WADI RUM - AN EMPIRE OF SAND

Written by Giuditta Andrei

"Rum the magnificient...vast echoing and godlike...a processional way greater than imagination...the Crimson sunset burned on its stupendous cliffs and slanted ladders of hazy fire down its walled avenue"

T.E Lawrence

Deserts, like the ancient empires and ancient cities of the world, also have a history.

Today I will tell you the story of Wadi Rum, one of the most iconic deserts in the world, renowned for its spectacular series of sandstone mountains and valleys, natural arches and narrow gorges, located in south-east Jordan, along the border with Saudi Arabia.

GEOLOGY

Wadi Rum covers an area of 74,000 hectares and, according to historical reconstructions, was formed over millions of years of geological evolution, where massifs and rocky mountains were thrown high above sea level by the primordial movement of tectonic plates, subsequently shaped by centuries of harsh winds and layers of sand.

The valleys would have been smoothed by floods, creating strangely shaped natural rock arches.

Before the period of the supercontinent Pangaea (335-175mln) this area was attached to the African continental plate, until the Red Sea rift formed 50 million years ago.

Geologically, there are two distinct types of soft sandstone that by their individual characteristics constitute the northern protected area (the Red Desert) consisting of red oxidized sandstone and the southern area of the White Desert

Quartz sand cemented with iron oxide forming a hard ochre compound

Softer fine white quartz sand compound that has a white and yellow color

The formation of the area is said to have taken place in 6 particular phases:

• The first formation of the first granite bedrock, which can be dated to over 1 billion years ago

• During the Cambrian period,500 million years ago, quartz sand deposits came from rivers flowing from the south, before the emergence of the Red Sea rift, 30 to 200m were gradually deposited

• The compression of the sand into rock fossilized the remains of marine life

• The sea level dropped and the entire area, including south-eastern Jordan, western Saudi Arabia, south-eastern Egypt and Sudan were uplifted by the tectonic movement

• The rift in the Red Sea fractured separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa where most of the sediments originated

• Physical erosion by water and wind washed the sediments into the sandy valleys

FIRST HUMANS

The first record of human existence in the desert dates back 12,000 years, but its proximity to Africa suggests that the spot was on the migratory route that the first humans crossed about 1.5 million years ago.

Ancient people lived in Rum for thousands of years braving the arid environment to survive, they were hunters, farmers, breeders and traders.

Ancient petroglyphs, inscriptions and archaeological remains at the site testify to 12,000 years of human occupation and interaction with the natural environment.

The rock art at the site, which includes 25,000 rock carvings and 20,000 inscriptions, traces the evolution of human thought and the early development of the alphabet, providing exceptional evidence of the daily and cultural traditions of its earliest inhabitants,

Nomads of Armaic, Thermudic and Ismaic languages carved prayers to their gods and the locations of water sources on the rocks.

With the development of human civilization and trade, Wadi Rum drew an important stage on the route from the Red Sea to Arabia.

One of the earliest known civilisations were the Nabataeans who ruled Arabia for 500 years (400 BC -106 AD) until they were annexed by the Roman Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD) to the Roman Empire in 106 AD, renaming the region Arabia Petrea.

The Romans revitalized much of the region, although Nabatean cities such as Petra and Hegra were neglected, creating a powerful commercial center in Jerash and Philadelphia, at the site of Amman.

They benefited from the region's resources and improved the area by building roads, temples and aqueducts that encouraged prosperous trade.

When Rome began to decline steadily during the 3rd century CE, the Tanukhids, a semi-nomadic Nabataean tribe gained power in the area, their queen Mavia (375-425CE) led a revolt against the power of Rome.

Archaeological evidence shows that humans have lived in what is now Jordan for at least 90,000 years, evidence that includes Paleolithic tools such as knives, axes, scrapers made of fern and basalt.

The region has a long history as an important trading center for all the major empires of the ancient world to the present day.

Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent, one of the regions where agriculture may have originated during the Neolithic period (8500-4500ac); local people probably domesticated grains, peas, lentils, goats and even cats to protect their food from rodents.

The rise from the nomadic role of hunter-gatherers to the first stable communities (10,000 years ago) enabled these small villages to become urban centers with their own industry and trade,

The urban center in the city of Jericho is claimed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world whose founding date is approximately 9000 BC.

Megalithic dolmens very similar in size and shape to those in Ireland were built during the Neolithic period, probably of a religious nature. Jordan's early written history begins in biblical times with the kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom, mentioned in the Old Testament.

From ancient times, a road across Jordan known as the King's Road was mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible, which according to scripture referred to the road that Moses asked permission to cross after leading the Israelites out of Egypt. This road is thought to have been in use since the 8th century, as an important trade route connecting Arabia, the fertile crescent, the Red Sea and Egypt. Caravans transported incense and spices from Arabia by this road to the flourishing Nabataean capital of Petra. During the Roman period, this road was paved to accommodate the caravans and was renamed Via Nova Traiana. But not only that, the king's road was also an important pilgrimage route for centuries, Christians crossed it to visit biblical sites in the holy land, while Muslims traveled it to reach Mecca. For us, the Nabataeans are best known for their city Petra and their ability to find and preserve water sources; They accumulated their commercial wealth from Yemen to Palestine to the Mediterranean Sea. After the Roman mission to Petra, the Nabataeans lost their influence and Palmyra, in present-day Syria, became their trading center. Wadi Rum was probably first mentioned as Aramoa in Ptolemy's geography, while according to some scholars it is referred to as Ad in the Koran; The place was popular with travelers because of its abundance of food and water that made crossings easy. In 629 A.D. an Arab Islamic army clashed with the Byzantines at Muta in southern Jordan, initially the Arabs were repulsed but 7 years later triumphed at the Battle of Yarmouk and further conquered Damascus and the rest of Syria. Damascus became the capital of the Umayyad Empire from 661 to 750. Shortly afterwards, with the beginning of the Muslim conquests, the Umayyads took control of the Middle East including Jordan and Wadi Rum, Amman became a large provincial city in the Umayyad region called Al-Urdun or Jordan. The successors to the empire, the Abbasids ruled Arabia until the 13th century, during which time Islam and the Arabic language spread to the east, being adopted by the Bedouin tribes. However, when the Abbasid Empire moved its capital from Damascus to Baghdad, Jordan was no longer as visible as before. In the early 12th century the Crusaders invaded Jordan and consolidated their rule by building massive fortresses, the most imposing of which was at Karak. When Saladin became leader in 1174 the Muslims regained the lost territories, and after the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 Crusader power was confined and finally expelled in the 13th century.

During the Ayyubid Empire, the dynasty founded by the medieval sultanate of Egypt, Saladin, based in Cairo, Jordan became a marginal territory. Subsequently, the Mongols, having overthrew the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 in Baghdad, conquered Aleppo in 1260 and moved south from Syria into Jordan and Palestine, annexing them to their domain.

The same year they were repelled by the Mamluks, the successors of the Ayyubids. 

Mamluk rule ended in 1517 with their defeat by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Ridaniya near Cairo,

Part of the territories in the Middle East were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire based in Constantinople, an empire that ruled for the next 400 years until the 20th century. In June 1916 a rebellion, the Great Arab Revolt, began,

British officer Lawrence made Wadi Rum his official base, here together with Feisal bin Hussein, leader of the Arab forces defeated Ottoman rule

The Ottoman Empire disintegrated and was divided after its defeat in World War I in 1916 through the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which determined the political boundaries in the Middle Eastern territories between the French and British.