قلعة مكاور | |
 Panoramic view of Machaerus with the Dead Sea in the background. | |
  Shown within Jordan | |
| Location | Madaba Governorate, Jordan |
|---|---|
| Region | Perea |
| Coordinates | 31°34′2″N 35°37′27″E / 31.56722°N 35.62417°E |
| Type | Fortification, Palace |
| History | |
| Builder | Alexander Jannaeus |
| Founded | c. 90 BCE |
| Abandoned | c. 72 CE |
| Periods | Hellenistic to Roman period |
| Cultures | Hasmonean, Herodian |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
| Public access | Yes |
Machaerus (Μαχαιροῦς, from Ancient Greek: μάχαιρα, lit. 'makhaira' [a sword]; Hebrew: מכוור; Arabic: قلعة مكاور, romanized: Qala'at Mukawir, lit. 'Mukawir Castle')[1][2] was a Hasmonean hilltop palace and desert fortress, now in ruins, located in the village of Mukawir in modern-day Jordan, 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the mouth of the Jordan River on the eastern side of the Dead Sea.[3]
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. 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.[4]
According to the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus, Machaerus was the location of the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist.[5] According to the chronology of the Bible (Mark 6:24; Matthew 14:8), the execution took place in about 32 CE shortly before the Passover, following an imprisonment of two years. The site also provides the setting for four additional New Testament figures: Herod the Great; his son, Tetrarch Herod Antipas; his second wife, Princess Herodias; and her daughter, Princess Salome.[6]
- ^ "Jordan - Touristic Sites - South of Amman". www.kinghussein.gov.jo. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
- ^ Division, United States Geographic Names (1955). Jordan: Official Standard Names: Approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names. Geographic Names Division.
- ^ "Castle of Herod the Great | , Jordan | Sights". www.lonelyplanet.com. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- ^ Rogers, Guy MacLean (2021). For the Freedom of Zion: the Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66-74 CE. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 25, 398–342, 541. ISBN 978-0-300-24813-5.
- ^ Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible 2000 ISBN 90-5356-503-5 page 583
- ^ "Anastylosis at Machaerus", Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb. 2015, Vol. 41, No. 1, p61.