A hilltop fortress east of the Dead Sea, where John the Baptist may have been imprisoned and beheaded.
About Machaerus
A strong fortress where John the Baptist was held in prison. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, this is where Herod Antipas ordered John's execution (Josephus's Antiquities 18.5.2).
While Machaerus is not mentioned in the Bible or the religious texts written between the Old and New Testaments, it was one of the strongest fortresses in ancient Palestine. Alexander Janneus first built it (Josephus’s War 7.6.1–4). Later, during Pompey's wars, a general named Gabinius destroyed it (War 1.8.5). After that, Herod the Great rebuilt and expanded it, adding a grand palace inside its walls.