In the shadow of the year 100 BC, Masada, a rock plateau, rose inaccessibly above the arid landscape of Judea.

It was Herod the Great, a cunning monarch, who transformed this remote place into an impregnable fortress, fearing the expansionist ambitions of the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra. His desire to protect his kingdom and power was so palpable that he ordered the construction of an imposing wall, a formidable barrier 1400 meters long, embracing 12 hectares of barren land.

This wall, five meters high and four meters thick, was reinforced by two parallel walls, interspaced with partitions that created cell-like rooms. On the horizon of this construction, 37 towers soared up to 20 meters towards the sky, like stone guardians of a silent kingdom.

In the northern part of the fortress, Herod built his palace, an architectural masterpiece developed on three levels, equipped with an underground road that connected it to the plateau. The palace was a labyrinth of halls, porticos, and baths of exquisite workmanship, as transmitted by the historian Flavius Josephus and confirmed by archaeological findings unearthed over the centuries. Close to this complex, there were public baths, places of gathering and relaxation for the inhabitants of the fortress.

To the west, there was another, even larger palace, surrounded by storerooms and service buildings that testified to the administrative and royal organization of the place. The king even had a private bath, a sign of uncommon luxury for the time. Between the two palaces, the synagogue stood as the spiritual and community center for the inhabitants of the fortress.

The residential buildings, mostly constructed along the northern slopes, were protected by another wall, equipped with even taller quadrangular towers. At 400 meters from the fortress, an additional tower blocked access to the Dead Sea, strategic for striking anyone who dared approach from that direction.

At the center of Masada, a vast expanse was dedicated to intensive cultivation, ensuring that food and water never ran out. Numerous cisterns, capable of collecting up to 40,000 cubic meters of water, guaranteed survival even during sieges, making Masada a bastion of resistance and life in the midst of the relentless desert.