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Augustus (reigned 27 B.C.-14 A.D.) allowed the Nabataeans of Arabia Petraea to retain independence
but kept stringent safeguards in effect. King Herod instigated a revolt in 9 B.C., and the Nabataean vizier,
Syllaeus, protested but was executed. Gaius Caesar, Augustus' grandson, was sent to the east, generally to
maintain order, but he was also to impress upon the Petra-based kingdom that it was dangerous to put its
vulnerability to the test.
In 105 A.D., Trajan decided that a combination of frontier defense and economic expediency made
annexation desirable. Cornelius Palma, with the VI Legion, attacked and conquered the proud Arabians.
Outlying tribesmen, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, did fight, but prolonged resistance was
impossible. A new province was thus created, and a large road was built from Damascus to the cities of
Petra and Bostra, and then to the Red Sea port of Aqaba.
Petra was designated as the capital of the territory, and, as of March 22, 106 A.D., a Praetorian legate
commanded the province, with the added weight of the III Legion "Cyrenaica." Massive archaeological
remains show a diverse lifestyle in both the city and the province. The city of Bostra was a powerful
economic unit along the trade routes and, under Diocletian's reorganization, the capital of a new province
simply called Arabia.
Arabia (both Arabia Petraea and Arabia Felix, with Arabia Deserta to a lesser extent) accepted
Christianity, but the new religion could not dislodge Sabaean star worship, Judaic admixtures, local
religious customs or the Roman cults, such as that of Dionysus. Such was the situation until the birth of
Islam in 610 A.D.
¤ ARAR (battle of) Confrontation between Julius CAESAR and the Helvetians. In June 58 B.C., the
Helvetians attempted to migrate illegally into Roman territories. Julius Caesar decided to attack at an
opportune moment, while the tribal people were crossing the Arar River. With 34,000 men, Caesar drove
into the Helvetians, slaughtering over 30,000 of them. The Helvetians fled to the Liger (Loire), with
Caesar in pursuit. See GALLIC WARS.
¤ ARAUSIO (Orange) One of the leading cities of GALLIA NARBONENSIS; northeast of
NEMAUSUS (Nimes) and just north of Avignon. Arausio was established as a colony in 36 or 35 B.C.,
as part of the extensive program of Romanization in the province. It enjoyed the attention of both
Augustus and Tiberius so that by the middle of the 1st century A.D. it ranked as one of the more
prosperous communities in southern Gaul. Following the decline of NARBO in the 2nd century A.D.,
Arausio was one of the cities that filled the economic vacuum. Arausio possessed temples, baths, an