"The Nabataean Arabs, one of the most gifted peoples of the ancient world, are today known only for their hauntingly beautiful rock-carved capital - Petra. Here, in the wild and grand landscapes of southern Jordan, they created some of the most prodigious works of man in the vast monuments which they chiselled there from the russet sandstone mountains.

The very scale of their achievement is breathtaking but beyond mere scale is their creative vision, for they transformed the living rock of Petra into an enduring architectural masterpiece.".

"This illustrated volume recounts the story of a remarkable but lost civilization and the capacity of its people to adapt and diversify their skills as necessity demanded. It tells of their nomadic origins, the development of their multifaceted culture, their relations with their now more famous neighbours and the demise of their kings and kingdom. It looks at their continued, if unrecognized, survival as Christians and farmers under the Byzantine Empire and into the early years of Islam."--BOOK JACKET.