Top cultures that strangely vanished!


#4. “The Nabateans”-- The city of Petra located in what is now the country of Jordan is one of the most breathtaking architectural wonders of the ancient world and was home to an extraordinary ancient civilization known as The Nabateans. The Nabateans arrived in Jordan around 700 BC and would prosper as one of the elite trading nations until the first century AD. Then in the fourth century the Nabateans would suddenly pick up and abandon Petra. The city was carved into the mountains around it and for most of its existence was an impenetrable fortress. Because of this, as it being at the perfect strategic location to control trading in the Middle East and Arabian peninsula Nabatea became a cultural melting pot with the Nabateans becoming experts in irrigation, medicine and the arts. They were even known for adopting much of the Hellenistic cultures of Rome and Greece into their native Arabic traditions. The Nabateans lived alongside the great empires of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar and had a working relationship with the Romans until they sided against them during the period of turmoil that resulted from Caesar’s assassination. The Romans would eventually conquer most of their territory yet they still called Petra home for a few hundred years. Then one day the Nabateans decided it was time to leave their capital, so they packed up everything and left. Most of their people probably assimilated into other cultures and empires and though its not known exactly why they decided to leave their beautiful city--it is most likely that because of technological advancements in seafaring it lost much of the value it once had as an international marketplace.

#3. “The Mycenaeans”--For two hundred years the Mycenaeans ruled Greece, but in flash they were gone. The Mycenaeans lived from approximately 1600 to 1100 BC becoming the first civilization to comprise of several Greek states working together. This alliance and cultural movement would end up in the founding of historic cities. Mycenaean Greece was made up of the areas of what would come to be home to Athens, Sparta, Crete and Thebes and at its height extended its rule to boundaries close to that of modern Greece. The Mycenaeans were heavily influenced by the aforementioned Minoan civilization, improving and expanding upon their artwork, architecture and religious traditions. Much of Mycenaean culture can be considered a direct precursor to that of Ancient and Classical Greece and it is from them that most of the mythology of Greece would spring. If the myths and legends are true, Mycenaean Greece can claim some of the world’s most renowned heroes like Odysseus, Achilles and Theseus. Perseus himself, the half-god who vanquished Medusa, is said to be the founder of Mycenae. But Perseus’ kingdom wouldn’t last long as just as fast as it expanded it was snuffed out. Many historians claim that its early exit around 1200 BC was due to “flying too close to the sun” as many texts claim the Mycenaeans had tried and failed to expand their empire beyond Greece, costing them manpower and resources. The time around 1200 BC was an extremely wild time as many civilizations in the Middle East and Mediterranean that were advanced for this point in history began fighting amongst themselves, causing many to collapse and have to rebuild. The histories that the poet Homer wrote suggest the Mycenaeans tried to takeover Egypt but failed. There are also theories that suggest civil war and invasions by outsiders could be the reason that Mycenae is no more.

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