Do you know where Masada is?

Masada is an ancient stone fortress in Israel, located high above the Dead Sea on a tall, rocky mesa. Now an Israeli national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 840-acre complex holds well-preserved ruins attesting to the history of the ancient kingdom of Israel and the courage of its people in the face of a Roman siege.

Where Is Masada?

Masada is located in Israel on the edge of the Judean desert, between Ein Gedi and Sodom, on cliffs made up of chalk, dolomite and marl strata about 1,300 feet (400 meters) above the Dead Sea.

Because of the desert climate, the surrounding area is virtually uninhabited and undeveloped.

Josephus Flavius, the commander of Galilee during the Great Revolt in the first century A.D., chronicled the known history of Masada; future excavation of the site has largely collaborated his accounts.

According to Flavius, the first fort at Masada was built by “Jonathan the High Priest,” thought to be Hasmonean King Alexander Janaeus (who ruled from 103 to 76 B.C.), although no definitive ruins have been discovered from that time.

Recognizing the defensive advantages, Herod built his complex there as a winter escape and haven from enemies, complete with castle, storerooms, cisterns and a foreboding wall.

After Herod’s death and the annexation of Judea, the Romans built a garrison at Masada. When the Great Revolt of the Jews against the Romans broke out in 66 A.D., a group of Jewish people known as the Sicarii, led by Menahem, took over the Masada complex.