The Herodeion (), in Latin: Herodium, in Modern Herodion, known in Arabic as Jabal al-Fureidis () is a fortified desert palace built by Herod the Great, king of Judaea, in the first century BCE. The complex stands atop a hill in the Judaean Desert, approximately south of Jerusalem and southeast of Bethlehem, between Beit Ta'mir, Za'atara to the east and Jannatah, Tekoa and Nokdim to the west. The site is located at an elevation of 758 meters (2,487 ft) above sea level.
Herodium was originally built by Herod to commemorate his victory in 40 BCE over the Hasmonean ruler Antigonus II Mattathias during their struggle for control of Judaea. The site stands atop an artificial, cone-shaped hill that dominates the surrounding landscape and can be seen from Jerusalem. At its summit, Herod's engineers built a fortified palace with double walls, towers, a Roman-style bathhouse, banquet halls, and residential quarters. At the base, a lower palace complex was built complete with gardens, courtyards, and a large pool fed by aqueducts. According to the historian Josephus, Herod was buried at the site following his death in 4 BCE.
Herodium remained active during the Jewish–Roman wars. Jewish rebels occupied the site during the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), repurposing the dining hall into a synagogue before it was captured by the Romans in 71 CE. The fort was again used as a rebel base during the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE), after which it was abandoned. From 1972 onward, intermittent excavations were carried out by Prof. Ehud Netzer, working on behalf of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2007, he found and identified the long sought-after tomb of King Herod on the northern slope of the hill. Netzer excavated mostly the lower palace, at the base of the hill; he fell to his death at the site in 2010.:he:אהוד נצר
The site is in Area C of the West Bank, formally under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Civil Administration, a body of military officers, and in practice it is administered jointly with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.: "The national parks and nature reserves in Area C of the West Bank are managed by the Civil Administration and are designated as “parks.” The parks cover an area of 498,500 dunam, approximately 14.5% of Area C... One of the units of the Civil Administration is the Staff Officer (SO) for Nature Reserves and National Parks. Since Israeli law does not apply to the West Bank, the Staff Officer for the Nature Reserves and National Parks operates under Order 373, a military order that regulates their operation. This order came into effect in 1970 and replaced a previous order (Order 81 regarding Parks) which came into effect in 1967, at the end of the Six-Day War. Order 373 states that once an area in the West Bank has been declared a park, it is the duty of the commander of the area to appoint an authority to manage its affairs (section 4), such as determining rules of conduct in parks, carrying out various construction activities, setting entrance fees, and appointing inspectors (sections 5-7). Order 373 does not stipulate who can be appointed as a managing authority. In practice, the parks in the West Bank are managed by the Staff Officer for Nature Reserves and National Parks and by the National Parks Authority, which the former appointed to manage many parks. Visitors to the parks and reserves in the West Bank can use membership cards issued by the National Parks Authority, and observe the National Parks Authority flags that line the entrances to many of the parks. The blurring of the boundaries between the National Parks Authority and of the Staff Officer obscures the physical and legal boundaries between the West Bank and Israel."Jonathan Cook, 'Herod exhibit digs up controversy,' Al Jazeera 1 Mar 2013: 'Both the archeological sites at Herodium and Jericho are regulated by the Civil Administration, a body of military officials who oversee Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. Israel has justified its control of the sites on the grounds that they are located in Area C, the nearly two-thirds of the West Bank over which Israel was given control by the Oslo Accords until a peace deal with the Palestinians was agreed. Israel asserts that it is entitled to work in the area under the Oslo Accords, but the Palestinian authorities say Israel has no right to undertake digs there or remove artifacts that Israel discovered in excavations there.
Etymology
Herodium is the only site that is named after King Herod the Great. It was known by the Crusaders as the "Mountain of Franks". Palestinian locals historically called it Jabal al-Firdous or Jabal al-Fureidis (, lit. "Mountain of the Little Paradise");Guérin, Victor. "Description de la Palestine (Description of Palestine)". L'imprimerie Impériale: Paris 1869, pp. 125–132. Edward Robinson in 1838 described it as "Frank Mountain", in reference to the Crusaders.Biblical Researches, volume 3, p.210
In 1841, Edward Robinson identified the site in Biblical Researches in Palestine as Herodium based on the description found in Josephus.Finding King Herod’s Tomb: "Long an object of scholarly as well as popular fascination, Herodium, also called Herodeion, was first positively identified in 1838 by the American scholar Edward Robinson, who had a knack for locating biblical landmarks." Josephus described a palace fortress and a small town, named after Herod the Great, built between 23 and 15 BCE. A sarcophagus discovered in 2007 was claimed to belong to Herod as it was more ornate than others found in the area.
The modern English name is a transliteration of the Greek spelling (). This is followed by the Modern Arabic () and the Modern Hebrew (Herodion ). The name Herodis () was found in the 1960s inscribed in one of the Bar Kokhba letters recovered from the Muraba’at Caves in the Judaean desert,Roland de Vaux, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, vol. 2, Oxford 1961, pp. 126, 130-131. The letter reads (partially effaced): "On the 20th day of the month Shevat, in the 2nd year of Israel's redemption by Simeon the son of K[osi]ba, the nasi of [Is]rael, in the camp that is situated at Herodis..." Original Hebrew: בעשרין לשבט שנת שת[ים] לגאלת [י]שראל על יד שמעון בן כ[וס]בא נסיא [יש]ראל במחנה שיושב בהרודיס and is thought to represent the original Hebrew name for the site.
History
Construction In 40 BCE, after the Parthian conquest of Syria, Herod fled to Masada. On the way, at the location of Herodion, Herod clashed with Jews loyal to his enemy Antigonus, and emerged victorious. According to the Roman Jewish historian Josephus, he "built a town on that spot in commemoration of his victory, and enhanced it with wonderful palaces... and he called it Herodion after himself".(The Wars of the Jews I, Chapter 13) . On the historical circumstances of the building of Herodium, see: Jonathan Bourgel & Roi Porat, "Herodium as a Reflection of Herod’s Policy in Judea and Idumea," Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 135/2 (2019), 188-209.
Josephus describes Herodium as follows:
Archaeologists believe that the palace was designed by architects and built by slaves and paid workers (contractors). Herod was considered one of the greatest builders of his time and was not daunted by geography—his palace was built on the edge of the desert and was situated atop an artificial hill. The largest of the four towers was built on a stone base 18 meters in diameter. This was most likely where Herod lived; he decorated his rooms with mosaic floors and elaborate frescoes. The other three towers, which consisted of living spaces and storage, were 16 meters in diameter. Outside, several cisterns were built to collect water that was channeled into the palace.
The city of Herodium served as a capital of a toparchy.Josephus, The Jewish War, III, 55; Antiquities of the Jews, XV, 325; Pliny the Elder, Natural History, V, 70
Great Jewish Revolt During the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), Herodium was held by Jewish rebels. At some point during the revolt, the fort's defenders transformed Herod's triclinium into a synagogue. In 68 CE, rebel leader Simon bar Giora, then operating from nearby Teqoa, attempted to seize Herodium. He sent an emissary, Eleazar, to persuade the garrison to surrender, but the defenders uncovered the plot and expelled him. Eleazar then threw himself from the fortress ramparts.Josephus, The Jewish War, IV, 518–519
After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Herodium remained one of three major fortresses (alongside Machaerus and Masada) still under rebel control, though the specific faction holding it is uncertain. By this time, the site appears to have been defended by a relatively small force, likely joined by refugees fleeing Jerusalem. Herodium was ultimately captured, likely in early 72 CE, by the Roman legate Sextus Lucilius Bassus. The fortress seems to have fallen rapidly, as Josephus provides only a brief mention of its surrender.The Jewish War, VII, 163
Bar Kokhba revolt
At the beginning of the Bar Kokhba revolt sixty years later, Simon bar Kokhba declared Herodium as his secondary headquarters. The fortress was commanded by Yeshua ben Galgula, who was likely in Bar Kokhba's second or third line of command. Archaeological evidence for the revolt was found all over the site, from the outside buildings to the water system under the mountain. Inside the water system, supporting walls built by the rebels were discovered, and another system of caves was found. Inside one of the caves, burned wood was found which was dated to the time of the revolt.
As in other parts of Judea during the final stages of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the rebels active in Herodium likely sought shelter in nearby refuge caves, including the cave of El Matzia.
Excavation history
Upper Herodium The archaeological excavation of Herodium was begun in 1962 by Virgilio Canio Corbo and Stanislao Loffreda, from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem, and it continued until 1967: they discovered the upper citadel, at the top of the hill.Virginio Canio Corbo, Herodion. I: Gli edifici della reggia-fortezza, Jerusalem 1989
Lower Herodium From 1972, excavations were carried out by Ehud Netzer, working on behalf of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and they were intermittent until the archaeologist's death in 2010. Netzer excavated mostly the lower palace, at the base of the hill.
Description
Herod's hilltop palace
Herod the Great built a palace within the fortress of Herodium. Herod himself commissioned a lavish palace to be built between 23 and 15 BCE atop Herodium for all to see. The palace itself consisted of four towers of seven stories, a bathhouse, courtyards, a Roman theatre, banquet rooms, a large walkway ("the course"), as well as extravagant living quarters for himself and guests. Once Herod died and the Great Revolt started, Herodium was abandoned. The Jews eventually had a base at Herodium where they built a synagogue which can still be seen today, unlike much of Herod's Palace.
Bathhouse The Roman bathhouse consisted of three areas, the caldarium, the tepidarium, and the frigidarium. It also had a very impressive dome which is still in good condition today despite thousands of years of earthquakes and wars. The caldarium had vaulted ceilings, raised floors, and channels in the walls to conduct heat. The tepidarium had mosaic floors and frescoes just like the living quarters of the palace. The frigidarium, the last stop in the bathhouse, was where guests would cool off in a large pool.
Synagogue