NABATJEANS, a Semitic race of people whose kingdom extended from Damascus on the north to Al-Hajr possession of the country as early as 312 B.C. for Antigonus and afterward his son Demetrius tried in vain to conquer them. Judas and Jonathan had relations with them at the time of the Maccabean struggles (1 Mace. v, 25; ix, 35). The Edomites were forced up into southern Judah by them. They are chiefly known by inscriptions, written in Aramaic, which seems to establish the fact that they were either of Aramaic origin directly, or of Arabaic extraction later influenced by the Aramaic. These inscriptions give information concerning the rulers, but since they are mostly funerary, they furnish no other historical data. Theii commerce was very important, as their capital Petra (q.v.) was on the route from Egypt to central Arabia. A temple to their native deity was found at Puteolt, an Italian port — which indicates the presence of a Naba taean colony there and points to the extent of their vast trade. A coinage of the country dating from the 2d century B.C. bears the names of the rulers. These, with their approximate dates, are Malchus I (145 a.c.) ; Obodas I (97-85 a.c.) • Aretas III (85-62 ; Obodas
II; Aretas IV (2-50 A.D.) ' • Malchus II (50-70 A.D.) ; Rabel (70-95 A.D.). There are also coins of Alexander Jannwus, Hasmonean king of Judea, who captured some of the trans-Jordanic cities and struck coins in them. The Naba taeans were very powerful in the 1st century a.c., but lost Hauran and Perma to Herod, re taining fortresses on the edge of the desert. Under Augustus the country became a Roman dependency and lost its warlike nomadic char acter. Some later inscriptions have been found which are in Arabic, but the word Nabatzan is generally used as synonymous with Aramman. (For their alphabet see plate under ALPHABET). Their national temple was at Al-Hijr, and the chief gods seem to have been Dusares, Manat, Kais, Allat and Hobal. Consult Cooke, G. A., 'North Semitic Inscriptions' (pp. 214-262, 1903) ' • Head, Nummorum' (pp. 685 686, 1887) ; Vincent, F. H. 'Les Nabateens' (in Revue Biblique, pp. 567-588, 1898) ; Momm sen, 'Provinces of the Roman Empire' (pp. 160-171, 1887); Schiirer, (History of the Jew ish People' (Vol. I, Eng. trans., New York 1896).