Lucius Flavius Silva
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Vista_general_de_Masada.jpg/220px-Vista_general_de_Masada.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Masada01_ST_04.jpg/220px-Masada01_ST_04.jpg)
Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus was a late-1st-century Roman general, governor of the province of Iudaea and consul.[1] Silva was the commander of the army, composed mainly of the Legio X Fretensis, in 72 AD that laid siege to the near-impregnable mountain fortress of Masada, occupied by a group of Jewish rebels dubbed the Sicarii by Flavius himself. The siege ended in 73 AD with Silva's forces breaching the defenses of the Masada plateau and the mass suicide of the Sicarii, who preferred death to defeat or capture. Silva's actions are documented by 1st-century Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, the remains of a 1st-century Roman victory arch identified in Jerusalem in 2005, and the extensive earthworks at the Masada site, a monument to the high-water mark of Roman siege warfare.
Early life and career
Flavius Silva was born in the Roman town of
Next he served as military tribune of
Flavius Silva was patron of his home town Urbs Salvia, where he twice held the honorary position of praetor quinquennalis.
Siege of Masada
The historical context of Silva's siege of Masada was Rome's 'cleaning up' of the remaining Jewish resistance to Roman rule after
The central challenge to Silva and his battlefield engineers was to overcome the isolated plateau and its fortifications, originally constructed by
Later life
During the
His life after his second consulate is unknown. After the death of emperor Titus, it is possible Silva fell victim to Domitian's reign of terror which purged popular generals whom the emperor saw as rivals. Falling into disfavour, Silva's accomplishments were erased from Roman archives in what Romans called damnatio memoriae.[1]
Archaeological finds
In October 2005, Hungarian archaeologist Dr. Tibor Grull published an article about a stone tablet unearthed in 1999 near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Latin inscription on the tablet describes Silva as the victor of Masada. It is believed the tablet was part of the Roman restoration of Jerusalem after Rome's victory.[3]
On film & television
- Silva was portrayed by Peter O'Toole in the 1981 television mini-series Masada (where his character is incorrectly called 'Cornelius Flavius Silva').
- Lucius Flavius Silva was portrayed by Sam Hazeldine in the 2015 television mini-series The Dovekeepers.
References
- ^ ISBN 90-04-10736-3.
- ^ This chronology is taken from Werner Eck, Senatoren von Vespasian bis Hadrian (München:Beck'sche, 1970), pp. 93-103
- ^ Shragai, Nadav (1 November 2006). "New archeological evidence referring to Flavius Silva". Haaretz. Retrieved 29 February 2016.