Database: Roman Life in AlUla

During antiquity, the Roman Empire gradually spread around the Mediterranean and beyond, particularly in North Africa, Egypt, but also in Asia Minor and southwestern Asia. A huge area of prosperity and trade, the Empire was interested in the Arabian trade routes that supplied incense, spices, and other goods from the region itself or from further east and south. Established in Jordan, the Nabataean Kingdom became a key partner and was annexed into the Empire in 106 CE, under the reign of Trajan. Roman presence then spread further including at Hegra where a Roman garrison established a fort to protect and collect charges along this trade route. Little is known about the life of the legionaries there, except that they belonged to Legion III of Cyrenaica (a region of present-day Libya) and that the fort was perhaps the southernmost inland fortified post in the Empire. Despite nomadic raids and the threat of the Parthian Empire, Rome's rival centered in Persia, this area of the Empire remained under the influence of Rome for many centuries. A strong new political chapter started with the establishment of the Arab-Muslim caliphate in the seventh century CE.