
Masada is a 1981 American historical drama television miniseries aired on ABC under the tentpole ABC Novel for Television. The screenplay by Joel Oliansky is based on Ernest Gann's 1971 novel The Antagonists. A dramatization of the historical siege of the Masada citadel in Roman Palestine by legions of the Roman Empire in AD 73. A siege that ended when the Roman armies entered the fortress, only to discover the mass suicide by the Jewish defenders when defeat became imminent.






First up: Raids on Roman garrisons lead to a showdown between the Zealot leader (Peter Strauss) and a Roman commander (Peter O'Toole).
While the Romans ready their offensive, Silva (Peter O'Toole) seeks comfort from a beautiful slave (Barbara Carrera) who plucks at his conscience.
A Zealot plot to demoralize the Romans provokes retaliation against the camp's Jewish slaves by the scheming envoy Falco, who replaces Silva as commander.
Conclusion. Action builds to a tragic climax as the Romans assault the fortress with a siege engine---a massive ram mounted on a mobile tower.