Ancient Zealot daggers

[Rivkin]

To be honest, biblical archeology is what convinced me to not pursue a career in history - one of the more specalutive, corrupt and politicized fields of history out there. I would with great caution any religious writing that claims to be of the period.

I found Josephicus' book "Jewish antiquities". He says that the knife was a local development, similar in size to persian akinak, and in its curvature was like that of a sicae that romans use, so they became called sicae.

Concerning Judas being one of them - sicariis were viciously opposed to sanhedrin and generally to rich and hellenized, and especially to the sadducees. Most of the people they killed were those whom they seen as collaborators, not the romans per se. They constantly kidnapped members of high priest's family and even murdered one high priest himself.