Petra (in present-day Jordan) was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom for most of its history until the Roman Emperor Trajan created the province of Arabia in 106 C.E., annexed the Nabataean kingdom, and moved the capital of this new province to Bosra (also spelt Bostra) in what is today modern southern Syria. Most of Petra’s great tombs and buildings were built before the Roman Empire annexed it in 106 C.E.
