Who built this city and when?
Petra has been abandoned for hundreds of years, but thousands of years ago, it was a fully functioning city. It was a huge trade center located right on the intersection of paths. Silk, spices, and herbs were transported from India to Arabia, Africa, Egypt, and back. It allowed local people to become very rich.
It’s not entirely clear when this city was built, but we know that Petra was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom. According to some estimations, in its best years, around 20,000 people lived in Petra.