Nabatean temple at Dhat Ras, Jordan
Dr. Terry Eddinger
The Nabateans were a group of Arab people who are known for their involvement in trade from the Far East and the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean area through the city of Gaza. They moved into the region south and east of the Dead Sea sometime around 400 BC. Their presence grew to its heyday in the first centuries BC and AD when they controlled much of the Transjordan up to Damascus. At that time, they began to settle down into an agricultural society.
They are best known for constructing Petra.