Before Roman control in 106 AD, the area had been ruled by Rabbel II, last king of the Nabataeans, who had ruled since 70 AD. When he died the Third Cyrenaica legion moved north from Egypt into Petra, while the Sixth Ferrata legion, a Syrian garrison unit, moved south to occupy Bostra. The conquest of Nabataea can be best described as casual, an act by Trajan to consolidate control of the area before acting on his designs for territory across the Tigris and eventually into Mesopotamia proper.