Masada
National Park
About Masada National Park
Masada is an ancient stone fortress of majestic beauty in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. Now an Israeli national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 840-arce complex holds well-preserved ruins testifying to the historic events that took place here.
Herod the Great’s Complex
Herod the Great built Masada as a Roman-styled castle complex. Excavations have revealed a “hanging” palace with its three terraces, a large Roman bathhouse with fresco-adorned walls and immersion pools, watchtowers, aqueducts that channelled water to cisterns, storehouses, a ritual bath and a synagogue as wells as the Roman military camps and siege works that encircled the site.
Siege of Masada
During the Great Revolt, Masada became the refuge for the Zealots, about 960 including many women and children. After several months of siege without success, the Romans built a tower on a sloping ramp to try and take out the walls of the fortress. All but two women and five children, who hid in the cisterns and later told their stories, took their own lives rather than lived as Roman slaves.
Masada Today
Masada means “strong foundation or support” in Hebrew. Masada has become a symbol of Jewish heroism. Youth groups would climb up the steep ascent and shout on the top the famous call “Masada will never fall again”.
Interesting Facts
- Though Masada was first fortified either by Jonathan Maccabeus or by Alexander Jannaeus, both Hasmoneans, Masada was chiefly developed by Herod the Great who made it a royal citadel.
- The steep slopes of the mountain made Masada a virtually unassailable fortress. It took the Roman army of almost 15,000 fighting a defending force of less than 1,000 including women and men, almost two years to subdue the fortress.
- Among the most interesting discoveries is a group of potsherds inscribed with Hebrew personal names. These may be lots cast by the last defenders to determine who should die first.
