Masada is the name for a site of ancient
palaces and
fortifications in the
South District of
Israel on top of an isolated rock
plateau, or
horst, on the eastern edge of the
Judean Desert overlooking the
Dead Sea. After the
First Jewish-Roman War a
siege of the fortress by troops of the
Roman Empire led to the
mass suicide of the
Sicarii rebels. It is located about 20 km east of
Arad.
