Machaerus (Qalatu l-Mishnāqá, Hebrew מכוור)'s a fortified hilltop palace located in Jordan fifteen miles (24 km) southeast of the mouth of the Jordan river on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. It's the alleged location of the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist. History The fortress Machaerus was originally built by the Hasmonean king, Alexander Jannaeus (104 BC-78 BC) in about the year 90 BC. It was destroyed by Pompey's general Gabinius in 57… (More on Machaerus)