Masada an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel can be seen situated on top of an isolated rock plateau. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking and 12 miles west of the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. According to Josephus, the Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish–Roman War ended in the mass suicide of 960 people and their families were hiding there.