- Type
- Fortress
- Coordinates
- 32.0958°, 35.4614°
History
The fortress was built by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 BC), after whom it was named, and served as a garrison post and prison, while Queen Salome Alexandra kept part of her treasure here. In 63 BC Aristobulus II took refuge in it from Pompey, and in 57 BC, after besieging his son Alexander here, the Roman governor Gabinius had it demolished. Herod the Great's brother Pheroras rebuilt it, and Herod turned it into a palatial fortress like Masada and Herodium; in 30 BC he kept his wife Mariamne and her mother Alexandra here under guard. Herod's sons Alexander and Aristobulus, executed in 7 BC, were buried in its vaults. The Romans destroyed the fortress during the Great Jewish Revolt in the 1st century AD; excavations in 2025 uncovered a ritual bath, a mosaic-paved peristyle and a destruction layer from that time.
What to see
What survives is the outline of the walls on the summit, column fragments, capitals and cisterns exposed during successive excavation seasons. There are no visitor facilities, and the climb up the steep, stony peak is demanding. The mountain lies in the West Bank, where the situation can be unstable, so access is limited; the distinctive cone of Qarn Sartaba is easily seen from the Jordan Valley.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q601742
Popularity: articles about this site in 15 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).