In August 1812 the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, who had learned Arabic and disguised himself as a Muslim scholar called Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Abdallah, was on his way to Egypt when he persuaded his Bedouin guides to take him to the tomb of Aaron, which led him through a narrow canyon, the Siq, to the rock-cut city of the Nabataeans, Petra, in Jordan. The city, with its great carved facades, such as the Treasury, had been hidden to Europeans for centuries, its trade having lost its importance after Roman annexation in 106 AD and an earthquake in 363. Burckhardt also found Abu Simbel in 1813 and died in Cairo in 1817.
Before and after
- 2 July 1812Eruption of Tambora
- 21 July 1812Discovery of 12P/Pons–Brooks
- 22 July 1812Battle of Salamanca
- from 16 August 1812 to 18 August 1812Battle of Smolensk
- 22 August 1812Burckhardt rediscovers Petra
- 13 October 1812Battle of Queenston Heights
- from 15 November 1812 to 18 November 1812Battle of Krasnoi
- from 1813 to 1814Creek War
- from 1813 to 1814War of the Sixth Coalition
More in Exploration & discovery
- from 14 May 1804 to 23 September 1806Lewis and Clark Expedition
- from 1901 to 1904Discovery Expedition (1901-1904)
- from 14 November 1907 to 30 November 19071907 Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition
- from 1 June 1910 to 14 June 1913Terra Nova Expedition
- from 3 June 1910 to 30 January 1912Amundsen's South Pole expedition
- 14 December 1911Amundsen reaches the South Pole
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.