The Sicarii

Josephus

The Jewish War 2.254–257

ca. 75

The countryside may thus have been swept clear, but a new breed of terrorists was growing like a cancer in Jerusalem, the so-called Sicarii who murdered people right in the middle of the city in broad daylight. They were especially active at festival times. They would mingle with the crowds and use the short daggers concealed under their clothing…

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The Sicarii were a group of assassins who stealthily murdered their political enemies in broad daylight with concealed daggers. Josephus recounts that they became active during the reign of Nero (r. 54–68 CE). Their activity, sometimes multiple murders in a day, further heightened tensions in Judaea.

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Creator Bio

Josephus

37–100

Flavius Josephus was born into a prominent Jewish priestly family and served as a general stationed in the Galilee during the First Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE). He was captured by the Romans and eventually integrated into the Flavian imperial aristocracy, who commissioned him to compose chronicles of the Jewish–Roman war and the history of the Jews. Josephus’ works, all written in Greek, include The Jewish War, Jewish Antiquities, Against Apion, and his autobiography, Life of Josephus. These writings provide important insights into the Judaisms of the Second Temple period and include one of the few surviving accounts of the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.

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