Lucius Flavius Silva Lucius Flavius Silva Nonius Bassus was a late - 1st - century Roman general , governor of the province of Iudaea and consul . History remembers Silva as the Roman commander who led his army , composed mainly of the " Legio X Fretensis " , in 72 AD up to Masada and laid siege to its near - impenetrable mountain fortress occupied by a group of Jewish rebels called the Sicarii . The end of the siege in 73 AD culminated with Silva ' s forces breaching the defenses of the Masada plateau and the mass suicide of the Sicarii who preferred death to defeat or capture . Silva ' s actions are documented by 1st - century Jewish - Roman historian Josephus ; the remains of a 1st - century Roman victory arch identified in Jerusalem in 2005 ; and of course the extensive earthworks at the Masada site , a monument to the high - water mark of Roman siege warfare . Siege of Masada . The historical context of the siege of Masada was Rome ' s ' cleaning up ' of the remaining Jewish resistance to Roman rule after crushing the rebellion in Jerusalem in 70 AD . While Masada was the last vestige of the rebellion it was as much a symbol as a threat . Thus , the attack on Masada was as much for Roman prestige as security . Silva ' s forces were a projection of Roman power . Rome ' s 4 , 000 to 5 , 000 soldiers outnumbered the people on Masada — estimated by Josephus at 960 men , women and children — by 5 to 1 . The central challenge to Silva and his battlefield engineers was to overcome the isolated plateau and its fortifications , originally constructed by King Herod . Silva surrounded the mountain fortress by constructing a 6 foot high , 7 mile long siege wall ( circumvallation ) to prevent attacks and escapes . The wall also enclosed the eight base camps established for the army . After initial efforts to breach Masada ' s defenses failed , Silva ' s army built a siege ramp against the western face of the plateau , using thousands of tons of stones and beaten earth . The huge dirt ramp , which survives to this day , allowed the Romans to roll up a battering ram to breach Masada ' s walls . Silva ' s victory was incomplete . His opponents , some 960 men , women and children , had committed mass suicide shortly before the Romans took the mountain top . However , the Romans succeeded in making their point clear and removed an obstacle to reasserting their rule in Judaea . Early life . Flavius Silva was born in the Roman town of Urbs Salvia what is now Italy circa 40 AD . In 73 Silva was appointed legatus Augusti pro praetore of Judaea , replacing Sextus Lucilius Bassus , who died during his tenure . Later life . Silva was Roman governor of Judaea from 73 to 81 AD . In 81 , he became Roman Consul , serving in office during January and February . See also List of Roman consuls . Silva commissioned an amphitheater to be built in Urbs Salvia after the year 81 AD . The amphitheater was used for gladiatorial contests and other entertainments . In 1957 a stone inscription was found at the amphitheater which described Silva ' s various posts - tresvir capitalis , tribune quality figures of the Legio IV Scythica , Quaestor , tribune Plebis and legatus legionis of the Legio XXI Rapax . Historians speculate about the end of Silva ' s life . After his consulate and after the death of emperor Titus , Silva likely fell victim to Domitian ' s reign of terror which purged popular generals whom the emperor saw as rivals . Falling into disfavour , Silva ' s accomplishments were erased from Roman archives in what Romans called " damnatio memoriae " . Thus the Silva family ' s name and its prestige were lost . Archaeological finds . In October 2005 , Hungarian Archaeologist Dr . Tibor Grull published an article about a stone tablet unearthed in 1999 near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem . The Latin inscription on the tablet describes Silva as the victor of Masada . It is believed the tablet was part of the Roman restoration of Jerusalem after Rome ' s victory . On film & television . Silva was portrayed by Peter O ' Toole in the 1981 Television Mini - Series " Masada " ( where his character is incorrectly called ' Cornelius Flavius Silva ' ) .