Machaerus, Jordan

 

(from our January 2020 visit)

This is the Dead Sea vista 

from the Jordan side at Machaerus. 

It is the fortified hilltop palace located

 16 miles southeast of the mouth of the Jordan river.

According to Flavius Josephus, it is the location of the 

imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist.

According to the the chronology of the Bible-

Mark 6:24, Matthew 14:8, 

this execution took place in 32 AD shortly

 before the Passover. 

This was following an imprisonment of two years.

This shows part of the steep rock-lined walkway

  to the top of Machaerus. 

 It is not for the faint of heart.

Archeologists found and reconstructed

 this column in 2014.

The lone sentinel at the top of the hill.

A part of our group at the top of the hill.

The sheep are headed to the camp

 at the end of the day. 

                                                                                       (photo from Wikipedia)

Distant view of the site.

We had tried to get to this four years ago,

 but the wet rains prevented a safe ascent.

I was thankful that this trip allowed a visit.

A bit more of the history:

The fortress Machaerus was originally built by the Hasmonean king, Alexander Jannaeus (104 BC-78 BC) in about the year 90 BC, serving an important strategic position. Its high, rocky vantage point was difficult to access, and invasions from the east could be easily spotted from there. It was also in line of sight of other Hasmonean (and later Herodian) citadels, so other fortresses could be signaled if trouble appeared on the horizon. Nevertheless, it was destroyed by Pompey's general Gabinius in 57 BC, but later rebuilt by Herod the Great in 30 BC to be used as a military base to safeguard his territories east of the Jordan.

Upon the death of Herod the Great, the fortress was passed to his son, Herod Antipas, who ruled from 4 BC until 39 AD. It was during this time, at the beginning of the first century AD, that John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded at Machaerus.

After the deposition and banishment of Herod Antipas in 39 AD, Machaerus passed to Herod Agrippa I until his death in 44 AD, after which it came under Roman control. Jewish rebels took control after 66 AD during the First Jewish Revolt. Shortly after defeating the Jewish garrison of Herodium, the Roman legate Lucillus Bassus advanced on Machaerus with his troops and began siege in 72 AD. An embankment and ramp were created in order to facilitate Roman siege engines but the Jewish rebels capitulated before the Roman attack had begun. The rebels were allowed to leave and the fortress was torn down, leaving only the foundations intact.

                                                                                                  (Wikipedia)