Petra (al-Batraʾ)
البتراء
Capital of the Nabataeans — the descendants of Nabit ibn Ismail in the traditional account — in northern Hijaz, whose strong kingdom dominated the fringes until the Romans broke it.
At a glance
- Era
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Petra: the Nabataeans' capital in the northern Hijaz; a strong power none could rival until the Romans undid it.
The place
The Nabataeans' civilisation — sons of Nabat ibn Isma'il in the genealogists' presentation — flourished in the northern Hijaz; they formed a strong government to which those at its fringes submitted, and made Petra their capital; none could rival them until the Romans came and undid them 1.
Sayyid Sulayman al-Nadwi inclined to the view that the kings of the Ghassanid house and the Ansar of the Aws and Khazraj were of Nabat ibn Isma'il's house and their remnants in those lands 1.
For young visitors
Petra is an ancient city carved in rock; it was the capital of a strong people called the Nabataeans.
Sources
- Tarikh Ard al-Quran — Sulayman al-Nadwi
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Petra (al-Batraʾ)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/petra/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.