Synopses & Reviews
"If ever a dead city held romance it is Petra. . . . Hewn out of ruddy rock in the midst of a mountain wilderness, sumptuous in ornament and savage in environs, poised in wildness like a great carved opal glowing in a desert, this lost caravan city staggers the most experienced traveller." So wrote Rose Macaulay in her
Pleasure of Ruins (1953), echoing the sentiments of generations of travelers before and since. Reached through a narrow, winding crevasse between looming cliffs in south Jordan, Petra served as the capital city of the Nabatean Arabs from the third century B.C.E to 106 C.E. (when it was occupied by the Roman emperor Trajan).
In this lavishly illustrated book, Maria Giulia Amadasi Guzzo and Eugenia Equini Schneider provide an accessible overview of the history and culture of the Nabateans, including their language, religion, politics, and economy, as well as a detailed guide to the city of Petra and its art and architecture. A major stop on the spice trade route, Petra attracted wealth and culture from across the Arabic and classical worlds and was abundantly furnished with more than 800 monuments. Perhaps the most well known of these is the Khazneh el-Faroun, or Treasury, a royal tomb more than 130 feet high with a magnificent Hellenistic facade carved from the salmon pink sandstone of the surrounding cliffs. But no less impressive were Petra's advanced achievements in hydraulic engineering, including elaborate water conservation systems and dams.
For anyone who has felt the lure and wonder of ancient cities and civilizations in exotic locations, Petra will be a delightful and invaluable resource.
Synopsis
For hundreds of years, travelers have wound their way through a narrow crevasse in south Jordan to marvel at the grandeur and the mystery of a city called Petra-and emerged from that fissure directly before an awe-inspiring 130-foot-high Hellenistic façade carved from the salmon pink sandstone of the surrounding cliffs. This is the Khazneh el-Far'un, or Treasury, the best known of the more than 800 monuments created in Petra between the third century B.C.E. and 106 C.E., when it served as the capital city of the Nabatean Arabs.
No less impressive were the other achievements of the Nabateans, and in this lavishly illustrated book, Maria Giulia Amadasi Guzzo and Eugenia Equini Schneider provide an accessible overview of their history and culture, including their language, religion, politics, economy, and a detailed guide to the city of Petra and its art and architecture. A major stop on the spice trade route, Petra attracted wealth and culture from across the Arabic and classical worlds and was abundantly furnished with architectural wonders-including advanced feats of hydraulic engineering such as dams and water conservation systems.
For anyone who has felt the lure and wonder of ancient cities and civilizations, Petra will be a delightful and invaluable resource.
About the Author
Maria Giulia Amadasi Guzzo and
Eugenia Equini Schneider both teach at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" in the Department of Historical, Archaeological, and Anthropological Sciences. Amadasi Guzzo is the author or editor of a number of books, most recently
Scavi a Mozie: La iscrizioni. Schneider is the author of three books, most recently
Elaiussa Sebaste I: Campagne di scavo, 1995-1997.
Lydia G. Cochrane has translated many books for the University of Chicago Press, including, most recently, The Myth of Pope Joan by Alain Boureau and Opera Production and Its Resources edited by Lorenzo Bianconi and Giorgio Pestelli.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Region
The Nabateans: The Problem of Origins
The Nabatean Kingdom between Arabia and Syria
From the Origins to the End of the Roman Republic
The First Century of the Roman Empire
The Roman Province of Arabia
Petra and the Caravan Trade
Nabatean Society
Language and Writing
Gods and Writing
Gods and Cults
Political and Public Functions; Trades and Occupations
The City of Petra
The Rediscovery
The Layout of the City
Rupestrian Funerary Architecture
Sculpture
Monuments and Written Documents
The Qasr el-Bint Far'un and Its Temenos
The Temple of the Winged Lions
The Khazneh el-Far'un
Ed-Deir
The Urn Tomb
The Tomb of Sextius Florentinus
The Aslah Inscription, Magharet et-Tnub
The en-Numeir Inscription
Inscription of the Qabr at-Turkman, or Turkmaniya Tomb
Apparatus
Abbreviations
Selected Bibliography
Index