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The Infamous Last Stand At Masada and The End of the First Roman-Jewish War
Myth or tragic reality?
In 66 CE, many of the Jewish people living in Roman Palestine rose up in revolt. The uprising was the result of decades of simmering tensions, which boiled over into a terrible war. The Romans sacked Jerusalem in 70 CE and did grievous harm to the city and its inhabitants. They likely thought that this would be the end of the revolt — but they were mistaken.
The surviving Jewish fighters, incensed at the destruction of their holy city and temple, fled into the hills and decided to pursue a protracted guerilla conflict. For a couple of short years, the strategy worked. Despite piercing the heart of Roman Judaism at Jerusalem, the war did not come to an end. Instead, the Romans were forced to scour the hills for the remaining rebels, who were determined to fight until the bitter end.
The campaign following the fall of Jerusalem cumulated in the siege at Masada. Masada is a formidable hill with steep, soaring stone walls and a flat top. It was here that the remaining Jewish fighters, roughly 1000 in total, decided to barricade themselves and make a final stand.
The Romans, determined to put an end to the rebellion once and for all and to make a statement to anyone else who considered rising up, put the…
