When the last Nabataean king Rabbel II Soter died his kingdom was annexed. How and why the Nabataean kingdom was annexed is unclear, but there is evidence of minor military skirmishes. Aside from that there wasn't much resistance to the annexation. The Romans initially did not want to govern Nabataea themselves, it already had close relations with Rome.
Some of the effects of the annexation:
Obodas was succeeded by his son Rabbel III (136 - 160), who maintained good relations with the Romans. He spends his time fortifying Wadi Sirhan and fighting off intrusions from, or somehow pacifying, nomadic tribes such as the Ḥawlat and Ḍyf. Further north he worked out an agreed on boundary with Roman Syria a little to the north of Bosra. Rabbel III, being a traditionalist and something of a romantic, decided to revert the capital of the kingdom back to Petra. He saw Petra as having more dignity and antiquity than Bosra and also wanted a capital that was closer to the Red Sea trade. This slowed the decline of the city even as Palmyra grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from it.
The efforts of Obodas IV and Rabbel II were not enough as later Nabataean kings hungrily looked at controlling Roman Syria. As the Crisis of the Third Century unfolded, the Nabataean king strategically annexes key territories along the trade routes that linked Mesopotamia to Egypt including southern Syria and Egypt's eastern delta. Leveraging their strategic location and alliances with local tribes, the Nabataeans renegotiate their relationship with Rome to secure concessions and allow for greater autonomy and control over the newly acquired territories.
Some of the effects of the annexation:
- Greek officially replaced Nabataean Aramaic as the language of the administration, and Latin (and Greek) as the principal languages in the army
- A road was built straight through it linking Syria to the Red Sea (Via Nova Traiana)
- Petra began to decline gradually, partially because Bosra was the capital but also the caravan trade had already been declining. However, it still flourished in the early years of the province
Obodas was succeeded by his son Rabbel III (136 - 160), who maintained good relations with the Romans. He spends his time fortifying Wadi Sirhan and fighting off intrusions from, or somehow pacifying, nomadic tribes such as the Ḥawlat and Ḍyf. Further north he worked out an agreed on boundary with Roman Syria a little to the north of Bosra. Rabbel III, being a traditionalist and something of a romantic, decided to revert the capital of the kingdom back to Petra. He saw Petra as having more dignity and antiquity than Bosra and also wanted a capital that was closer to the Red Sea trade. This slowed the decline of the city even as Palmyra grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from it.
The efforts of Obodas IV and Rabbel II were not enough as later Nabataean kings hungrily looked at controlling Roman Syria. As the Crisis of the Third Century unfolded, the Nabataean king strategically annexes key territories along the trade routes that linked Mesopotamia to Egypt including southern Syria and Egypt's eastern delta. Leveraging their strategic location and alliances with local tribes, the Nabataeans renegotiate their relationship with Rome to secure concessions and allow for greater autonomy and control over the newly acquired territories.