Treasures of the World Series
Desert Towns of the Negev

The Nabataeans controlled the Incense Route through the desert of the Negev for some 500 years before being integrated into the Roman Empire by Emperor Trajan.

The Nabataeans, a nomadic people, lived in and controlled the harsh desert area which formed the northern part of the Incense Route that ran from southern Arabia to Gaza through the legendary capital Petra. 
There was a power vacuum among the Diadochs, which gave the Nabataeans their chance. 
They were at odds with the Ptolemeans in Egypt who tried to create incense routes via their newly built ports on the Red Sea. 
However, this failed due to their lack of navigation skills.
The camel provided the means of transportation through the desert, especially after the fixed saddle had been invented. 
Wealth made the Nabataeans sedentary. 
They established a kingdom. 
In 25 BC, the Romans changed their policy towards their desert borders due to a negative balance of trade. 
Aelius Gallus would lead an unsuccessful expedition to conquer Arabia Felix. 
The Nabataeans adapted and, since they controlled the water holes, they became farmers and planted vineyards and fruit orchards. 
They converted to Christianity and the town of Shivta became a resting place for pilgrims on their way to Mount Sinai. 
Emperor Trajan then implemented a new border policy based on the Limes concept of fortification of borders. 
In 106 AD the Nabataeans finally lost their independence when they were annexed into the Roman Empire to become Provincia Arabica.

Treasures of the World Series
The Plantin-Moretus Museum

The Plantin-Moretus Museum of printing and publishing in Antwerp, Belgium.

The Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp is the only fully equipped printing workshop and publishing house dating from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. 
The museum’s story begins with Christophe Plantin, a leather craftsman, who had made a case himself and wanted to hand it over personally to the secretary of King Philip the Second of Spain. He never got the chance.
He was waylaid by robbers and injured so badly that he would never be able to craft leather again.
So Christophe Plantin became a printer, the most important after Gutenberg, and the biggest publisher of his day.