Key Facts
- Date
- 72–73 AD
- Primary source
- The Jewish War by Josephus
- Defenders
- Sicarii rebel group and Jewish families
- Attacker
- Roman imperial forces
- Outcome
- Roman capture; mass suicide of defenders per Josephus
Strategic Narrative Overview
Roman forces under the command of Lucius Flavius Silva encircled Masada and constructed a circumvallation wall to prevent escape. A massive siege ramp was built against the western face of the plateau, allowing Roman troops to breach the fortress walls. The siege was methodical and prolonged, lasting from 72 into 73 AD, with the Romans overcoming the natural defenses of the clifftop site through sustained engineering effort.
01 / The Origins
The Siege of Masada occurred during the final phase of the First Jewish–Roman War, a broad Jewish revolt against Roman rule in Judaea that began in 66 AD. After Jerusalem fell in 70 AD, a group of Sicarii rebels—radical opponents of Roman authority—held out at the hilltop fortress of Masada, a near-impregnable stronghold near the Dead Sea, resisting Roman efforts to end the conflict.
03 / The Outcome
According to Josephus, on the eve of the Roman breach, the Sicarii leader Eleazar ben Ya'ir persuaded the defenders to take their own lives rather than submit to capture and enslavement. Nearly all of the approximately 960 occupants reportedly died in a mass suicide. The Romans entered to find the fortress mostly silent. The fall of Masada effectively concluded the First Jewish–Roman War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Lucius Flavius Silva.
Side B
1 belligerent
Eleazar ben Ya'ir.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.