Aretas IV
King of the Nabataeans who reigned for nearly fifty years and brought Petra to its height.
Life
Incense Route
Aretas IV came to the throne in c. 9 BCE and styled himself "he who loves his people." The Nabataeans controlled the incense trade routes from the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean and grew rich on transit tolls.
Petra
During his reign Petra's Treasury, its great theater and many temples were built, and the population may have reached 20,000 to 30,000. He married his daughter to the Jewish ruler Herod Antipas; when she was later cast aside, he went to war and defeated Antipas.
He who loves his people
He died in c. 40 CE. Seventy years later the Roman emperor Trajan annexed the Nabataean Kingdom.
Legacy
The reign of Aretas IV was the golden age of the Nabataean Kingdom, and most of Petra's most famous buildings today date from this period.
Did you know? The New Testament's Second Epistle to the Corinthians says that when Paul fled Damascus, the governor of the city was under "King Aretas," which probably refers to him.
Key dates
- 9 BCEAccession
- 1Treasury of Petra and other buildings constructed (approx.)
- 36Defeated Herod Antipas
- 40Died (approx.)