Machaerus

Machaerus (Μαχαιροῦς, from Ancient Greek: μάχαιρα, lit. 'makhaira' [a sword]; Hebrew: מכוור; Arabic: قلعة مكاور, romanized: Qala'at Mukawir, lit. 'Mukawir Castle') was a Hasmonean hilltop palace and desert fortress, rebuilt by Herod and now in ruins, near the village of Mukawir in modern-day Jordan. The site is located 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the mouth of the Jordan River overlooking the Dead Sea.

Machaerus was built by Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus (r. 104–78 BCE). Destroyed later by Roman general Gabinius in 57 BCE during conflicts with Aristobulus II, it was subsequently rebuilt and expanded by Herod, who envisioned it as a potential refuge. Herod constructed a palace, cisterns, a mikveh, a triclinium, and a peristyle within the fortress.

Machareus was then inherited by Herod's son Antipas, who married one of his half-brother's wife after divorcing his Nabataean wife that then fled to her father King Aretas IV. John the Baptist was imprisoned after condemning Antipas' new marriage as adulterous, and was later beheaded in Machareus around 32 AD, according to the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus and the New Testament. Machareus was then destroyed by Arab Nabatean King Aretas IV's troops, who defeated Antipas' troops as retaliation in a major battle in 36 AD.

After the fall of Jerusalem during the First Jewish–Roman War, the fortress became a magnet for resistance against Roman rule. Following a siege by Legio X Fretensis under Bassus in 71 CE, the Jewish defenders eventually surrendered after Eleazar, a key leader, was captured. However, the Romans reneged on their agreement regarding the non-Jewish inhabitants, massacring the men and enslaving the women and children.