‘It is still in our power to die bravely, and in a state of freedom, which has not been the case of others' - Eleazar ben Simon
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“They had died in the belief that they had left not a soul of them alive to fall into Roman hands; The Romans advanced to the assault … seeing none of the enemy but on all sides the awful solitude, and flames within and silence, they were at al loss to conjecture what had happened here encountering the mass of slain, instead of exulting as over enemies, they admired the nobility of their resolve" - Josephus
Yigael Yadin, original name Yigael Sukenik, (1917 - 1984), Israeli archaeologist and military leader noted for his work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Yadin, the son of an archaeologist, was educated at Hebrew University (M.A., 1945; Ph.D., 1955). He was a member of the Haganah military organisation from 1932 to 1948 and served as chief of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 1949 to 1952. He was also deputy prime minister, 1977–81. Yadin, who was a leader of major archaeological expeditions in Israel, including those at Haẓor (1955–58; 1968), the Dead Sea Caves (1960–61), and Masada (1963–65), became professor of archaeology at Hebrew University in 1959. He received the laureate of Israel prize (1956) and the Rothschild humanities prize (1964). Yadin’s writings centre upon his archaeological endeavours. They include The Message of the Scrolls (1957; new ed. 1962), Hazor, 3 vol. (1958–62), and The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands in the Light of Archaeological Discovery, 2 vol. (1963). He is also the author of Masada: Herod’s Fortress and the Zealots’ Last Stand (1966). |
Read Yadin's bio to the left.
In your books, identify possible motivations for the conclusions in his work. |