Dr. Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Halim Sayed has research titled, “Nabataeans Ties with Egypt through Inscriptions on Hejaz Egypt's Eastern Desert Rocks”. It published in the magazine of Faculty of Arts and Humanities, King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah that summarizes these links saying that, “The Nabataeans were the most active and the most influential in the Arab Peninsula civilization among the ancient Arab people.
Their impact until today is still in the Arabic alphabets, which have their origin in the Nabataean alphabets. The Gulf of Aqaba where the Great Trade Road that penetrated the Arabian Peninsula from the south to the north passes, therefore, their state was of a commercial nature.
Its capital was Petra in Wadi Musa, south of Jordan. Their state reached the peak of its prosperity in the first two centuries before and after the birth of Christ (Peace be upon Him) when its borders extended from Madain Saleh in the south to Damascus in north. However, in 106 AD the Romans defeated the Nabataeans and captured its capital Petra. Nevertheless, their commercial activity did not stop but continued for several centuries.
Egypt was one of the most important areas that been repeatedly visited by the Nabataean convoys as evidenced by many inscriptions on the rocks of Nabataean valleys extended on the Red Sea coast until the banks of Nile River through the Eastern desert of Egypt. Study of these inscriptions proves that inscriptions found on the rocks of Wadi Al-Hamamat and its valleys resemble in many ways those found on rocks of al-Hejaz particularly in and around area of Madain Saleh.
The similarities are the use by Nabataeans in both regions of Greek Romanian names written either in Greek letters or in Nabataean letters after adapting them to the Nabataean pronunciation as well as the use of Nabataean names adapted to Greek pronunciation. Similarities also include the similar forms alphabets in the two regions.
All this evidence suggests a link between the authors of the inscriptions in both regions and that they were subject to Greek and Romanian influence. It is also likely that the crossing point at which Madain Saleh and Nabataeans used to cross the Red Sea on their way to Egypt was at the nearest port Madain Saleh.
The point of their arrival at the coast of Egypt was the nearest port to Wadi Al-Hamamat, which makes it more likely that these two points “Al-Qajeh” on the Saudi coast and “Al-Qaseer” on the Egyptian coast that are facing each other.
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