Excerpt from A Prize Poem: Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, June IV, MDCCCXLV The capital of that portion of Arabia which is thence called Petræa, occupies a mountain-hollow in the rocky region known as the Land of Seir; extending from the north-eastern extremity of the Arabian gulph to the south of the Dead Sea; - a territory which the Almighty assigned to the Edomites, or descendants of Esau. It is twice mentioned in Scripture by the equivalent Hebrew name Selah, or the Rock: and thenceforward, (namely, from the seventh or eighth century before our æra,) it obtains no further notice for four hundred years. During this interval the Nabathæans, or descendants of Nebaioth, the eldest son of Ishmael, had expelled the Edomites from their ancient stronghold, and driven them northward, where their territory was recognised for a few centuries under the Hellenized name of Idumaea. Then it was that one portion of the prophecy concerning the descendants of Esau obtained its fulfilment: they faded from the world's eye, and ceased to be a nation. Petræa, henceforth part of the Nabathæan territory, became a Roman province; and Petra, as some ancient historians relate, and as its astonishing ruins abundantly testify, continued to be its wealthy and flourishing capital. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.