The Nabataeans–An Early, Pre-Islamic Arab Kingdom Once Lost in Time; John Mason; Arab America
Long before the rise of Islam in the 7th century AD, an Arab power arose in the 4th century BC. Known as the Nabataean Kingdom, is formed from an Arab, Bedouin tribal base, much as the Islamic empire did almost a millennium later. In time, the Kingdom became a client state of the Roman Empire and thereafter declined in importance to the point where it almost disappeared from the map. It became so hidden in its geographic and economic isolation that it was virtually forgotten, becoming home to just a few nomads.
Source: The Nabataeans–An Early, Pre-Islamic Arab Kingdom Once Lost in Time
