The titles of Petra in the sixth century: the evidence from the Petra papyri

Since their discovery in 1993, the Petra papyri have drawn the attention of both historians and archaeologists because of the amount of information they contain. The content of the papyri essentially deals with the property inheritance and transaction of a certain Theodoros son of Obodianos and his family in Petra and its vicinity, in the period between AD 537 and 593. The present paper focuses on the titles of Petra mentioned in these papyri and on their importance for the understanding of Petra in the Roman and Byzantine periods. Petra's full titles are: ‘Imperial Colony Antoniana, Distinguished, Holy (?), Mother of the Colonies, Hadriana Petra, and Metropolis of [the Province] Tertia Palaestina Salutaris’. The main components of these titles are attested elsewhere, but they appear in their entirety in the Petra papyri for the first time. The various titles of Petra as they appear in the papyri concerned clearly indicate that Petra continued to style itself as an important place in the Byzantine Empire. The picture that emerges from Petra's titles and other evidence from the papyri is that, in the sixth century Petra was still a place inhabited by relatively wealthy people, which had a major role in the economy of the Byzantine Empire.     

红玫古城佩特拉

1玫瑰城 作为世界新七大奇迹之一,红玫古城佩特拉用其沁入人心的美震撼着世人,佩特拉在希腊语中是“石头”的意思,又因周围的岩石基色为粉红色,在朝霞和夕阳的映照下尤其迷人,世人又称它为“玫瑰城”. 2故事的曲线就像被风吹过的波纹一般立体,也许纳巴泰人想谨守红玫古城的秘密,担心外面世界的纷扰会干预他们的悠闲生活,他们紧紧地守护着佩特拉的一切.而化石上的神奇花纹似乎在向人们讲述着两千多年前有关历史的故事.     

约旦佩特拉 雕刻千年时光

正翻开世界史,在人类文明史中所出现的四大文明古国,无一例外地都诞生和成长于北纬30°的区域。非洲的尼罗河孕育了古埃及文明,西亚的幼发拉底河与底格里斯河孕育了古巴比伦文明,印度的恒河孕育了古印度文明,黄河流域是华夏民族的发祥地,孕育了伟大的中华文明。但并不是所有在30°线上的国家都曾出现过独树一帜的文明与辉煌,约旦,就是这样一个存在。     

Petra,taxes and trade reconsidered in the light of the Petra Church archive

Much has been written about the Petra Papyri since their discovery in 1993. However, little has been published on their connection with taxes, and our understanding of Petra and trade has changed considerably in the last couple of decades. The papyri provide plenty of information concerning the material culture of Byzantine Petra. The purpose of this paper is to review the economic and historical information in the papyri related to taxes on the land, and to understand the economic reality in Petra and its hinterland during the Byzantine period. The papyri indicate the existence of a stable society and continuity of human settlement in Petra and its neighbouring areas such as Udhruh and Al-Sadaqa, especially after the frequent earthquakes that threatened the region between the fourth- and seventh-centuries AD. It is clear from the papyri that there is an advanced tax system in the Petra region during the sixth-century AD.     

佩特拉热风驰过玫瑰谷的那一秒

约旦。佩特拉。 我只记得热风吹过耳边，石头变幻着色彩。这两样，已让人终生难忘。 早在到达那里之前，那条峡谷的照片我已经见过千百次。     

Agriculture in sixth‐century Petra and its hinterland,the evidence from the Petra papyri

Since their discovery in 1993 the Petra papyri have drawn the attention of both historians and archaeologists because of the amount of information they contain. They deal with the property of Theodoros, son of Obodianus, and his family in Petra and its vicinity in the period between AD 537 and 593. This paper focuses on agriculture and its importance in Petra and the surrounding area in the sixth century AD, according to the information derived from the scrolls. It appears that agriculture played a major role in the economy of Petra and its hinterland at the time these documents were written. The papyri repeatedly mention agricultural lands throughout the region and in many cases specify their locations and toponyms. Some of the latter are significantly still in use. There is also information about springs, some of which are still active and contribute to local agriculture. Some papyri even contain information about the type of plants grown in the area. Finally, the authors present the current state of agriculture at selected places and compare it with the state of agriculture in the sixth century AD in the study area.     

佩特拉风沙中的玫瑰古城

曙光再现失落之城 佩特拉有时候也被称作“失落之城”,它的历史可以追溯到铁器时代.公元前6世纪,阿拉伯游牧民族纳巴泰人在此定居,勤劳的纳巴泰人在陡峭岩壁上雕凿出这独特浩瀚的城市,并使其成为运送丝绸、香料与其他贸易路线的重要枢纽,连贯中国、印度和阿拉伯南部以及埃及、叙利亚、希腊和罗马.如今在佩特拉见到的大部分遗址都是纳巴泰人建造的.纳巴泰人选择佩特拉主要有以下理由：第一,它易守难攻,唯一的入口是狭窄的山峡,敌方无法调集大军攻城,可说是一夫当关,万夫莫开;第二,它资源丰富,环抱城市的高地平原上森林繁茂,木材丰富,牧草肥沃,利于游牧;第三,它水源充足,一股终年不断的喷泉为它提供了可靠的水源.     

The Identity of the Nabataean 'Painted House' Complex at Baidha,North-West Petra

Abstract

An attempt is made to shed light on the identity of the Nabataean 'Painted House' from an understanding of its plan, the content of the painting and the function of the associated features, mainly the water installations. This study reveals new mythological figures unnoticed by previous scholars. These include additional cupids and, most importantly, Isis. The water installations of the monument, its functions and meaning, the content of the painting combined with comparative studies of Mediterranean and Near Eastern evidence all suggest that this monument was an Isiac (Isis) sanctuary devoted to her as a goddess of improved quality of life, good crops, good herds, and love.     

Sheltering an archaeological structure in Petra A case-study of criteria,concepts, and implementation

Abstract

In 1993 an architectural competition for the construction of a shelter over a Byzantine church excavated in Petra between 1991 and 1992 was held by the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan. While a prize was awarded, none of the concepts presented were translated into a construction project. A contract was instead awarded to architect Robert Shutler, who worked in close cooperation with Jordanian and international archaeologists and heritage managers, and a reversible space-frame shelter was built. This paper examines the issue of defining criteria for shelter construction, and stresses the need for cooperation among stakeholders and specialists as part of the conservation process from the decision to shelter to the implementation of the project.