Sicarii

For other uses, see Sicarius.

The Sicarii[a] (“Knife-wielder”, “dagger-wielder”, “dagger-bearer”; from Latin sica = dagger) were a group of Jews who, in the final decades of the Second Temple period, conducted a campaign of "terror-kidnapping, extortion, robbery, and murder" against other Jews and Romans,[1] and became known for a reported mass suicide at the Siege of Masada. The Sicarii carried sicae, or small daggers (sickles), concealed in their cloaks;[2] at public gatherings, they pulled out these daggers to attack, blending into the crowd after the deed to escape detection.

The only source for the history of the Sicarii is Josephus. Victims of the Sicarii are said by Josephus to have included the High Priest Jonathan, and 700 Jewish women and children at Ein Gedi.[3][4]

A relationship between the Zealots and the Sicarii is often stated, but is unclear from the original sources.[1]

The Sicarii are one of the earliest known organized assassination units of cloak and daggers, predating the Order of Assassins and the Japanese ninja by centuries.[5][6]


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  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Zondervan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Paul Christian Who were the Sicarii?, Meridian Magazine, June 7, 2004
  3. ^ Josephus, Jewish War, [ch 7] “…It was called Masada. Those that were called Sicarii had taken possession of it formerly, but at this time they overran the neighboring countries, aiming only to procure to themselves necessaries; … when they were sent back into the country of their forefathers, they came down by night, without being discovered by those that could have prevented them, and overran a certain small city called Engaddi:—in which expedition they prevented those citizens that could have stopped them, before they could arm themselves, and fight them. They also dispersed them, and cast them out of the city. As for such as could not run away, being women and children, they slew of them above seven hundred.”; [ch 13] “The first man who was slain by them was Jonathan the high priest, after whose death many were slain every day, while the fear men were in of being so served was more afflicting than the calamity itself; and while every body expected death every hour, as men do in war, so men were obliged to look before them, and to take notice of their enemies at a great distance; nor, if their friends were coming to them, durst they trust them any longer; but, in the midst of their suspicions and guarding of themselves, they were slain.”
  4. ^ Cockburn, Patrick (1997-03-30). "Ancient battle divides Israel as Masada 'myth' unravels". The Independent. Retrieved 2024-07-13. [Josephus] says that the defenders of Masada took no part in the war against Rome during the siege of Jerusalem, but instead plundered local villages including En Gedi on the Dead Sea, where "women and children, more than 700 in number, were butchered"… Professor Yadin wanted to prove that the defenders of Masada were the hard-core supporters of a national resistance movement led by the Zealots, the movement which fought in Jerusalem. He interpreted scrolls found at Masada as showing that the defenders came from different sects and groups, though the scrolls may have been looted from nearby villages. What Josephus actually said was that the defenders of Masada were Sicarii, an extreme Jewish group who specialised in assassination and had killed the High Priest in Jerusalem.
  5. ^ Pichtel, John, Terrorism and WMDs: Awareness and Response, CRC Press (April 25, 2011) p.3-4. ISBN 978-1439851753
  6. ^ Ross, Jeffrey Ian, Religion and Violence: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict from Antiquity to the Present, Routledge (January 15, 2011), Chapter: Sicarii. ISBN 978-0765620484