The ancient fortress jutting out of the mountain is one of Israel’s most interesting places. Towering 1,200 feet over the desert with views of the Dead Sea, it is the site of an ancient fortress built by King Herod in the 1st century BC. Herod was the governor of Israel and had support from the Romans. He wanted a place he could be protected from Egyptians. The grand fortress had massive storerooms and cisterns, as well as bathhouses and palaces that made it a grand resort in its days.
In 66 AD, Masada was taken over by Jewish rebels who opposed the Romans, and when the Second Temple was destroyed a few years later, even more people sought sanctuary at Masada. These rebels would go on raids against the Romans as well as Jews who opposed them, and they used Masada as their headquarters. The cisterns and storage that were set up as well as the natural defenses of its geography made it the perfect hideout for these rebels. They lasted for years before a siege left them greatly overpowered, and they decided to take their own lives rather than succumb to the Romans.
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