The Sicarii are known to history from only one source –
Josephus. In a 2009 study ''The Sicarii in Josephus's Judean War
, Professor Mark Brighton of Concordia University Irvine wrote that Josephus referred to the Sicarii directly fifteen times in eight separate contexts of The Jewish War'': • The Sicarii rise during the time of Felix (2.254) The Zealots, Sicarii and other prominent rebels finally joined forces to attack and temporarily take Jerusalem from Rome in 66 AD, where they took control of the Temple in Jerusalem, executing anyone who tried to oppose their power. The local populace resisted their control and launched a
series of sieges and raids to remove the rebel factions. The rebels eventually silenced the uprising and Jerusalem stayed in their hands for the duration of the war. The Romans returned to take back the city, counter-attacking and laying siege to starve the rebels inside. The rebels held out for some time, but the constant bickering and lack of leadership caused the groups to disintegrate. Modern historians typically reject this contention, mainly because Josephus in
The War of the Jews (2:254–7) mentions the appearance of the Sicarii as a new phenomenon during the
procuratorships of
Felix (52–60 AD), having no apparent relation with the group called Sicarii by Romans at times of
Quirinius. The 2nd century compendium of Jewish
oral law, the
Mishnah (
Makhshirin 1:6), mentions the word
sikrin (), perhaps related to Sicarii, and which is explained by the early rabbinic commentators as being related to the (= robbers), and to government personnel involved with implementing the laws of
Sicaricon.
Maimonides, in his Mishnah commentary (
Makhshirin 1:6), explains the same word
sikrin as meaning "people who harass and who are disposed to being violent." == Legacy ==