The bulk of construction at Masada, of which one sees today, was carried out by King Herod who ruled from 37 to 4 bce. Barely two generations later, in 73 or 74 ce, Flavius Silva, provincial governor of Judea and the commander of the enth Roman Legion, attacked and destroyed most of the structures on Masada. What the Romans did not demolish was razed by the defenders themselves towards the end of the Roman siege.
Following its destruction, small guard units of the Roman military camped on the prominence from time to time until the beginning of the second century ce. Masada was populated for close to 200 years. One result of the extensive excavations carried out by Yigael Yadin from 1963 to 1965 is that the visitor encounters remains from all three chronological periods— the sleepy Masada guarded by a small military contingent of about 20 soldiers; the Masada in which hundreds of people were engaged in daily activites when Herod resided on the mount, and the Masada of the rebels who sought a refuge from the Roman army.
12×21.5 cm (4 3/4×8½ in.); full color; maps, illustrations;
Paperback, 144 pages