Herodian architecture is a style of

classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect ...

characteristic of the numerous building projects undertaken during the reign (37–4 BC) of

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renova ...

, the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

client king A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...

. Herod undertook many colossal building projects, most famously his

reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

of the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

(c. 19 BC). Many of his structures were built upon comparable, previous Hasmonean buildings and most of his have, in their turn, vanished as well.

Innovations

Herod introduced numerous architectural innovations and construction techniques in his buildings, such as the domes inside the Double Gate to the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...

. He adapted the '' mikveh''—a Jewish ritual bath—for use as the

frigidarium A frigidarium is one of the three main bath chambers of a Roman bath or ''thermae'', namely the cold room. It often contains a swimming pool. The succession of bathing activities in the ''thermae'' is not known with certainty, but it is thought ...

in the Roman-style bathhouses in his many palaces. Herod also developed an innovative combination of palace and fortress; examples include the

Antonia Fortress The Antonia Fortress (Aramaic: קצטרא דאנטוניה) was a citadel built by Herod the Great and named for Herod's patron Mark Antony, as a fortress whose chief function was to protect the Second Temple. It was built in Jerusalem at the ...

in Jerusalem, the

Herodium Herodion ( grc, Ἡρώδειον, ar, هيروديون, he, הרודיון), Herodium (Latin), or Jabal al-Fureidis ( ar, جبل فريديس, , "Mountain of the Little Paradise") is an ancient Jewish fortress and town, located in what is now ...

in the

Judean Desert The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( he, מִדְבַּר יְהוּדָה, Midbar Yehuda}, both ''Desert of Judah'' or ''Judaean Desert''; ar, صحراء يهودا, Sahraa' Yahuda) is a desert in Palestine and Israel that lies east of Jerusa ...

about 2 miles south of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, and

Masada Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the D ...

. Characteristically, they have (or had) one tower higher and stronger than the others. Herod's fortification innovations strongly influenced the military architecture of subsequent generations. In line with contemporary Jewish customs, Herod generally avoided the representation of human and animal figures, even in the closed and private parts of his palaces, but there were a few exceptions. Herod's Palace reportedly had bronze figures (probably animals) through which water was dispensed. Towards the end of his reign, Herod erected a golden eagle above the gate of the Temple. This caused some outrage within the city, and several youths removed and destroyed the eagle. They were subsequently executed.

Herod's Temple

In the eighteenth year of his reign (20–19 BC), Herod rebuilt the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

on "a more magnificent scale".Temple of Herod
Jewish Encyclopedia The new Temple was finished in a year and a half, although work on out-buildings and courts continued another eighty years. To comply with religious law, Herod employed a thousand priests as masons and carpenters for the rebuilding. The finished temple, which was destroyed by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in 70 AD, is often referred to as

Herod's Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

The Wailing Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the Western world, West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: ...

(Western Wall) in Jerusalem was for many years the only section visible of the four retaining walls whose construction was begun by Herod to create a flat platform (the

) upon which his Temple was constructed. Recent findings suggest that the Temple Mount walls and

Robinson's Arch Robinson's Arch is the name given to a monumental staircase carried by an unusually wide stone arch, which once stood at the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount. It was built as part of the expansion of the Second Temple initiated by Herod ...

may not have been completed until at least 20 years after his death during the reign of

Herod Agrippa II Herod Agrippa II (; AD 27/28 – or 100), officially named Marcus Julius Agrippa and sometimes shortened to Agrippa, was the last ruler from the Herodian dynasty, reigning over territories outside of Judea as a Roman client. Agrippa II fled ...

Herod's palace-fortresses

Herod constructed several lavish palace-fortresses within his kingdom. His palace at

, 12 km south of Jerusalem, rose to a height of about 45 meters. He also built palace-fortresses in

, and Caesarea Maritima.

Herodian masonry

Herod's massive building projects featured a distinctive style of stone-dressing. This stone-dressing method—usually featuring the pale local ''

meleke ''Meleke'' ( ar, ملكي, "royal", "kingly"; he, אבן ירושלמית), also transliterated ''melekeh'' or ''malaki'', is a lithologic type of white, coarsely-crystalline, thickly bedded-limestone found in the Judaean Mountains in Israel ...

'' limestone—was so prominently practiced in Herod's day that it has led to such terms as “Herodian blocks”, “Herodian masonry”, “Herodian dressing”, and the like. It makes Herodian stones easily discernible from the earlier stone courses below, and later ones above, in the surviving walls at many sites. Best known is the example of the impressive retaining walls of the Temple Mount, readily visible at the

Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...

. Enormous quantities of stone were needed for these structures and the remains of the numerous quarries used can still be found, especially in the vicinity of Jerusalem's Old City, notably those to the north known as Solomon's Quarries. Freeing the stones from the bedrock was an elaborate process: Wide grooves were chiseled with metal tools around the intended stone block. The block was then freed up by driving metal wedges into the grooves. The initial dressing of the stone was probably accomplished on site before transport. Many of these stones were very large, weighing between two and five tons. (The largest found, in the

Western Wall Tunnel The Western Wall Tunnel ( he, מנהרת הכותל, translit.: ''Minharat Hakotel'') is a tunnel exposing the Western Wall from where the traditional, open-air prayer site ends and up to the Wall's northern end. Most of the tunnel is in continua ...

, measures some 12.8 meters in length, 3.4 meters high and 4.3 meters deep; it weighs about 660 tons.) Once moved to the building site, further fine chiseling was done and the blocks were hauled into place using ramps, cranes and crow bars. The stones were laid in dry courses, typically about 1 meter high without the use of any mortar. Each course was set 3 to 5 cm back from the course underneath it. Final dressing and refinements were carried out once the stones had been set in place. The huge rectangular building blocks, laid in horizontal courses, feature flat, projecting central portions (

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

es) surrounded by narrow, shallow dressed margins (“marginal drafts”) creating a finely chiseled, frame-like effect. The depressed “frame” is sunk some 2 centimeters below the smooth face of the stone and its average width is about 8 centimeters. A wide, toothed chisel was used to smooth the stone margins. The origins of this margin-cutting style predate Herod, as witnessed by the

Hellenistic architecture Hellenistic art is the art of the Hellenistic period generally taken to begin with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and end with the conquest of the Greek world by the Romans, a process well underway by 146 BCE, when the Greek mainlan ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

itself, as well as by examples in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

(e.g., the palace of the Sons of Tuvia at

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, el-Amir in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

(near

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

), dating from at least the 3rd century BC). Examples of pre-Herodian margin stone-cutting are also attested in Jerusalem itself: at the “

Tower of David The Tower of David ( he, מגדל דוד, Migdál Davíd), also known as the Citadel ( ar, القلعة, al-Qala'a), is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. The citadel that stands today dates ...

” (the Paza’el Tower), in the " First city wall" and in the Hasmonean Tower unearthed in the Jewish Quarter. Authentic “Herodian masonry” includes examples at the sites at

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

(Elonei Mamre, the

Cave of Machpelah , alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham) , image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg , alt = , caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009 , map ...

), in the Augusteum in Sebastia and possibly also in the Herodian platform at Caesarea Maritima. In Jerusalem, in addition to the

, Herodian stones are preserved beneath the

Damascus Gate The Damascus Gate is one of the main Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located in the wall on the city's northwest side and connects to a highway leading out to Nablus, which in the Hebrew Bible was called Shechem or Sichem, and from th ...

. It has been observed that this distinctive stone-dressing style serves as a decorative theme on Second Temple period

ossuaries An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...

found in the Jerusalem area.

List of major Herodian building projects

* Herod's Palace in

(Last quarter, 1st century BC) *The

(ca. 19 BC) **

***

Western Stone The Western Stone is a Monolithic architecture, monolithic stone ashlar block forming part of the lower level of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. This largest stone in the Western Wall is visible within the Western Wall Tunnel. It is one of List of ...

***

Royal Stoa (Jerusalem) The Royal Stoa ( he, הסטיו המלכותי, Ha-stav ha-Malkhuti; also known as the Royal Colonnade, Royal Portico, Royal Cloisters, Royal Basilica or Stoa Basileia) was an ancient basilica constructed by Herod the Great during his renovation ...

*Roman public facilities,

(1st century BC) **Theater, amphitheater, hippodrome (Remains have been found but not much is known) **Renovation of the

Pool of Siloam The term Pool of Siloam ( ar, بركه سلوان, he, בריכת השילוח, ''Breikhat HaShiloah'') ( gr, Σιλωάμ) refers to a number of Rock-cut architecture, rock-cut pools on the southern slope of the City of David (Silwan), Wadi Hilw ...

Jerusalem water channel The Jerusalem Water Channel is a central drainage channel of Second Temple Jerusalem, now an archaeological site in Jerusalem. Purpose It is a large drainage tunnel or sewer that runs down the Tyropoeon Valley and once drained runoff and waste wate ...

Jerusalem pilgrim road The stepped street, as it's known from academic works, or the Jerusalem pilgrim road as it has been dubbed by the Ir David Foundation, is the early Roman period street connecting the Temple Mount from its southwestern corner, to Jerusalem's sout ...

*The Royal Complex at

(Last quarter, 1st century BC) **The Palace-fortress **The Lower Herodium complex ** Herod's Tomb *The palace-fortress at

(37–15 BC) *

Machaerus Machaerus (Μαχαιροῦς, from grc, μάχαιρα, , makhaira sword he, מכוור; ar, قلعة مكاور, translit=Qala'at Mukawir, lit=Mukawir Castle) was a Hasmonean hilltop palace and desert fortress, now in ruins, located in ...

, Hasmonean fortress rebuilt by Herod in 30 BC *

Antipatris Antipatris (, grc, Αντιπατρίς) was a city built during the first century BC by Herod the Great, who named it in honour of his father, Antipater. The site, now a national park in central Israel, was inhabited from the Chalcolithic ...

, named by Herod in memory of his father, Antipater *Cypros Palace near

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

, named by Herod in memory of his mother, Cypros * Alexandrium, a Hasmonean palace which Herod rebuilt lavishly. * Caesarea Maritima with its palace and harbor (25–13 BC) *

Cave of the Patriarchs , alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham) , image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg , alt = , caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009 , map ...

* Sebaste, now Sebastia at Nablus, which Herod restored and expanded *Three Winter Palaces,

(starting 36 BC) *Three temples dedicated to

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

Levine, p. 168. Rocca, pp. 377–378. Rocca opines: "It is interesting to note, however, that the only Gentile temples erected inside the kingdom were dedicated to the imperial cult. It is possible that Herod did so in order to please Augustus without offending his Jewish subjects." (at Sebaste, Caesarea, and

Panias Banias or Banyas ( ar, بانياس الحولة; he, בניאס, label=Modern Hebrew; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; grc, Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek g ...

, with the last identified with

Omrit Omrit (), or Khirbat ‘Umayrī, is the site of an ancient Roman temple in the Israel–Syria demilitarised zone. It is believed that Omrit was built by Herod the Great in honor of Augustus around 20 BCE. The site was destroyed in the Galilee ear ...

)

Notes

References

Books

* Connolly, Peter (1983), ''Living in the Time of Jesus of Nazareth'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(This popular treatment includes many excellent illustrations and diagrams of Herod's buildings.) *Levine, L. I. (2002), ''Jerusalem – Portrait of the City in the Second Temple Period'', Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. * Netzer, Ehud (2006), ''The Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder'',

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

Mohr Siebeck Mohr Siebeck Verlag is a long-established academic publisher focused on the humanities and social sciences and based in Tübingen, Germany. An independent publisher, it has remained in the same family over four generations. Founded in 1801 in Fra ...

. *Richardson, P. (1996), ''Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans'', Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. pp. 174–191, 201–202 *Rocca, S. (2008), ''Herod's Judaea: A Mediterranean State in the Classical World (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism, 122)'', Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. *Roller, D. W. (1998), ''The Building Program of Herod the Great'', Berkeley: University of California Press.

Films

*''Herod's Lost Tomb'' (2008;

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

), in addition to examining Netzer's purported find of Herod's tomb, most of Herod's large projects are reconstructed in CGI. {{Archhistory Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire Ancient sites in Jerusalem Archaeological sites in Israel Architectural history Architectural styles Former buildings and structures in Israel Herod the Great Herodian dynasty Second Temple Temple Mount 1st-century BC architecture