History of the Romans in Arabia in the context of "Nabataean Kingdom"

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⭐ Core Definition: History of the Romans in Arabia

The influence of ancient Rome in the Arabian Peninsula took root through extensive commerce between Arabs and Romans, who frequently traded with each other on the incense route and the spice route. The Romans knew of Arabia in three roughly divided regions: Arabia Petraea (lit.'Rocky Arabia'), Arabia Deserta (lit.'Deserted Arabia'), and Arabia Felix (lit.'Fertile Arabia'). Collectively, they were a natural stop on the Roman trade route with India, especially by way of the Red Sea. While the Roman Republic had held territory in the Levant, it was not until the time of the Roman Empire that parts of Arabia proper came under Roman rule.

Arabia Petraea was a Roman province that was established after the Roman conquest of the Nabataean Kingdom in 106, consisting of the Sinai Peninsula and parts of the Southern Levant. Arabia Deserta referred to the uncontrolled and sparsely populated interior of the Arabian Peninsula, namely the vast Arabian Desert, which was inhabited by various Arab tribes. Arabia Felix, referring to South Arabia, was home to many independent Arab kingdoms, which variously traded with or fought wars against the Romans.

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History of the Romans in Arabia in the context of Pre-Islamic Arabia

The era of pre-Islamic Arabia encompasses human history in all parts of the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam. During the prehistoric period, humans first migrate and settle into the peninsula. In the early first millennium BC, writing and recorded history are introduced into the Peninsula, along with the rise of the first kingdoms in the south. In the early seventh century, the pre-Islamic period quickly comes to a close, from the beginning of Muhammad's preachings of Islam, to his establishment of the first Islamic state in 622 in Medina, and the subsequent conquest and political unification of the peninsula shortly after Muhammad's death, in the 630s. Some strands of Islamic tradition interpret the pre-Islamic period as a barbaric, morally un-enlightened period known as the "Jahiliyyah" (Arabic: جَاهِلِيَّة), but historians have not adopted this convention.

Pre-Islamic Arabia's demographics included both nomadic and settled populations, the latter of which eventually developed into distinctive civilizations. Eastern Arabia was home to the region's earliest civilizations, such as Dilmun, which is attested as a prominent trade partner of Mesopotamia during the Bronze Age; and its later pre-Islamic history is marked by the reign of consecutive Iranian empires, including those of the Parthians and the Sasanians. From the early 1st millennium BCE onward, South Arabia became home to a number of kingdoms, such as Sheba and Ma'in; while part of North Arabia became home to the Nabataean Kingdom, which was conquered and annexed by the Roman Empire in 106, thereafter being known as Arabia Petraea and initiating the centuries-long Roman period in Arabia.

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