduced from the contrast between the earliest accounts and the later archaeological and historical record. The first archaeological evidence comes from an inscription dated to 168 BCE found in Elusa (Halutsa) - just south west of Beersheba - one of the 6 cities that the Nabateans built in the Judean Negev. The role of the Nabateans in the subsequent history of the region - their various alliances and rivalries first with the Hasmonean rulers of Judea and then with Herod the Great and his successors - is well documented in the appocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees, and in the writings of Josephus Flavius. For one more accustomed to seeing the Nabateans as "bit players" in the history of Judea, reading their history was a refreshing shift of perspective.

After maintaining its independence for more than 150 years after the rest of the Near East had become part of the Roman empire, the Nabatean kingdom was finally absorbed into the empire during the time of Trajan in 106 CE. It is not clear whether this happened peaceably or not; the author may not have used the most recent scholarly conclusion, that the military camp at Oboda (Avdat) is in fact Roman - not Nabatean, in citing it as evidence for the former. None the less, subsequent archeological and literary sources show the Nabateans as active citizens of the empire, and their capitals at Petra and Bostra soon became important Roman cities. The kingdom may have been "lost", but the author recounts the history of the Nabateans through the Byzantine period and into early Muslim period; she even speculates on their possible survival into recent times as a tribe of Bedouins. For most people - among them, certainly this reader - this book will tell them everything they ever want to know about the Nabateans.