Original title
Masada
Released
4/5/1981
Origin country
US
Genre
Action & Adventure, Drama
Production companies
Arnon Milchan Productions, Universal Television
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
1
Number of episodes
4
Masada is an American historical drama television miniseries that aired on ABC in April 1981. Advertised by the network as an 'ABC Novel for Television', the screenplay by Joel Oliansky is based on Ernest Gann's 1971 novel The Antagonists. The series is 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.
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