6. From a Biblical King’s Fortress to UNESCO World Heritage Site
Today, Masada’s ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular tourist destination that draws about 750,000 visitors yearly. Its legend began when the Romans besieged the fortress, and their engineers began a ramp that daily brought the legionaries closer to the rebels. When it became clear that the fortress was bound to fall, the defenders committed mass suicide, killing their wives and children, then each other. 960 people died, and when the Romans finally entered Masada, only two women and five children were still alive.
The defenders, known as the Sicarii, were a militant faction of the Zealots, a first century AD Jewish faction that sought to launch a rebellion to free Judea from Rome’s yoke. Their efforts led to the Great Jewish Revolt of 66 – 73 AD. While the Zealots were radical, their Sicarii splinter went to extremes that qualify them as history’s earliest identifiable terrorists.
