Petra world heritage site in Jordan provides an insight into the nature of ancient migration; and academic scholarship, as usually observed, fails to mindfully follow the narratives of the Bible and the actuality it demands for tracing geographical origin of its events.

Biblical Petra was in the Negev or in the ‘south’; Jordan River was in the ‘east’;  the Red Sea or the Reed Sea and the Dead Sea define their positions as a part of the central provinces of the biblical narratives. Alexander’s history as written by his own historians calls it as ‘India invasion accounts’; this account mentions mainly five rivers only : Hydrotes, Hydasphes, Hyphasis the Indus and the Ganges and the Jumna. Name Jordan as it has been derived from the name of ‘Jordan River’ marks only to River Jumna or Jamuna only.

In biblical narratives Petra was a place in the Negev in the Mt Caucasus region; it never defines its geography in between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. Meaning of Red Sea finds it as same as the Erythraean Sea, and the Dead Sea itself refers to the Caspian Sea and the Seat of worship of Caspo’s body relics temple on its bank.

Petra anciently was neighbourly to Egypt and Syria; because it was a market town, people from different regions of the ‘inhabited world’ came in contact here through their trading activities.

With today’s archaeological sites in modern Petra, memory of its migrant- inhabitants has survived that provides an insight to look into the ancient geographical situations and the names of the present towns involved in biblical narratives.

Unesco sees its inhabitants lived ‘since prehistoric time’ and finds this town as ‘Nabataean carvan-city’ standing at the ‘crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia’.

Petra finds its root in Batra; ‘Al’ attached to this name identifies its sacredness. It is Basta of other literature that is neighbourly to both Tolla and Al-Madbah; the latter is exactly the same as Madhab of other ancient texts near in the Gulf of Aqaba same as Gulf of Akkaba whose root is in ‘Arka’ or the Seat of Sun. This Gulf of Aqaba is never different from Caspian Sea itself near ancient Petra and City of Sun.

The Nabataean rock-cut temple/tombs are approached via a natural winding rocky cleft called the Siq; it is the main entrance from the east.

The serried rows of numerous rock-cut tombs reflects architectural influences from the Assyrians;  the religious high places include Jebels Madbah, M’eisrah, Khubtha, Habis and Al Madras;  the approaches from the north is called Barid or Little Petra; and south approach is known as Sabra. The Nabataean civilization flourished between fourth century BC and the first century AD is now lost. But the land remains; it never dies.

Name Nabataean finds its root in ‘nabhi’ (also nabakhanda and nabhisthali)means ‘navel’ which denotes the land at the ‘centre of the earth’. Nabataean refers to the ‘land’; and it never identifies itself with an individual but with ‘inhabitants of this land’; many tribes were referred to as living in this middle-country which identifies the Mt Naba along with it.

The Periplus sees Petra along with its commercial partners, Sabbath, Obollah, Gerrah and Palmyra. It was linked by road with White Village. Port of Adulis and Barygaza are historically linked with Petra which was then in the Gulf of Akkaba. According to Periplus, Malichas were its Kings during its time. While Josephus knew Petra by the name of Rekem, its biblical name is Sela which then existed on the road towards Judae. Most interesting part of its geographical situation finds it on the border of the Trojans at Troy, and it was linked with river routes by way of the river Ganges. Some other historical authority finds it as same as the City of Edom. With these information in hand it is necessary to see Petra’s geographical situation along with the name of Jordan which is a corrupt name for the River Jumna or Jamuna, a tributary of the river Ganges(biblical Gaga which was made Gaza by modern scholars). The Semitic word Yarad refers directly to Arad or Orada, name of a place which is again as same as Aram near Jerusalem and Adulis and Barygaza ports. ‘Transjordan mean Jamuna near Arunah; Al-Urdunn and Jund Al-Urdnn both refers to the Seat of Worship of Indra on the bank of the river in the City of the Sun near Panchaia. Haroun refers to Mt Hiranya or Mt Hor in the same region.

Jebel Haroun, is considered as the burial place of the Prophet Aaron; name Aaron has been derived from ‘Aruna’ means ‘Sun’ as same as Rabi from which name of Arab had been derived. Aruna is also identified with the Rock Aoronous; it is again as same as the Canaan itself. It is completely a wrong view of biblical scholars who think that Moses could not reach Canaan. Here meaning of Canaan and meaning Mt Naba are misunderstood. Similarly Hebrew Rekem is as same as the ‘rakam’ of Odiya language which means ‘household items’. This defines the ancient identity of Petra.

Archaeological scholarship sees ‘remains of the Neolithic settlement at Beidha, the Iron Age settlement on Umm al Biyara, the Chalcolithic mining sites at Umm al Amad’.

The remains of Graeco-Roman civic planning are found in the colonnaded street, triple-arched entrance gate, theatre, Nymphaeum and baths; Byzantine remains are noticed in the triple-apses basilica church and the church created in the Urn Tomb.

The remnant Crusader fortresses of Habis and Wueira; and the foundation of the mosque on Jebel Haroun, traditionally the burial place of the Prophet Aaron, exhibit the past civilizations in the Petra area’. All descriptions of the modern archaeological site at Petra refer to its earlier history. Modern Petra is the ’second- home’ of its migrant-inhabitants.