If you've never visited this fortress, my advice is do so. It's close to the dead sea but also a sight to behold on its own.
this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2024
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I dream of doing it. Someday, maybe. But not during... current events.
Of course, although I don't doubt it's much safer now than before the war. But I can tell you for sure none of the photos do it justice. View from the fortress itself is hardly believable by eyes, let alone photo. It's so so wast and barren with bright turquoise dead sea gleaming from bellow.
I highly recommend. Truly breathtaking location
Explanation: During the Siege of Masada in the First Roman-Jewish War, the Iudean rebels holed up in the mountain fortress of Masada, which looked pretty fucking impenetrable. Unfortunately for the Iudean rebels, the Romans were infamously stubborn, and so decided to just BUILD a ramp so massive and sturdy that you can still see the remains to this day
Is this the one where the rebels committed mass suicide ahead of the Romans breaching the fort? I remember that from history channel though so that could be complete bs.
It is indeed! The Sicarii, the radical group which held the fortress (the First Roman-Jewish War had a LOT of splinter groups on the rebel side) committed mass suicide shortly before the fortress was breached. Though the end result is unlikely to have been much different than if they hadn't - the Romans were vicious at the best of times; after a long siege, it would have been a massacre anyway.
The Israeli military used to swear their oaths at Masada, until someone pointed out that "Religious radicals murder their countrymen and then commit suicide when confronted with actual opposition" was a bad look.
The very same. And siege lasted for a long time. Fortress has huge cisterns and complex systems for collecting and preserving water in the middle of nowhere.
Masada is a crazy story! It's truly an impressive "fort" too. Some of the structures resemble closer to a palace, and apparently it was almost entirely self sufficient
To dissuade the jewish defenders from fighting the Roman's, the Roman's would use jewish slaves to build the ramp. Absolutely mental