Sicari. They killed people in broad daylight and right in the city (2 photos)

The Sicarii were a radical Jewish militant group of secret assassins that existed in the history of the Jewish state in the first century. This phenomenon arose before the Jewish state disappeared from the world map.





The fanatical militants wore daggers under their clothes and unhesitatingly used bladed weapons in terrorist attacks, both against Roman officials and against their own high-ranking, influential co-religionists and compatriots who supported Roman rule.

The radical group's goal was the complete liberation of the Jewish state from Roman rule, and to this end, they employed various methods, including bloodthirsty public assassinations and the arson of government buildings and the properties of influential individuals, fanning and inciting riots and unrest throughout Judea. They even destroyed food supplies to further embolden the Jews in their fight against the Romans.

The Daggermen were most active during times of social upheaval and mass unrest in Jewish society. According to the ancient Jewish historian Josephus (also known as Joseph ben Matityahu, a contemporary of the Sicarii), they also participated in the Jewish Revolt, as did the extremist Zealot group.

The characteristic tactic of murderers of that time was to approach their intended victim, instantly draw a hidden dagger (sika) from beneath their clothing, and, having done their dirty work, disappear into the crowd so quickly that they were undetectable.

The historian Josephus Flavius ​​writes about the ancient Jewish group of secret assassins in his second book, "The Jewish War," Chapter 13:

"When the country had thus been cleared, another band of robbers, called the Sicarii, arose in Jerusalem. They murdered people in broad daylight and within the city itself, especially on holidays. They mingled with the crowd and stabbed their enemies with daggers concealed under their clothing; As soon as the victims fell, the murderers, like the others, began to express outrage at what was happening and, thanks to this pretense, remained hidden.

The first to be stabbed in this manner was the high priest Jonathan. Following him, many others perished daily; the panic that reigned in the city was even more terrible than the accidents themselves, for everyone, as in battle, expected death with every passing minute.

They were wary of the enemy from afar, distrusted even their friends when they approached, and yet, despite all this suspicion and caution, the murders continued as before. So great was the skill and power of disguise of the secret murderers."

The most famous leaders of the ruthless first-century terrorist group operating in Judea in ancient Jewish history were Elazar ben Yair and Menachem.



Reconstruction of the Masada fortress-palace in Judea. The structure was built by King Herod the Great in rugged, rocky terrain.

After a three-year Roman siege of the rebellious Jewish fortress of Masada, the last Sicarii, along with their leader Elazar ben Yair, committed mass suicide and set fire to the fortress.

Before the coming dramatic event, the leader Elazar ben Ya'ir, in his vivid and soul-stirring speech, called on the Jews to die as free men and "prefer death to the painful and shameful slavery" (Josephus, The Jewish War, VII, 320-336).

The tragic events took place in 73 AD, but some accounts indirectly suggest that after the Romans' victorious defeat of restless and turbulent Judea during the Judeo-Roman War, a small number of surviving Sicarii fled from Judea to Cyrene and Egypt, and there, as best they could, they again attempted to resist the mighty Roman Empire.