Reference for Pesachim 99:9

(זכריה יד, כ) ביום ההוא יהיה על מצלות הסוס קדש לה' מאי מצלות הסוס

Shall we say, R'Akiba and his companions?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Who were executed or martyred by the Roman State at various times for their insistence on teaching the Torah in spite of the Roman');">⁹</span> is that because they were martyrs of the State and nothing else?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Surely they had other claims to eminence too!');">¹⁰</span>

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