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Terrifying Terrorists of the Ancient World and Medieval Era

Khalid Elhassan February 20, 2025 15 min

Terrorists - A Sicarius springing into action — A Sicarius springing into action. Deadliest Fiction

13. An Ancient Terrorist Rampage in the Holy Lands

After they seized the Masada fortress and slaughtered hundreds of Romans, the Sicarii joined the Zealots and other rebels to attack and capture Jerusalem in 66 AD. Once in control of the city, the Sicarii went on a terrible rampage. They began by killing known and suspected collaborators en masse. Next, they turned on all opponents, then suspected opponents, and finally, even those who failed to express sufficient enthusiasm for the Sicarii cause. Such extremism led to a backlash and an uprising by the city’s population, and a falling out with the other rebels. It culminated in Sicarii defeat, the capture, torture, and execution of their leader, and the group’s expulsion from Jerusalem.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.