Masada
Coordinates: 31°18′56″N 35°21′14″E / 31.31556°N 35.35389°E
Masada (in Hebrew: מצדה - metsada means: Fortress) is an archaeological site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1]
Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of the State of Israel. It is on top of an isolated rock plateau, like a mesa. The rock is on the east of the Judaean Desert, and overlooks the Dead Sea.
Herod the Great fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BC, and built palaces for himself on the mountain.
According to Josephus, the Sicarii, a splinter group of the Hebrew Zealots, held out against a Roman legion here. This was the Siege of Masada at the end of the First Jewish–Roman War. The siege ended in the mass suicide of 960 people – the rebels and their families.[2]
The hill is 63 meters above sea level and 450 meters above the Dead Sea level near Mount Elazar.
References
- ↑ "Masada". UNESCO. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
- ↑ Stiebel, Guy D. 2007. "Masada." Encyclopaedia Judaica. (eds) Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. 2nd ed, vol 13. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, p593–599. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
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