The Sicarii In Josephus's Assassination

As maintained within Josephus’s descriptions, the terrorist tactics implemented by the Sicarii were threefold; inclusive of selective, symbolic assassinations; more generalised assassinations and the destruction or looting of properties from those of affluence. In spite of this, general tactics utilised by terrorist groups, including sniping and sabotage against armed forces and non-selective attacks are not made reference to by Josephus. Generally the assassinations the Sicarii perpetuated come across as being highly selective, along with, insistently intending their attacks for fellow Jews. At no time is it alluded to that the Sicarii oriented their attack towards Roman soldiers or civilians.

Thomas Perry Thornton within “Terror as a Weapon of Political Agitation” proclaims terrorists repeatedly choose a target that possess the utmost political or religious symbolic value; moreover corresponding as symbols of “the normative structures and relationships that constitute the supporting framework of the society.” For the Sicarii their acts of terror were initiated with the assassination of the High Priest Jonathan. In the context of Thorton’s principle they selected the figure that exemplified the sacerdotal aristocracy’s association with the Roman rulers and the opression this placed upon the people.
Allowing for Thorton’s statement to be pertained to the High Priests assassination contends to the assertion that the tactics of the Sicarii exhibit characteristics that in present can be classified as terrorism.
In this occurrence, the framework of the society made reference to is the normality of Roman gentiles having an affiliation with Jewish priesthood. Furthermore, allowing It to be conceivably thought, that the attack was employed to caution inhabitants of the consequences if the affiliation were to
persist.