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Archaeological evidence indicates Paleolithic and Neolithic
occupation  in the  Petra region  (10.000 years old villages 
at Beidha and Basta).  Prior to the prosperity of Petra , the
area was dominated by the Edomites until 6th century BC,
when they were ousted  by  the Nabateans.  Petra  city is
located inside the  canyon  with a single entrance through
a  long  and  narrow  passage , often  called  Siq.  Around 
300 BC  the  Nabateans carved  a city out  of the rose-red 
rock, and built an  empire  based on advanced  agricultural
techniques and control of the area’s strategic trade routes.
They controlled the  spice  trade  from  south Arabia to the
Mediterranean  Sea  as  well  as  the Silk trade from China.
In  106 AD ,  when  Trojan  finally  annexed  the  Nabatean 
Kingdom  into  the Roman province of Arabia , Petra was a
large , thriving and  beautiful  city.  The  new Roman rulers
redesigned Petra, adding new buildings including the rock-
carved Roman Theater seating 3000 in the center of the city, baths and the Colonnaded street. 

Other important monuments of the Petra:
- The Treasury (Khazneh), which lay at the entrance  of  the  city  and  is  one of the best preserved
   monuments.
- The Palace Tombs, named after its supposed resemblance to a Roman Palace.
- The Royal Tombs, a  row of  six carved  monuments  from  the  1st to 5th century AD and shows a 
   stronger classical influence.
- The Monastery (Ed Deir) , an  enormous  temple  situated  on  a  hillside  at the end of an hour’s hike.
- The High Place of Sacrifice  still  shows  the  Altar  and  Drains  for  the blood  of sacrificed animals. 
   It was part of the main religious center of the ancient Nabateans.

In the 4th century AD Petra suffered from an earthquake. The city then declined in the late Byzantine and early Umayyad Periods.