A city in Jordan which was the capital of the Edomite and Nabataean kingdoms on main route between Dead Sea and Red Sea, important (especially for trade) during the Hellenistic period. Set deep in the mountains with main access through a cleft in the rock called the Siq, Petra is best known for its buildings, temples, and tombs cut in multicolored sandstone. It also had an elaborate system of dams, waterworks, and cisterns. A theater and temple belong to the Roman period (after 106 AD). Little is known of the later history of Petra, although a Crusader fort survives.