Herod's Palace and the Three Towers

When Jerusalem fell to Herod in 37 B. C.E., the walled settlement consisted of the Temple Mount (with the second temple), the City of David, and the western hill. The Temple Mount and City of David had been resettled after the return from Babylonian exile and fortified under Nehemiah, whereas the wall surrounding the western hill (the First Wall) was constructed in the Hasmonean period (following the line of the late Iron Age wall). On the northwest side of the western hill, Herod built a palace for himself, as he could not use the existing palace, which belonged to the Hasmonean family. Josephus describes Herod's palace as consisting of two wings separated by pools and gardens. Herod named the wings the Caesareum, in honor of Augustus, and the Agrippaeum, in honor of Marcus Agrippa, Augustus' son-in-law and designated heir (who died in 12 B. C.E., predeceasing Augustus). Herod formed a close friendship with Marcus Agrippa, who visited Judea and toured Herod's kingdom in 15 B. C.E. Although excavations have been conducted in the area where Herod's palace was located (the modern Armenian Garden), almost no remains of the superstructure have survived.

At the northwest corner of the First Wall and on the north side of his palace, Herod erected three large towers. These towers served two purposes: (1) to reinforce the city's vunerable northern flank, which was not bounded by a deep natural valley as the other sides were; and (2) to protect Herod's palace, which was surrounded by its own fortification system. Josephus tells us that Herod named the largest tower Phasael (in honor of his older brother, who committed suicide in 40 B. C.E.), the middle-sized tower Hippicus (after a friend), and the smallest tower Mariamne (in honor of his beloved Hasmonean

7.3 Plan of Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period. From E. Stern (ed.), The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993), vol. 2, p. 718. By permission of Hillel Geva and the Israel Exploration Society.

7.4 David's Tower and the First Wall. Courtesy of Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures. com.

Wife, whom he executed). When Jerusalem fell to the Romans in 70 C. E., Titus had two of the towers razed to the ground but left one standing.

Today, the surviving Herodian tower lies inside a large fortified enclosure (the Citadel) next to Jaffa Gate, in the middle of the western wall of the modern Old City. Most of the remains in the Citadel are much more recent than the Roman period, dating to medieval and Ottoman times. However, some earlier remains are enclosed within the Citadel, including the northwest corner of the First Wall, into which the Herodian tower is set. Only the lower part of

7.5 Stucco room in "the mansion." Reconstruction by Leen Ritmeyer ©.

The tower has survived, which is constructed of characteristic Herodian-style masonry: large ashlar stones with smooth, drafted margins and a flat, paneled boss. The upper part of the tower was reconstructed later using much smaller stones. The current moniker, David's Tower, reflects a popular (and incorrect) association with King David that stems from a later tradition. The tower is visible immediately to the right after entering Jaffa Gate, within the walls of the Citadel, as well as inside the courtyard of the Citadel. Sometimes modern visitors confuse David's Tower with the minaret of an Ottoman mosque that is also located inside the courtyard of the Citadel. Because of its large size, many scholars identify the tower as Phasael. However, an Israeli archaeologist, Hillel Geva, has suggested that it is Hippicus, based on Josephus' description of the location of the tower relative to the line of the First Wall.