Sicarii
SICARII
SICARII , name, of Latin origin, used by *Josephus for Jewish patriots who maintained active resistance against the Roman government of Judea, and Jewish collaborators with it, during the period 6–73 c.e. The name derived from the Latin word sica, "curved dagger"; in Roman usage, sicarii, i.e., those armed with such weapons, was a synonym for bandits. According to Josephus, the Jewish Sicarii used short daggers, ????? ??????? (mikra ziphidia), concealed in their clothing, to murder their victims, usually at religious festivals (Wars, 2:254–5, 425; Ant., 20:186–7). The fact that Josephus employs the Latin sicarii, transliterated into Greek as ???????? (sikarioi) suggests that he adopted a term used by the Roman occupation forces; his own (Greek) word for "bandit," which he more generally uses to describe the Jewish resistance fighters, is ?????? (lestai). For a full description of their activities, see *Zealots and Sicarii.
[Samuel G.F. Brandon]