hilltop fortress called masada. but that, too, ended in tragedy when the romans built a ramp to penetrate the fortress. >> when this happened, the jewish insurgency within the walls then took a suicide pact. they killed one another until the last ones that killed themselves. and so when the romans finally arrived at the fortress, in fact, all they found were dead bodies. >> now, with their rebellion crushed, with hundreds of thousands dead, and with their temple gone, the jews were in danger of disappearing altogether. >> there was no central temple. there was no leadership. remember, this had been in place for a thousand years. they have had this same structure for a thousand years. now, it was over. many other religions had folded