Siege of Masada AD 72
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | AD 72 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Israel | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | First Jewish-Roman War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 31.3156, 35.3536 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The hilltop fortress of Masada, in present-day Israel, was successfully besieged and taken by Roman imperial forces between 72 and 73 AD, during the final period of the First Jewish–Roman War. At the time, the fortress was held by members of the Sicarii rebel group. The siege is recorded by a single contemporary written source, The Jewish War by Josephus. According to Josephus, the long siege ended with the mass suicide of the Sicarii and resident Jewish families.
In modern times, the story of the siege was revived as the Masada myth, a selectively constructed narrative based on Josephus's account. The mythical narrative became a national symbol in the early years of Israel's nationhood.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Masada (revision 1376656075), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the First Jewish-Roman War
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- Siege of Yodfat AD 67
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All 5 battles of the First Jewish-Roman War →
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