Masada (Israel) - description, history, location. The exact address, phone, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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The ancient fortress of Masada is located near the city of Arad. It stands on a rock in the middle of the desert, at an altitude of 450 m above sea level, on a flat plateau measuring approximately 300 by 600 m. The first historical building in this secluded place became a fortified shelter built by King Herod I in 25 BC. e. But not the first creation of human hands: about 10 years earlier, an ancient fortress had already been built here.

Herod the Great created supplies of food and weapons in the fortress, brought water here, and equipped baths similar to Roman ones. This is where he kept his gold treasury. No wonder: it was very difficult to get into Masada, and impossible to get into without being noticed. It is surrounded on all sides by steep and inaccessible cliffs, and only along a narrow path from the sea can you climb up. But this was not enough for Herod: he surrounded the plateau with thick walls, the total length of which is almost 1.5 km, and the thickness is 4 m. 37 towers were also built within the walls.

The fortress was included in the UNESCO List of sites World Heritage humanity.

Even after Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans, Masada’s defenders (a thousand people, including children and women) held on for another three years.

Inside the walls there were royal palaces, storehouses and warehouses, water tanks and other outbuildings, as well as a synagogue. Today, from all these buildings you can see Herod's palace, the baths, several other ruins and a synagogue. The latter is especially surprising: previously, scientists believed that Jews at that time did not need a synagogue, since they had one temple.

Masada Fortress

The fortress fell not as a result of an attack from outside, but during an internal uprising of the Zealots that occurred in 66 AD. e. All the Romans were exterminated. The Jewish War began, but even after Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans in 70, the defenders of Masada (a thousand people - including children and women) held on for another three years. The Romans needed about nine thousand slaves alone to build a rampart around the fortress and pave the way for the siege engines.

The defenders of Masada did not surrender to the enemy: by drawing lots they chose a dozen people who killed them, and then each other.

The ruins of the fortress were found in 1862. Full-fledged archaeological excavations began here in the 1960s. The most interesting of the buildings preserved here are the Western and Hanging Palaces. Today, Masada has become a popular tourist attraction, as evidenced by the presence of a café-bar and the opportunity to spend the night on the western side of the rock in an organized group. In summer, a light and sound show is shown on the same side.

Fragments of ancient mosaics have been preserved in various buildings of Masada.

Practical information

The fortress is located near the Ein Gedi - Ein Bokek highway, at south coast Dead Sea. You can get to it by funicular from the station of the same name on the Dead Sea.

To see the light and sound show, you need to approach the fortress by car from Arad.

The fortress of Masada is the royal citadel of King Herod, which became the last bastion of the Zealots during the Jewish revolt. The most tragic events in the history of the Jewish people took place here - the rebels chose mass suicide to avoid being captured by Rome.

Myths and facts

No one knows for sure which of this is fact and which is fiction, but the story of Masada is intriguing in its drama.

On a high rock in the middle of the desert two thousand years ago, the Jewish nobleman Herod sought refuge for himself and his family. He supported the Romans in the war with the Parthians and when the Parthian became king of Jerusalem, Herod, fearing retribution, fled to the mountains. He then went to Rome, where the Roman Senate appointed him king of Judea. Herod returned accompanied by two Roman legions.

Fearing rebellion and overthrow, King Herod built a citadel on the top of the mountain in 37-31 BC. Masada means "fortress" in Hebrew. The fortress was equipped and supplied with everything necessary for the life of a large army during a long siege. Massive warehouses and fortified palaces with a labyrinth of passages ensured safe retreat in case of war.

But Herod never had to test the strength of the citadel. After his death in 4 BC, the fortress was inherited by his son Archelaus. A few years later, Archelaus lost his throne and Judea came under direct Roman rule, with a Roman garrison stationed at Masada.

In 66, a Jewish uprising broke out, resulting in the long Jewish War. A group of Jewish Zealots defeated the Roman garrison and captured Masada. Strategically located within range of Roman troops in the interior, ideally protected by high cliffs, it was a thorn in the side of the Romans.

After the fall of Jerusalem in 70, all the surviving rebels joined the Zealots. Masada has become last stronghold resistance. They held the fortress for another two whole years. In desperation, the Romans sent their tenth legion with 10,000 soldiers and several thousand slaves to break the resistance.

It turned out to be a difficult task for the Romans. They were located in eight base camps in the desert around a rock. A ramp made of wooden piles was built on a nearby ridge. So they raised a strong platform 90 m high, reinforced the walls with wood, and placed stones on top. Catapults and a giant ram were installed on the platform.

The Romans began to attack the wall with a ram. The defenders of the fortress threw large stones down on their attackers. Hoping to force the rebels to retreat from the walls, the Romans set them on fire. By the end of the day, one of the walls was broken, but the wind turned it into a continuous mass of fire, blocking the path of the Romans. The rebels knew that their capture in the morning was inevitable.

However, when at dawn the Romans rose through the hole punched in the wall, they were greeted by deathly silence. All 960 defenders of Masada were already dead. After seven years of struggle against Roman tyranny, they chose to die rather than live in slavery.

What to see

Masada is located on an isolated mountain with a large flat plateau at the top, surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs 400 m high. Only from the sea side does a narrow “snake path” lead up. Double fortress walls with towers surround the entire perimeter of the plateau.

Herod's Western Palace was the largest building. There are still mosaic fragments on the walls. The Northern Palace, built on the “nose” of the plateau, cascades down three levels of rock. These were Herod's personal apartments.

The most amazing thing about the deserted fortress is the huge pools carved on the top of the rock to collect rainwater. There are Roman baths with cold baths and a large steam room. The steam room was heated by a stove located behind the wall. Hot air passed under a floor built on 200 clay pillars. Floor on this moment destroyed and these clay pedestals are clearly visible. There are also two ritual immersion pools (mikvah), where Jews periodically underwent cleansing of ritual impurity.

WITH western wall there is a view of the desert below where the Roman camps were located. There are still ramps there, and on the plateau lie hundreds of round, grapefruit-sized stones that were used for shooting.

There are two temples: a synagogue and a chapel. The synagogue is considered the oldest in the world, and records were found there that helped reconstruct the history of Masada. Today it is used again to celebrate bar mitzvahs, the coming of age of Jewish boys at age 13. In the 5th century, Byzantine monks also built a small chapel. The monks were the last inhabitants of Masada.

The ancient Nahal Kziv nature reserve near Haifa is known for its equally colorful history and abundance of attractions. Israel is rightfully proud of such shrines as in Bethlehem and Nazareth.

Masada is open daily from 08:00 to 17:00 from April to September and from 08:00 to 16:00 from October to March. On Fridays and before holidays it closes an hour earlier.
The light show is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 21.00 in summer and 20.00 in winter.
Cost: 25 NIS (about 5.2 €), with cable car ride 61 NIS, light show 41 NIS.
How to get there: from Tel Aviv by bus number 421, from Jerusalem by bus number 486 to Masada Center station. You can climb to the fortress by cable car from the east or on foot along the snake path from the west.

Built two thousand years ago on the top of a five-hundred-meter cliff on the edge of the lifeless Judean Desert, it did not exist by historical standards for very long - only about 150 years. But this fact did not prevent it from becoming one of the most famous strongholds in human history. My story today is about the Masada fortress, which has long become the personification of courage and love for freedom.

Masada is located on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert on a free-standing stepped cliff overlooking the shores.

The most impressive view of the fortification opens from the side where the winding highway No. 3199 leads into the fortress.

There is another opportunity to get to Masada - directly from the shores of the Dead Sea, from where you can climb up either on foot along the Snake Path or by cable car, serviced by the local kibbutz.

The fortress was abandoned for about one and a half thousand years, so now no one can say for sure when the first fortifications appeared on the rocky ledge. Archaeologists say that, most likely, in the middle of the 2nd century BC. Let's believe them.

Today, the only permanent residents of the fortress are black starlings with orange feathers on their wings. Two years ago I told you.

Masada's finest hour came at the end of the 1st century BC, when King Herod, who had ascended the Jewish throne, decided to establish his winter residence here. Large-scale construction began at the fortress. Masada was designed to protect the southern borders of the Kingdom of Judah from a possible attack from the south. The fortress was also supposed to become a reliable shelter for Herod in the event of an uprising or invasion by enemy troops.

At the northern end of the rock, a luxurious three-tier palace was built for Herod: in the upper part there were royal chambers, the lower floors were intended for receiving distinguished guests. The height difference between the upper and lower tiers was 35 meters.

In addition to the palace, the northern complex included many service premises - warehouses, administrative buildings, baths. The house of the commandant of the fortress was also located here.

In addition to the Northern three-tiered palace, there was another one - the Western one, which was considered the official royal residence.

Much of Masada has been restored from ruins. The black line separates the ancient preserved walls from the restored ones.

On the territory of the fortification there were many different buildings - barracks, watchtowers, swimming pools, baths and water reservoirs.

There was a synagogue near the western wall. Also in the fortress there was a pool for ritual ablutions and a house of study, intended for reading the Torah.

Soon after the death of Herod, Judea became part of the Roman Empire. A Roman garrison was stationed in the fortress.

In 66 AD, the Jewish revolt began. Masada was captured by the Sicarii, one of the most radical members of the anti-Roman opposition. It took the Romans 4 years to suppress the rebellion; in 70 AD, Roman legions victoriously entered Jerusalem. The surviving rebels fled to Masada.

In 73, the tenth Roman legion under the command of Flavius ​​Silva approached Masada. Eight thousand Roman soldiers stood in several camps around the fortress.

The outlines of their camps can still be seen in the surrounding area. The largest is the sixth camp. Flavius ​​Silva's command post was located here. A blockade wall was built between the camps, surrounding Masada on all sides and cutting off its defenders from the outside world.

On the western side of the fortress, the construction of a siege rampart began, along which battering rams could be rolled up to the fortress walls. The shaft, despite the passage of two thousand years, has also survived to this day - it is clearly visible.

When the construction of the rampart was completed, a 30-meter siege tower with folding bridges was rolled along it. The fate of the fortress was decided. The night before the assault, the leader of the Jewish rebels, Elazar ben Yair, gave a fiery speech to the Jews and called on them to die as free people.

The text of this speech has come to us thanks to the Jewish historian Josephus:

Long ago, brave men, we decided not to obey the Romans or anyone else except God, for He is the only true and just King over people. Now the hour has come, calling us to put our decision into practice. Let us not disgrace ourselves, who did not want to endure slavery even before, when it did not threaten any dangers, let us not now voluntarily give ourselves over to slavery and to the most terrible torments that await us if we fall into the power of the Romans alive! For we were the first to rebel against them and the last to fight. I look at it as the mercy of God that he gave us the opportunity to die a beautiful death and free people, which was not destined for others who were unexpectedly captured. We know for sure - tomorrow we are in the hands of enemies; but we are free to choose a glorious death along with everyone we care about. The enemies cannot prevent this, even if they really wanted to catch us alive. On the other hand, we cannot defeat them in battle.

May our wives die not disgraced, and our children never experience slavery; then we will perform a noble service for each other: then our preserved freedom will be our honorable shroud. But first we will destroy our treasures and the entire fortress with fire. I know well: the Romans will be upset when they do not take possession of us and see themselves deceived in their hopes of booty. We will leave only food supplies intact, for this will testify after our death that it was not hunger that forced us, but that we, as we decided from the very beginning, preferred death to slavery.

Further events are also described by Josephus:

Then they chose ten people by lot who were to slaughter the rest. And each one stretched out on the ground next to his dead wife and children, clasping their bodies with his hands, and willingly offered his throat to the ten who performed the terrible duty. These people, without flinching, pierced everyone with their swords, one after another. Then they cast lots among themselves, so that the one whom fate would point to would kill nine comrades, and then lay hands on himself... So they all died with the confidence that they did not leave behind a single living soul over which they could abused by the Romans...

The next day the Romans rose to Masada, and when they found piles of the dead, they did not rejoice at the sight of their dead enemies, but only froze in silence, amazed by the greatness of their spirit and indestructible contempt for death.

The future fate of Masada is unenviable. For several more decades it housed a Roman garrison, but in 111 AD the fortress was abandoned.

Several centuries later, Byzantine hermits periodically settled on the territory of the fortress, and even for some time there was a Christian monastery. But with the arrival of the Arab tribes in the 7th century, the fortress was finally consigned to oblivion.

This was the last line of defense, where the rebel Jews, completely isolated from the rest of the world, under the command of Elazar Ben-Yair, confronted the powerful Tenth Roman Legion led by Flavius ​​Silva.

80 kilometers from Jerusalem is the Ein Gedi nature reserve, and 20 kilometers from it is the Masada fortress, with which one of the most heroic pages in the history of the Jewish people is connected. Masada is a powerful fortress located on top of a huge rock that rises near the coast Dead Sea.

The geographical position of the fortress in a waterless desert zone, far from populated areas, and natural inaccessibility made it a safe refuge. The Roman historian Josephus reports that the fortress was built by the high priest Jonathan, and then King Herod further strengthened it by building 37 tall towers. Josephus puts it this way:

He built a wall around the top of the mountain and built thirty-seven towers on top of the wall. AND royal palace He built for himself in a fortress, on the western slope of the mountain - under the wall that closes at the top of the mountain. And everywhere in the rock he carved pools for reservoirs, thanks to which he managed to provide water to the inhabitants of the fortress... Thus, the fortress was erected by God and people for protection from the enemy who would rise against it in war...

Photo 2.

The word "metsad" or "metsada", in the Greek pronunciation "masada", used to designate a fortress in general, and at the end of the Second Temple period - the name assigned to a particular fortress, are found in the Holy Scriptures. Massada is a diamond-shaped rock plateau, towering enormously above the surrounding area to a height of about 450 meters above the Dead Sea (and about 50 meters above absolute sea level). The length of the Massada plateau is approx. 600 meters, maximum width – approx. 300 meters.

This is a very strong fortress, and here are its features: on all sides of a very high and wide rock there are steep slopes that descend into such abysses that they cannot be measured. No living creature has set foot here. Only in two places there is a slight slope in the rock and there are paths going upward, but they are very narrow.

The slopes of the rock are really very steep: on the eastern side their height reaches 300 meters, and the height of the lowest rock on the western side reaches almost 100 meters.

Massada and its history are mentioned repeatedly and in detail in the world-famous works of the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus (Yosef ben Matatyahu, 37-100 AD), but also in the books of other ancient chroniclers. Josephus reports that the first ruler who made Massada a fortified point was the Great Cohen (high priest) Jonathan the Hasmonean, and it is believed that Josephus had in mind Alexander I Yannai, king and high priest of Judea from the Hasmonean dynasty, whose Hebrew name was also Jonathan, and coins from the time of whose reign (103 - 76 BC) were discovered in the fortress. Then, in 37 BC, King Herod the Great, newly appointed in the same year (by decision of the Roman Senate), fled to Massada, pursued by the last Hasmonean king and high priest Mattathias Antigonus II (Matityahu Antigonus, who ruled from 40 to 37 BC. BC.).

King Herod (aka: Hordos in Hebrew, and Herodus in Latin) also hid his entire clan and 800 retinue and guards here. After some time, Herod managed, leaving his family in Massada, to slip through the barriers and sail to his Roman patrons. Meanwhile, the unrelenting blockade carried out by the Jewish king almost led the people who had taken refuge in the fortress to death from dehydration. However, at the most critical moment, life-saving rains began, again filling the reservoirs built in Massada. Herod, who then returned from Rome, went up with his squad to Massada and lifted the blockade from it. After these events, Herod turned Massada into a completely autonomous and exclusively fortified castle-refuge, filling it with all sorts of palace delights and comforts, such as, for example, a bath complex, viewing terraces, huge warehouses, etc., and quartering numerous servants and guards here.

Under King Herod, the fortress was surrounded by a double wall, the interior of which was divided into casemates. There were four gates in the wall, designed as square rooms with two entrances, a paved floor and seats along the walls, decorated with frescoes.

Photo 3.

Anticipating the possibility of a long siege, he ordered the construction of a whole complex of food warehouses and a large public bathhouse next to them in the northern part of the rock. To the west of the Dead Sea there were two canyons: from them, using open plastered channels, water was diverted into 12 drainage systems carved in two parallel rows in the northwest of the rock. From them, water was manually delivered to the top of the rock into other tanks

After the death of Herod the Great, Masada became a Roman garrison, remaining there until 66 AD, the year in which the Great Revolt against the Romans (1st Jewish War) broke out. Zealot zealots led by Menachem Ben-Yehuda of Galilee burst into the fortress and killed its entire garrison. After the murder of Menachem ben-Yehuda by ideological opponents in Jerusalem, Menachem’s nephew El’azar Ben-Yair, who was Menachem’s nephew, found refuge in Massada. In 67, he led a detachment of defenders of the fortress here, consisting of the most extremist-minded Zealots, the so-called. the Sicarii, who strengthened themselves and actually locked themselves here in the year 73, which became fatal for them.

In 66, from the beginning of the Jewish War, Menachem (son of Judah the Galilean), at the head of a detachment of Zealots, captured Masada. They beat the Roman garrison and captured weapons that had been laid down by King Herod.

Photo 4.

In the spring of 70, the Roman army under the command of Emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, but here they faced fierce resistance from the inhabitants of the city. The proposal to surrender was indignantly rejected by the rebels, who, with their frequent forays, tried to interfere with the siege work of the Roman troops. The Romans had to take every meter. in battle. Only after Emperor Titus had surrounded Jerusalem with a ring of trenches could his army resume its attacks without interference. In August, the legionnaires captured the Second Temple of Jerusalem, and in September they captured the entire city.

But even after the fall of Jerusalem, the last fighters for Israeli independence defended themselves with such stubborn bitterness as if their cause had not yet been lost. The fortresses of Mahero and Masada and the castle of King Herod still remained in the hands of the resisters. The latter was simply a fortified palace and therefore was taken by Lucius Bass without much difficulty. But the Romans did not manage to take possession of the Mahero fortress so easily, after which the beatings and sale of Jews into slavery began again.

Photo 5.

In the year 72, after all of Judea had already been conquered, plundered and destroyed by the Romans, including Jerusalem, the 10th Roman legion, led by procurator Flavius ​​Silva, settled around Masada and blocked it from all sides. The siege lasted for many months and was made very difficult for Silva by logistical difficulties in bringing food and water to his people. At least nine thousand Jewish slaves paved roads, carried earth and dragged tree trunks to build a siege rampart, poured into the gorge to the west of the fortress. On this embankment, raised, according to Josephus, by 100 m, the Romans built a 25-meter siege tower with a powerful ram, leveling it with the fortress wall, which allowed them to eventually loosen it and make a breach. As already indicated, the siege rampart has been perfectly preserved to this day, and along the path laid through it, you can climb to the fortress in the west.

On the night before the breach of the wall, El'azar Ben-Yair convinced the Zealots not to surrender to the mercy of the winner and to die as free people, laying hands on both themselves and their wives and children. Josephus eloquently describes a dramatic speech delivered to his comrades by El'azar Ben-Yair, witnessed, according to Josephus, by two women and five children who hid in one of the reservoirs and then surrendered to the Romans, who rose to the plateau at dawn. A terrifying and chilling story, in its scope, perhaps, unparalleled in the world chronicle: each warrior cut the throat of his wife and children with his own hands...

Then ten performers were chosen by lot, cutting the throats of all the male defenders of the fortress... The total number of all those killed was about 960 people. Then they burned all the jewelry and everything of any value or usefulness, except food, so that the Romans would not think that hunger had spurred them to commit suicide. Finally, one of the ten, also chosen by lot, killed the rest, set fire to the fortress and fell on his sword.

Photo 6.

So on April 15, 72, the last defenders of Masada died. Only two women with five children, who took refuge in one of the caves, were saved.

It is appropriate to explain here that Judaism regards suicide as a grave sin and, therefore, the killing “tactics” chosen by the Zealots actually reduced the number of suicides among them to one single person. Josephus also narrates that the Roman soldiers who finally ascended to Massada and were preparing for a fierce battle suddenly realized that there was no one for them to capture and nothing to plunder (looting was a familiar and desired trophy and reward for valor) and were amazed at the sight they saw, strength of spirit, perseverance and devotion to their ideals of the defenders of the fortress...

And, nevertheless, despite the seemingly obvious fact of unparalleled courage and heroism, in Judaism suicide cannot be justified in any way and cannot be considered a “brave” or “noble” act, especially since the defenders of Massada killed their wives and children, without asking their consent, breaking Jewish law with this act.

Following the events described, a Roman garrison was again stationed in Massada for several years, then, after centuries of complete desolation, in the 5th-6th centuries. Here, in the caves, several Byzantine Christian monks settled, who also set up cells both inside and next to the destroyed buildings. They built a Byzantine church in Massada and stayed here for more than a hundred years. With the departure of the monks, Massada again became uninhabited and was abandoned until the present day. Interest in Massada and its legendary history was renewed in modern times by two American researchers, A. Robinson and A. Smith, who in 1839 saw this archaeological site from the side of Ein Gedi, identified it with Massada and associated it with the narratives of Josephus...

Photo 7.

Masada is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Photo 8.

In Masada, many food and weapons reserves were preserved, a skillful water supply system and baths, modeled on the Roman ones, were built. The fortress was also used to store royal gold

Masada is surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs. Only from the sea side does a narrow, so-called snake path lead upward. The top of the rock is crowned by an almost flat trapezoidal plateau, the dimensions of which are approximately 600x300 m.

The plateau is surrounded by powerful fortress walls with a total length of 1400 m and a thickness of about 4 m, in which 37 towers are built.

On the plateau, palaces, a synagogue, armories, pits for collecting and storing rainwater and other auxiliary buildings were built.

The fortress now preserves the palace of King Herod, a synagogue, fragments of mosaics, water reservoirs carved into the rocks, cold and hot baths and much more.

Photo 9.

One of the most striking finds is the synagogue. It was believed that the Jews had no need for synagogues as long as they had the Temple. Masada was reconstructed during the existence of the Second Temple, but a synagogue was nevertheless created in it.

In addition, a synagogue was also found in the ruins of the Gamla fortress. This proved that among the ancient Jews the existence of synagogues did not depend on the existence of the Temple.

In 66 AD e. Masada was taken by the rebel Zealots, and the Roman garrison was massacred.

In 67 AD, representatives of the radical party settled in Masada, leading the uprising against the Romans, which resulted in the long Jewish War.

In 70 AD, after the capture of Jerusalem by the Roman legions, Masada turned out to be the last stronghold of the rebels. The defenders of the fortress barely numbered about 1 thousand people, including women and children, but they held Masada for another 3 years.

Photo 10.

About 9 thousand slaves built roads and carried earth to build a siege rampart around the fortress and platforms for throwing machines and rams.

When the Romans managed to set fire to the internal building additionally built by the Sicarii defensive wall, consisting of wooden beams, Masada's fate was sealed.

“Unwilling to surrender to the Romans, the Sicarii decided to commit suicide. Lots were cast, ten executors of the last will were chosen, who stabbed all the defenders of the fortress, women and children, and then one of them, chosen by lot, killed the rest and committed suicide. The story of the massacre in the fortress was told by a woman who hid in a water tank and therefore survived.” Josephus, "The Jewish War"

Photo 11.

For some time, the history of the defense of Masada was considered a legend, but a comparison of Jewish and Roman historical chronicles, including Josephus's book "The Jewish War", and archaeological finds on the territory of the fortress, including stone tablets with names used as lots for ten executors of the last will, convince of the opposite.

Photo 12.

There is also a version that when the Romans broke through the fortress wall, the defenders of the fortress set fire to all the buildings.

However, human remains and/or graves have never been found on the territory of the fortress (it is worth recalling that we are talking about about a thousand people, which is quite a lot for such a relatively small area), so not a single version has yet found sufficiently strong confirmation.

The ruins of the fortress were first discovered in 1862. Thorough excavations were carried out in 1963-65.

Since 1971, a funicular has been operating on Masada, connecting the foot of the rock with its top. You can also climb on foot to the gates of the fortress along the “snake path” winding along the eastern side of the rock.

Photo 13.

How to get there

1. To the Eastern entrance to Masada from Jerusalem. We arrive in Jerusalem along Highway No. 1 to the entrance to the city. Then, using road signs, we move towards the Dead Sea. Having passed the intersection of HaGiva HaTzorfatit (Tzomet haGiva haTzorfatit), we will proceed, without turning, along a section of the highway for about 30 km and going down to the Dead Sea. At the intersection of Beit HaArava (Tzomet Beyt haArava) we turn south and go straight to Massada. On this section of the road we pass kibbutzim (a kibbutz is an agricultural or economic-industrial commune) Almog, KALIA, Mitzpe Shalem, Ein Gedi.

2. To the Eastern entrance to Massada from Arad. Those arriving in Massada from the northern regions of Israel take the general direction to Beersheba and, having reached the Lehavim intersection (Tzomet Lehavim), turn east onto highway No. 31, along which they travel for several tens of kilometers (passing mainly Bedouin settlements, and also Tel Arad - an archaeological mound that preserves the cultural layers of the Talmudic period) until they come to the Zohar crossroads (Tzomet Zohar), directly adjacent to the shore of the Dead Sea. Here you should turn north and, after driving about 20 km, turn left at the sign for Massada.

3. From Arad to the site of the light and sound show and the siege rampart (Western Entrance). The descent to the place of the light and sound performance, as well as to the western passage to Massada (ascent along a short path through the siege rampart) is carried out from Arad, from where a highway was built specifically for this purpose. There are clearly placed signs leading to this road from the very entrance to Arad.

Photo 14.

Central attractions of Masada

1. Fortress wall. Herod surrounded Massada with a so-called casemate (escarpment) wall 1400 meters long, i.e. double wall, with a flat upper ceiling (roof). Partitions were placed inside the wall, forming rooms for the garrison (casemates), weapons and food warehouses, etc., and 7 gates were built in it. The only object not enclosed in the wall was the Northern Palace, due to the fact that, thanks to the steep cliff, there was no way to get to it from the outside.

2. Northernpalace (haArmon haTzfoni). It is one of the most impressive surviving relics from the period of King Herod. This palace is one of the most luxurious of the many built by Herod, and it is described in great detail and vividly in the book of Josephus. The Northern Palace was considered the most important building of Massada. On the territory of the palace there is a wall separating private apartments from public areas and premises.

Why did Herod build the main palace in this particular place? There were a number of good reasons for this:

A. This side of Masada is not exposed to the sun.

B. This sector of the fortress is its most strategic element, because Reservoirs are located under the Palace.

B. This is the northern tip of the mountain, even on the hottest days there is a breeze.

However, the builders of the palace would have encountered serious difficulties in constructing it in such a topographical location. bottleneck Massadas, if Herod’s architects had not proposed a very original solution to the task assigned to them. The palace was built in three tiers, but divided into three rock levels with a total height difference of 30 meters. The upper tier is located on the top of the rock, the middle one is at a height of 18 meters below the upper one, and the lower one is 12 meters below the middle one. The upper tier housed the actual entrance to the Northern Palace. There were quarters for guards, sleeping rooms, a central hall (front or reception hall) and a semicircular panoramic balcony-terrace. From here you can see the lower levels of the Palace, as well as views of the Tzeelim, Mishmar and Haver streams. From the balcony you can also see the Roman road that connected the sources of the Tzeelim stream with the Roman camps.

An internal staircase leads from the area adjacent to the bathhouse complex to the middle tier. Descending along it, we pass by an underground reservoir, as well as a step carved into the rock, which served for the inhabitants of the Palace as a mikvah (a pool for ritual ablution) and reach a flat space, apparently a round hall, surrounded along the perimeter by two rows of columns, of which only grounds. To the south, under the rock wall, there are flights of stairs and additional rooms. From here we go down to the lower tier, in which there was a rectangular hall framed by columns and painted with frescoes. On the eastern side, in the basement, a bath complex of typical Roman style was discovered. Outside there is a font for washing feet, and in the interior there are two pools: one for cold water and the other for hot water.

To the south of the territory of the Northern Palace, in the same place near the wall of the baths, on the site that served as a meeting place for the rebels, eleven clay shards (ostracons) were discovered, each containing only one name, inscribed in the same handwriting and in the same ink. One of the names is Ben-Yair, the name of the leader of the defenders of Massada. It is possible that these are the same fatal ostracons that were used for the drawing of lots by the last ten oath-takers. In any case, this was the expert opinion of Prof. Yigal Yadin, whose excavations and research, in fact, opened Massada to the general public...

3.Western Palace (haArmon haMaaravi). The largest structure on the territory of Massada, as one would expect, was also erected by Herod I the Great. Its area is about 4 thousand square meters. m and consists of the remains of living quarters, a reception hall, bathing rooms tiled with mosaics, toilets (royal!), workshops and storage rooms.

4.Food warehouses. About 15 separate warehouses were built in Massada, and some of them underwent a good restoration. The remaining warehouses were left in a pre-restoration state, awaiting possible restoration by the hands of our descendants. Massada's warehouses were mainly used to store wine, oil, flour and ammunition.

5. Mikvah. The ritual ablution pool, located in the eastern part of the plateau, was built in accordance with all the rules of Halacha (the highly demanding Jewish religious legislation). Compliance with Halacha was established by one of the most prominent Hasidic rabbis, our contemporary.

6. Synagogue. This is one of the oldest synagogues in the world, and comparable in antiquity was discovered only in Gamla, on Golan Heights. Before these discoveries, it was believed that the Jews had no need for synagogues as long as they had the Temple. But the confirmed fact of the construction of synagogues that existed before the destruction of the Second Temple (by Titus in 70 AD) proves that the ancient Jews used synagogues regardless of the existence of the Temple.

Photo 15.

Roman siege at Massada

Along with insurmountable fortifications of natural origin - especially steep slopes and sheer rocky cliffs, which perfectly replaced fortress walls, King Herod erected a plateau and a man-made wall around the top of the plateau 5 meters high and about 1400 meters in perimeter. The fortress wall, as already indicated, itself consisted of two parallel walls: an outer one, 1.4 m thick, and an inner one, 1 m thick. The gap between the walls was about 4 meters, and all this space with total area About 9 dunams were covered with a powerful ceiling, and inside it was divided into numerous rooms by partitions. Every 40 meters of the wall, watchtowers were erected, between which guards patrolled the wall covering. Gates were built opposite each of the four paths that went up the mountain: East Gate- against the Snake Path (Shvil HaNachash), the Western Gate - against the Western Path (Shvil HaMaarav), the Northern Gate - against the Water Path (Shvil HaMaim) and the Cave Gate (Shaar HaMe'arot) - against the South trails (Shvil Ha-Darom).

Thanks to such a multifaceted fortification, the Romans were stuck near Massada for many months until they managed to break through the wall, and only in the fall of 73 AD. They managed to defeat the extremely small squad of Zealots. To do this, they had to set up at least 8 siege camps around Massada. The siege was commanded by the Roman governor Flavius ​​Silva, who had about 10 to 15 thousand people at his disposal. Starting the blockade, the Romans surrounded the entire mountain with a siege wall about 5 km long. During the final stages of the siege, the Romans also erected a huge siege rampart against the western fortress wall. The siege rampart was constructed in alternating layers of trees and layers of soil delivered from the nearby Tseelim stream.

While the Romans built the siege rampart, the Zealots did everything in their power to prevent their engineering plan from turning into a nightmare. Arrows and sling stones were constantly raining down on the Romans, and huge stone rounds were rolling from the wall, which forced the besiegers to work with one hand and squeeze the handle of the shield in the other. However, despite fierce resistance, the construction of the rampart was completed, a siege tower with a ram was built on it, and the wall in the western part was finally broken through. However, the story did not end there: the Zealots did not even think of giving up, but “under the guise” of the Roman initiative behind the rammed wall they managed to build a second - even more powerful - from two parallel rows of logs, the space between which was filled with earth.

The material for this fortification was the dismantled wooden roofs of the palaces, the ceilings of the scarp wall and other wooden elements of the buildings of Massada. The paradox was that the Romans failed to make a hole in this improvised wall, because... The battering ram, designed to destroy stone walls, simply... got stuck in the soft material! But the Romans found a quick solution to this surprise: they pelted the wooden frame with torches and incendiary arrows, the base caught fire and began to collapse, and the soil filling began to crumble, which sealed the fate of the defenders of Massada.

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sources

http://guide-israel.ru/attractions/1772-masada/

http://saba34.narod.ru/MASA.htm

http://www.tiuli.com/track_info.asp?lng=rus&track_id=50

http://kezling.ru/travels/israel-2013-3/

http://www.bibliotekar.ru/100zamkov/8.htm

Let me also remind you about some of the historical sights of Israel: here is a famous one, and here is an equally famous one. Here we tried to answer the question and studied The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

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1. Trips

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Masada Fortress

"Masada Fortress"

The fortress of Masada is a completely isolated fortification where the rebel Jews led by Elazar Ben-Yair resisted the army of the Roman Empire during the time of Flavius ​​Silva. The fortress is located near Jerusalem and is one of the symbols of the heroism of the Jewish people.

The word masada is the Hebrew word metzada, but in Greek pronunciation, which means the word fortress.

The Masada fortress is built on a flat rock top, close to the Dead Sea. This is the geographical location of the fortress, where there is only bare desert around and the nearest settlements with wells located tens of kilometers away, the Masada fortress was not a criminal refuge.

The history of the Masada fortress is repeatedly mentioned in many works of Jews and Roman historians. Josephus wrote that the fortress was founded by the Jewish priest Jonathan Hasmonean, after which the fortress was strengthened with double walls and towers by King Herod. King Herod expected the fortress to withstand a long siege, so he organized the construction of public bath houses, huge warehouses and a reservoir, as well as barracks for a permanent garrison of 800 soldiers.

"Masada Fortress"

The Masada fortress is located on a flat rocky ridge at an altitude of 450 meters above level of the Dead sea, and the ridge is more than 600 meters long and 300 meters wide. The fortress is very protected: the walls are adjacent to steep 300-meter slopes, and the only two approaches to the fortress are presented in the form of narrow and winding paths wide enough for two people.

After the era of King Herod, the fortress housed a Roman garrison, which in 66 AD. was destroyed during the 1st Jewish War under the leadership of Menachem Ben-Yehuda of Galilee. After his murder in 67, his nephew organized a community of extremist tribesmen in the fortress, who remained there until 73.

During the First Jewish War, in the spring of 70, a Roman legion under the control of Emperor Titus approached Jerusalem and began its siege. The city's inhabitants fought fiercely, but in August the city was captured. The resistance of the inhabitants remained only in the fortresses of Mahero, Masada and in the castle of King Herod, which was captured without difficulty.

"Masada Fortress"

In 71, the capture of the Mahero fortress was difficult, but after several attempts, Roman soldiers managed to capture the fortress.

The siege of the Masada fortress showed that it could not be carried out without powerful siege mechanisms; the siege dragged on. New slaves from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, about ten thousand Jews, spent several months building roads and carrying earth and tree logs to build a huge siege rampart at the western wall of the fortress. The height of the embankment reached 100 meters, then a 25-meter siege tower was built with a ram at the level of the walls. The remains of this earthen rampart have survived to this day.

The tragedy of the defenders of the Masada fortress was that the Roman army could actually capture the fortress. The leader of the defenders, Elazar Ben-Yair, persuaded his fellow tribesmen that it was better to die as free people than to become slaves of the Roman Empire. Hundreds of men, their wives and children decided to choose death.

The faith of Judaism perceives suicide as the most terrible sin for a Jew, so ten men were chosen by lot and killed all 960 inhabitants of the fortress with knives.

"Masada Fortress"

They set fire to all the buildings and valuables, but left all the food untouched, so that the Romans would know that it was not hunger that forced them to commit suicide. Then the ten men cast lots for whoever would kill nine of them. Thus, only one person was a suicide, who, being the last defender, cut his own throat.

On the morning of April 15, 73, the protective wall of the fortress was broken through and Roman soldiers broke into the protective walls. The soldiers were shocked by what they saw: hundreds of dead bodies and burned buildings.

The fortress became a Roman garrison until the 6th century, and with the beginning of the decline of the empire it quickly became empty. After the Byzantine Christians settled in local caves and built a Byzantine church, they became the masters of the fortress for several hundred years. Then the fortress became uninhabited and then forgotten. The fortress was rediscovered in 1839 by American archaeologists; they identified the fortress according to the records of Josephus.

The Masada fortress is under the protection of UNESCO.

The fortress has survived to this day in fairly good condition.

Buildings for grain and weapons, water supply system and Roman baths. Total length The fortress walls are almost 1400 meters and there are 37 towers, in some places the thickness of the walls reaches 4 meters. On the territory of the fortress, a synagogue and a church have been preserved, as well as the palace of King Herod.

In 1963, massive excavations began, during which stone tablets with Hebrew names were found, which were possibly used by the ten men who killed the defenders of the fortress.

In 1971, a funicular was built to make it easier for tourists to climb the fortress.

1. Education and Help Articles - Travel

Those people who began their travel career back in the days of the Soviet Union remember very well how simple the life of a Soviet tourist was back then. Spoon, pot, bowl and metal cup, plus a penknife.

If it’s not easy to decide on a vacation destination. Other people simply pick up a globe, close their eyes and make a choice. And they rely on chance. Since you have chosen the United Arab Emirates as a holiday destination, you can think that you are lucky...

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