Masada, pronounced Metzada in Hebrew, is a mountain fortress overlooking the South-Western corner of the Dead Sea. It was built by King Herod as a virtually impenetrable winter palace protected on all sides by steep slopes. It was captured by Jewish Zealots in 66 AD while Jerusalem was under siege. In 70 AD Jerusalem fell and 900 Zealots still in the city at the time escaped to Masada. The tenth legion, also known as Caesar’s legion, pursued and laid siege to the fortress.

The Zealots held out for three years as the Romans built a massive ramp that allowed them to bring ramming towers up to the fortress walls. When the Romans finally breached the walls and entered the compound they were horrified to find all the defenders dead. Flavius Josephus, a Jewish General who upon his capture changed sides and eventually became a great Roman historian, wrote that the Zealot leader, Eleazar Ben Yair, gave the following speech before the defenders committed mass suicide.

My loyal followers, long ago we resolved to serve neither the Romans nor anyone else but only God, who alone is the true and righteous Lord of men: now the time has come that forces us to prove our determination by our deeds. At a time like this, we must not disgrace ourselves: hitherto we have never submitted to slavery, even when it brought no danger with it: we must not choose slavery now, and with it penalties that will mean the end of everything if we fall alive into the hands of the Romans. For we were the first of all to revolt, and shall be the last to break off the struggle. And I think it is God who has given us this privilege, that we can die nobly and as free men, unlike others who were unexpectedly defeated. In our case it is evident that day-break will end our resistance, but we are free to choose an honorable death with our loved ones. This our enemies cannot prevent, however earnestly they may pray to take us alive; nor can we defeat them in battle.

Let our wives die unabused, our children without knowledge of slavery: after that, let us do each other an ungrudging kindness, preserving our freedom as a glorious winding-sheet. But first let our possessions and the whole fortress go up in flames: it will be a bitter blow to the Romans, that I know, to find our persons beyond their reach and nothing left for them to loot. One thing only let us spare our store of food: it will bear witness when we are dead to the fact that we perished, not through want but because, as we resolved at the beginning, we chose death rather than slavery.” (Josephus Flavius, Jewish War).

Evidence at the site suggests that the Zealots chose ten men to kill the rest. Then the ten drew lots to kill each other. The last man fell on his own sword. The Zealots would not have made good dhimmis.

Before the current post-Zionist, post-Jewish, post-will-to-live era, Jewish kids in Israel were raised with the motto “no more Masadas”. Meaning that winning is the only option.

Below are the remains of the external wall on the side breached by the Romans.

The Dead Sea, seen through a hole in the wall.

Storage rooms for King Herod’s food. The servants had to carry it a long way to the kitchen on the other side of the fortress.

Jews invented stone throwing way before there were Palestinians.

King Herod’s palace was built into the side of the mountain. The view is spectacular.

Jews invented the Internet, 2000 years before Al Gore invented it, using intelligent pigeon (IP) addresses. Each pigeon had two fixed IP addresses, one in Masada and one in Jerusalem. The pigeon flew between the two addresses with emergency mail (email). In the photo below each pigeonhole is a unique IP address. Clever Jews!

The Jewish Zealots started with small stones but quickly invented stones of mass destruction (SMD).