Jordan - Machaerus

Machaerus is the place where the Jewish historian Josephus says that John the Baptist was executed. It is located about 30 miles southwest of Amman, Jordan at an elevation about 2,300 feet overlooking the Dead Sea.

This hilltop fortress, along with Masada on the west side of the Dead Sea, was fortified by Herod the Great (37–4 B.C.). At his death, Herod passed Machaerus to his son Herod Antipas who ruled both Galilee and Perea until 39 A.D. It served as both a palace and a fortress—guarding the southern boundary of Perea.

Salome, Herod’s stepdaughter (of his wife, Herodias), asked that John the Baptist be beheaded. (Matt 14:1–12; Mark 6:21-29; Luke 9:7–9)  Although the New Testament does not say where it happened, the Jewish historian Josephus places the execution at Machaerus (Antiquities. 18.116–19).