Machaerus Castle – Where Herod Antipas had John the Baptist Beheaded

 

You might argue that of Machaerus Castle isn't much left. But some stones have been reconstucted and the historical background is worth the visit. One has to climb about 150 m. Machaerus lies 25 km northeast of En Gedi and 35 km southeast of Jericho across the Dead Sea.

Recently I've presented some facts on Porto Cervo on Sardinia [1], where the rich have built an exclusive place. I've visited Takht-e Soleymān in Iran, which „was built in the thirteenth century under the Ilkhanid dynasty as a summer and hunting palace“ [2]. My guess is that Herod Antipas used Machaerus Castle not only to display power but also to relax. Let's look a bit into history.

Herod Antipas lived from 20 BC until 39 AD. Would we know about him, if he wasn't mentioned in the bible? Of course, but being mentioned in the Gospels secured attention. „But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.“ [3] Herod was pleased to grant a wish and after consulting with her mother the girl asked for the head of John the Baptist. The girl is thought of having been Salome, but this name isn't mentioned in the Gospels. And we have a second source. The historian Flavius Josephus has written a work in 20 volumes: Jewish Antiquities [4]. Herod Antipas had John the Baptist arrested and imprisoned at Machaeus and later had him executed 'to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties'.

In 2014, anarcheological team fom Hungary under Győző Vörös „in cooperation with Prince El Hassan bin Talal and Monther Jamhawi, director general of antiquities in Jordan, completed a reconstruction and re-erection of two ancient columns at the site on the basis of the principle of anastylosis.“ [5] „The team also created a digital reconstruction of what the palace would have looked like, based on their archaeological findings.“ 

Today the region is populated with Mkaver (Arabic for Machaerus) village near by, but also bedouins (nomading shepherds) live in the area, and their goats, sheep and donkeys can be seen, as well as tents.

Links and notes:
[1] Costa Smeralda with Porto Cervo in northern Sardinia https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2021/11/costa-smeralda-with-porto-cervo-in.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takht-e_Soleym%C4%81n
[3] Matthew 14:6–12 (6) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2014%3A6-12&version=NKJV
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiquities_of_the_Jews
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machaerus

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