Masada, which means “fortress” in Hebrew, is a mountaintop stronghold in the Judean desert, built on a rocky mesa rising abruptly 2,000 feet above the nearby Dead Sea. It was renovated by Herod the Great between 37 and 31 B.C. When Jerusalem was taken by the Romans in A.D. 70, the last remaining rebels, a Jewish sect known as the Zealots, revolted and seized the fortress in their last stand against Roman rule. They refused to surrender. This is where the phrase "Religious Zealots, " comes from.
With plenty of food and water, this group of about 1,000 men, women, and children led by a military strategist called: Eleazar, held off the whole Roman army for more than two years. After this long siege, 15,000 Roman soldiers from the Tenth Legion raised an enormous Earth ramp and broke through the walls. They found the bodies of over 960 men, women, and children, victims of a suicide pact to keep the Romans from taking them as slaves. All but seven killed themselves rather than yield to their enemies.
The Masada site was rediscovered in 1842 and extensively excavated between 1963 and 1965. Today tourists either hike up the 2,000 feet to see the Masada or they take a cable car. Masada has remained largely untouched by humans for over 2,000 years. A museum now displays findings, and tours are given daily, telling the story of the zealots who refused to give in.
With plenty of food and water, this group of about 1,000 men, women, and children led by a military strategist called: Eleazar, held off the whole Roman army for more than two years. After this long siege, 15,000 Roman soldiers from the Tenth Legion raised an enormous Earth ramp and broke through the walls. They found the bodies of over 960 men, women, and children, victims of a suicide pact to keep the Romans from taking them as slaves. All but seven killed themselves rather than yield to their enemies.
The Masada site was rediscovered in 1842 and extensively excavated between 1963 and 1965. Today tourists either hike up the 2,000 feet to see the Masada or they take a cable car. Masada has remained largely untouched by humans for over 2,000 years. A museum now displays findings, and tours are given daily, telling the story of the zealots who refused to give in.
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