Masada Trivia Quiz

Answer: fortress

The word Masada comes from the Hebrew "Metzada", meaning fortress. Built on top of a flat rock plateau at the western end of the Judean Desert, the fortress overlooks the Dead Sea. Approximately 1800 x 900 feet in size, the top of the plateau could be reached in ancient times by climbing one of three difficult paths.

This is where the Jews made their last stand against the Romans during the Jewish Revolt of 66-73.

Answer: Herod the Great

Herod the Great was King of Judea by Roman permission. He was rich, smart, and cruel. His subjects hated him, and Herod fortified and furnished Masada as a refuge where he could live in style in case he ever needed to make a run for his life. Included in the community were storehouses, cisterns, barracks, palaces, an amory, a bathhouse, and a synagogue.

A large group of people could live indefinitely there.

Answer: Lucius Flavius Silva

Silva, appointed Governor-General of Judea from 73-81, was the leader of the legion "X Fretensis", or the tenth legion of the sea strait - Rome's elite legionnaires. He ordered that a wall be built around the foot of Masada, and established eight camps there. Typically, Rome would probably not have bothered with the rebels on Masada.

However, at the beginning of the Jewish Revolt the tenth legion had suffered humilitation that could not be overlooked - by losing its eagle standard - and the emperor needed to be able to claim the victory.

When the Romans were finally able to enter the stronghold, they found evidence of a mass suicide. Later, in 81 A.D., Silva was apointed consul; his fate after that is uncertain. One theory is that he fell victim to the purges of Domitian.

Answer: Eleazar ben Yair

In 66 A.D., at the outbreak of the Jewish War, Menahem, son of Judah the Galilean, captured Masada with the help of a band of Zealots. Eleazar became the leader after Menahem, his uncle, was murdered in Jerusalem by Jewish rivals. After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Masada remained the only point of Jewish resistance, and Eleazar served as leader of the 960 people there.

Answer: Sicarii

The Sicarii, called "violent men" because of their policy of killing Jewish opponents, was an extremist splinter group of the Zealots. They didn't get along with either the Romans or other Jewish groups. In fact, it appears that the Sicarii were in conflict with many of the groups who took refuge on Masada.

Answer: Vespasian

Vespasian refused to negotiate a peace with the Jews, who asked for time to rebuild their country, for the appointment of a Jewish governor, and for the formation of a Jewish army to keep the peace. Politically he really couldn't; he had already minted coins commemorating his victory at Masada.

The incident was a source of great embarrassment to him, due to the length of time it took to end the problem; his enemies used it to spread rumors of his inability to govern the empire. Above all, Rome had to be able to claim victory.

Answer: They built a ramp and a battering ram.

A ramp was constructed out of thousands of tons of stones against the western approaches of the fortress; when the ramp was complete a battering ram was moved and used to breach the wall of the fortress. The defenders were able to build a wall of earth and wood that was flexible and hard to break. Eventually the Romans used fire to destroyed the wall. Anyone who had the nerve to try to assault the fortress using the Snake Path would have been easy target practice for the Jewish archers.

There was enough food on Masada for the Jews to live there indefinitely. Storehouses left over from Herod's time were still preserved and the surface of the plateau was arable.

Many of the Jews' possessions were ordered burned before the mass suicide, but the food stores were not destroyed. Eleazar wanted the Romans to see that the Jews were "not subdued for want of necessities."

Answer: False

The story was told by two women and five children who managed to survive the mass suicide by hiding when it began. They were the only eye witnesses to the events at Masada. Eleven small ostraca were uncovered in the area in front of the northern palace, each bearing a single name, "ben Yair" which is the name on one of them. Were these the people who drew lots to kill the others and then themselves?

Answer: False

A small Byzantine chapel that dates to the fifth century was found on the site. The monks apparently lived in nearby caves and in several stone cells constructed at the site. A Byzantine workshop for mosaic, along with a section of mosaic floor was also uncovered.

It appears that Masada was also inhabited during the Crusader Period. In 1963-65 Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin conducted a full-scale excavation of the site. Visitors may hike up the Snake Path, however, a cable car also operates. Due to the remoteness of the area and its arid environment, the site has remained largely intact for the last two thousand years.

Answer: Josephus

"The Jewish War", written by Josephus, is the only written account about Masada. Although Josephus was not an eyewitness to the events on Masada, he was a leader at the outbreak of the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 66 A.D., and was appointed Governor of Galilee.

He does appear to have been present and survived the suicide pact at Jodfat; later he became a Roman citizen and a historian.