A fortress located in the hills of Transjordan (part of Perea in NT times) overlooking the Dead Sea most notable, at least from a Christian point of view, as the place where John the Baptist was, traditionally believed, held prisoner by Herod Antipas and beheaded at the request of Herodias (Mt 14:1-10; Mk 6:14-29).
Josephus tells us that it was Alexander Janneus who first built a citadel there (Jewish Wars 7.6.2). It was taken over by the Herodian family and became an important centre of Herodian palace life and politics. The fortress itself was siezed by the Zealots during the First Jewish Revolt but they struck a deal with the Romans after one of their leaders was captured, and were allowed safe passage to leave. The non-Zealot rebels who had held the lower city, however, were not so fortunate; they were slaughtered when they tried to flee.
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