Masada is the most famous of Herod's fortified desert palaces, both because of its spectacular natural setting and because it was the site of a reported mass suicide of Jewish insurgents seventy-five years after Herod's death. We begin this chapter by reviewing the remains of Herod's palaces atop Masada, and end with a discussion of the mass suicide story.
Herod's Palaces at Masada
Masada is a mesa — a flat-topped mountain with steep cliffs on all sides — overlooking the southwest shore of the Dead Sea (see Figure 6.1). The name Masada derives from the Hebrew word for “fort" or “fortress," reflecting the mountain's natural suitability for that purpose, which was exploited by Herod. Early in his reign, Herod sought to protect the southern and eastern borders of his kingdom from Cleopatra's ambitions by constructing a series of fortresses. Like Masada, some of these were built over fortified palaces that had been established by the Hasmonean kings, such as Alexandrium-Sartaba (in the Jordan Valley north of Jericho) and Hyrcania (west of Qumran). Although Josephus tells us that Masada was first fortified by a Hasmonean king named Jonathan (referring either to Judah Maccabee's brother or to Alexander Jannaeus, whose Hebrew name was Jonathan), archaeologists have not succeeded in identifying any buildings at Masada from the Hasmonean period. Apparently Herod's construction projects at Masada obliterated earlier remains. When Herod fled Judea in 40 B. C.E. in the wake of the Parthian invasion, he deposited his family for safekeeping in the Hasmonean fortress at Masada before proceeding south to the Nabataean kingdom.
10.1 Aerial view of Masada from the northwest. Courtesy of Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures. com.
Masada's steep cliffs make the 1300-foot climb to the top difficult, even treacherous. There have always been two main routes of access: the narrow, winding Snake Path on the east slope (seen from above by visitors riding in the cable car today), and a route on the west side that is buried under the Roman siege ramp (discussed later). Herod fortified the top of the mountain with a casemate wall and towers encircling the edge of the cliff. The casemate wall consisted of two parallel walls divided into a row of rooms, which were used for garrisoning soldiers and storing supplies and military equipment. Gates furnished with guardrooms provided access through the wall at the top of the Snake Path and the western route.
Herod's main buildings inside the fortifications consisted of two palace complexes, one on the north and one on the west. Both complexes included palace rooms (living rooms, dining rooms, etc.), administrative offices, servants' quarters, workshops, bath houses, and storage rooms. Herod apparently intended the two palaces to serve different functions: the western palace included Herod's throne room and was used for official ceremonies, whereas the northern palace contained Herod's private living quarters. All of Herod's buildings at Masada were constructed of large, well-cut blocks of stone that were quarried on top of the mountain.
10.2 View of the northern palace complex looking south. Courtesy of Todd Bolen/BiblePlaces. com.
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