Herod

Herod doubled the size of the original Temple Mount by using massive stones, some weighing around 50 tons, parts of which still stand today. This monumental endeavor was unlike any other in its time.

Herod's reign of terror, enforced through a secret police and foreign mercenaries, silenced dissent among Jews except for a few who resisted quietly. This silence, particularly among scholars like Hillel and Shammai, left Herod no excuse to target them.

Herod served Augustus well but was a ruthless tyrant to the people of Judea and even his own family.

Herod watched from the sidelines, horrified. Could it be that the stubborn Jews want to make Aristobulus king and depose him?

Herod, arrogant and clad in noble purple robes, arrived with a sword at his side and surrounded by bodyguards. The sages of the Sanhedrin were too afraid to speak, fearing for their lives. Only the president, Shmaya, stood up to the tyrant, rebuking his fellow sages for allowing fear to silence them.

From Herod’s engineers to Ottoman sultans, from ancient arches to modern prayers — the story of Judaism’s most sacred surviving site