Ancient Rome History at UNRV.com
  • Home
  • Daily Life
  • Economy
  • Government
  • Military
  • Provinces
  • Map
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Contact
Ancient Rome History at UNRV.com
  • Daily Life
  • Economy
  • Government
  • Military
  • Provinces
  • Map
  • Forum
  • Donate
UNRV.com Roman History
  • Home
  • Daily Life
  • Economy
  • Government
  • Military
  • Provinces
  • Map
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Roman Provinces
  • Arabia Petraea

Arabia Petraea

To the Romans, Arabia Petraea was one of three zones that comprised the whole of Arabia (the other two regions being Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix). In the Roman geographical sense, it was an Eastern or Hellenized province located directly to the south of Syria, bordering Egypt's nothern limit, and juxtaposed against Iudea (also Syria Paelestina).

In modern terms, Arabia is compromised of the Negev region and present-day southern Syria, Jordan and northwest Saudi Arabia Politically and economically, the territory was relatively stable from its annexation as a frontier province by Trajan in 105 or 106 AD.

In its pre-Roman existence, this area was inhabited by Semitic people known as Arabs who specifically came from the region between Aegyptus and Mesopotamia. These Arabs can be textually noted as early as the biblical Genesis as merchants, then through Assyrian and Babylonian accounts (King Nabonidus of Babylonia campaigned in Arabia circa 550 BC). After Babylonian rule, Arabia was subjugated by another of history's great empires, the Persian Empire (through Cyrus and Darius the Great).

Autonomous rule arrived again after Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire and disregarded Arabia. In their autonomy, the Arabs gradually developed into Nabataea (also as the Nabataean Kingdom). For the Nabataeans, they experienced prosperity due to trade routes coursing through their land and through their prized capital, Petra. This prosperity and strategic location likely played a key influential role in the later conquest by an Empire from the West.

Yet before Rome dominated Arabia Petraea, there was a history of interaction between the two 'states'. In 62 BC, M. Aemilius Scaurus (briefly the brother-in-law of Pompeius Magnus and governor of Syria following Pompey's eastern conquest) attacked Nabataea. As a result King Aretas III agreed to pay an annual monetary tribute to Rome. Even minted coins showed King Aretas III in submission to Scaurus by means of an olive branch.

By 26 BC another bold Roman attempt at dominating Arabia came in the form of an incursion into Arabia Felix. With support from Nabataean soldiers, the Romans still could not advance deeply into the region. Conquest had proven to be impractical, and other foreign wars would take precedence (Germania, Britannia and the Danubian frontier) for the next century and a half. Only under Trajan, and the full attention of Rome, was the conquest of Arabia finally proven achievable.

The Roman conquest of Nabataea was at best a dull moment in history. The Romans, through the command of the Syrian Legate A. Cornelius Palma moved two legions, Legio III Cyrenaica and VI Ferrata, to occupy Petra and Bostra (AD 106). Unlike other conquests, the resistance encountered in the action was minimal. Shortly after, the Nabataean Kingdom was annexed as Arabia (the Romans did not bother to distinguish between Arabs and Nabataeans).

The Romanization of Arabia was a major prize for the Romans since it now had a direct influence and relative control of incoming eastern trade. Another benefit of adding Nabataea to Rome's territories was that it secured the southern flank of the Roman provinces of Syria and Judaea. Nonetheless, trade and security explains Roman focus of their attention on this area.

Finally under Trajan, the Romans had complete control of all accessable and important Mediteranean trade routes. Under Roman control, Bostra replaced Petra as the capital of Roman Arabia. Meanwhile, Petra still prospered as a major trade city. Goods of all varieties, such as eastern treasures incense, frankincense, spices, and fabrics were flowing through cities like Petra and Bostra in Arabia.

Arabia was one of Rome's most unique provinces. Throughout Roman rule, Arabia Petraea remained relatively stable, and never seems to have been a serious problem for insurrection. Arabia was, for all practical purposes, Rome's eastern trade center. Its ability to create wealth substantially helped make Rome an economic power.

Roman Empire Wall Map
$59.99 incl. shipping

Find Out More

  • Featured
    Pages
  • Further
    Reading
  • Discussion
    Board
The Roman Twelve Tables of Law
The Twelve Tables

The Twelve Tables are the first attempt to make a law code, and remained the only attempt for nearly one thousand years.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Roman prisoner shackle
Roman Prisons

Typically, Roman prisons were not used to punish criminals, but instead served only to hold people awaiting trial or execution.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Ancient Rome addressing the common people (plebs)
Tribunes of the Plebs

The Tribune of the Plebes (tribunus plebis) was a magistracy established in 494 BC. It was created to provide the people with a direct representative magistrate.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Roman Emperor Augustus
The Deeds of the Divine Augustus

A copy of the acts of the Deified Augustus by which he placed the whole world under the sovereignty of the Roman people.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
The Government of the Roman Empire: A Sourcebook by Dr Barbara Levick
The Government of the Roman Empire: A Sourcebook
by Dr Barbara Levick

This book reveals how an empire that stretched from Glasgow to Aswan in Egypt could be ruled from a single city and still survive more than a thousand years.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Empire of Honour: The Art of Government in the Roman World by J. E. Lendon
Empire of Honour: The Art of Government in the Roman World
by J. E. Lendon

This second edition includes a new introduction that explores the consequences for government and the governing classes of the replacement of the Republic by the rule of emperors.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Roman Government's Response to Crisis, A.D.235-337 by Ramsay MacMullen
Roman Government's Response to Crisis, A.D.235-337
by Ramsay MacMullen

During the period, the government of the Roman empire met the most prolonged crisis of its history and survived. This text is an early attempt at an inclusive study of the origins and evolutions of this transformation in the ancient world.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Swords Against The Senate: The Rise Of The Roman Army And The Fall Of The Republic by Erik Hildinger
Swords Against The Senate: The Rise Of The Roman Army And The Fall Of The Republic
by Erik Hildinger

Swords Against the Senate describes the first three decades of Rome's century-long civil war that transformed it from a republic to an imperial autocracy, from the Rome of citizen leaders to the Rome of decadent emperor thugs.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Augustus, First Roman Emperor: Power, Propaganda and the Politics of Survival by Matthew D. H. Clark
Augustus, First Roman Emperor: Power, Propaganda and the Politics of Survival
by Matthew D. H. Clark

Rome's first emperor, Augustus, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, has probably had the most lasting effect on history of all rulers of the classical world. This book focuses on his rise to power and on the ways in which he then maintained authority throughout his reign.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
How Did the Political Structure in Rome influence U.S. Political Structure?
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DISCUSSION
When was Rome the Most Just and Fair?
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DISCUSSION
Heads of State in Ancient Rome
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DISCUSSION
Would the Republic Have Survived Had They Served a 2nd Course?
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DISCUSSION
Can Anyone Tell Me About The 1st Triumvirate?
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DISCUSSION
Did the Emperors Bring About the Need for a Split Empire?
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DISCUSSION

Categories

  • Architecture
  • Clothing
  • Economy
  • Gladiators
  • Government
  • Medicine
  • Military
  • Religion
  • Slavery



Newest Updates

Multiple pages on Roman Gods have been combined into one single page.
04 September 2020
The "Roman Colosseum" page has been re-written and expanded.
28 August 2020

Popular Search Terms

  • Germania
  • Pax Romana
  • Roman Architecture
  • Roman Gods
  • Roman Numerals
  • Roman Colosseum
  • Pompey
  • Praetorian Guard
  • Roman Legion
  • Tacitus
  • Newsletter

    UNRV.com
    United Nations of Roma Victrix (UNRV) represents the all encompassing power of Rome in the ancient world. United and Romanized, through conquest, or absorbed through its culture, Rome still stands today as a legacy to the achievement of mankind, and its failures.
    • Donate
    • Advertise
    • Privacy & Cookie Policies
    • Contact
    © Copyright 2020 UNRV.com. All rights reserved.