The Sicarii
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…
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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