Fall of Masada

After Jerusalem falls, a group of Jewish Zealots retreats to Masada, Herod's former desert fortress perched on a plateau 1,300 feet above the Dead Sea. The Romans build an enormous siege ramp up the western face — still visible today — and when they breach the walls, they find that 960 defenders have taken their own lives rather than submit to slavery. Whether the mass suicide account from Josephus is entirely accurate is debated, but the archaeological evidence of the siege itself is undeniable. Masada becomes a powerful symbol of Jewish resistance.