Important sources of water formed the boundary between these two
geological regions. These springs were used by human settlements established
in the canyon area, including one of the earliest agricultural villages
in the world, Beidha, as well as, the Nabataean caravan trading city
of Petra, Roman fortifications, and Crusader castles.
The Nabataeans:
Once there was a remarkable people who emerged from obscurity
in the Arabian Desert to build a brilliant, sophisticated civilization
based on agriculture and commerce. The people were Nabataeans. Around
580 b.c. scattered groups of these Bedouin herdsmen were beginning to
filter over to the borders of Edom. It was in the valley beside the
Wadi Musa (River) that the Nabataeans set up their semi-nomadic tent
encampment. This was the beginning of the city which they named "Rekmu",
the same city which became known to the Greeks and Romans as "Petra".
Strabo's Geography describes Petra:
The capital of the Nabataeans is called Petra. It is situated
on a spot which is surrounded and fortified by a smooth and level rock,
which externally is abrupt and precipitous, but within there are abundant
springs of water both for domestic purposes and for watering gardens.
Beyond the city-enclosure, the country is for the most part a desert.
The Greeks, Romans, and Muslims:
Alexander the Great brought Hellenism to the Middle East and
the inhabitants of the region enthusiastically adopted it so that it
came to affect all ways of life. Hellenism was reflected in clothing,
recreation, literature, coinage, names and language. In Nabataea's case,
however, pervasive Greek influences were modified by an enduring orientalism.
For instance, sculptural images of Nabataean deities, which seem at
first glance to resemble Greek examples, are revealed, upon closer examination,
to have essentially Eastern characteristics. The traditional Semitic
practice employing an abstract representation of the deity prevailed.
At the height of its power, Nabataea stretched from Damascus
southward to northern Arabia. It was bordered on the west by the Roman-held
lands (Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Peraea and the Decapolis) and by Egypt.
Nabataea's eastern border, being the desert, was undefined but could
be said to stretch to the borders of Parthia. Thanks to the extraordinary
Nabataean genius for water management, their agriculture flourished in
the desert. Their trading empire, dealing in luxury goods, linked the Mediterranean
world with China, India, Parthia and Arabia.
In 106 a.d. Nabataea was peacefully absorbed into the Roman
Empire upon the death of its last King, Rabbel II. Nevertheless, Nabataeans
continued as a distinct people within the Empire and even enjoyed a period
of economic prosperity in the Byzantine era. Then they vanished in
the rising tide of Islamic conquest in 636 a.d.
(Teacher, make a page break here and then delete these instructions.)
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
1. How long have people been living in the Petra region?
________________________________________________________________________
2. Name two important economic activities which were practiced
in ancient Petra.
________________________________________________________________________
3. Name the boundaries of the trading network that ancient
Petra belonged to.
________________________________________________________________________
4. What happened to the forests that covered the highland
areas near Petra?
________________________________________________________________________
5. What is Beidha famous for?
________________________________________________________________________
6. Where did the Nabataeans originally come from?
________________________________________________________________________
7. When did the first Nabataeans start arriving in the Petra
region?
________________________________________________________________________
8. When the first Nabataeans arrived in the Wadi Musa valley,
what did they live in?
________________________________________________________________________
9. What was “Rekmu”?
________________________________________________________________________
10. According to Strabo, what did the city of Petra have a
lot of?
________________________________________________________________________
11. According to Strabo, what surrounded the city of Petra?
________________________________________________________________________
12. Who brought Hellenism to the Middle East?
________________________________________________________________________
13. How did the people in Petra react to Hellenism?
________________________________________________________________________
14. During the height of the Nabataean Empire, which city
was at its northern border?
________________________________________________________________________
15. Which two empires controlled the area west of Nabataea?
________________________________________________________________________
16. Name five lands that were west of Nabataea?
________________________________________________________________________
17. What one word describes the eastern border of Nabataea?
_ _______________________________________________________________________
18. Which empire was far to the east of Nabataea?
________________________________________________________________________
19. What was the key to Nabataean agriculture?
________________________________________________________________________
20. According to the reading passage, what was brought by
the caravans that passed through Nabataea?
________________________________________________________________________
21. How far east did the caravans go?
________________________________________________________________________
22. How far west did the caravans go?
________________________________________________________________________
23. Who was the last king of independent Nabataea?
________________________________________________________________________
24. What happened to the Nabataean Empire when the last king
died?
________________________________________________________________________
25. Did the Nabataeans disappear as a people during the Roman
period?
________________________________________________________________________
26. What was the economic situation of Nabataea during the
Byzantine era?
________________________________________________________________________
27. What finally caused the Nabataeans to disappear?
________________________________________________________________________
READ AND THINK:
1. Over the years, the people of Petra cut down all the trees
in the region. Do you
think that they knew that they were creating a desert in that
area? _______________
2. Are there large forests near your home? _______________
3. What do people in your country use wood for?
________________________________________________________________________
4. What materials do people in your country use to build houses
and buildings?
________________________________________________________________________
5. What materials do people in your country use for heating?
________________________________________________________________________
6. Is there a connection between deforestation (cutting down
forests) and deserts? Why might they be connected?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. Jungles and forests have been called “the lungs of the
world”. What does this mean?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. Thinking about the problems of losing natural resources,
like forests, is very new in the world. Why do you think people think
about ecology now, but didn’t think about ecology 150 years ago?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
(Teacher, make a page break here and then delete these
instructions.)
REVIEW OF THE PASSIVE VOICE
In part one of this unit about Petra, we learned about the
PASSIVE VOICE in English. It looks like this:
(to be) Past Participle
Look back at the text in part two and find at least five examples
of the PASSIVE VOICE. Please copy the five sentences:
1. _______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
PAST PARTICIPLES
Although there are many examples of the PASSIVE VOICE in this
part of the unit, there is only one example of an irregular PAST PARTICIPLE.
All the rest are regular.
Please fill in the chart with the base form of the verb and
the past tense of the verb. A good dictionary will help you do this
exercise.
|
|
BASE FORM:
|
PAST TENSE:
|
PAST PARTICIPLE:
|
|
|
known
|
(Teacher, make a page break here and then delete these
instructions.)
DICTIONARY WORK - TRANSLATION
Use your dictionary, if you need, to write the meaning of
these words in your native language:
absorb
|
|
include
|
|
abundant
|
|
literature
|
|
adopt
|
|
luxury
|
|
b.c.
|
|
metallurgy
|
|
between
|
|
network
|
|
boundary
|
|
period
|
|
capital
|
|
prevail
|
|
caravan
|
|
prosperity
|
|
castle
|
|
purpose
|
|
characteristics
|
|
resemble
|
|
conquest
|
|
reveal
|
|
death
|
|
sandstone
|
|
deity
|
|
scatter
|
|
describe
|
|
site
|
|
emerge
|
|
smooth
|
|
encampment
|
|
steppe
|
|
enclosure
|
|
surround
|
|
endure
|
|
tent
|
|
enthusiastically
|
|
territory
|
|
era
|
|
undefined
|
|
examination
|
|
valley
|
|
extraordinary
|
|
vanish
|
|
flourish
|
|
village
|
|
forge
|
|
west
|
|
garden
|
|
within
|
|
genius
|
|
world
|
|
(Teacher, make a page break here and then delete
these instructions.)
PARTS OF SPEECH
Please fill in this chart with the other forms of the words,
according to their PARTS OF SPEECH.
|
|
NOUN
|
VERB
|
ADJECTIVE
|
ADVERB
|
agriculture
|
--
|
|
|
|
|
brilliant
|
|
|
build
|
|
|
center
|
|
|
|
civilization
|
|
|
--
|
commerce
|
--
|
|
|
|
|
continued
|
--
|
|
--
|
cultural
|
|
development
|
|
|
|
|
|
different
|
|
|
--
|
distinct
|
|
--
|
|
domestic
|
|
|
--
|
economic
|
|
empire
|
--
|
|
|
|
employ
|
|
--
|
|
--
|
|
essentially
|
|
establish
|
|
--
|
example
|
|
|
--
|
--
|
|
|
externally
|
filter
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
formed
|
--
|
fortifications
|
|
|
--
|
geography
|
--
|
|
|
|
--
|
geological
|
|
|
--
|
great
|
|
history
|
--
|
|
|
|
--
|
human
|
|
influence
|
|
|
|
|
inhabitant
|
|
--
|
life
|
|
|
--
|
management
|
|
|
|
|
|
modified
|
--
|
obscurity
|
|
|
|
|
occupy
|
|
--
|
|
|
|
peacefully
|
power
|
--
|
|
|
recreation
|
|
|
--
|
|
reflect
|
|
|
region
|
--
|
|
|
|
|
remarkable
|
|
representation
|
|
|
|
|
|
sculptural
|
|
settlement
|
|
|
--
|
|
--
|
traditional
|
|
PLACES AND PEOPLE
Please match the following places and people with the definitions:
|
|
People:
|
|
Places:
|
A
|
Bedouins originally came from here.
|
___
|
Damascus
|
B
|
Many Romans lived here, east and south of the Sea
of Galilee.
|
___
|
Egypt
|
C
|
More people live here than any other country.
|
___
|
India
|
D
|
The Crusaders came from this continent.
|
___
|
Arabia
|
E
|
Arabs conquered this great city from the Byzantines.
|
___
|
Decapolis
|
F
|
A great ancient empire in the Eastern Mediterranean.
|
___
|
China
|
G
|
The people who developed Hellenism lived here.
|
___
|
Western Europe
|
H
|
European traders wanted to get there.
|
___
|
Greece
|
