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Machaerus

Machaerus means "the Black Fortress". Built 3,860 feet above sea level, it was a strong fortress in the province of Perea and, according to Jewish historian Josephus, the place of John the Baptist's beheading.  Machaerus was taken by Pompey in 57 B.C. and then it was rebuilt and fortified by Herod the Great who built a palace there.

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Machaerus was one of the three Jewish fortresses (with Masada and Herodium) to hold out after fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in A.D. 70.