Masada comes from the Hebrew word Metzad and this means fortress. It is basically a fortress that was built on top of a rock plateau. It is located very close to the Dead Sea and it is a bit south of the Westbank, so it is not accessible to Palestinians from the Westbank currently.

The fortress was built in the time of Herod the Great who prepared it to be able to withstand a long siege. The rock plateau had palaces, water cisterns, storage halls, workshops, residencies for generals and barracks for soldiers and even a Roman bathhouse.

The most famous story about Masada is that of the Roman siege in 73 AD when a group of Jewish Zealots who rebelled against the Romans, had taken the mount and decided that in case the Romans would take Masada, they would commit suicide.

This story is only known from one written account, by the Jewish apologist Flavius Josephus.

New research has shown that the ramp that the Romans started building, never reached the top of Masada. This really challenges the common understanding of HOW the Roman siege of Masada ended. Nevertheless, this is the story that is told by tour guides to the large amounts of visitors that visit Masada.

If you want to watch the film 'Avenge but one of my two eyes" by Avi Moghrabi who made parallels between the bravery of the Jewish Zealots who are praised by the Israeli narrative and the Palestinian freedom fighters who are put aside as terrorists, then go to this YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Iy-IapIdY

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