2 – Siege of Masada (72?-73? AD)
At the Siege of Masada, approximately 960 Jews held out for over a year against 10,000 Roman soldiers. It was one of the last events in the First Jewish-Roman War (66 – 73 AD) which was the first of three Jewish rebellions against the Romans. The rebels were fighting a losing battle from 70 AD onwards when a large number of them died in the siege of Jerusalem. However, even though things looked increasingly bad for the rebels, they refused to surrender and maintained a presence in strongholds such as Masada.
Masada was a palace that doubled as a fortress due to its location on top of a rocky, steep hill. In fact, the only way to reach it was via a long and winding road on the eastern side of the hill. It ensured that Masada was an incredibly difficult place to capture; primarily because would-be attackers could only march up the hill in small groups. As a result, they were wide open to counter attacks. Furthermore, the creators of Masada ensured it was difficult to starve out the inhabitants. Cisterns were cut into the rock and stored rainwater while there were large storerooms specifically designed to hold vast quantities of food. There was even space to grow crops so if the population was under siege; it could grow fresh food.
The Romans quickly found out how difficult it was to take Masada when a 10,000 man army under Lucius Flavius Silva arrived in 72 AD. Approximately 960 Judeans occupied Masada when Silva arrived, and they were led by Eleazer Ben Yair who came from a militant family with a reputation for resistance. Silva, the governor of Judea, followed the tried and trusted Roman siege practice of surrounding the enemy fortress. The Romans created a ring of fortifications to prevent the defenders from launching counter-attacks or escaping with a view to seeking assistance. The Romans even had artillery emplacements built to fire missiles at anyone who tried to escape.
The Romans knew that it would be a long and protracted siege and were ready for it. After several months of engineering work, they were ready to attack and constructed a siege tower with a battering ram. The Jewish Sicarii did not launch any counter attacks during the siege. The rebels had hoped to get help to stage a genuine insurrection, but in the end, there were less than 1,000 trapped at Masada. They chose death over surrender. As Judaism forbids suicide, the rebels drew lots and killed one another so only the last person standing committed suicide.
When the Romans breached the fortress walls on April 16, 73 AD, they found every single inhabitant of Masada lying dead on the ground. However, two women and five children supposedly hid inside the cistern thus surviving the cull. The end of the siege also marked the conclusion of the First Jewish-Roman War although the heroism at Masada lived long in the memory.