Historical Overview By Norman J. Finkelshteyn Ancient, Classical, and Modern Eras Yemen (Himayar) Beyond The Sambation - The Jews of Ethiopia (the Bata Yisrael or Falashas) The Middle East - Muslim Conquests through The Crusades Spain before the Expulsion The Khazar Kaganate Persia and Central Asia Refugees from Spain and Portugal Caveats in Researching Jewish History Hairstyle of the Jewish Khazar Jewish Partisans in WWII Israel Today -- Notes on the Current Conflict Readings of interest Submissions Guidelines Resource Links Copyright and Authoring information Norman Finkelshteyn's Armour History Site http://www.geocities.com/normlaw Visit Silk Road Designs Armoury http://www.enteract.com/~silkroad Back to Main Page

Ancient, Classical, and Modern Eras A defender of Massada See brief discussion below. I do not believe it necessary to speak of the Biblical and early post Biblical periods. From Abraham, whose small army routed the armies of five kings, to Joshua, the commander of Moses' army, to Jephtha, to Samson (the byword for physical prowess) and King David -- it would be redundant to repeat the warrior stories of the Bible. The story of the Maccabi from the early post Biblical period is just as available -- the story of an uprising against the military power of Greece which began with one man in a small village saying "No" to the invader and Helenistic assymilation. Less intuitive, but just as well known, and thus little meriting repetition are the uprisings of the Jews against the Roman invasion. The struggle of the Jews for independence from occupation lasted for two hundred years, at the end of which, the Romans were only able to win by burning Jerusalem to the ground and exiling the majority of the population of Israel. The illustration at the right is based on one of the more famous battles of those wars against the Romans -- the three year siege of the fortress Massada -- memorialized in the modern slogan of Israel "Massada shall never fall again!" A brief discussion of the illustrated event appears below. Yuley Abramovich Vayman A Violinist and Physics Professor... Who fought against the NAZIs as an Elite Cavalry Commander during World War II. Similarly, I now make only brief mention of the modern warriors. The Jewish volunteers who joined the French and Prussian armies to protect their adoptive homelands as soon as the egalitarian laws of 19th century enlightment allowed them to do so were only the forerunners of the many Jewish soldiers who proved themselves in the militaries of many nations through the 19th and 20th centuries. When fighting may have been thought impossible, the Jewish warrior spirit proved itself, fighting the NAZI military juggernaught in the Uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto and the many cells of Freedom Fighters throughout German-occupied Europe (with the most famous cell, and consisting mostly of Jews -- The Partisans of Vilna). The photograph at the left shows a Jewish warrior of World War II -- typical of the best, a man of peace who went to war to fight evil. For the upheavals of the nineteen twenties, I recommend the writings of Isaac Baavel, the Jewish Cossack poet of the Russian Civil War. Finally, at the bottom of the main page you will find a section and links dealing with some heroes today -- Israeli soldiers Missing in Action. This article, however, will concentrate on the period when the image of the "Weak Jew" arose, the time between the Roman exile and the Enlightment -- on the Middle Ages, when most think of Jews as either Shylock or Isaac of York. A defender of Massada The fortress of Massada in Israel was built by the Maccabi (warrior priests who liberated Israel from the Greeks) and was later expanded as a pleasure palace by the Herodians (Roman client kings of Israel). When the Romans completed their invasion, they manned Massada with a Roman garrison. In 66 CE, this garrison was taken by the Jewish resistance. The fortress became a focus of anti-Roman activity, and was held against Roman siege until 73 CE. Though the fortress was then again garrisoned by Romans, and later became a Christian monastery, modern archaeologists found some important artifacts of the Jewish rebellion, including several bodies. Most important was a man, woman, and child, who seem to have lain where they had fallen for almost two thousand years. The woman's scalp had mumified, so that her thick braids remained as neat in 1964 CE as they had been when she braided them on that fatal morning in 73 CE. Found with them were the silvered-bronze scales of the Jewish warrior's armor (fairly different in construction from Roman scale), the frangments of his Talit (the fringed, four cornered cloak now worn by Jews only in prayer), a pair of sandals (well worn, showing the impression of bare toes), a number of arrow heads, and one arrow, complete with shaft. Learn about Armour generally About Scale armour Main Page Next Page (Yemen)

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