Masada

Masada

                Masada is remembered as the site where  the last stand of the Jewish rebellion against the Roman occupation in A.D. 70 took place. After years of very unsettled times - and rebellion was in the air at the time of Jesus - things finally came to a head. Enraged by the actions of the Roman procurators (Governors), Pontius Pilate being the best known of these, and stirred on by the Zealots, all out war between the Jews and the Romans broke out in A.D.66. The uprising was finally crushed by Titus in A.D.70 when he broke Jerusalem's defence, completely destroyed the temple and raised the city.

                The city was destroyed, the land conquered but there was still a number of strongholds in the rebels' hands. The three main areas of resistance were Herodium, Machaerus and Masada. Herodium was a fort which Herod the Great had built on the summit of a man-made, circular hill 12 kilometres south of Jerusalem. Machaerus was a fortress east of the Dead Sea - now in the country of Jordan - in which it is thought John the Baptist was imprisoned and executed. These two were quickly conquered without a great deal of effort on the part of the Romans and also without great loss of life. Masada remained defiant.

King Herod the Great's fortress and palace were situated on this mesa which rose 500 metres above the Dead Sea. Today the ruins remain.

                Masada was in the Judean Desert, 50 kilometres south of Jerusalem overlooking the Dead Sea. Again it was Herod who had a fort and luxurious palace built on the top of this steep-sided mesa when he was in power. It was built as a refuge for himself and his family. The cliff-like sides of the mesa rose very abruptly to a height of 400 metres and a successful attack up these slopes would not be possible.

                Already in A.D. 66 at the outbreak of hostilities, a fanatical Galilean zealot, Eleazar, and a group of his followers occupied this fort. From here he had been able to make raids against the Romans in the surrounding areas and then retreat to relative safely. Now with Judea conquered, he and his band stood alone against the might of the Roman forces. And the victors would not allow his resistance to continue.

These remaining stones show the position of the Roman wall which once encircled this fortress.

The storerooms of Herod's fort. The partly restored ones contain memories; the unrestored the rubble of two thousand years.

Thus began a long period of siege warfare in order for the Romans to overcome this remaining nuisance.

                Over a period of many months the site was completely surrounded by a circumvallatio - a wall which ensured that those on the mesa top could not escape. Then a massive rampart was built, rock by rock, higher and higher, to gain close access to the walls of the fort - at least in one place. This allowed the Romans to bring their siege machines up to the wall which was soon breached. The defenders had built a second wall inside the outer one, and this hindered the progress of the attackers for some time. After it had been set alight and was crumbling the Zealots knew that the next day would see the Roman soldiers begin their slaughtering.

                Realising their hopeless position, and knowing the fate of the women and children who were also living there, the decision was made to commit suicide and deny the attackers the taste of blood. Next morning the Romans found only dead bodies and a burnt out palace - a hollow victory. Thus the spring of A.D 73 saw the end of this Jewish uprising against the Romans.

                This is a cruel tale, a barbaric tale, a tale of pride and determination against overwhelming odds. It is one that has been printed indelibly in the annals of the Jewish people. It is similar to others which come to mind, fights which can't be won. It is the gallant defeat which is remembered. Remember the Alamo, or the landing at Gallipoli?

                I sat on a rock up there in the ruins of the Masada fort, among the ruins of those many lives and thought: " Tonight I am going to die." Not "tomorrow I might be killed in battle," or "tomorrow I might escape death in battle but be taken prisoner by the Romans and eventually (probably soon) die in chains." No, I thought, "tonight I am going to die."

                "I have fought against the Romans, against those rulers who have oppressed my homeland, and lost my battle. I leave a land still ruled by foreigners. Death is the reward for my efforts, for my worthless efforts. Do I welcome death? Do I feel cheated? Was I born to die unrewarded? I ponder in doubt. Is my trust in my God so great, is my belief in an afterlife strong enough to combat doubt?

                "Of one thing I have no doubt. Tonight I die."