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Doubts over Israel's Masada myth


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Herod the Great's fortified complex at Masada was a winter retreat but also an insurance against a feared rebellion of his Jewish subjects or an attack from Rome. Luxurious palaces, barracks, well-stocked storerooms, bathhouses, water cisterns sat on a plateau 400m above the Dead Sea and desert floor. Herod's personal quarters in the Northern Palace contained lavish mosaics and frescoes.

But by the time the Jews revolted against the Romans, Herod had been dead for seven decades. After the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, the surviving rebels fled to Masada, under the command of Eleazer Ben Yair. Around 960 men, women and children holed up in the desert fortress as 8,000 Roman legionnaires laid siege from below.

Using Jewish slave labour, the Romans built a gigantic ramp with which they could reach the fortress and capture the rebels. On 15 April in the year 73CE, Ben Yair gathered his people and told them the time had come to "prefer death before slavery". Using a lottery system, the men killed their wives and children, then each other, until the last survivor killed himself, according to historian Flavius Josephus's account.

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Since you didn't extrapolate your opinion on the article up front...I am assuming you either don't have an opinion or prefer not to share it.

There is evidence that I have read about that there was a ramp...there is evidence of a siege.

The truth....will never be known and as history is notoriously written by the victors...and Flavius wrote it this way...there is possibility of twisting of facts. However, I can't figure out the benefit's for Roman History to record it in a way that might be counter-productive to Roman interests. Why would Rome want to record that the Hebrews committed suicide over a Roman assault and victory...makes no sense from a victors point of view.

I am sure it prob happened very close to the Flavius documents but it was likely exaggerated...there was prob not that many people there.

Just my thoughts

Edited by Jeremiah65
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I know it's true because Joss Gates and crew did a ghost hunt there for their show and found lots of EVPs and ghost images.

[sarcasm off]

While I'm sure the story has been embellished over the generations, the siege did occur to the best my knowledge. It doesn't sound dissimilar to the debate that has been going on here in the US about what really happened at the Alamo.

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Since you didn't extrapolate your opinion on the article up front...I am assuming you either don't have an opinion or prefer not to share it.

There is evidence that I have read about that there was a ramp...there is evidence of a siege.

The truth....will never be known and as history is notoriously written by the victors...and Flavius wrote it this way...there is possibility of twisting of facts. However, I can't figure out the benefit's for Roman History to record it in a way that might be counter-productive to Roman interests. Why would Rome want to record that the Hebrews committed suicide over a Roman assault and victory...makes no sense from a victors point of view.

I am sure it prob happened very close to the Flavius documents but it was likely exaggerated...there was prob not that many people there.

Just my thoughts

It would explain why there were no slaves and no circus victims at the victory parade in Rome. If they were all dead then they could celebrate victory without presenting the evidence to the plebs.

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