<P> The trading business gained the Nabataeans considerable revenue, and Petra became the focus of their wealth . The earliest recorded historical reference to the city was when an envious Greek dynasty attempted to ransack the city in 312 BC . The Nabataeans were, unlike their enemies, accustomed to living in the barren deserts, and were able to repel attacks by utilizing the area's mountainous terrain . They were particularly skillful in harvesting rainwater, agriculture and stone carving . The Kingdom's capital continued to flourish until the 1st century AD when its famous Al - Khazneh facade was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants . </P> <P> Encroaching troops of the Roman Empire in 106 AD forced the Nabataeans to surrender . The Romans annexed and renamed the Kingdom to Arabia Petraea . Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after a 363 earthquake destroyed many structures . The Byzantine Era witnessed the construction of several Christian churches . By 700, the city became an abandoned place where only a handful of nomads grazed goats . It remained unknown to Europeans until it was rediscovered in 1812 by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, who had read the historical descriptions of Petra and concluded that "there is no other ruin between the extremities of the Dead sea and Red sea, of sufficient importance to answer to that city". </P> <P> The city is famous for its rock - cut architecture and water conduit system . Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved . It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 . UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most - visited tourist attraction . Tourist numbers peaked at 1 million in 2010, the following period witnessed a slump due to regional instability . However, tourist numbers have picked up recently, and around 600,000 tourists visited the site in 2017 . </P> <P> Pliny the Elder and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Tadeanos and the center of their caravan trade . Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf . </P>

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