The Battle of Cana was fought between Greek Seleucid Empire under king Antiochus XII Dionysus, and the Arab Nabataean Kingdom.

Cana is an unknown village; scholars place it somewhere south or southwest of the Dead Sea.

[2]: 44–47 The capture of Gaza posed a threat to the Nabataean trade business and altered their previous neutral relationship with the Hasmoneans.

[2] The Hasmoneans under Jannaeus launched a campaign that captured several territories in Transjordan north of Nabataea, along the road to Damascus, including northern Moab and Gilead.

[1] Although initially successful, the young king was caught in a melee and killed by an Arab soldier.