Masada

35mm Bronze

SKU

15034357

In stock

$55.00

Specifications

Masada
State Medal, 5725-1965

Masada was built by Jonathan the Hasmonean atop a steep rocky precipice rising 450 meters above the Dead Sea. Herod added to the building and had it converted into a strong fortification. During the great revolt against the Romans, the last of the Zealots found refuge there after the fall of Jerusalem. They numbered 960 fighters, women and children headed by Elazar ben Yair. For three years they managed to hold out against the Roman armies who besieged them. When they concluded that all hope was lost, they set fire to the fortifications and committed suicide. On the first day of Passover in the year 73 C.E., two women-survivors told the conquerors all that happened and Josephus Flavius repeated it in his book "The War of the Jews against the Romans". The final emotional speech by Elazar ben Yair: "Our hands are not yet tied, they are holding spears. Let them be our final salvation. Let us die before we become the slaves of our enemies. We leave the world of the living, we, our women and children, as free people.") In the years before the State was established, Masada, which became a symbol of Jewish heroism, served as a pilgrim's shrine for youth and for "Haganah" members who took the oath: "Masada will not fall again". At the end of the War for Independence, the Israeli flag was raised atop Masada, and soon thereafter extensive excavations began there. Remnants of the wall were excavated and restored, as were towers and gates, the palace, baths. living quarters, storage places, the synagogue and water cisterns. The excavations also brought to light potsherds, weapons, coins, scrolls. Around the mountain there are still signs of the might of Rome, military camps, etc. On the west side are the remnants of the ramparts built by the conquerors.

Issue Name: Masada 1965