What is the history of Masada?

Answer

Masada is a renowned mountain fortress situated above the western shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. The history of Masada dates back to 31 BC when Herod the Great finished constructing this “refuge palace” as a precaution against a potential revolt.

As per the historian Josephus, King Herod, an Edomite appointed by the Roman Empire as a client king over Judea, was despised by the Jews due to his non-Judean origin and harsh treatment of his subjects. Some contemporary psychologists, analyzing Herod’s actions, have diagnosed him as bipolar and suffering from severe paranoia. Herod’s fear of losing power was evident in his numerous construction projects, including Masada, and political assassinations.

Masada is situated at a high altitude and comprises various barracks, armories, and defensive structures, along with extensive storehouses and cisterns stocked with provisions. The primary defense of Masada was a narrow “snake path” ascending the 1,300-foot mountain, easily defensible from higher vantage points.

Approximately a century after Herod the Great erected the “impregnable” fortress of Masada, it became a refuge for a faction of Jewish Zealots who sought shelter during the Roman conquest of Israel. Following the capture of Jerusalem in AD 70, Masada stood as the final Jewish stronghold. As the Romans advanced south to eliminate all resistance, they encountered the Jewish defenders at Masada.

In AD 72, General Flavius Silva led a Roman legion that besieged Masada, unable to reach the small group of holdouts at the summit. Employing typical Roman tactics, thousands of slaves were brought in, and months were spent constructing a massive siege ramp on the mountain’s rear. The Romans successfully breached the fortress in the spring of AD 73, putting an end to the resistance.Found a ghastly scene. The Zealots, choosing death over capture, had committed ceremonial suicide. In total, 953 men, women, and children died in a final rejection of Roman oppression.

Accounts of the siege of Masada and the mass suicide were later reported by two women who had hidden in a cistern with five children. They recounted the final words of their leader, Eleazar, which Josephus wrote down:

“Since we, long ago, my generous friends, resolved never to be servants to the Romans, not to any other than to God himself, who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice.”

Israel became a formal nation again in 1948. And, nearly 1,900 years after the fall of Masada, the fortress still figures significantly in Israeli culture. As part of defending their renewed country, all Israeli men and women are asked to serve a term in the IDF—the Israeli Defense Forces. Upon their completion of basic training, new IDF soldiers climb the “snake path” to Masada at night and are sworn in during a torch-lit ceremony at the top of Masada. Their final declaration of the night before descending the mountain as full-fledged soldiers is “Masada shall not fall again.”