Located on the edge of the Negev Desert in the south of Israel, Masada is a natural fortress surrounded by cliffs. Masada, which has an extremely important place for Jews, is the symbol of resistance against the Romans. The story of Masada, where 960 insurgents committed suicide, is included in the Israeli school curriculum. In fact, all children of primary school age visit and Jewish soldiers take the oath ceremony here. Located in Masada National Park, the castle was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001.
The word Masada in Hebrew means “fortress”. Located on the edge of the Negev Desert, between Ein Gedi and Sodom, Masada is 400 meters above the Dead Sea. There are many archaeological remains on the castle, which covers an area of 18 decares. Among the ruins are structures such as a warehouse complex consisting of 29 rooms where food and weapons are kept, palace ruins, living spaces, a cistern and a synagogue. Long a favorite pilgrimage site for Jewish youth groups, a cable car was built in 1977 on the mountain. Declared as a National Park by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Masada is now accessible from two entrances from the east and west.
The History of Masada and the Interesting Suicide Incident
The Hasmoneans, the Jewish state, built the first castle on Masada, which is a natural castle. Later, King Herod, who was sent to the Jews by the Romans, developed the region, thinking that it was suitable for defense, and built warehouses and shelters. King Herod surrounded the rocks with walls and built watchtowers between 36 and 30 BC. The city was built as a military garrison and houses, large water tanks, cellars and a palace were built.
After King Herod died, in 66 AD, a great Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire started and Masada was captured by the Jews. In 70 AD, the Romans suppressed the revolt and captured Jerusalem, which was considered sacred by the Jews. The Roman army, which damaged the holy places in Jerusalem, also perpetrated many atrocities against the Jewish community of the time. After the fall of Jerusalem, the remaining rebels fled to Masada and made it their base.
In 72 AD, the Roman army laid a siege to Masada that lasted for months. The aim is to force those in the castle to surrender, leaving them without supplies. 960 men, women and children in Masada, who were in a difficult situation, took their own lives not to submit to Roman domination. However, in the Jewish faith, it is forbidden to commit suicide for any reason. For this reason, the Jews, whose hopes of salvation were exhausted, commissioned 10 people who knew how to use weapons to kill themselves. As per the treaty, these 10 people will kill each other after killing the other 950 people and no one will survive. Only 2 women and 5 children survived in the mass suicide incident, which was carried out by applying the rules. The historical transmission of the story is thanks to these 5 survivors.
Discovery of Masada Abandoned for Thousands of Years
The suicides and the story of Masada himself remained a mystery until the end of the 19th century. Left abandoned for more than a thousand years, the Masada area was discovered in 1838 by American travelers Edward Robinson and Eli Smith. American missionary Samuel W. Wolcott and British painter W.Tipping were the first to climb Masada in 1842. The famous British captain Claude Reignier Conder was the first to draw a map of Masada in 1875.
Extensive archaeological excavations in Masada were carried out in 1932 by the German scientist Adolf Schulten. The only historical source of the Masada story is the book “The Jewish War” written by Flavius Josephus in 75 AD. Zionist historian Joseph Klausner wrote in 1925 about the zealots of Masada, which he was greatly influenced by, and the interest in the forgotten Masada region increased. Today, it is heavily visited by Jews and many tourists. In addition, a museum was opened in 2007, where the history of Masada is told.
