Masada Castle, a symbol of power

In today's post, we will explore something a little different from usual. Indeed, I've decided that this week's post should be about a particular castle.

This bastion was built by King Herod The Great, the last king of Judea before the Romans officially took over (they were the ones who installed Herod on the throne in the first place). Masada Castle was ordered sometime around 37 and 31 BCE by the king for unknown reasons, most likely as a symbol of power. It was viewed as Herod's greatest bastion and one of his most significant architectural projects. Sometime after his death, the Jewish revolt of 66 BCE started, and Masada was their last stand after the fall of Jerusalem. The Romans abandoned it after they conquered it. The fortress can be found in Israel, close to the Dead Sea. It is located on top of a rock cliff, elevated at around 450 meters from the ground, and is 400 meters above sea level. The fact that it was built on top of such a remote place makes it one of the most formidable strongholds of its time.

Indeed, when the Romans sieged the place, as stated earlier, they faced a far more significant challenge than in Jerusalem. Despite the legion of 8,000 Roman soldiers, with all of their advanced siege equipment and few thousands of conscripts, it took them almost a year to take over the place. You have to keep in mind that eight times fewer rebels were defending the site, and they never benefited from the Romans' militaristic knowledge and equipment. The Romans had to build a huge ramp made of earth and stone on the rock cliff's side to mount a siege tower to breach its walls from there. Although the siege's actual end is highly debated, the most common story is that its inhabitants committed collective suicide when a defeat became inevitable.