Petra: Splendors of the Nabataean Civilization

Petra: Splendors of the Nabataean Civilization (2009)

This book about the ancient city of Petra is beautiful and informative, but there are some minor flaws here and there. It is written by Francesca Arianna Ossorio, an Italian archaeologist, who works with the University of Milan. She is also a member of the Italian-Syrian mission that works at Palmyra (Tadmor) in Syria.

The preface is written by Barbara A. Porter, an archaeologist from the United States, who is the director of the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman, Jordan.

In her preface, Porter says:

“Petra in southern Jordan has fascinated foreign visitors for almost two hundred years. In this book text and image reveal the site in a poetic and comprehensive fashion.”

I agree with her.

The main text is divided into five chapters:

# 1: Nabatean civilisation from its origins to the Roman conquest
# 2: The history of the re-discovery of Petra
# 3: Petra, capital of the Nabataeans
# 4: Masterpieces of rock-cut architecture
# 5: Hegra and the caravan cities of the Nabateans

The book concludes with a bibliography, an index and a list of photo credits.

There is a chronological table on page 21. There are three maps: on page 20, the Nabataean world, i.e. modern Jordan and the neighbouring states; on pages 106-107, all of Petra; and on pages 120-121, the city centre.

The book is fully illustrated with large pictures of high quality. This is, after all, a picture book from White Star Books, like Splendors of Ancient Persia by Henri Stierlin, and Ancient Egyptian Queens by Rosanna Pirelli, to mention just two examples.

Almost all illustrations are in colour, except for a few old photos which are in black and white. Some illustrations are drawings – also in colour – made by some of the early travellers who visited the place in the 19th century after the re-discovery of the city, such as David Roberts (1796-1864).

This is not a guidebook you want to carry with you when you go to Jordan. It is far too big and far too heavy. Read and study this book in your home before (and after) a visit to the place.

The main topic is Petra, but there is also a chapter about the Nabataean civilization. In addition, there is a chapter about the ancient city of Hegra (in present-day Saudi Arabia) and other caravan cities. This is very a good idea. In this way, the ancient city of Petra is placed in a cultural, geographical and historical context.

Ossorio presents all the major monuments, using both text and illustrations. The information that she presents appears to be correct. I have found only two factual errors.

# 1: The caption on page 43 reads: “This relief in calcite from the 25th century BC was found in Yemen. It represents the head of an onyx, a large antelope…” The caption says the relief is in the British Museum. This is true. But the date is wrong. According to the British Museum, it is from the first century BC or the first century AD.

# 2: The caption on page 257 reads: “… there is this Cupid with sword…” In fact, there is no sword. The Cupid in the picture has a bow and an arrow, as explained in the main text on page 255.

But apart from the factual errors there are other problems. The first problem concerns the English translation. Ossorio’s Italian manuscript has been translated into English, but the translator, Mark Mahan, seems to have some problems with the language, especially the grammar. If there were just one or two mistakes, I would not make an issue of it. But there are more than ten. Most of them are found in the captions:

Page 12 (caption) – “Petra most famous symbol,” should be: Petra’s most famous symbol

Page 17 – “these sources data,” should be: these sources date

Page 17 (caption) – “are,” should be: is

Page 21 (chronology for the year AD 551) - “struck,” should be: strikes (all the other verbs in this chart are in the present simple; this one should follow the pattern; the present simple is used for the year AD 363)

Page 38 – “Marcus Emilius Scaurus,” should be: Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (his name is also misspelled in the index, on page 300, but spelled correctly in the chronology, on page 21)

Page 41 – “an campaign,” should be: a campaign

Page 64 (caption) – “… better reserved than it is today,” should be: better preserved than it is today

Page 102 (caption) – “which,” this word should be deleted

Page 119 – “are located,” these words should be deleted

Page 200 (caption) – “above the door of the opening on the left there and oculus has been cut,” should be: above the opening on the left an oculus has been cut

Page 226 (caption) – “increase,” should be: increases

The second problem concerns the question of water management. How could the Nabataeans sustain a thriving city in the middle of the desert?

The answer is they were very efficient with regard to water management. Ossorio mentions this fact several times in the chapters about Petra (pages 41, 64, 98, 108, 158, 170, and 172). It is also mentioned in the chapter about Hegra and the caravan cities (pages 269, 272, and 275).

But even though this very important fact is mentioned several times, it is never explained in any detail. And even though there are hundreds of illustrations, there is not a single picture to illustrate this point.

[For more information, see the following article which is available online: Charles R. Ortloff, “The Water Supply and Distribution Systems of the Nabatean City of Petra,” Cambridge Archaeological Journal, vol. 15, # 1, 2005, pp. 93-109.]

White Star has published a beautiful and informative book. I would like to give it five stars. But the poor English grammar is a problem, and so is the failure to explain the details of the water management. Therefore I can only give it four stars.

*****

Francesca Arianna Ossorio

Petra: Splendors of the Nabataean Civilization

White Star Books 2009

*****