ancient Jewish fortress in Israel, near the Dead Sea: site of a prolonged Roman siege ( 72-73) resulting in a mass suicide by the Jews to avoid capture
See Masada in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(mə-säˈdə, -tsä-däˈ)
An ancient mountaintop fortress in southeast Israel on the southwest shore of the Dead Sea. In A.D. 73, after a two-year siege, members of the Zealot Jewish movement committed mass suicide rather than surrender to the Romans.