MASADA

Israel

December 2008

Herod later (between 37-31 BCE) built a magnificent three-tiered palace

complex & a fortress, with storehouses, gardens & baths, as a potential

refuge for himself (in case of an attack by Queen Cleopatra); the irony is

this: Herod never stayed here

(This photo was taken from http://www.ayelet.com/assets/Photos/Israel/

Masada.JPG)

According to

Josephus,

Masada

(„fortress‟ in

Hebrew) was

first built by

„Jonathan, the

High Priest‟—

the Hasmonean

king Alexander

Janaeus (103-76

BCE)

A model of the 3-tiered palace

on the northern end

(This photo was taken from

http://www.bible-architecture

.info/images/Masada_4.jpg)

The plateau, 450 m above the level of the

Dead Sea, is about 650 m long & 300 m

long

(This picture was taken from

http://www.jibe-

edu.org/clientimages/28237/photos-

travel/masadaaerialfromsetbq010703.jpg)

The winding Snake Path, on the

side of the Dead Sea, was one of

the ancient paths to get to the

top

The cliffs on

the western

side are

about 100 m

high

The cliffs on

the eastern

side rise

450 m above

the Dead Sea

“. . . and one of these ways is called the Serpent, as resembling that animal in

its narrowness and perpetual windings . . . & he that would walk along it must

first go on one leg & then the other; there is also nothing but destruction in case

your feet slip, for on each side there is a vastly deep chasm & precipice,

sufficient to quell the courage of everybody by the terror it infuses into the

mind.” (Josephus)

The Snake Path

rises 280 m in

elevation

A hike up will

take about 45

minutes

Alternatively, the cable car can take us up there within minutes

Ibex (or wild mountain goats) on the cliffs (Ps 104:78)

The evaporation ponds of the

Dead Sea collect the rich

minerals, especially potash

A tower which served as the

guards‟ lookout

Herod built 29 long rooms to store

food, liquids, & weapons that could

last him for years

An original Roman-styled fresco in a

room in the Northern Palace

The area under the black outline

belongs to Herod‟s time

Herod needed water for his

gardens, swimming pool, &

baths

The southern water cistern has

a flight of 64 stairs that leads

to a great cistern

The bathhouse also served a social function

It was a place the king & his guests met, bathed, & exercised

Bathing took place in the rooms inside the building

The bathers exercised in the courtyard which was surrounded by a

roofed colonnade

Caldarium

(hot room)

Tepidarium

(tepid room)

Frigidarium

(cold room)

Apodyterium

(entrance &

dressing room

The vivid wall paintings & colourful stone floors show the opulence, the high

standard of living, & the importance Herod gave to the bathhouse in his palace

„The fittings of the interior—apartments,

colonnades, & baths—were of manifold

variety & sumptuous . . .” (Josephus)

The cold room with its cold water pool

The largest room—the hot room—had a hypocaust (heating room) beneath

it, & its floor stood on about 200 tiny brick columns

With a suspended floor, it was then possible to blow hot air from the furnace

outside, under the floor, & through clay pipes along the walls, to heat the

room to the desired temperature

The Northern Palace

observation point

The stairs leading to the

middle & lower terraces of the

Northern Palace

After the death of Herod in 4 BCE, the Romans stationed

a garrison at Masada in 6 BCE

When the Great Revolt of the Jews against the Romans

broke out in 66 CE, the Zealots captured Masada & made

it their stronghold

In 70 CE, the Roman General Titus conquered Jerusalem

& destroyed the Temple

Masada remained the last rebel stronghold in Judea

The rebels, under the command of Eleazar Ben Yair,

harassed the Romans for 2 years

In 72 CE, the Roman governor Flavius Silva & the elite Tenth

Legion of 10,000 men arrived at Masada & proceeded to build 8

base camps & a siege wall around the base of the mountain

Finding it hard to climb up to the fortress from the east,

Flavius Silva decided to build a ramp on this natural slope

on the western side of the mountain—only the top 8 m of

the siege ramp was added by the Romans

After a siege that lasted a few

months, the Romans brought a

tower with a battering ram up

the ramp to batter the wall

However, they were

unsuccessful as the inner

support wall was made of

earth & wood

Flavius Silva then decided it

would be more effective to use

fire

The Romans hurled burning

torches & set the wall ablaze

During the night, Eleazar Ben Yair gave two speeches

in which he convinced the 960 members of the

community that it would be better to take their own

lives than to live in shame & humiliation as Roman

slaves

“But first let us destroy our money & the fortress by fire;

. . . & let us spare nothing but our provisions; for they

will be a testimonial when we are dead that we are not

subdued for want of necessities; but that, according to

our original resolution, we have preferred death before

slavery.” (Josephus)

“Then, having chosen by lot ten of their number to dispatch

the rest, they laid themselves down each beside his

prostrate wife & children, &, flinging their arms around

them, offered their throats in readiness for the executants

of the melancholy office. These, having unswervingly

slaughtered all, ordained the same rule of the lot for one

another, that he on whom it fell should slay first the nine

& then himself last of all; . . .” (Josephus)

The next morning, on the 15th of Nissan (73 CE), the first

day of the Passover, the Romans entered a silent fortress

& found many dead bodies (as well as 2 women & 5

children hiding in the cistern)

Masada epitomizes freedom & courage

New recruits to the Israeli Armoured Corps take their oath of

allegiance here, vowing, “Masada shall not fall again.”