History Series / Masada

* DatedHistory: A more recent example than the rest of the story: the final scene of the miniseries is the swearing in of an Israeli military squadron on the grounds of Masada, with the oath that the fortress won't fall again. IDF oath swearings stopped being done on Masada in TheNineties after the higher-ups thought it over and decided that an oath to be DefiantToTheEnd in a place where there was a mass suicide gave off mixed signals, to put it nicely.

-->'''Flavius Silva:''' We have won a rock in the middle of a wasteland on the shore of a poisoned sea.

''Masada'' is an American MiniSeries that first aired on Creator/{{ABC}} in April 1981. It is a [[HistoricalFiction fictionalized account]] of the historical [[TheSiege siege]] of the Masada citadel in Israel by legions of the UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire in AD 73 during the first UsefulNotes/JewishRevolts. The TV series' script is [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on the novel]] ''The Antagonists'' by Ernest K. Gann while also using details from historical sources by Roman-Jewish historian [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus Flavius Josephus]].

* NothingCanStopUsNow: Silva has the following line once the siege tower reaches the walls of Masada:
-->'''Flavius Silva:''' Now they will surrender.

* TheBigGuy: Gideon (Paul L. Smith), among the Zealots. He is the strongest guy in all of Masada. It takes up to ''five men'' to carry a wooden beam similar to the one he carries ''alone'' to reinforce the wall that's to be destroyed by the Roman siege tower's ram.

* TheBigGuy: Gideon (Paul L. Smith), among the Zealots. He is the strongest guy in all of Masada.

''Masada'' is an American television miniseries that first aired on Creator/{{ABC}} in April 1981. It is a [[HistoricalFiction fictionalized account]] of the historical [[TheSiege siege]] of the Masada citadel in Israel by legions of the UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire in AD 73 during the first UsefulNotes/JewishRevolts. The TV series' script is [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on the novel]] ''The Antagonists'' by Ernest K. Gann while also using details from historical sources by Roman-Jewish historian [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus Flavius Josephus]].

* 24HourArmor: Averted. When not in battle the Romans are shown wearing their simple tunics, and when the Romans storm the citadel and discover all the defenders have committed suicide, Silva removes his armor in short order as he realizes he's not going to need it.

* NothingCanStopUsNow: What Silva says to Eleazar during their secret meeting the night after Falco's failed CatapultToGlory blackmail. He also has this line once the siege tower reaches the walls of Masada:

*** [[TheSmartGuy Rubrius Gallus]] is the best Roman siege engineer at Silva's disposal and gives him very helpful advices, especially concerning the management of slaves.

* NothingCanStopUsNow / ResistanceIsFutile : What Silva says to Eleazar during their secret meeting the night after Falco's failed CatapultToGlory blackmail. He also has this line once the siege tower reaches the walls of Masada:

* LaResistance: The Jewish Zealots.

[[quoteright:230:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/masada_aka_the_antagonists_tv-524582936-large_4547.jpg]]

* [[CaliforniaDoubling Israel Doubling]]: Completely averted. It was filmed on the site of the actual siege.

* UsefulNotes/JewishRevolts

It was directed by Boris Sagal and starred Creator/PeterOToole as Roman legion commander Cornelius Flavius Silva, Peter Strauss as the Jewish Sicarii commander Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Barbara Carrera as Sheva (Silva's Jewish mistress), Anthony Quayle as Rubrius Gallus, Creator/DavidWarner as Pomponius Falco and Timothy West as Emperor Vespasian. O'Toole was nominated for an Emmy for his performance, his first appearance in an American TV production. Music/JerryGoldsmith and Morton Stevens composed the series' score, which earned Goldsmith an Emmy. Warner also won an Emmy, for Best Supporting Actor.

It was directed by Boris Sagal and starred Creator/PeterOToole as Roman legion commander Cornelius Flavius Silva, Peter Strauss as the Jewish Sicarii commander Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Barbara Carrera as Sheva (Silva's Jewish mistress), Anthony Quayle as Rubrius Gallus, Creator/DavidWarner as Pomponius Falco and Timothy West as Emperor Vespasian. O'Toole was nominated for an Emmy for his performance, his first appearance in an American TV production. Warner won the Best Supporting Actor Emmy. Music/JerryGoldsmith and Morton Stevens composed the series' score, which earned Goldsmith an Emmy Award.

It was directed by Boris Sagal and starred Creator/PeterOToole as Roman legion commander Cornelius Flavius Silva, Peter Strauss as the Jewish Sicarii commander Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Barbara Carrera as Sheva (Silva's Jewish mistress), Anthony Quayle as Rubrius Gallus, Creator/DavidWarner as Pomponius Falco and Timothy West as Emperor Vespasian. O'Toole was nominated for an Emmy for his performance. It was his first appearance in an American miniseries. Warner won the Best Supporting Actor Emmy. Music/JerryGoldsmith and Morton Stevens composed the series' score, which earned Goldsmith an Emmy Award.

''Masada'' is an American television miniseries that first aired on Creator/{{ABC}} in April 1981. It is a [[HistoricalFiction fictionalized account]] of the historical [[TheSiege siege]] of the Masada citadel in Israel by legions of the UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire in AD 73 during the first UsefulNotes/JewishRevolts. The TV series' script is [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on the novel]] ''The Antagonists'' by Ernest K. Gann while also using details from historical sources by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus Flavius Josephus]].

* AmbiguouslyGay: Falco and his secretary Albinus
* BadassBeard: Eleazar and his men.

* TheBigGuy: Gideon (Paul L. Smith), among the Zealots. The strongest guy in all of Masada.
* CadreOfForeignBodyguards: Falco's Germanic guards.

* TheEmperor: Vespasian.
* FourStarBadass: Silva.

* GuileHero: Eleazar.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: There are thieves, murderers and criminals among Eleazar's ranks.

** Eleazar and his men attack Roman outposts and granaries in [[CycleOfRevenge retaliation]].
* RebelLeader: Eleazar.

* SmugSnake: Falco.

* UnderestimatingBadassery: TheRomanEmpire's legions conquered the Mediterranean world and the besieged Zealots still laugh at them. But once the Roman siege genius shows its full might...

* {{Worthy Opponent}}s: Silva and Eleazar.

* [[OurGodsAreGreater Our God is Greater]]: The Zealots, naturally. Though Eleazar's opinions are much more mixed about religion until the last days of the siege.

''Masada'' is an American television miniseries that first aired on Creator/{{ABC}} in April 1981. It is a [[HistoricalFiction fictionalized account]] of the historical [[TheSiege siege]] of the Masada citadel in Israel by legions of the UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire in AD 73 during the first JewishRevolts. The TV series' script is [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on the novel]] ''The Antagonists'' by Ernest K. Gann while also using details from historical sources by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus Flavius Josephus]].

* IShallTauntYou / BreakThemByTalking : Eleazar ''loves'' psychological warfare. It shows in his bravados to the Romans.

* JewishRevolts

* TakeThat: InUniverse. The satirical play that follows the tragedy Vespasian was attending is not of his taste, here's why... It features actors in giant head costumes representing the nations conquered by the Roman empire. The Jewish effigy shows up, refuses to kneel in front of the Emperor's effigy and starts hitting everyone on the head. Unsurprisingly, the author of the play is anonymous.

It was directed by Boris Sagal and starred Creator/PeterOToole as Roman legion commander Cornelius Flavius Silva, Peter Strauss as the Jewish Sicarii commander Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Barbara Carrera as Sheva (Silva's Jewish mistress), Anthony Quayle as Rubrius Gallus, Creator/DavidWarner as Pomponius Falco and Timothy West as Emperor Vespasian. O'Toole was nominated for an Emmy for his performance, and Warner won the Best Supporting Actor Emmy. It was his first appearance in an American miniseries. Music/JerryGoldsmith and Morton Stevens composed the series' score, which earned Goldsmith an Emmy Award.