Masada was a fortress on a plateau in the middle of a desert in what is today Israel. It was built by Herod the Great and had everything necessary to withstand a long siege. After the Romans put down the Jewish Rebellion (66-73 A.D.), some rebels held out. A group called the Sicarii (from the Hebrew word for dagger) took refuge in the fort. Their charismatic leader was Eleazar ben Ya’ir. They used it as a base for raids that drew the attention of the Romans who sent the famed 10th Legion to deal with the troublemakers. Led by Flavius Silva, the legionaries constructed a wall around the plateau to keep the Jews from escaping. Since the fortress had its own water and food supply, starving the rebels out was not doable. Silva ordered the building of a massive ramp up to the wall of the fort. He conscripted Jewish civilians for the construction. When the ramp was completed, a siege tower was rolled up to the gate and a battering ram was used to break it down. The Jews managed to set fire to the tower, but then the wind shifted and the gate caught on fire. When it became apparent that the Romans were going to get in and death or slavery awaited the Jewish families, they decided to deprive the Romans of full victory. Lots were drawn and ten of the men were chosen to kill the others. Then they drew lots to see who would kill the other nine. This avoided the sin of suicide, except for the last guy. 967 men, women, and kids died. Two women and five kids survived by hiding.
1 Comment
Anonymous · March 2, 2023 at 7:53 pm
You can still see part of the assault Roman ramp at Masada.