≈ The New Atlantis ≈

She was the New Atlantis—

Raqmu to its builders, and Petra to those in Rome who envied her success. But unlike that Atlantean marvel which rose glorious and mythic from a watery ocean, Raqmu was a real-life island of luxury, floating in a vast sea of trackless dunes and rock.

Merchants and ambassadors traveled from beyond Rome in the west, and even China in the far east, to see this singular miracle in the desert. After weeks of swaying atop camels, thirsty travelers made their way through the Siq, the final narrow chasm guarding the city. As the splendor of Raqmu opened before them, their eyes opened wide to drink in the delights of flowing fountains, botanical gardens, artificial waterfalls, and swimming pools.

Wherever one looked, magnificent, stone-carved facades projected from the red cliffs and mountains. A great colonnaded street connected temples, palaces, and a grand civic plaza and auditorium. Poetry, song, and oratory echoed from a palatial theater. And from all quarters of the metropolis, the ringing of hammer-on-chisel-on-stone never ceased.

Bubbling Up From the Desert

 No one knew from where or when these Nabatu came. Some said their name meant “bubbling up” out of the desert. Originally nomadic sheep and camel herders, they had learned the deep secrets of the desert, and how to survive its unforgiving nature.

Through ingenuity and diligence, they harvested the scant rainfall to fill countless subterranean reservoirs hidden throughout the desert. And through secrecy and deception they parlayed this resource into extensive trading networks and wealth.

Pirates, Merchants, and Victors—

Strange as it may seem, these Nabatu also found a haven on ocean waves—first, as pirates raiding foreign merchant ships in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and later as they established their own mastery of shipping the cargoes of luxury from south Arabia, India, and China to the markets of the Mediterranean world. They gained fabulous wealth transporting silk, incense, spices, gems, and precious metals.But their success on the sea was not restricted to handling merchandise. In 30 BC, after Cleopatra and Antony’s defeat at the Battle of Actium, the Nabataeans entered military history by destroying the power couple’s escape ships to India, thereby resulting in their well known suicides.

The Nabataean Kingdom developed a vast network of trade and diplomacy, extending throughout the known world. Their capital, Raqmu, attracted the rich, the famous, and the well-connected to its opulence and splendor. And as these foreigners rubbed elbows with the Nabatu, they brought with them their own culture, philosphies and religions. The Kingdom became a rich ferment of new understanding, with old ways of living and thinking constantly challenged and enriched.

They also moved out into the world at large, establishing significant trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean. Their own temples have been found as far as the precincts of Rome and the Hellenistic isle of Rhodes.

Complicated Family Ties—

Though their connection with the wider world was extensive, their most notable relations were with their neighbors the Iudaeans (or Judea), just across the Jordan River to the west. Around the turn of the first millennium, the Herod family held considerable sway in Iudaea, and frequently intermarried with the powerful families of Nabataea.

The family ties between the two kingdoms vascillated between love and hate, mediated by a mutual manipulation. Herod the Great’s mother was of Nabataean royalty, and his son, Herod Antipas the Tetrarch, married a Nabataean princess. While sometimes uneasy allies, the Nabataeans and Herodians occasionally slugged it out on the battlefield.

With his public work, death, and the shocking stories of his living again, the Iudaean Yeshua, and those following him, caused a significant stir in Iudaea and beyond. The turmoil undoubtedly entered public and private discussion in Raqmu and the wider kingdom.

What was being said on the streets of Raqmu, its markets, and in the royal palaces? And as persecution inevitably came to the fledgling sect known as The Way, they fled Iudaea to neighboring nations. How did their immigration affect those living in Nabataea?

New Series—

These questions and much more are explored in Brock Meier’s new historical fiction series, ≈ Waters In the Desert ≈ .