You could go to Israel today and have the option of taking a cable car up a huge mountain, or hike up through the night so as not to be burnt alive by the blazing hot sun that rains down on Masada. This site has become a historical tourist attraction with thousands of people visiting each day.
On this day April 16th, in 73 AD, Masada is captured by the Romans. Masada’s fame is due to the circumstances involved with its capture. Masada sits on top plateau on a small mountain that is 1300 feet high, but it’s very steep. Herod the Great had fortified Masada in case of a revolt. There was also a 4,300 foot long wall that encompassed this fort. In 66 AD a Jewish group called the Sicarii captured Masada from the Romans, who had been in control of Israel for some time by then.
The Sicarii had an estimated 700 inhabitants in Masada. After the Romans destroyed the Jewish Holy Temple, their legions laid siege to Masada, and in 73 they successfully breached it. According to many opinions, what occurred after that is what makes this story so memorable. Every member of the Sicarii was dead; there had been a mass suicide. Rather than be controlled by the Romans they had chosen death.