The First Jewish Roman Wars

The First Jewish-Roman War, also known as the Great Revolt (66–73 CE), was a pivotal conflict between the Roman Empire and Jewish rebels in the province of Judea.

The Sicarii’s Role in Roman War:

Sparked by escalating tensions the First Roman Jewish war began when Jewish zealots overthrew Roman garrisons in Jerusalem and other cities. Mostly by using the secret assassins, the Sicarii.

Initial successes by the rebels, led by figures such as Simon bar Giora and John of Gischala, included capturing key fortresses like Masada and defeating a Roman legion under Cestius Gallus.

The Pharisees and radical Sicarii—were not enough to defeat the Romans.

The war highlighted deep-seated grievances over Roman imperialism and the desecration of Jewish holy sites, drawing in diverse Jewish groups united temporarily against a common oppressor.

As the conflict intensified, Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus led a massive Roman counteroffensive, besieging Jerusalem in 70 CE after quelling rebellions in Galilee. The siege resulted in horrific famine, mass casualties, and the eventual breaching of the city’s walls, culminating in the destruction of the Second Temple—a catastrophe mourned annually in Jewish tradition as Tisha B’Av.

The fall of Jerusalem marked the war’s turning point, with over a million Jews reportedly killed or enslaved according to historian Flavius Josephus.

Remaining strongholds like Masada held out until 73 CE, ending in a mass suicide by defenders to avoid capture.

The war’s aftermath reshaped Judaism, shifting focus from Temple-based worship to rabbinic study, while solidifying Roman dominance in the region and accelerating the Jewish Diaspora. This conflict set precedents for future revolts and remains a symbol of resistance and tragedy in Jewish history.

The Sicarii: Ancient Assassins Who Sparked the Jewish Revolt

Sicarii Extremists and the Fall of Masada in 73 CE.

The Sicarii, a radical extremist faction of Jewish zealots often regarded as the ancient world’s first organized political assassins or terrorists, played a fierce and provocative role in the First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE).

Named after the curved dagger (sica) they concealed under their cloaks for stealthy attacks in crowded public places, they targeted Romans and especially Jewish collaborators—high priests, elites, and anyone seen as compromising with Roman rule—through targeted killings designed to incite widespread revolt and eliminate perceived traitors. According to the primary source, historian Flavius Josephus, their campaign of assassinations escalated tensions in the years leading up to the war, including the murder of High Priest Jonathan around 54–60 CE, and helped spark the rebellion when they seized key sites like Masada early in 66 CE, arming themselves from its arsenal before marching on Jerusalem. Led initially by Menahem ben Yehuda (son of Judas the Galilean) and later by Eleazar ben Ya’ir after internal strife killed Menahem, the Sicarii allied temporarily with other rebel groups but were notorious for their uncompromising fanaticism, plundering Jewish opponents and refusing any submission to Rome.

During the war, the Sicarii contributed to the initial capture of Jerusalem and the Temple but became increasingly isolated due to factional infighting among Jewish rebels. As Roman forces under Titus besieged and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE, many Sicarii retreated to the fortress of Masada, where they held out as the last major stronghold. In 73 CE, facing inevitable defeat by the Roman Tenth Legion, Eleazar reportedly persuaded the group to commit mass suicide rather than surrender and face enslavement or execution, resulting in nearly all defenders (around 960) taking their own lives in a dramatic act of defiance that has become legendary in Jewish history as a symbol of ultimate resistance, though Josephus’s account remains the main (and debated) source. Their actions highlighted the extreme ideological divisions within the Jewish resistance and accelerated the war’s tragic outcome, including the Temple’s destruction and the further dispersion of the Jewish people.