Spanish speakers use the word “sicario” with the meaning of “hired assassin”, and, in fact, today we tend to use it in that sense in different contexts. However, the origin of the term is the Latin sicarius (plural sicarii), a reference to a type of dagger or short sword, the “sica”, used by a group of Jewish fanatics in the 1st century AD who targeted Roman legionaries and their sympathizers.

In reality, the “sica” was not a Hebrew weapon but rather Central European, used since the late Bronze Age by the Thracian, Dacian, and Illyrian peoples (preserved specimens come from countries such as Serbia, Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, or Albania), as depicted in reliefs on Trajan’s Column, for example. The “sica” was characterized by its curved blade, whose length varied but usually ranged between thirty and forty centimeters, making it a smaller version of the Dacian falx.

This morphology, designed to wound while avoiding the edges of the opponent’s shield, made it the typical weapon of a type of gladiator, the thraex or Thracian, who also used greaves, a helmet with a face grille, and a shield called parmula. This shield, inspired by the reduced parma used by legionary velites (and cavalry), was so small that extra protections on the arm and shoulder handling the “sica” were necessary. The thraex typically faced the murmillo, who had a very large shield, which is why the “sica” was given to overcome it.

Judea in the 1st century A.D.: in light green, pink and orange, kingdoms of the three Herods; in light yellow, autonomous cities; in purple, Salome's territory; in dark green, direct Roman rule
Judea in the 1st century A.D.: in light green, pink and orange, kingdoms of the three Herods; in light yellow, autonomous cities; in purple, Salome’s territory; in dark green, direct Roman rule/Image: Rowanwindwhistler on Wikimedia Commons

However, the dagger has gone down in history associated mainly with the sicarii, who were named after it. To be precise, it was not the same weapon, as the sicarii had a smaller dagger that could be concealed in clothing folds. Still, the Romans saw a certain resemblance between its curved blade and that of the “sica” and gave it the same name. What exactly were the sicarii? Essentially, they were assassins driven by strong nationalism against Roman domination, carrying out attacks against Roman representatives or even fellow countrymen who did not commit to their cause.

They often took advantage of crowds—especially on holidays—to approach their victims, draw the dagger, and kill them, then escape amid the confusion. Therefore, in practice, the application of that denomination extended to criminals in general, as reflected in the Lex Cornelia de Sicariis et Veneficiis (Cornelian Law on Murderers and Poisoners), a regulation promulgated by Sulla during his dictatorship, long before the episode we are about to discuss, the one that occurred in imperial Roman Judea.

Between 66 and 73 AD, the First Jewish-Roman War erupted. Tensions between the Jews and their rulers had existed since Judea became a province, exacerbated by the appointment of the Idumean Herod the Great as king. However, Herod’s death saw revolutionary movements coalesce into the Zealot crucible, a nationalist and theocratic group advocating insurrection against Roman rule, in contrast to other factions like the Sadducees or Pharisees, who were also anti-Roman but more compliant.

It’s interesting to note that one of Jesus of Nazareth’s twelve apostles, Simon, was nicknamed the Zealot, at least in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. It’s likely a translation error, as the Zealot movement would emerge three decades later, and some historians suggest that Simon’s nickname may have been intended literally (Zealot means “zealous”). Even more curious is that another apostle, Judas Iscariot, was said to be a sicarius. Again, there are more than doubts about the chronology, and in any case, it would refer to a different sect, a kind of nonconformists resisting the census ordered by Governor Publius Sulpicius Quirinius—the same census that led Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem—and resulting in armed revolt.

Let’s fast forward to the year 66. The causes of the uprising were numerous, as always. In addition to the abundance of messianic movements like the Fourth Philosophy, there was the precarious situation of a ruined and indebted peasantry, a string of taxes preventing escape from this plight for those few with somewhat barren land, and the proliferation of social banditry with bands of hundreds of members, many driven to it by economic hardship. A powder keg, as described by historian Neil Faulkner.

When Roman authorities tried to stay out of a violent dispute between Greeks and Jews, and it was later revealed that the procurator had diverted part of the Temple’s treasury into his pockets, the population rose up in arms, spurred by an incendiary speech by Eleazar Ben Ananias, son of the high priest. King Herod Agrippa II, the Great’s great-grandson, had to flee, and the legions of the legate Gaius Cestius Gallus, assembled in Acre, marched on Jerusalem to suppress the rebellion.

German edition of The War of the Jews (1554
German edition of The War of the Jews (1554)/Image: public domain on Wikimedia Commons

It was not an easy task, and the Legio XII Fulminata fell into an ambush, so the subsequent repression was carried out ruthlessly. General Vespasian took command of four other legions and crushed the resistance, which had become strong in Jerusalem. Vespasian had to march to Rome to proclaim himself emperor, leaving his son Titus in charge of taking the city and ending the war. He succeeded in 70 AD, but before that, the Romans had to face a type of fighter they were not accustomed to.

These were the aforementioned sicarii, an organized group within the more fanatical Zealot sector, whose members not only stood out from the start as primary instigators of the rebellion but also set a bloody example: assassinating, kidnapping, destroying—what would be considered terrorism today, as their actions were often indiscriminate and unscrupulous, aimed at creating a state of fear. For example, when they attacked the village of Ein Gedi (an oasis near the Dead Sea), they killed seven hundred people, including women and children.

Of course, one must always consider the credibility of the historiographic source. In this case, there shouldn’t be much of a problem, as the most important source is Flavius Josephus’s The Jewish War, a Pharisee who, during the conflict, was appointed by the Sanhedrin as commander-in-chief of Galilee. He defended the fortress of Yodfat for six weeks until he had to surrender. He saved his life because, during a meeting with Vespasian, who had noticed his intellectual training, he prophesied that Vespasian would become emperor.

Josephus was then released and, from that point on, the man formerly known as Yosef ben Mattityah Romanized himself, adopting the name of his captors (Titus Flavius Josephus) and joining the legions as a chronicler and mediator. Later, he would go to the metropolis, where he settled and worked for the rest of his life, dying around the year 100. But that’s another story, and the fact is that the seven volumes of The Jewish War constitute the reference work for understanding the events, providing an impossible objectivity.

Josephus does not have a positive view of Zealots or Sicarii, comparing them to mere bandits and attributing to the latter a series of atrocities in Jerusalem to incite people to rise against Rome. As we’ve seen, they were not particularly scrupulous, to the point that they had killed Jonathan, the high priest. Still, an alternative version suggests that it might have been a plan devised by Governor Antonius Felix to have a pretext for retaliating against the Jews. But there were more crimes, and indeed, the Romans seized the opportunity to carry out raids and condemn rebels.

In this regard, the Sicarii often kidnapped notables as hostages to exchange them for their prisoners, such as the secretary of Eleazar, the governor of the Temple precinct, for whose release they demanded that of ten captives. Josephus explains that, despite appearances, they usually kept their word if the deal was implemented. Also, in a confusing passage, he says that a distinction had to be made between the Sicarii and the Zealots, although he does not specify what the differences were.

Perhaps he was referring to the dual leadership they had, two leaders named Menahem ben Yehuda and Eleazar ben Ya’ir. The former is famous for his skillful tactics in campaigns, which allowed him to defeat and kill almost a thousand Roman legionaries near Masada, in addition to taking the Antonia fortress (a stronghold built in the heart of Jerusalem that dominated the Temple Mount and the city in general) and launching periodic assaults on convoys. As for Eleazar ben Ya’ir, he is known because, after the fall of Jerusalem, he took refuge in the aforementioned Masada fortress with a group of faithful of both sexes and resisted the Roman siege for seven months before all committing suicide.

In reality, there are other testimonies about the Sicarii. One from the Talmud says that at the beginning of the war, they destroyed the granaries of Jerusalem with the goal of forcing the people to fight in the face of the impending famine. They also imposed a reign of terror in the city alongside the Zealots and other fervent factions, executing anyone expressing dissent. They formed a minority movement and lacked popular support, but they managed to wield power until Titus’s troops cornered them in the Temple, which they systematically assaulted.

Zealots and Sicarii had to escape as best they could, although most fell there. Those who succeeded, however, faced an undeniable reality: they had lost the war, and that usually leads to internal discord. One such incident ended in a bloody altercation where the Zealots killed Menahem ben Yehuda, accused of messianism and aspiring to proclaim himself king; others were those who barricaded themselves in Masada with Eleazar ben Ya’ir. Those who survived so many vicissitudes dispersed abroad.

This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on December 10, 2018. Puedes leer la versión en español en Sicarios, la secta que instigó la rebelión general contra Roma en Judea

Sources

Flavio Josefo, Las guerras de los judíos | E. Mary Smallwood, The Jews Under Roman Rule. From Pompey to Diocletian: a Study in Political Relations | Mark Andrew Brighton, The Sicarii in Josephus’s Judean War: Rhetorical Analysis and Historical Observations | Richard A. Horsley, Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs: Popular Movements at the Time of Jesus | Neil Faulkner, Judea, un polvorín | Eduardo Pitillas Salañer, Sectas y mesianismo | Jonathan Price, Zealots and sicarii | Wikipedia

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