Masada is important to biblical history

Masada is important to Biblical history and is a very popular tourist destination in Israel. An ancient fort located in southern Israel in the Judean Desert and near the Dead Sea, the site at Masada was originally constructed by the Hasmoneans in the first century B.C. and later captured by Herod the Great in the first century B.C., where Herod build two palaces for himself at this location. Masada is located on a plateau or mesa formed by a geologic horst, or tectonic fault block produced by tectonic rifting that features cliffs rising up to 400 meters, making the location ideal for a fortress. Masada was also the site of a siege during the first Jewish-Roman War in 73 A.D., as described by the first century Jewish-Roman author Josephus.