Who such [nabatei] and from where they did arrive to today's Jordan earth? Historians cannot give precise answer to this question. It is known only that [nabatei] constructed the surprising and mysterious city of Peter. City in the cliffs, where they dwelled and corpses, and living. Forgotten in the sands city- spectre, for a period of centuries which outgrew by legends and finally almost randomly found in the beginning of the 19th Century…
Legends about that forgotten among the cliffs and the sands ancient [nabateyskom] city disturbed the consciousness of European scientists and travellers even from the times of crusaders. These earth into the Middle Ages controlled fierce [beduinskie] tribes, and therefore their inaccessibility even more greatly preheated imagination. Moving away in the time, Peter more and more greatly it found the spectral features of Near Eastern [Eldorado], until finally it is almost randomly discovered by Swiss researcher Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. In the hope of finding the lost city it left together with the caravan from Damascus to Cairo. At the end August 1812. traveller proved to be not far from the assumed location Of [petry]. Since he wonderfully spoke in Arabic, it was dressed as nomad, and generally issued itself for the Muslim of Ibrahim [ibn] To [abdallu], to it did not comprise the special labor to entreat local Arabs to lead it to the grave of brother [Moiseya], the prophet of Aaron, buried, on the legend, at apex of one of the mountains allegedly for [prineseniya] of victim.
Surprisingly Burckhardt, a Bedouin of his [povel] into the mountains. From a distance they seemed by completely insurmountable, but with the approach to them in one of the cliffs suddenly was revealed narrow passage into the deep gorge - Sicas. After twenty minute walk on the bottom of twisting canyon to the look of the amazed Swiss were opened the immense ruins of the dead city, in which it identified to Peter - lost capital of [nabateev]. From this discovery it arrived into such enthusiasm, which only was it did not give out itself. But the matter was made, Burckhardt proved to be by the first European in the last six hundred years, who saw this miracle of light.
On [nabateyakh] today known a little. Themselves they left about themselves no written evidence. Everything that we know about them - this of the histories, described by out-of-town travellers many hundreds years ago, or meager data of archaelogical excavations. By the way, today in Peter are in detail investigated only about fifteen percent of territory. It is so that unknown, what other discoveries wait us in the future. Although hardly these excavations shed light, let us say, to the origin of [nabateev]. They consider some their simple nomads, who settled in this convenient place exclusively because of its advantageous geographical arrangement. A long time ago here were passed the main caravan routes, which connected Europe, Asia and Africa. Others do not agree with this, indicating too strong the extensive knowledge of [nabateev] in the region of agriculture and irrigation. This, in general, was not actually characteristic to nomads. Some call Assyria, north of Arabian peninsula or even Yemen their original homeland. Theories much, but to understand, which of them is accurate, is complicated. One way or another, it is accurately known that the first lord Of the [nabateyskogo] reign was Of [areta] of the I, that ascended the throne in 169. B.C.
Certainly, the history of state in the cliffs of Peter, whose name indicates in the Greek “cliff”, it began not from this point on. It is reliably known that in 312. B.C. it already existed. Greek sources speak about this. Specifically, in this year Greek army [Antigonom] headed by completed unsuccessful march on to Peter. The elevation of state, which reached its apogee by 106, most likely, from this point on, and began ; when died last [nabateyskiy] ruler [Rabbel] OF THE II. After using this moment, Roman empire easily joined too rich and satisfactory a reign. Peter became the part of the Roman province Arabia. Already 300 years continued its prosperity. But the imperceptible extinction of city began precisely then. The fact is that [nabatei] were of their kind customs officers or frontier-guards. They collected tribute from those passed by caravans. Being occupied by this by centuries, they saved their fairytale riches, glory about which did not give rest to many generations of hunters. Exactly at this time began the elevation of another pearl of the Near East - typefaces. Caravans send by different ways, and to the inhabitants Of [petry] it remained only to regret about the lost sublimity and the might.
Peter it had time to stay and by the part of Byzantium, until two terrible earthquakes into 363 and 747 yr. finally finish it. The city was already dead in the times of the supremacy of Arabs and crusades. And only the searches for the treasures, which had to be hidden somewhere here, continued to beckon the here most different adventurers. From that time on the main symbol Of [petry] - to treasury remained numerous tracks from the bullets. Bedouins considered that if we fall into the necessary place, then on them will be spilled gold rain. Alas, it was not spilled, although who knows perhaps they simply they shot not there, where it is must. It is completely possible that the fantastic [nabateyskie] treasures still lie somewhere at these pink ruins. Indeed no one saw never so that values would export from the city. Although, on the truth speaking, in 300 years it was possible to eat any, even innumerable, riches.
It is not surprising that precisely treasury Steven Spielberg it made a decoration to the history about the searches for sacred [graalya]. True, in the film about the adventures of Indiana Jones this fantastic facade only the door, behind which are hidden the unpredictable labyrinths. Unfortunately, this is not so. The facades of all tombs were cut in the cliffs, and therefore after them only the small funeral accomodations, in which [nabatei] buried tsars or the highest to know. Represent, what it had to be the craftsmanship of architects, in order accurately to calculate and to cut out such cyclopean monolithic epitaphs in the piece of one-piece stone.
Because of the abundance of tombs in the 19th Century Burckhardt's followers even baptized to Peter gigantic [nekropolem]. This not entirely thus. In spite of the abundance of graves in the better time in the city lived at least 20 000 people. It is simple the houses, located in the plain, they were not preserved to the present. Then us reached buildings of Roman times, which indicate, that there is no time the life in Peter of beater by key. This and central paved street, column, triumphal arch, the ruin of some other construction. Splendid theater to three thousand people to this number does not relate, since it was elevated long before the arrival of Romans and, in all likelihood, it was used by [nabateyami] for ritual religious purposes. To say accurately that occurred on the scene this of theater, is impossible. As we already spoke, written evidence it did not remain, to so that there remains only build the most varied speculations. For the same reason one ought not to be surprised at some mysterious names in Peter: The temple of winged lions, the palace of the daughter of pharaoh, [Dzhinnovy] of chunk, the same treasury of pharaoh. They all were devised considerably later, when from [nabateev] it did not remain and track. Those, who gave similar names, it was guided in this case not by reliable sources, but by its own very subjective impressions. For example, Bedouins sincerely believed that Peter it was built by ancient-Egyptian pharaohs.
Today we know that the Egyptians had to the building of this fantastic city of no relation. This another, not less mysterious people, which reached unattainable architectural heights, made, [nabatei]. Without the exaggeration, it is possible to say that better reminding, which they left about themselves to descendants and which speaks about them better than any chronicles, this is the blown by winds pink rock masterpiece, hidden by them among the unapproachable mountains.
