Petra originally known to its inhabitants in as Raqmu or Raqēmō is a historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Petra lies around Jabal Al-Madbah in a basin surrounded by mountains which form the eastern flank of the Arabah valley that runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.[5] The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC,[6] and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of their kingdom, as early as the 4th century BC.[7] However, archaeological work has only discovered evidence of Nabataean presence dating back to the second century BC,[8] by which time Petra had become their capital.[6] The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub.[6][9]