Humeima


Humayma, also spelled Humeima, is the modern name of ancient Hawara. Hawara was a trading post in southern Jordan that was founded by the Nabataean king Aretas III in the early first century BC. It is located 45 km to the south of the Nabataean capital Petra and 55 km to the north of the Red Sea port town of Aqaba.

History

Humeima was occupied from about 90 BC until the early Islamic period, and has Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic remains, including a Roman bath and fort, five Byzantine churches, and a qasr or fortified palace from the Umayyad Period.

Nabataean and Roman periods

The settlement was founded by Aretas III as a stop on the trade route from Petra to Gulf of Aqaba. During the Greco-Roman era, it was called "Auara", derived from "Hawara", which means "white" in Aramaic.

Umayyad period

The town was the home of the Abbasid, or Banu Abbas family, around AD 700, who eventually overthrew the Umayyad dynasty and took over the title of caliph, and as such it was the birthplace of the first three Abbasid caliphs: As-Saffah, Al-Mansur and Al-Mahdi.

Climate

As rainfall is only 80 cm annually, an extensive water storage and irrigation works lies in the ruins.

Notable residents