Petra | The Nabataean Language

The Nabataeans spoke a dialect of Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ, and wrote with a distinctive Nabataean calligraphy, the fine brush strokes perhaps influenced by the soft sandstone of Petra often written.

Unfortunately, although various rock-carved inscriptions (usually marking the passage of a shepherd or invoking a God) found, not only in Petra but also throughout the Nabataean Kingdom, so far no archives discovered. Such archives must have existed, as both the important trading and building activities of the Nabataeans would have wanted them.

Petra Guide: Before the Nabataeans | Beidha | The Edomites | The Nabataeans | Farming | Caravan City | The Nabataean Language | Religion | Houses | Pottery | Prosperity and Decline | Christianity and After | Aaron's Tomb Petra |Tourist Information