King’s Highway

King’s Highway, ancient thoroughfare that connected Syria and the Gulf of Aqaba by way of what is now Jordan. Mentioned in the Old Testament, it is one of the world’s oldest continuously used communication routes.

The King’s Highway was an important thoroughfare for north-south trade from ancient times. The Roman emperor Trajan (reigned 98–117 ce) renovated the road in order to improve transportation and communications between the regional capital, Bostra, and Al-ʿAqabah. The renovated road was known specifically as the “Via Nova Traiana” to distinguish it from another road that Trajan constructed, the Via Traiana in Italy. The King’s Highway was also an important thoroughfare during the Crusades, and numerous fortified castles remain along its route.

The development of similar routes—including the Pilgrimage Route, and, later, the Hejaz Railway and the Desert Highway—largely eclipsed the King’s Highway. Nevertheless, it is promoted as a tourist attraction and is a picturesque means of exploring parts of the Jordanian countryside. The road links some of Jordan’s most important historical sites, including those at Mādabā, Al-Karak, Al-Ṭafīlah, Al-Shawbak, and Petra, and also traverses important natural sites, including Wadi Al-Mawjib, wherein lies the 124-square-mile (320-square-km) Ḍānā Biosphere Reserve.