Leuke Kome ( gr, λευκή κώμη, lit=white village) was a Nabataean port city located on the

Incense Route The Incense Trade Route was an ancient network of major land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with eastern and southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Levant ...

. It may have been in the vicinity of a location currently called

Aynuna Aynuna (Arab. عينونة, ''ʿAjnūna'') – a village in northwestern Saudi Arabia, in the Tabuk Region, located about 5 km from the Red Sea coast, at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. Archaeological remains discovered here are identified by most r ...

( ar, وادي عينونة) but is more probably located at

al-Wajh Al Wajh ( ar, الوجه), also written Al Wejh, is a coastal city in north-western Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Red Sea. The city is located in the Tabuk Province. It is one of the largest cities in Tabuk region, with a population o ...

History

The port is known from

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

's ''

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

'' and the ''

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...

''.

Now to the left of
Berenice Berenice ( grc, Βερενίκη, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. Th ...
, sailing for two or three days from Mussel Harbor eastward across the adjacent gulf, there is another harbor and fortified place, which is called White Village, from which there is a road to
Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
, which is subject to Malichas, King of the Nabataeans. It holds the position of a market-town for the small vessels sent there from
Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
; and so a
centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
is stationed there as a collector of one-fourth of the
merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more i ...
imported, with an armed force, as a garrison.

mentions the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in his account of the failed

Roman invasion of Arabia Gaius Aelius Gallus was a Roman prefect of Egypt from 26 to 24 BC. He is primarily known for a disastrous expedition he undertook to Arabia Felix (modern day Yemen) under orders of Augustus. Life Aelius Gallus was the 2nd ''praefect'' of Roman Eg ...

thus:

"After enduring great hardships and distress, he (
Aelius Gallus Gaius Aelius Gallus was a Roman prefect of Egypt from 26 to 24 BC. He is primarily known for a disastrous expedition he undertook to Arabia Felix (modern day Yemen) under orders of Augustus. Life Aelius Gallus was the 2nd ''praefect'' of Roman Eg ...
) arrived on the fifteenth day at Leuce-Come, a large mart in the territory of the Nabataeans..."

Leuke Kome was one of the main trading centers on the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

.Dario Nappo, 'On the location of Leuke Kome' Journal of Roman Archaeology vol 23 2010 , pp. 335-348.

Location

Numerous locations for the village have been proposed: * the most prominent suggestion is at

, near the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, where remains of a Nabataean settlement are documentedIngraham et al. 1981 ''atlal'' 5, p. 76–78. * others have favored al-Wajh, 250 km farther south, on

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

and literary grounds. * the

Farasan Islands The Farasan Islands ( ar, جزر فرسان; transliterated: ) are a small group of coral islands approximately 40 km off the coast of Jizan in the Red Sea, belonging to Saudi Arabia. The government provides free ferry rides twice a day to Fa ...

, off the coast of southern

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, based on the find of two Latin inscriptions documenting Roman military presence in the 2nd century

References

Nabataea Nabataean architecture History of Saudi Arabia Archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia Former populated places in Southwest Asia {{SaudiArabia-stub

History

Location

See also

References