NEBATİ KRALLIĞI’NIN EKONOMİK DÜZENİ VE MALİ YAPISI
THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND FINANCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE NABATAEAN KINGDOM

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to examine the economic system of the Nabataeans, who ruled the Edom region of Jordan at the intersection of the Arabian Peninsula and the Mediterranean world in the Ancient Age, within the context of their historical origins and trade networks. The Nabataean Kingdom established an economic system based on managing scarce resources, quickly establishing economic dominance across a vast geography and becoming a regional power. Originally a nomadic society, the Nabataeans gradually transitioned to a settled lifestyle, becoming a strategic power along trade routes. The Nabataeans built their economic order on a multi-layered system consisting of advanced hydraulic engineering, logistics networks, and a sophisticated financial structure. They overcame the challenges of the desert landscape with water management techniques consisting of dams, cisterns, and terraced farming systems. Using this system, they utilized rainwater for agricultural production and developed a sustainable system that ensured basic food security by growing crops such as wheat, barley, dates, olives, and grapes. This agricultural production system, combined with the commercial revenues obtained by transporting luxury goods such as incense, myrrh, and spices from South Arabia to the Mediterranean world, enriched the kingdom. Thanks to this trade network, managed through important logistics centers such as Petra, Hegra, and Negev, taxes collected from caravans became a significant source of public revenue. Despite being annexed by the Roman Empire in 106 AD, the systems developed by the Nabataeans continued to exist, forming the cornerstone of regional economic continuity.

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