Masada is probably the most famous fortress in ancient Judea, and was the location of the last major engagement of the Jewish Revolt that took place from 66 to 74 AD. Having finally suppressed all other rebel movement, governor of Judea, Flavius Silva, was able to march against Masada at around 73 AD, taking the Legio X Fretensis and an unknown number of Auxiliaries. Considering the heavy fighting the Roman army was involved in over the past years and how units were anyway rarely at full strength to begin with, Silva's army probably mustered at no more than around 5,000 men. Masada is one of the Roman army's most famous siege operations, attesting not only to their skill in the field, but also to their great determination.
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Masada was controlled by a group of radical Jewish brigands known as the Sicarii, who had clashed both with the Romans and other Jewish rebels during the war. Lead by Eleazar ben Jair, there were some 960 rebels and civilians at Masada. Seeing as the fortress was superbly supplied, Silva realized he couldn't hope to starve the Jews into surrender, and ordered an enormous siege ramp built up to the defenses, while also surrounding Masada with a wall of circumvallation and a series of camps, intending to storm it. Silva moved a siege tower outfitted with iron plates, with missile troops on top. A battering ram was made against the wall. The Jews made no sallies to try and disrupt the Roman engineering parties.
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After months of construction, the Romans finally reached the top, where their ram breached the walls while the tower's missile troops suppressed the Jews. However, the Jews had predicted this and built an earth and timber wall at the location of the breach. However, Silva eliminated this obstacle using flaming missiles, although the wind briefly blew the fire towards the Roman attackers. However the wind luckily blew back at the Jewish barricade before the fire could cause serious damage, and the Romans returned to their camps ready to storm through the breach next morning. However, when the Romans did enter the fortress, they were only met with silence and the bodies of their enemies: the Jews had committed suicide before the end.
Credit: @roman.military.history
#Roman_Empire
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