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Machaerus

April 09, 2024

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] According to the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus, it was the location of the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist.[4] 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.[5]

Machaerus
قلعة مكاور
Panoramic view of Machaerus with the Dead Sea in the background.
Shown within Jordan
LocationMadaba Governorate, Jordan
RegionPerea
Coordinates31°34′2″N 35°37′27″E / 31.56722°N 35.62417°E / 31.56722; 35.62417
TypeFortification, Palace
History
BuilderAlexander Jannaeus
Foundedc. 90 BCE
Abandonedc. 72 CE
PeriodsHellenistic to Roman period
CulturesHasmonean, Herodian
Site notes
ConditionIn ruins
Public accessYes

History edit

The fortress Machaerus was originally built by the Hasmonean king, Alexander Jannaeus (104 BC-78 BC) in about the year 90 BC,[6] serving an important strategic position. Its high, rocky vantage point was difficult to access, and invasions from the east could be easily spotted from there. It was also in line of sight of other Hasmonean (and later Herodian) citadels, so other fortresses could be signaled if trouble appeared on the horizon.[7] Nevertheless, it was destroyed by Pompey's general Gabinius in 57 BC,[8] but later rebuilt by Herod the Great in 30 BC to be used as a military base to safeguard his territories east of the Jordan.

Upon the death of Herod the Great, the fortress was passed to his son, Herod Antipas, who ruled from 4 BC until 39 AD. It was during this time, at the beginning of the first century AD, that John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded at Machaerus.[9]

After the deposition and banishment of Herod Antipas in 39 AD, Machaerus passed to Herod Agrippa I until his death in AD 44, after which it came under Roman control. Jewish rebels took control after AD 66 during the First Jewish Revolt.[10] Shortly after defeating the Jewish garrison of Herodium, the Roman legate Lucilius Bassus advanced on Machaerus with his troops and began siege in AD 72. An embankment and ramp were created in order to facilitate Roman siege engines but the Jewish rebels capitulated before the Roman attack had begun. The rebels were allowed to leave and the fortress was torn down, leaving only the foundations intact.

Design edit

Josephus gives a full description of Machaerus in The Jewish War 7.6.1 ff. The hilltop, which stands about 1,100 meters above Dead Sea level, is surrounded on all sides by deep ravines which provide great natural strength. The valley on the west extends 60 stadia to the Dead Sea (Josephus refers to it as Lake Asphaltitis). The valley on the east descends to a depth of a hundred cubits (150 ft).

Herod the Great regarded the place as deserving the strongest fortification, particularly because of its proximity to Arabia. On top of the mountain, surrounding the crest, he built a fortress wall, 100 meters long and 60 meters wide with three corner towers, each sixty cubits (90 ft) high. The palace was built in the center of the fortified area. Numerous cisterns were provided to collect rain water.

The royal courtyard is considered one of the closest and best existing archaeological parallels to the Herodian Gabbatha in the Jerusalem Praetorium, where Pontius Pilate judged Jesus of Nazareth.[11]

Excavation edit

The village on the plateau to the east of the mountain is called Mukawir (Arabic: مكاور, sometimes also rendered as Mkawer).[12][13] The site was visited in 1807 by the Frisian explorer Ulrich Jasper Seetzen, and the name of the village reminded him of the name of Machaerus in Greek. The archaeological excavation of Machaerus was begun in 1968 by Jerry Vardaman, then of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and later director of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University. In 1973, the German scholar, August Strobel, identified and studied the wall by which the Romans encircled the defenders within the fortress. In 1978–1981, excavations were carried out by Virgilio Corbo, Stanislao Loffreda and Michele Piccirillo, from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem.

Within the fortified area are the ruins of the Herodian palace, including rooms, a large courtyard, and an elaborate bath, with fragments of the floor mosaic still remaining. Farther down the eastern slope of the hill are other walls and towers, perhaps representing the "lower town," of which Josephus also wrote.[14] Traceable also, coming from the east, is the aqueduct that brought water to the cisterns of the fortress. Pottery found in the area extends from late Hellenistic to Roman periods and confirms the two main periods of occupation, namely, Hasmonean (90 BC-57 BC) and Herodian (30 BC-AD 72), with a brief reoccupation soon after AD 72 and then nothing further—so complete and systematic was the destruction visited upon the site by the Romans.

Anastylosis edit

In the spring of 2014, archeologist Győző Vörös, with a team from the Hungarian Academy of Arts and 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. One Doric column from the royal courtyard and one Ionic column from the royal bathhouse were cleaned and conserved in situ and joined with stainless steel empolia (plugs) which were inserted into the original empolia holes in the center of the column. The team also created a digital reconstruction of what the palace would have looked like, based on their archaeological findings.[15]

See also edit

Hasmonean desert fortresses

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Jordan - Touristic Sites - South of Amman". www.kinghussein.gov.jo. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  2. ^ Division, United States Geographic Names (1955). Jordan: Official Standard Names: Approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names. Geographic Names Division.
  3. ^ "Castle of Herod the Great | , Jordan | Sights". www.lonelyplanet.com. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  4. ^ Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible 2000 ISBN 90-5356-503-5 page 583
  5. ^ Anastylosis at Machaerus, Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb. 2015, Vol. 41, No. 1, p61.
  6. ^ Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 7.6.2
  7. ^ Anastylosis at Machaerus, Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb. 2015, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp52-61.
  8. ^ Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 1.8.5
  9. ^ Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 18.5.2
  10. ^ Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 2.18.6
  11. ^ Anastylosis at Machaerus, Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb. 2015, Vol. 41, No. 1, p61.
  12. ^ "Jordan offers a haven in the Holy Land: Precious Antiquities and Peace". www.kinghussein.gov.jo. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  13. ^ "Jordan - Touristic Sites - South of Amman". www.kinghussein.gov.jo. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  14. ^ Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 7.6.4
  15. ^ Anastylosis at Machaerus, Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb. 2015, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp52-61.
 
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Further reading edit

  • Corbo, V. (1978) La fortezza di Macheronte: Rapporto preliminare della prima campagna di scavo: 8 settembre - 28 ottobre 1978. Liber Annuus 28: 217–238. (Excavation Report)
  • Vörös, Győző. “Machaerus: Where Salome Danced and John the Baptist Was Beheaded.” Biblical Archaeology Review, Sep/Oct 2012, 30–41, 68.
  • Vörös, Győző (2012) Machaerus: Excavations and Surveys (2009-2012), Hungarian Academy of Arts.
  • Vörös, Győző. “Anastylosis at Machaerus.” Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb 2015, 52–61.
  • Vörös, Győző (2013) Machaerus I: History, Archeology and Architecture of the Fortified Herodian Royal Palace and City Overlooking the Dead Sea in Transjordan. Final Report of the Excavations and Surveys 1807-2012, Milano: Edizioni Terra Santa.
  • Vörös, Győző (2015) Machaerus II: The Hungarian Archaeological Mission in the Light of the American-Baptist and Italian-Franciscan Excavations and Surveys. Final Report 1968-2015, Milano: Edizioni Terra Santa.
  • Vörös, Győző (2018) Machaerus project: preliminary report on the 2016-2017 archaeological excavation, ADAJ: 2018, No 59, pp. 435–454.
  • Vörös, Győző (2019) Machaerus III: Final Report on the Herodian Citadel 1968-2018, Milano: Edizioni Terra Santa.
  • Vörös, Győző (2022) Machaerus: The Golgotha of John the Baptist, Budapest: MMM Kiadó.

External links edit

  • Machaerus, article in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
  • Machaerus, Jordan
  • The Franciscan Archaeological Institute's Page on "The Fortress at Machaerous"
  • Studium Biblicum Franciscanum's Page on "The Machaerus Archaeological Excavations in Jordan"
  • Machaerus: Beyond the Beheading of John the Baptist Biblical Archaeology Society
  • Photos of Machaerus at the American Center of Research

April 09, 2024
machaerus, Μαχαιροῦς, from, ancient, greek, μάχαιρα, makhaira, sword, hebrew, מכוור, arabic, قلعة, مكاور, romanized, qala, mukawir, mukawir, castle, hasmonean, hilltop, palace, desert, fortress, ruins, located, village, mukawir, modern, jordan, southeast, mout. Machaerus Maxairoῦs from Ancient Greek maxaira 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 According to the Jewish Roman historian Flavius Josephus it was the location of the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist 4 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 5 Machaerusقلعة مكاورPanoramic view of Machaerus with the Dead Sea in the background Shown within JordanLocationMadaba Governorate JordanRegionPereaCoordinates31 34 2 N 35 37 27 E 31 56722 N 35 62417 E 31 56722 35 62417TypeFortification PalaceHistoryBuilderAlexander JannaeusFoundedc 90 BCEAbandonedc 72 CEPeriodsHellenistic to Roman periodCulturesHasmonean HerodianSite notesConditionIn ruinsPublic accessYes Contents 1 History 2 Design 3 Excavation 4 Anastylosis 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Further reading 8 External linksHistory editThe fortress Machaerus was originally built by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus 104 BC 78 BC in about the year 90 BC 6 serving an important strategic position Its high rocky vantage point was difficult to access and invasions from the east could be easily spotted from there It was also in line of sight of other Hasmonean and later Herodian citadels so other fortresses could be signaled if trouble appeared on the horizon 7 Nevertheless it was destroyed by Pompey s general Gabinius in 57 BC 8 but later rebuilt by Herod the Great in 30 BC to be used as a military base to safeguard his territories east of the Jordan Upon the death of Herod the Great the fortress was passed to his son Herod Antipas who ruled from 4 BC until 39 AD It was during this time at the beginning of the first century AD that John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded at Machaerus 9 After the deposition and banishment of Herod Antipas in 39 AD Machaerus passed to Herod Agrippa I until his death in AD 44 after which it came under Roman control Jewish rebels took control after AD 66 during the First Jewish Revolt 10 Shortly after defeating the Jewish garrison of Herodium the Roman legate Lucilius Bassus advanced on Machaerus with his troops and began siege in AD 72 An embankment and ramp were created in order to facilitate Roman siege engines but the Jewish rebels capitulated before the Roman attack had begun The rebels were allowed to leave and the fortress was torn down leaving only the foundations intact Design editJosephus gives a full description of Machaerus in The Jewish War 7 6 1 ff The hilltop which stands about 1 100 meters above Dead Sea level is surrounded on all sides by deep ravines which provide great natural strength The valley on the west extends 60 stadia to the Dead Sea Josephus refers to it as Lake Asphaltitis The valley on the east descends to a depth of a hundred cubits 150 ft Herod the Great regarded the place as deserving the strongest fortification particularly because of its proximity to Arabia On top of the mountain surrounding the crest he built a fortress wall 100 meters long and 60 meters wide with three corner towers each sixty cubits 90 ft high The palace was built in the center of the fortified area Numerous cisterns were provided to collect rain water The royal courtyard is considered one of the closest and best existing archaeological parallels to the Herodian Gabbatha in the Jerusalem Praetorium where Pontius Pilate judged Jesus of Nazareth 11 Excavation editThe village on the plateau to the east of the mountain is called Mukawir Arabic مكاور sometimes also rendered as Mkawer 12 13 The site was visited in 1807 by the Frisian explorer Ulrich Jasper Seetzen and the name of the village reminded him of the name of Machaerus in Greek The archaeological excavation of Machaerus was begun in 1968 by Jerry Vardaman then of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and later director of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University In 1973 the German scholar August Strobel identified and studied the wall by which the Romans encircled the defenders within the fortress In 1978 1981 excavations were carried out by Virgilio Corbo Stanislao Loffreda and Michele Piccirillo from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem Within the fortified area are the ruins of the Herodian palace including rooms a large courtyard and an elaborate bath with fragments of the floor mosaic still remaining Farther down the eastern slope of the hill are other walls and towers perhaps representing the lower town of which Josephus also wrote 14 Traceable also coming from the east is the aqueduct that brought water to the cisterns of the fortress Pottery found in the area extends from late Hellenistic to Roman periods and confirms the two main periods of occupation namely Hasmonean 90 BC 57 BC and Herodian 30 BC AD 72 with a brief reoccupation soon after AD 72 and then nothing further so complete and systematic was the destruction visited upon the site by the Romans Anastylosis editIn the spring of 2014 archeologist Gyozo Voros with a team from the Hungarian Academy of Arts and 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 One Doric column from the royal courtyard and one Ionic column from the royal bathhouse were cleaned and conserved in situ and joined with stainless steel empolia plugs which were inserted into the original empolia holes in the center of the column The team also created a digital reconstruction of what the palace would have looked like based on their archaeological findings 15 See also editGamla Herod the Great Herod Antipas MasadaHasmonean desert fortresses dd Alexandreion Alexandrion Alexandrium Dok Dagon on the Mount of Temptation Hyrcania fortress Cypros German article Notes edit 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 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 Josephus The Wars of the Jews 7 6 2 Anastylosis at Machaerus Biblical Archaeology Review Jan Feb 2015 Vol 41 No 1 pp52 61 Josephus The Wars of the Jews 1 8 5 Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 18 5 2 Josephus The Wars of the Jews 2 18 6 Anastylosis at Machaerus Biblical Archaeology Review Jan Feb 2015 Vol 41 No 1 p61 Jordan offers a haven in the Holy Land Precious Antiquities and Peace www kinghussein gov jo Retrieved 2022 05 16 Jordan Touristic Sites South of Amman www kinghussein gov jo Retrieved 2022 05 16 Josephus The Wars of the Jews 7 6 4 Anastylosis at Machaerus Biblical Archaeology Review Jan Feb 2015 Vol 41 No 1 pp52 61 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Machaerus Further reading editCorbo V 1978 La fortezza di Macheronte Rapporto preliminare della prima campagna di scavo 8 settembre 28 ottobre 1978 Liber Annuus 28 217 238 Excavation Report Voros Gyozo Machaerus Where Salome Danced and John the Baptist Was Beheaded Biblical Archaeology Review Sep Oct 2012 30 41 68 Voros Gyozo 2012 Machaerus Excavations and Surveys 2009 2012 Hungarian Academy of Arts Voros Gyozo Anastylosis at Machaerus Biblical Archaeology Review Jan Feb 2015 52 61 Voros Gyozo 2013 Machaerus I History Archeology and Architecture of the Fortified Herodian Royal Palace and City Overlooking the Dead Sea in Transjordan Final Report of the Excavations and Surveys 1807 2012 Milano Edizioni Terra Santa Voros Gyozo 2015 Machaerus II The Hungarian Archaeological Mission in the Light of the American Baptist and Italian Franciscan Excavations and Surveys Final Report 1968 2015 Milano Edizioni Terra Santa Voros Gyozo 2018 Machaerus project preliminary report on the 2016 2017 archaeological excavation ADAJ 2018 No 59 pp 435 454 Voros Gyozo 2019 Machaerus III Final Report on the Herodian Citadel 1968 2018 Milano Edizioni Terra Santa Voros Gyozo 2022 Machaerus The Golgotha of John the Baptist Budapest MMM Kiado External links editMachaerus article in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H Smith Machaerus Jordan The Franciscan Archaeological Institute s Page on The Fortress at Machaerous Studium Biblicum Franciscanum s Page on The Machaerus Archaeological Excavations in Jordan Machaerus Beyond the Beheading of John the Baptist Biblical Archaeology Society Photos of Machaerus at the American Center of Research Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Machaerus amp oldid 1212873046, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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