Herodium
| הרודיון هيروديون |
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Aerial view of the acropolis of Herodium
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 Shown within the Palestinian territories
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| Alternate name | Herodion |
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| Location | West Bank |
| Region | Judaean Desert |
| Coordinates | 31°39′57″N 35°14′29″E / 31.66583°N 35.24139°ECoordinates: 31°39′57″N 35°14′29″E / 31.66583°N 35.24139°E |
| Type | Fortification |
| Height | 758 m (2,487 ft) |
| History | |
| Builder | Herod the Great |
| Founded | 22–15 BC |
| Abandoned | 71 AD |
| Periods | Roman Empire |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Ehud Netzer |
| Management | Israel Nature and Parks Authority |
Herodium (Latin), Herodeion (Ancient Greek: Ἡρώδειον), best known in Israel as Herodion (Hebrew: הרודיון) and in Arabic as Jabal al-Fureidis (Arabic: هيروديون, lit. "Paradise Hill") is a truncated cone-shaped hill, located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Jerusalem and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southeast of Bethlehem, in the Judaean Desert, West Bank. Herod the Great built a palace fortress and a small town at Herodium, between 23 and 15 BCE, and is believed to have been buried there. Herodium is 758 meters (2,487 ft) above sea level, the highest peak in the Judaean Desert. Today, the site is managed by the Israel National Parks Authority.
Herodion is the only site that is named after King Herod the Great. It was known by the Crusaders as the "Mountain of Franks". Arab locals call it Jabal al-Fourdis ("Mountain of Paradise"). The Modern Hebrew name, Herodion (Hebrew: הרודיון), is actually a transliteration of the Greek spelling. However, modern Israeli archaeologists have confirmed that the site’s original Hebrew name was Herodis (Hebrew: הרודיס), just as this name is inscribed in one of the Bar Kokhba letters recovered from the Muraba’at Caves in the Judaean desert. Some speculate that the Arabic name, Fourdis, may be a corruption of the Hebrew name.
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