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Nabatean Kingdom
(898 words)

[German Version]

The first historical witness to the Nabateans in 311 bce (Diodorus Siculus Geographia 2.48f.; 19.94–100) describes them as a nomadic tribe responsible for trade along the Frankincense Road from Dedan in northern Arabia to Gaza. Their origin remains obscure (see Knauf). In the late 3rd century at the earliest, a process began that turned major trading posts into permanent tent settlements, with domestic architecture beginning in the early Roman period (Petra). Possibly it is wrong to speak of a Nabatean kingdom until the late 2nd century bce, when some of the Nabate…

Cite this page
Wenning, Robert, “Nabatean Kingdom”, in: Religion Past and Present. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_SIM_024000>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004146662, 2006-2013



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