1:Petra was weakened by huge earthquakes around 500 BC
Petra declined rapidly under Roman rule, in large part from the revision of sea-based trade routes. In 363 an earthquake destroyed many buildings, and crippled the vital water management system.[18] The last inhabitants abandoned the city (further weakened by another major earthquake in 551) when the Arabs conquered the region in 663.[citation needed] The old city of Petra was the capital of the Byzantine province of Palaestina III and many churches were excavated in and around Petra from the Byzantine era. In one of them more than 150 papyri were discovered which contained mainly contracts.[citation needed] The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity during the Middle Ages and were visited by Sultan Baibars of Egypt towards the end of the 13th century.
this leads to point 2
2:There should've Mosques instead of churches after 636 there
If we thought logically Islam should've spread there not Christianity under Romans.
These 2 points are enough to destroy it,but the strongest point I've found for Petra was only the trade route argument and even that can easily be refuted
I'd recommend reading this
https://fayezthezealot.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/makkah-historical-mecca-during-pre-islamic-period/And also reading about the Incense trade route which went from red sea,and it shows that Mecca is pinpointed in the trading route
The trade with Arabia and India in incense and spices became increasingly important, and Greeks for the first time began to trade directly with India. The discovery, or rediscovery, of the sea-route to India is attributed to a certain Eudoxos, who was sent out for this purpose towards the end of the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes II (died 116 BC). Eudoxos made two voyages to India, and subsequently, having quarrelled with his Ptolemaic employers, perished in an unsuccessful attempt to open up an alternative sea route to India, free of Ptolemaic control, by sailing around Africa. The establishment of direct contacts between Egypt and India was probably made possible by a weakening of Arab power at this period, for the Sabaean kingdom of South-western Arabia collapsed and was replaced by Himyarite Kingdom around 115 BC. Imports into Egypt of cinnamon and other eastern spices, such as pepper, increased substantially, though the Indian Ocean trade remained for the moment on quite a small scale, no more than twenty Egyptian ships venturing outside the Red Sea each year. ”
Frankincense from Dhofar was collected at Moscha (ancient Sumhuram). It was shipped to Qana and taken overland to Shabwa and further North to Najran, MECCA, Medina, Petra and to Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea. It was also shipped to Babylon and Palmyra via the Persian Gulf.[20]
The Roman trade with India kept increasing, and according to Strabo (II.5.12.):[21]
So this is from 115 BC,so this proves that Mecca WAS indeed having a trade route aswell.
