Israel Day 7/12: Herodium

Herod the Great was made king of Judea in 40 BC by Marc Antony. He wanted to see Jerusalem from his new palace built where he had won a battle against the last Hasmonean king in 37 BC.  Construction began for his impenetrable pleasure palace in 25 BC.  The mountain he wanted to build on was not high enough. So he brought in slaves to tear down a nearby hill and build up what was to be his favorite palace built into the crater of the cone-shaped mountain for protection. From the four towers he could see both the Temple in Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. He could send messages by mirror from Jerusalem to the Herodium (this was the only structure he named after himself) to Masada.

The palace was elaborate and included several levels, gardens and a domed bathhouse.

The lower part was a small city containing administrative buildings, a theater, and a pool so large and deep it could have boats sail in it!

How did they get so much water in the middle of the Judean wilderness? An aquaduct brought the water from a spring nearly 4 miles away. There was an elaborate tunnel system in the lower levels of the palace. Slaves carried water up through the tunnels. In order to keep the location of the water a secret, slaves were killed at the end of the day. More tunnels were dug when rebels camped there and were under siege from 132-135.

a large cistern for holding water brought in by slaves

This was also the place where Herod chose to be buried after his death. Herod was powerful  but also paranoid and violent. He killed many people he suspected of trying to overthrow him including some of his sons, one of his wives, in-laws, the baby boys in Bethlehem, and many others that were friends, family and foes. Knowing that no one would mourn his death, he imprisoned many notable Judean men and order the execution on the day of his death. The order was never carried out. 

Herod's burial site remained a mystery until it was discovered during excavations at the site under the ruins of a 2-story mausoleum in 2007. 

Used by rebels during two revolts, the Romans destroyed much of the palace. Later people used the toppled stones to build their own buildings. But some things still remain...