According to contemporary historian Josephus Flaviu, this is the only source of this story. From 37 BC to 365,438+0 BC, when the Jews began to resist the Romans in 66 BC, Herod the Great built the fortress of Masaad, and all the Wehrmacht soldiers lived in a comfortable desert. In 70 BC, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. After the fall of Jerusalem, some rebels conquered the Roman army and occupied Masaad's fortress. Angry refugees poured into Masaadeh from the city and joined the defenders in the fortress. They were stationed there, launching raids and harassing the Romans.
But three years later, Flavius Silva, the governor of Rome, showed up in Masaad with the Tenth Corps, some auxiliary troops and thousands of Jewish prisoners of war, which injected some fear into the hearts of the rebels. They camped at the bottom of the fort and lived there for a long time. Then, they began to build fences and walls with tons of stones and mud.
When they took out the ram, it was soon obvious that the Romans would successfully break through the walls of Masaad.
Some archaeologists question Josephus flavio's statement. According to Flaviu, Elazar ben Yair, the leader of fanatics, thinks that mass suicide is better than what the Romans undoubtedly prepared for them. Elazer assured his followers that "a glorious death is better than a humiliating life."
It is reported that two women and several children hid in a reservoir and survived the massacre. Presumably, the surviving women told flavio the ins and outs of these events. Starting with every man killing his family. Next, choose ten people to kill the rest. Then the remaining ten draw lots to decide who will kill the last nine. The last person standing committed suicide.
Why is the well-designed method essentially suicide? Because Judaism forbids suicide. In the chosen method, only one person must commit suicide. The rest were slaughtered.
Before the massacre, Iraza is said to have delivered a touching final speech:
Because we decided a long time ago that we would never be servants of the Romans or anyone else. Besides God himself, he is the truly just Lord of mankind. Now it is time to force us to realize this resolution in practice ... we are the first to resist, and we are the last to resist them. I can't help thinking that this is a blessing from God. We still have the ability to die bravely In the state of freedom,
Although archaeological evidence disagrees with this, according to Flaviu, the people in the fortress did not destroy their sufficient food reserves, so it is obvious that their motivation is pride rather than despair.
Although Flaviu's statement seems exaggerated, at least based on archaeological evidence, some people even question the occurrence of any collective suicide. For many people, Masaadeh is a lofty symbol of the Jews' struggle for freedom in their homeland. When Israel gained its national independence in 1948, the legend of Masaad was not forgotten. After basic training, the Israeli army swore in the fortress that "Masaadeh will never fall again."
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