Tombs of Hegra

The tombs of Hegra are undoubtedly the most iconic remains of the Nabataean population that made their home here. The majority of tombs at Hegra were built between 1 and 75 CE, when the Nabataean Kingdom was at its height. However, there was also a large and thriving city at Hegra, renowned and recorded by contemporary sources.
Hegra, in ancient Greek ‘Egra’, has also been known as Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih) in various times and languages in its history. Mada’in Salih is the name most commonly used in the west, but most rarely used in Arabia, and does not appear in records until around the 17th century. 
The Nabataean name, in Aramaic form, was written as ḥgrʾ, likely in order to vocalise Ḥijrā. It can be found for example, in the inscription JSNab 329 recorded by Jaussen and Savignac. In Nabataeo-Arabic form it was written as ʾlḥgr, equivalent to modern Arabic Al-Hijr. The Latin and Greek form, Hegra, are therefore borrowed from the Nabataean.
There are also references in inscriptions to people who say that they are from ḥgryʾ, using a nisba, meaning ‘I am Nabataean’. This is seen for example in the inscription JSNab 150 at Hegra.
Inscriptions along the Darb al-Bakrah, the name given to the Saudi Arabian part of the ancient caravan route that connected the Nabataean cities of Hegra and Petra, shed light on the naming of Hegra. The route was primarily used between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, though it was also in use before and after that time period. As such, it has a high concentration of Nabataean inscriptions, some 912 in total. Within this body of inscriptions, six toponyms are mentioned, of which ḥgrʾ is most common, written in three different forms: ḥgrʾ (for example in inscription UJadhNab 5 and UJadhNab 199), ʾlḥgr (for example in UJadhNab 330) and ʾlḥ{g}rw (for example in ArNab 20). These inscriptions chart an interesting shift from Nabataean Aramaic written in Nabataean characters, to Arabic written in Nabataeo-Arabic characters.