20. History’s First Terrorist Group
In 1st century AD Judea, the Sicarii were formed as a militant faction of the Zealots, who were themselves a radical political movement that sought to spark a rebellion against Roman rule. They ended up sparking the Jewish Revolt of 66-73 AD. While the Zealots were radical, their Sicarii splinter went to extremes that made them history’s earliest identifiable terrorists, with methods that meet modern definitions of the term.
The Sicarii, meaning “dagger men” in Latin, earned their name from the knives known as sicae, with which they killed their victims. Their goal was to cleanse the Holy Lands of Romans and their Jewish collaborators. Their standard tactic was to blend into crowds at public gatherings and wait for an opportune moment. When it presented itself, they would suddenly charge their target, stab him, and escape during the resulting confusion and panic by blending into the crowd.