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Masada
Masada ( ', 'fortress'; ) is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BCE, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising over above the surrounding terrain, east of modern Arad. The most significant remains at the site date to the reign of Herod the Great, King of Judaea c. 37–4 BCE, who transformed Masada into a fortified desert refuge early in his rule. He enclosed the summit with a casemate wall and towers, and constructed storerooms, an advanced water system, and bathhouses, along with two elaborate palaces: one on the western side and another built across three terraces on the northern cliff. These palaces remain among the finest examples of Herodian architecture. Masada is most renowned for its role during the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), when it became the final holdout of Jewish rebels following the destruction of Jerusalem. A grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masada Myth
The Masada myth is the early Zionist retelling of the Siege of Masada, and an Israeli national myth. The Masada myth is a selectively constructed narrative based on Josephus's account, with the Sicarii instead depicted as national heroes in the First Jewish–Roman War. Josephus, the only written source for the event – albeit one considered to have a pro-Roman bias – described the Sicarii using words that have been translated as "bandits", "terrorists" and "murderers", and recorded them not only fighting the Romans but also killing their fellow Jews. The modern myth version first emerged and was promoted in Mandatory Palestine and later Israel. Despite the modern academic consensus, popular accounts by figures like Yigal Yadin and Moshe Pearlman have perpetuated the myth, influencing public perception.: "On the professional level, we now know that the Masada myth is a particular selective historically invented sequence (narrative) based, par-tially, on Josephus Flavius's accou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Masada
The siege of Masada was the Roman Empire's defeat of the Sicarii, occurring from 72 to 73 AD – during the final period of the First Jewish–Roman War – on and around a hilltop in present-day Israel. The siege is recorded by a single contemporary written source, '' The Jewish War'' by Flavius Josephus, a Jewish rebel leader captured by the Romans, in whose service he became a historian. According to Josephus the long siege by the troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels and resident Jewish families of the Masada fortress. In modern times, the story of the siege was revived as the Masada myth, a selectively constructed narrative based on Josephus's account. The mythical narrative became a national symbol in the early years of Israel's nationhood. Background Masada has been described as "a lozenge-shaped table-mountain" that is "lofty, isolated, and to all appearance impregnable". Historically, the fortress could be reached only by a sing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucius Flavius Silva
Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus was a late-1st-century Roman general, governor of the province of Iudaea and consul. Silva was the commander of the army, composed mainly of the ''Legio X Fretensis'', in 72 AD that laid siege to the near-impregnable mountain fortress of Masada, occupied by a group of Jewish rebels dubbed the Sicarii by Flavius himself. The siege ended in 73 AD with Silva's forces breaching the defenses of the Masada plateau and the mass suicide of the Sicarii, who preferred death to defeat or capture. Silva's actions are documented by 1st-century Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, the remains of a 1st-century Roman victory arch identified in Jerusalem in 2005, and the extensive earthworks at the Masada site, a monument to the high-water mark of Roman siege warfare. Early life and career Flavius Silva was born in the Roman town of Urbs Salvia, in what is now Italy, circa AD 43. Around 62, he began his career within the ''vigintiviri'', a preliminary and required ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicarii
The Sicarii were a group of Jewish assassins who were active throughout Judaea in the years leading up to and during the First Jewish–Roman War, which took place at the end of the Second Temple period. Often associated with the Zealots (although this relationship is uncertain), they conducted a high-profile campaign of targeted assassinations of Romans and of Jews who collaborated with them. They later became notorious for a reported mass suicide during the Siege of Masada. The group's signature weapon and namesake was a type of large dagger known as a ''sica'', which they concealed in their cloaks before attacking their targets at public gatherings, thereafter blending in with the crowds to escape undetected. Other than the Roman-era Jewish historian Josephus, there are no sources for the history and activities of the Sicarii. According to Josephus's account, the Sicarii's victims may have included Jonathan the High Priest, who was assassinated inside of the Second Templ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Jewish–Roman War
The First Jewish–Roman War (66–74 CE), also known as the Great Jewish Revolt, the First Jewish Revolt, the War of Destruction, or the Jewish War, was the first of three major Jewish rebellions against the Roman Empire. Fought in the province of Judaea, it resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple, mass displacement, land appropriation, and the dissolution of the Jewish polity. Judaea, once independent under the Hasmoneans, fell to Rome in the first century BCE. Initially a client kingdom, it later became a directly ruled province, marked by the rule of oppressive governors, socioeconomic divides, nationalist aspirations, and rising religious and ethnic tensions. In 66 CE, under Nero, unrest flared when a local Greek sacrificed a bird at the entrance of a Caesarea synagogue. Tensions escalated as Governor Gessius Florus looted the temple treasury and massacred Jerusalem's residents, sparking an uprising in which rebels killed the Roman garrison ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judaean Desert
The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert (, ) is a desert in the West Bank and Israel that stretches east of the ridge of the Judaean Mountains and in their rain shadow, so east of Jerusalem, and descends to the Dead Sea. Under the name El-Bariyah, it has been nominated to the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in the West Bank and Israel, particularly for its monastic ruins. Etymology The term originates in the Hebrew Bible, and it is mentioned in Judges and Psalms. It is sometimes known as ''Yeshimon'', meaning ''desert'' or ''wildland'', or yet ''Wilderness of Judah'' or ''Wilderness of Judaea'', among others. Similarly, the Arabic name برية الخليل, ''Bariyat El-Khalil'' (sometimes stylized 'El-Bariyah') means ''Wilderness of Hebron.'' Geography The Judaean Desert lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. The Judaean Desert stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El, and is marked by natural terraces with escarpments. It end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed Hasmonean royal ancestry. He initially fought against the Roman Empire during the First Jewish–Roman War as general of the Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in AD 67 to the Roman army led by military commander Vespasian after the six-week siege of Yodfat. Josephus claimed the Jewish messianic prophecies that initiated the First Jewish–Roman War made reference to Vespasian becoming Roman emperor. In response, Vespasian decided to keep him as a slave and presumably interpreter. After Vespasian became emperor in AD 69, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the Emperor's family name of '' Flavius''. Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legio X Fretensis
Legio X Fretensis ("Tenth legion of the Strait") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius (later to become Augustus Caesar) in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the dissolution of the Roman Republic. X ''Fretensis'' is then recorded to have existed at least until the 410s. X ''Fretensis'' symbols were the bull — the holy animal of the goddess Venus (mythical ancestor of the gens Julia) — a ship (probably a reference to the Battles of Naulochus and/or Actium), the god Neptune, and a boar. The symbol of Taurus may also mean that it was organized between 20 April and 20 May. History Aelius Gallus' expedition In 26 BC, the Legio under Aelius Gallus was ordered by Augustus to undertake a military expedition to Arabia Felix, where Gallus was to either conclude treaties making the Arabian people foederati (i.e. client states), or to subdue them if they resisted. According to Theodor Mommsen, Aelius Gall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Destruction Of Jerusalem
The siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), a major rebellion against Roman rule in the province of Judaea. Led by Titus, Roman forces besieged the Jewish capital, which had become the main stronghold of the revolt. After months of fighting, they breached its defenses, destroyed the Second Temple, razed most of the city, and killed, enslaved, or displaced a large portion of its population. The fall of Jerusalem marked the effective end of the Jewish revolt and had far-reaching political, religious, and cultural consequences. In the winter of 69/70 CE, following a pause caused by the Roman succession war, the campaign in Judaea resumed as Titus led at least 48,000 troops—including four legions and auxiliary forces—back into the province. By spring, this army had encircled Jerusalem, whose population had surged with refugees and Passover pilgrims. Inside the city, rival factions led by John of Gischala, Simon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, choir performances, and children's plays. They often also have rooms for study, social halls, administrative and charitable offices, classrooms for religious and Hebrew studies, and many places to sit and congregate. They often display commemorative, historic, or modern artwork alongside items of Jewish historical significance or history about the synagogue itself. Synagogues are buildings used for Jewish prayer, study, assembly, and reading of the Torah. The Torah (Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses) is traditionally read in its entirety over a period of a year in weekly portions during services, or in some synagogues on a triennial cycle. However, the edifice of a synagogue as such is not essential for hol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arad, Israel
Arad ( ) is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It is located on the border of the Negev and the Judaean deserts, west of the Dead Sea and east of Beersheba. The city is home to a diverse population of in , including Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews (both secular and religious), Bedouins and Black Hebrews, as well as new immigrants. After attempts to settle the area in the 1920s, Arad was founded in November 1962 as an Israeli development town, the first planned city in Israel. Arad's population grew significantly with the Aliyah from the former Soviet Union. It became a city in 1995. Landmarks in Arad include the ruins of Tel Arad, Arad Park, a domestic airfield and Israel's first legal race circuit. The city is known for its annual summer music festival, the Arad Festival. History Antiquity Arad is named after the Biblical Bronze Age Canaanite and later Israelite town located at Tel Arad (a Biblical archaeology site famous for the discovery of ostraca), which is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herodian Architecture
Herodian architecture is a style of classical architecture characteristic of the numerous building projects undertaken during the reign (37–4 BC) of Herod the Great, the Roman client king of Judea. Herod undertook many colossal building projects, most famously his reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (c. 19 BC). Many of his structures were built upon comparable, previous Hasmonean buildings and most of his have, in their turn, vanished as well. Herod's architectural endeavors are distinguished by their strategic placement to maximize dramatic vistas, evident in locations such as the northern palace at Masada, the third palace at Jericho, the seaside palace at Caesarea, and the Herodium near the desert's edge. Many of his projects often combined multiple purposes, incorporating ceremonial and administrative spaces, storage, water facilities, baths, swimming pools, and fortifications. Emphasis was also placed on integrating water features and greenery, utilizing local materia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
