Editing Petra (section)

== Religious importance ==
[[file:Karta Petra.PNG|thumb|upright=1.55|Map of Petra]]
{{further|Nabataean religion}}

[[Pliny the Elder]] and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the [[Nabataean Kingdom]] and the centre of their [[camel train|caravan]] trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a [[perennial stream]], Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to [[Gaza City|Gaza]] in the west, to [[Bosra]] and [[Damascus]] in the north, to [[Aqaba]] and Leuce Come on the [[Red Sea]], and across the desert to the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name=EB1911/>
[[File:Great Temple of Petra 02.jpg|thumb|The [[Great Temple (Petra)|Great Temple]] of Petra]]

The Nabataeans worshipped [[Arab mythology|Arab gods]] and [[goddess]]es during the [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic]] era as well as a few of their [[Apotheosis|deified]] kings. One, [[Obodas I]], was deified after his death in 85 BC. [[Dushara]] was the primary male god accompanied by his three female deities: [[Al-Uzza|Al-‘Uzzā]], [[Allat]] and [[Manāt]]. Many statues carved in the rock depict these gods and goddesses. New evidence indicates that broader [[Edom]]ite, and Nabataean theology had strong links to Earth-Sun relationships, often manifested in the orientation of prominent Petra structures to equinox and solstice sunrises and sunsets.<ref>Paradise T.R. & Angel C.C. 2015, [http://www.esri.com/esri-news/arcuser/winter-2015/nabataean-architecture-and-the-sun Nabatean Architecture and the Sun, ArcUser (Winter)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402172511/http://www.esri.com/esri-news/arcuser/winter-2015/nabataean-architecture-and-the-sun |date=2015-04-02 }}.</ref>

A [[stele]] dedicated to Qos-Allah 'Qos is Allah' or 'Qos the god', by Qosmilk (''melech'': king) is found at Petra (Glueck 516). Qos is identifiable with Kaush (Qaush) the God of the older Edomites. The stele is horned and the seal from the Edomite Tawilan near Petra identified with Kaush displays a [[star and crescent]] (Browning 28), both consistent with a moon deity. It is conceivable that the latter could have resulted from trade with [[Harran]] (Bartlett 194). There is continuing debate about the nature of Qos (''qaus'': bow) who has been identified both with a hunting bow (hunting god) and a rainbow (weather god) although the crescent above the stele is also a bow.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

Nabataean inscriptions in Sinai and other places display widespread references to names including Allah, El and Allat (god and goddess), with regional references to al-Uzza, [[Baal]] and Manutu (Manat) (Negev 11). Allat is also found in Sinai in South Arabian language. Allah occurs particularly as Garm-'allahi: "god decided" (Greek Garamelos) and Aush-allahi: "gods covenant" (Greek Ausallos). We find both Shalm-lahi "Allah is peace" and Shalm-allat, "the peace of the goddess". We also find Amat-allahi "she-servant of god" and Halaf-llahi "the successor of Allah".<ref>Negev 11</ref>

Recently, Petra has been put forward as the original direction of Muslim prayer, the [[Qibla]], by some that the earliest mosques faced Petra, not [[Jerusalem]] or [[Mecca]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gibson |first1=Dan |title=Early Islamic Qiblas: A survey of mosques built between 1AH/622 C.E. and 263 AH/876 C.E. |isbn=978-1927581223|year=2017 |publisher=Independent Scholars Press }}</ref> This view is also shared by [[Abdullah Hashem]], the self-proclaimed [[Qa'im Al Muhammad|Qa'im]] of the [[Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light]].<ref name="AhmadiIntro">{{cite journal |last=Introvigne |first=Massimo |last2=Kotkowska |first2=Karolina Maria |title=The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light: An Introduction |journal=The Journal of CESNUR |volume=8 |issue=3 |date=2024-05-10 |issn=2532-2990 |doi=10.26338/tjoc.2024.8.3.2 |pages=33–51}}</ref> However, others have challenged the notion of comparing modern readings of Qiblah directions to early mosques’ Qiblahs as they claim early Muslims could not accurately calculate the direction of the Qiblah to Mecca and so the apparent pinpointing of Petra by some early mosques may well be coincidental.<ref>{{cite book |last1=King |first1=David A. |title=The Petra Fallacy |url=https://www.academia.edu/37957366 |access-date=2019-09-15 |archive-date=2020-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208122256/https://www.academia.edu/37957366/KING_2018_The_Petra_fallacy_Early_mosques_do_face_the_Sacred_Kaaba_in_Mecca_but_Dan_Gibson_doesnt_know_how |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[file:The Monastery, Petra, Jordan8.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ad Deir]] ("The Monastery")]]

[[Ad Deir|The Monastery]], Petra's largest monument, dates from the 1st century BC. It was dedicated to Obodas I and is believed to be the symposium of Obodas the god. This information is inscribed on the ruins of the Monastery (the name is the translation of the Arabic [[Ad Deir]]).{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

The [[Temple of the Winged Lions]] is a large temple complex dated to the reign of King [[Aretas IV Philopatris|Aretas IV]] (9 BC–40 AD). The temple is located in Petra's so-called Sacred Quarter, an area situated at the end of Petra's main Colonnaded Street consisting of two majestic temples, the [[Qasr al-Bint]] and, opposite, the Temple of the Winged Lions on the northern bank of Wadi Musa.

[[Christianity]] found its way to Petra in the 4th century AD, nearly 500 years after the establishment of Petra as a trade centre. The start of Christianity in Petra started primarily in 330 AD when the first Christian Emperor of Rome took over, [[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]], otherwise known as Constantine The Great. He began the initial spread of Christianity throughout the [[Roman Empire]]. [[Athanasius of Alexandria|Athanasius]] mentions a bishop of Petra (Antioch. 10) named [[Asterius of Petra|Asterius]]. At least one of the tombs (the "tomb with the urn"?) was used as a church. An inscription in red paint records its consecration "in the time of the most holy bishop Jason" (447). After the [[Islam]]ic conquest of 629–632, Christianity in Petra, as of most of Arabia, gave way to Islam. During the [[First Crusade]] Petra was occupied by [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem|Baldwin I]] of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] and formed the second [[fief]] of the [[feudal barony|barony]] of [[Al Karak]] (in the lordship of [[Oultrejordain]]) with the title ''Château de la Valée de Moyse'' or Sela. It remained in the hands of the [[Franks]] until 1189.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Petra |volume=21 |pages=309–310 |first=George Albert |last=Cooke|inline=1}}</ref> It is still a [[titular see]] of the [[Catholic Church]].<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Petra}}</ref>

According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where [[Islamic view of Moses|Musa]] ([[Moses]]) struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where Moses' brother, [[Islamic view of Aaron|Harun]] ([[Aaron]]), is [[Tomb of Aaron|buried]], at [[Mount Hor]], known today as Jabal Haroun or Mount Aaron. The Wadi Musa or "Wadi of Moses" is the Arab name for the narrow valley at the head of which Petra is sited. A mountaintop shrine of Moses' sister [[Miriam]] was still shown to pilgrims at the time of [[Jerome]] in the 4th century, but its location has not been identified since.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/jordan/petra_ruins.htm |title=Petra |publisher=Sacred Sites |access-date=2011-12-05 |archive-date=2010-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821023038/http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/jordan/petra_ruins.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>