When visiting Petra, a question may come to mind: what were Nabataean religion and gods like? You will see funerary structures and temples whose style evokes the Greco-Roman world, but in this post you will discover that Nabataean spirituality was more complex: it incorporated certain beliefs from other contemporary peoples, blended with fully indigenous elements, resulting in a truly unique syncretism.
Key aspects of Nabataean religion
The Nabataeans were a polytheistic people, meaning they believed in the supernatural powers of many gods. Since this territory, and Petra in particular, were stopovers on the great trade routes of Antiquity, Nabataean religion absorbed beliefs and deities from the peoples they came into contact with, especially the Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Egyptians.
Unfortunately, Nabataean tombs were systematically looted long ago, so little information about the grave goods has reached us. However, it can be inferred that they were a people who believed in life after death. In addition, it is believed that they performed sacrifices to the gods, though not on altars located in elevated places, which they would have used only as offering sites, where the blood of sacrificed animals may have been poured and incense burned.
The temples used for religious worship have not survived in good condition either, which makes it difficult to understand the religion. Moreover, mistaken interpretations of certain archaeological remains have become widespread, making that understanding even more difficult. For example, the term “Great Temple” in Petra, which in fact may have been a large ceremonial palace.
Sculptures and other representations of gods have been recovered, in some cases with great visual impact. Particularly striking and evocative are the betyls, or sacred stones, one of the most characteristic elements of Nabataean religion: these are stelae carved into the rock on which facial or anatomical features are depicted, giving the stele a supernatural meaning. They are often located on altars or beside tombs. The most famous, which serves as a symbol of that religion, is the goddess Ḥayyan.
List of the main Nabataean gods
The list of Nabataean gods is extensive and covered different aspects of life and nature. These are some of the most common:
- Al-Uzza or Hayyan: a distinctly Nabataean goddess, known as “the most powerful,” but also associated with beauty
- Dushara: also Nabataean, he was considered the supreme god, venerated especially by the Nabataean monarchy
- Manat: goddess of fate and wife of Hubal
- Hubal: a pre-Islamic god, associated with marriage and death
- Baalshamin: Nabataean god of the heavens
In addition to these gods, there were other Nabataean deities, but worshipped mainly in other regions now part of Saudi Arabia or Syria, as well as foreign deities that were fully integrated, such as the Egyptian Isis (royalty, death) and Atargatis (grain, fish), or the Greek Tyche (fortune).
Where to learn more about Nabataean religion
To experience Nabataean religion up close during your trip to Jordan, you can visit some of the most important destinations, mainly in the south of the country. For example, in Wadi Rum the remains of a Nabataean temple are preserved, next to Jebel Rum, not far from the modern village of Rum: although only the beginning of the walls remains, the layout of the spaces makes it possible to interpret the presence of baths and even a small adjoining royal palace.
However, without a doubt, the key place to learn about Nabataean religion and gods is Petra. By visiting this vast site, you can see first-hand the locations of temples, tombs, and offering altars. And a visit to the Petra Museum makes it possible to understand that spiritual universe more deeply, as betyls, reliefs, and inscriptions are on display.
