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1) Masada is located in a difficult, desert environment. 2) Masada is located on top of a high, steep slope. 3) The Jews fought back as long as they were able.

Specifically, as concerns battle tactics, the slope upwards to Masada was very difficult to traverse. The one path up the mountain was in a zigzag line that left any advancing army open to a hail of arrowfire. Additionally, as the walls of the fortress were directly on the edge of the mesa, there was no ability to use typical siege weapons outside the fortress (like siege towers or ballistas). The Romans resolved that the only way to take the fortress was to literally build a ramp up to the fortress and use a battering ram to smash the wall down. They chose an area where they were relatively protected from arrow-fire to begin building, but the construction took an incredible amount of time. Eventually, when the ramp was complete, they were finally able to break down the wall at that particular point and stormed the fortress. After that, they had a Pyrrhic victory as all of the Jewish rebels had committed mass suicide (and therefore could not be enslaved, tortured, or interrogated).

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Q: Why did the Roman legions sent to defeat the Jewish rebels in Masada take so long to do so?
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