MASADA
This isolated mountain-top fortress about 440 m (1,300 ft) above the banks of the Dead Sea was fortified as early as the 1st or 2nd century BC and then enlarged and reinforced by Herod the Great, who added two luxurious palace complexes. On Herod’s death the fortress passed into Roman hands but it was captured in AD 66 during the First Revolt by Jews of the Zealot sect. After the Romans had crushed the rebels in Jerusalem, Masada remained the last Jewish stronghold. Held by less than 1,000 defenders, it was under Roman siege for over two years before the walls were breached in AD 73.
- Off Route 90, 18 km (11 miles) S of Ein Gedi.
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from Jerusalem or Eilat.
- Tel: (08) 658 4207.
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8am–4pm (winter: 3pm) Sat–Thu; 8am–3pm (winter: 2pm) Fri.
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- Mar–Oct.
- Tel: (08) 995 9333 for reservations.
King Herod's mountain top fortress
70 –73
According to a 1st-century account by historian Flavius Josephus, the Roman legions laying siege to Masada numbered about 10,000 men. To prevent the Jewish rebels from escaping, the Romans surrounded the mountain with a ring of eight camps, linked by walls; an arrangement that can still be seen today. To make their attack, the Romans built a huge earthen ramp up the mountainside. Once this was finished, a tower was constructed against the walls. From the shelter of this tower the Romans set to work with a battering ram. The defenders hastily erected an inner defensive wall, but this proved little obstacle and Masada fell when it was breached. Rather than submit to the Romans the Jews inside chose to commit mass suicide. Josephus relates how each man was responsible for killing his own family. “Masada shall not fall again” is a swearing-in oath of the modern Israeli army.
Remains of one of the Roman base camps viewed from the fortress top
