 This is in line with Strabo's account (whose description of Arabia derives ultimately from reports by 3rd century BC Ptolemaic officials) that the Nabataean kingship was old and traditional.In conclusion, Rachel Barkay states that "the Nabataean economy and political regime were in existence by the third century BC".The Kingship of the Nabataeans, was in the view of Strabo, an effective one, where the Nabataean kingdom was "very well governed" and the king was "a man of the people".