The King’s Highway was a trade route of vital importance to the ancient Middle East. It began in Egypt, and stretched across the Sinai Peninsula to Aqaba. From there it turned northward, leading to Damascus and the Euphrates River. A trade route is a commonly used path of travel for those (e. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 Sinai redirects here. ... Aqaba (Arabic: العقبة al-Ê»Aqabah) is a coastal town with a population of 62,773 (1994) in the far south of Jordan (29. ... Damascus by night, pictured from Jabal Qasioun; the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic officially دمشق Dimashq, colloquially ash-Sham الشام) is the capital city of Syria and is the oldest inhabited city in the world. ... The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name for the river, which is in Old Persian Ufrat, Aramaic Prâth/Frot, in Arabic الفرات, in Turkish Fırat and in ancient Assyrian language Pu-rat-tu) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (Bethnahrin in Aramaic), the other being the...

Numerous ancient states, including Edom, Moab, Ammon, and various Aramaean polities depended largely on the King's Highway for trade. The Highway began in Heliopolis, Egypt and from there went eastward to Clysma (modern Suez), through the Mitla Pass and the Egyptian forts of Nekhl and Themed in the Sinai desert to Eilat and Aqaba. From there the Highway turned northward through the Aravah, past Petra and Ma'an to Udruh, Sela, and Shaubak. It passed through Kerak and the land of Moab to Madaba, Rabbah/Philadelphia (modern Amman), Gerasa, Bozrah, Damascus, and Tadmor, ending at Resafa on the upper Euphrates. Edom (אֱדוֹם, Standard Hebrew Edom, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔḏôm, Assyrian Udumi, Syriac ܐܕܘܡ), a Hebrew word meaning red, is a name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible, as well as to the nation that purportedly traced their ancestry to him. ... Jump to: navigation, search Moab (מוֹאָב, Standard Hebrew Moʾav, Tiberian Hebrew Môʾāḇ Greek Μωάβ; Assyrian Muaba, Maba, Maab; Egyptian Muab) is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. ... Ammon is an Egyptian proper noun that can refer to at least two distinct entities. ... The Arameans or Aramaeans (also called Syriacs) were a Semitic, nomadic people who dwelt in Aram-Naharaim or Aram of the two rivers, also known as Mesopotamia a region including modern Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Iran that is mentioned six times in the Hebrew Bible. ... Suez is a port town (population ca. ... The Mitla Pass is a 32 km-long snaky pass in the Sinai wedged between mountain ranges to the north and south. ... Eilat (Hebrew אֵילַת, Standard Hebrew Elat, Eylat), pop. ... Aqaba (Arabic: العقبة al-ʻAqabah) is a coastal town with a population of 62,773 (1994) in the far south of Jordan (29. ... King Solomons Pillars in Israels Timna National Park The Arabah (Hebrew Nahal Arava ערבה; Arabic Wadi Arabah) is that section of the Great Rift Valley lying between the Dead Sea to the north and the Gulf of Aqaba (Gulf of Elat) to the south. ... The Treasury at Petra Petra (from petrus, rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, al-Bitrā) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. ... Maan is a city in southern Jordan. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... Kerak was a Crusader castle in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, now located in Jordan. ... Jump to: navigation, search Moab (מוֹאָב, Standard Hebrew Moʾav, Tiberian Hebrew Môʾāḇ Greek Μωάβ; Assyrian Muaba, Maba, Maab; Egyptian Muab) is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. ... Madaba is a Governate in Jordan located 25 km southwest of Amman. ... Amman (Arabic عمان ʿAmmān), the capital of the Kingdom of Jordan, is a city of more than 1. ... The oval forum and main street of Roman Jerash, with modern Jerash rising behind them Jerash (ancient Antioch-on-the-Chrysorhoas, also known as Gerasa) was a city of the Graceo-Roman Decapolis, its ruins now located in the Gilead region of northwest Jordan. ... Botsra, Botzrah, Bozrah בצרה the biblical Bozrah is an ancient city in southern modern-day Jordan, now Bouseira between Tafile (Tophel) and Shobaq. ... Damascus by night, pictured from Jabal Qasioun; the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic officially دمشق Dimashq, colloquially ash-Sham الشام) is the capital city of Syria and is the oldest inhabited city in the world. ... Early morning panorama of Palmyra. ... Arches in Resafa Resafa, known in Roman times as Sergiopolis, was a city located in what is now modern-day Syria. ...

The Highway is referred to in Numbers 20:17-21: The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ...

17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King's Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.'"

18 Then Edom said to him, "You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword."

19 So the children of Israel said to him, "We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more."

20 Then he said,"You shall not pass through." So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.

Many of the wars of the Israelites against the kingdoms of the trans-Jordanian highlands during the period of the Kingdom of Israel (and its sister-kingdom, the Kingdom of Judah) probably were at least partly over control of the Highway. Map sources for Wells at grid reference ST5445 The west front of Wells Cathedral Wells is a small city in the Mendip district of Somerset. ... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28 The Israelites were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Bible. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Kingdom of Israel (Hebrew: מַלְכוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard Hebrew Malḫut Yisraʼel, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ Yiśrāʼēl) was the Kingdom proclaimed by the Israelite nation around 1050 BCE. The nation itself was formed as the Israelites left the Land of Goshen, Egypt during the Exodus at... The Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew מַלְכוּת יְהוּדָה, Standard Hebrew Malḫut Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ Yəhûḏāh) in the times of the Hebrew Bible, was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after...

The Nabateans used this trade route for luxury goods such as frankincense and spices from southern Arabia. During the Roman period, the King's Highway was called the Via Nova Traiana. The Highway has also been used as an important pilgrimage route for both Christians, as it passed numerous sites important in Christianity, including Mount Nebo and al-Maghtas at the Jordan River. Muslims used it as the main Hajj route to Mecca until the Ottoman Turks built the Tariq al-Bint in the 16th century. Petra, the Nabataean capital The Nabataeans were a trading people of ancient Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. ... 100g of frankincense resin. ... External links Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Spice Food Bacteria-Spice Survey Shows Why Some Cultures Like It Hot Citat: ...Garlic, onion, allspice and oregano, for example, were found to be the best all-around bacteria killers (they kill everything). ... The term the Middle East sometimes applies to the peninsula alone, but usually refers to the Arabian Peninsula plus the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Iran. ... Roman or Romans has several meanings, primarily related to the Roman citizens, but also applicable to typography, math, and several geographic locations. ... Emperor Trajan Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (September 18, 53-August 9, 117), Roman Emperor (98-117), commonly called Trajan, was the second of the so-called Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire. ... Jump to: navigation, search Pilgrim at Mecca A pilgrimage is a term primarily used in religion and spirituality of a long journey or search of great moral significance. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... A sculpture on Mount Nebo based around the biblical story of Moses staff and the snake // Geography Mount Nebo (Arabic: Jebel Nebo) is an elevated ridge that is approximately 817 metres (2680 feet) above sea level, in what is now western Jordan. ... Northern part of the Great Rift Valley as seen from space (NASA) The Jordan River today The Jordan River is a river in Southwest Asia flowing through the Jordan Rift Valley into the Dead Sea. ... The Hajj or Haj (Arabic حَجّ Ḥaǧǧ) is the Pilgrimage to Mecca (or, Makkah) and is the fifth of the Five Pillars of Islam in Sunni Islam and is one of the eleven Branches of Religion in Shia Islam. ... This article is about the holy city in Saudi Arabia. ... The Ottoman Turks were the ethnic subdivision of the Turkish people who dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire. ...

Resources

• King's Highway on Ancientroute.com
• Map of the King's Highway