King Herod’s Building Projects Stamp

Herod was crowned King of Judea in the year 37BCE. He was loathed by his Jewish subjects who saw him as a representative of foreign rule which undermined their traditional institutions and murdered their legitimate rulers, those of the Hasmonean dynasty. Herod made an attempt to become closer to the Jewish people, mainly through renovating the Jerusalem temple, but his first loyalty was to Rome. Herod was a decisive ruler who did much to develop the Land of Israel and its Jewish population as well as its foreign residents. During his long reign over Judea, he erected numerous elaborate and innovative buildings throughout his kingdom which were revolutionary from an engineering standpoint. This set of 4 stamps was issued on 7th February, 2011 Stamp 1 ‚Äì Masada ‚Äì When Herod became king, he decided to turn Masada into a stronghold that could serve him as a place of refuge if an insurrection should arise. He built two magnificent palaces, huge storerooms for arms and food and water reservoirs holding some 40,000 cubic meters of water atop the mountain adjacent to the Dead Sea. Stamp 2 ‚Äì Caesarea ‚Äì Herod erected his kingdom’s main port city along the Mediterranean shore, in an area that was only sparsely populated beforehand. He put up a broad breakwater, topped with a wall and towers, and build docks for ships, warehouses for storing goods, and lodgings for sailors. He also constructed lavish entertainment facilities and a high aquaduct which brought fresh water from afar. Stamp 3 ‚Äì Jerusalem ‚Äì Herod demolished the old, dilapidated temple, built originally in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah and erected a new magnificent building in its stead. He enlarged the area on which the temple stood using a series of arches and surrounded it with splendid buildings. The area around the Temple Mount and paths leading to it were also renovated. Stamp 4 ‚Äì Herodian ‚Äì When Herod became king, he decided to erect a site where he would be buried upon his death. He built an enormous compound around the mountain, including palace chambers, a garden and large pool and called it “Herodian”. The stamps with an information sheet are enclosed in a plastic protection sheet