The Burning of Rome, 64 AD The Burning Of Rome, 64 A.D. Printer Friendly Version >>> Emperor Nero During the night of July 18, 64 AD, fire broke out in the merchant area of the city of Rome. Fanned by summer winds, the flames quickly spread through the dry, wooden structures of the Imperial City. Soon the fire took on a life of its own consuming all in its path for six days and seven nights. When the conflagration finally ran its course it left seventy percent of the city in smoldering ruins. Rumors soon arose accusing the Emperor Nero of ordering the torching of the city and standing on the summit of the Palatine playing his lyre as flames devoured the world around him. These rumors have never been confirmed. In fact, Nero rushed to Rome from his palace in Antium (Anzio) and ran about the city all that first night without his guards directing efforts to quell the blaze. But the rumors persisted and the Emperor looked for a scapegoat. He found it in the Christians, at that time a rather obscure religious sect with a small following in the city.

To appease the masses, Nero literally had his victims fed to the lions during giant spectacles held in the city's remaining amphitheater. From the ashes of the fire rose a more spectacular Rome. A city made of marble and stone with wide streets, pedestrian arcades and ample supplies of water to quell any future blaze. The debris from the fire was used to fill the malaria-ridden marshes that had plagued the city for generations. The Horror of Fire The historian Tacitus was born in the year 56 or 57 probably in Rome. He was in Rome during the great fire. During his lifetime he wrote a number of histories chronicling the reigns of the early emperors. The following eye witness account comes from his final work The Annals written around the year 116. ADVERTISMENT "...Now started the most terrible and destructive fire which Rome had ever experienced. It began in the Circus, where it adjoins the Palatine and Caelian hills. Breaking out in shops selling inflammable goods, and fanned by the wind, the conflagration instantly grew and swept the whole length of the Circus.

There were no walled mansions or temples, or any other obstructions, which could arrest it. First, the fire swept violently over the level spaces. Then it climbed the hills - but returned to ravage the lower ground again. It outstripped every counter-measure. The ancient city's narrow winding streets and irregular blocks encouraged its progress. Terrified, shrieking women, helpless old and young, people intent on their own safety, people unselfishly supporting invalids or waiting for them, fugitives and lingerers alike - all heightened the confusion. When people looked back, menacing flames sprang up before them or outflanked them. When they escaped to a neighboring quarter, the fire followed - even districts believed remote proved to be involved. Finally, with no idea where or what to flee, they crowded on to the country roads, or lay in the fields. Some who had lost everything - even their food for the day - could have escaped, but preferred to die. So did others, who had failed to rescue their loved ones. Nobody dared fight the flames. Attempts to do so were prevented by menacing gangs. Torches, too, were openly thrown in, by men crying that they acted under orders. Perhaps they had received orders.

Or they may just have wanted to plunder unhampered. Ancient Rome highlighting the Forum Nero was at Antium. He returned to the city only when the fire was approaching the mansion he had built to link the Gardens of Maecenas to the Palatine. The flames could not be prevented from overwhelming the whole of the Palatine, including his palace. Nevertheless, for the relief of the homeless, fugitive masses he threw open the Field of Mars, including Agrippa's public buildings, and even his own Gardens. Nero also constructed emergency accommodation for the destitute multitude. Food was brought from Ostia and neighboring towns, and the price of corn was cut to less than � sesterce a pound. Yet these measures, for all their popular character, earned no gratitude. For a rumor had spread that, while the city was burning, Nero had gone on his private stage and, comparing modern calamities with ancient, had sung of the destruction of Troy. By the sixth day enormous demolitions had confronted the raging flames with bare ground and open sky, and the fire was finally stamped out at the foot of the Esquiline Hill.

But before panic had subsided, or hope revived, flames broke out again in the more open regions of the city. Here there were fewer casualties; but the destruction of temples and pleasure arcades was even worse. This new conflagration caused additional ill-feeling because it started on Tigellinus' estate in the Aemilian district. For people believed that Nero was ambitious to found a new city to be called after himself. Of Rome's fourteen districts only four remained intact. Three were leveled to the ground. The other seven were reduced to a few scorched and mangled ruins." References: Duruy, Victor, History of Rome vol. V (1883); Grant, Michael (translator), Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome, (1989) How To Cite This Article: "The Burning of Rome, 64 AD," EyeWitness to History, (1999). Nero became Emperor in the year 54 at the age of 16. He quickly distinguished himself by murdering his mother and his wife and establishing a Reign of Terror over Rome.

He committed suicide in 68 after the Roman Senate declared him an "enemy of the State." During the reign of the Emperor Trajan, Tacitus was made Governor of Western Anatolia. After discovering a plot against him, Nero vowed to rid Rome of all philosophers. Seneca, his teacher and mentor, was forced to commit suicide in the year 65. The Great Fire of Rome (Bible History Online) The Great Fire of Rome Brief overview of the events surrounding the Great Fire of Rome In a hot July summer of 64 A.D., a fire broke out near the Capena Gate (the marketplace near the Circus Maximus) and spread quickly across the entire Circus, and finally it was completely out of control, the fire destroyed nearly half of Rome. The Roman historian Tacitus records the event: "First, the fire swept violently over the level spaces. Then it climbed the hills-but returned to ravage the lower ground again. It outstripped every counter-measure. . .

Terrified, shrieking women, helpless old and young, people intent on their own safety, people unselfishly supporting invalids or waiting for them, fugitives and lingerers alike--all heightened the confusion." As the fire blaze out of control some citizens tried every measure to put out the flames. It is told that the citizens were stopped. Also some of the mob lit torches and threw them into the flames to feed the fire. Tacitus make an interesting note about these arsonists who had claimed "they acted under orders. Perhaps they had ... or they may just have wanted to plunder unhampered." Nero heard the news from his Palace at Antium and rushed to Rome just in time to see the Palatine Palace in flames. His newly built mansion, the Domus Transitoria, was nothing but a pile of smoldering ashes. Nero immediately organized a team of firefighters and provided shelter for the panic stricken people who had been left homeless. The fire burned for nine days, leaving 10 out of its 14 regions in ruins, with the loss of many lives.

Nero decided that he would place the blame on scapegoats, because there was a dangerous rumor that Nero himself had ordered the fire in order to vandalize the capital city, and to free up space for his new building plans. It is recorded that later he indeed take advantage of the situation and begin planning and building his Golden House. His scapegoats were none other than the Christians, who were already being accused in one way or another within Roman pagan society. This was officially the time that the active persecution of the Christian Church began. At some point soon after it became a crime to bear the name "Christian" and the suppression of the church became state policy. This persecution would last, off and on, for almost three centuries. Primary Sources for the Study of the Emperor Nero are: Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Suetonius, Christian and Jewish Tradition, and Archaeology. Nero The 5th Emperor (Princeps) of Rome (54-68 A.D.) Background The Roman Empire beyond Italy was divided into about 40 provinces (territories), with each province having its own governor who kept order and collected taxes for Rome. He was either appointed by the emperor or named by the Senate.

During the first century A.D. the Roman Empire was near its peak with a population of 50-60 million. This was more than 1/5 of the world's population at that time. Jesus lived and died during the period known in Roman history as the Pax Romana or the "Peace of Rome". It was an amazing time in history when the risen Jesus empowered His church to go into all the world to preach the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact the apostles journeyed throughout the Mediterranean world which was part of the Roman Empire. They traveled through Roman cities on Roman roads and everywhere that they traveled they came into contact with Rome. Julius Caesar had a dream for Rome but he was assassinated before he could see it fulfilled. The big problem was who would become the next emperor after his assassination. Very few had expected the young Octavian (Augustus) to become the chief heir and new emperor after Julius Caesar, but it was Augustus who turned out to be the most important emperor in all of Roman history. Augustus was very aware of what had happened with Julius Caesar, and desired to avoid the same problems with the Roman Senate.

He wanted his stepson Tiberius to be emperor after his death and to make sure that this would happen he began to share his power with Tiberius. When Augustus died in 14 A.D. Tiberius was easily accepted as emperor. In fact this became the new way that emperors would be chosen. Each emperor would choose a successor from among his family or he would adopt someone who he thought would be fit to rule after him. During the 200 years after the death of Augustus, four dynasties (family lines) ruled the Roman Empire. Some of the emperors in each dynasty were somewhat moral emperors and others were horribly cruel. Each of the four dynasties ended with a violent overthrow of an unfit emperor. Augustus� family line ended in disgrace in 68 A.D. with the Emperor Nero, who came to power when he was a young boy at the age of 17. Nero Claudius Caesar was born in December of 37 A.D. at Antium and reigned as the fifth emperor (Princeps) of Rome, from 54-68 A.D.

under the political system created by Augustus after Civil War had finally put an end to the Roman Republic. Throughout the early years of his rule Nero was directed by his tutors (including the famous writer Seneca) and there was peace throughout the Empire. The Emperor Nero loved performing in the Theatre, races and games. He was not respected by the senators or the army. He was criticized by the people of Rome for being more interested in entertaining himself than in governing the empire. However, when his main advisors had either retired, or were dead, Nero revealed his true character. It did not take long for the people to realize that Nero was a tyrant. In 59 A.D. Nero executed his mother, his wife, Claudius�s son Britannicus, and several of his advisors and anyone that opposed him was executed. In 64 A.D. a devastating fire swept through Rome destroying everything in its path. Everyone thought that Nero had started the fire so that he could rebuild a more beautiful city, including his Golden House. According to the Roman historian Suetonius, Nero sang and played the lyre while Rome burned.

When Nero felt that the rumor had turned everyone against him he found some scapegoats to bare the blame for the fire, the Christians. He punished them severely and had many of them burned alive or torn apart by wild beasts. It is believed that the apostles Paul and Peter were martyred during this persecution. There were many who sought Nero�s death and in 68 A.D. his own army rebelled against him and various military commanders attempted to seize the throne. The Emperor Nero was forced to flee from Rome and soon afterward he committed suicide. He was the last emperor who was of the dynasty of Augustus (Julio-Claudian dynasty).

The main people involved in the life of Nero were: - Nero Himself - Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus - Agrippina - Nero's dominating mother - Claudius - The emperor before Nero - Octavia - Claudius' daughter and Nero's first wife - Britannicus - Claudius' son and rightful heir to the throne - Seneca and Burrus - Nero's trusted tutors - Poppaea - Nero's second wife - Galba - General in Spain and the next emperor of Rome Important events that happened during the life of Nero: - The Great Fire of Rome � 64 A.D. - The First Imperial 'Persecution' of Christians � 64 A.D. - The first Jewish Revolt Against Rome � 66 A.D. The main historical sources about the life of Nero were: - Tacitus Tacitus Publius Cornelius (55-120 A.D. approx.) - Suetonius Svetonius Tranquillus (70-140 A.D. approx.) - Cassius Dio Dion Cassius Cocceianus (155-235 A.D.

approx.) - Jewish and Christian Tradition Nero’s Rome burns - Jul 18, 64 - HISTORY.com Nero’s Rome burns Publisher A+E Networks The great fire of Rome breaks out and destroys much of the city on this day in the year 64. Despite the well-known stories, there is no evidence that the Roman emperor, Nero, either started the fire or played the fiddle while it burned. Still, he did use the disaster to further his political agenda. The fire began in the slums of a district south of the legendary Palatine Hill. The area’s homes burned very quickly and the fire spread north, fueled by high winds. During the chaos of the fire, there were reports of heavy looting. The fire ended up raging out of control for nearly three days. Three of Rome’s 14 districts were completely wiped out; only four were untouched by the tremendous conflagration. Hundreds of people died in the fire and many thousands were left homeless. Although popular legend holds that Emperor Nero fiddled while the city burned, this account is wrong on several accounts. First, the fiddle did not even exist at the time. Instead, Nero was well known for his talent on the lyre; he often composed his own music.

More importantly, Nero was actually 35 miles away in Antium when the fire broke out. In fact, he let his palace be used as a shelter. Legend has long blamed Nero for a couple of reasons. Nero did not like the aesthetics of the city and used the devastation of the fire in order to change much of it and institute new building codes throughout the city. Nero also used the fire to clamp down on the growing influence of Christians in Rome. He arrested, tortured and executed hundreds of Christians on the pretext that they had something to do with the fire. Related Videos The great fire of Rome The Great Fire of Rome This article on the Great Fire of Rome will take two stepped approach: the more traditional approach considering the information we have about the event, the circumstances and impact of the fire and the inevitable debate of whether Nero did it or not. Did he really play his lyre ? We take the opportunity to look at some recent world events, drawing interesting parallels between Nero�s great fire of Rome in 64AD and the fires, lootings and uprisings in London during August 2011.

Fires were not new to ancient Rome, in fact they were relatively frequent in a city where multi-storey apartment blocks were built very close to one another, often propping each other up, with very narrow streets between them. For this very reason emperor Augustus had set up the first fire brigade corps of the city which was steadily strengthened by successive Roman emperors . To add insult to injury the great fire of Rome of 64AD wasn�t the last either, in spite of a large number of urban reforms and regulations set in place by Nero in order to reduce future peril. There was another in 69AD just after Neros death under Vitellius (the year of the four Emperors ) and again in AD80 under emperor Titus . The great fire of Rome in AD 64 is perhaps the event for which Emperor Nero is best and most popularly remembered for, at least nowadays. To this day there are contradictory stories as to how it started and whether it might have been accidental or a consequence of arson. In the latter case who might have been responsible?

It seems Nero himself was out of the city, enjoying the fresh air of the coast to the south of Rome because of the suffocating summer heat which was making life in the city uncomfortable. As soon as he was informed of the tragedy he is said to have immediately arranged for shelter in his own grounds, on the Vatican hill (where he had built a circus - completing one by Caligula ) and at other places around the city. Over 200,000 people were left homeless and without food, for which he provided through the port of Ostia and imposed a lower price on grain. However, the rumours against him accumulated as did the witnesses for all camps, pro and against the emperor, pro and against the early Christians and others. Hindsight does suggest a number of certain details and outcomes: It seems certain that whilst the fire had started through accidental causes there were also a number of arsonists about and indeed people who were actively preventing the actions of those who might attempt to put the fire out. There could have been many motives; just as an example it was not unknown for "developers" to provoke fires in order to burn buildings down then buy the remains to rebuild them and resell at a high margin.

Of course once the fire was started there would have been many who would have taken advantage of the situation even for their own particular interests, for looting or simple religious or socio-political motive: this sort of behavior is clearly visible even in modern disaster situations. The huge debt left behind by these events seriously affected the Roman economy . Nero�s devaluation of Roman coinage was the beginning of a continuing landslide through to the fall of the Roman empire . The very contrasting viewpoints regarding Nero�s role are a percolated result of history: written by the likes of Suetonius and Tacitus both of whom were clearly against Nero, not to mention the Christians who took over the empire in its dying stages and clearly didn�t have a great love for the emperor; Furthermore Nero lived on in popular Roman myth as a leader who would return, interpreted by Christians as the expected return of the antichrist: not the sort of character you would want to portray in a positive light. So did Nero cause the great fire of Rome? It would also seem Nero was not at Rome at the time, but was staying at Antium, though clearly being the emperor that is hardly an alibi since orders could have been given to others to physically light the fire whilst he be away.

It does suggest however that he was unlikely to be sitting at home watching the fire and playing his lyre (and he certainly wasn�t playing the fiddle since fiddles didn�t exist at the time). The answer to the question is "probably no": it started relatively far away, almost a mile from where Nero wanted to build his golden house and he would have likely done it in such a way as to avoid burning his own palace from which he salvaged much artwork and precious materials for the new palace. Could it have been arsonists or pyromaniacs? Possibly. Though it wasn�t the most ideal night on which to do it given that the moon was strong and would have given visibility. Nevertheless once rumours were spread against Nero, the emperor preferred to pursue the arson line of thinking by blaming it on the Christians who had already been persecuted under emperor Tiberius but whom during his reign had enjoyed relative freedom to preach. It was most probably an accident, a fire like those which frequently occurred in the city: a simple torch or oil lamp left alight in a workshop.

In fact other great fires occurred later in Rome�s history, after Nero: once on the year of Nero�s death in AD69 ( year of the four Emperors ) under Vitellius and then again in AD80 under emperor Titus . Though the emperors didn�t get the blame these times round. What happened and how did the Great fire of Rome evolve ? The fire burst during a summer night, out in the area of the Campus Martius and Circus Maximus , possibly in some shops containing flammable materials or the grain stores of the area. It raged for six continuous days until the flames were suffocated under the city�s charred ruins. The worst hit quarters were those where the plebeians and lower classes lived, packed close to one another, making it difficult to access the fire or to get water supplied. The summer dryness and wind did the rest. From the Circus Maximus it spread quickly up the Palatine hill , across the Esquiline and into the lower class "suburra" (a sort of Soho for those who know London or Amsterdam red light district).

Only 4 out of the city�s 14 districts were left relatively intact including the Roman Forum and part of the Capitoline hill but otherwise almost � of ancient Rome, it�s palaces, Roman temples and public buildings had all been hit by raging fire. A quick comparison of the great fire of Rome and the more recent London riots At the time of writing this article (shortly after the surprising events in London in 2011), experts, police and reporters are unable to pinpoint a single clear cause for the actions of so many people. In spite of the availability of copious video camera footage and live reporting it is difficult to determine whether the sudden "rave" atmosphere where youths who would normally have been law-abiding citizens repeatedly assembled to disseminate destruction, incendiary attacks and looting. A news article on the Financial Times on Aug 11th was aptly titled: "MIXED PICTURE EMERGES OF WHO RIOTERS ARE".

It outlines a scenario of: criminal gangs Many participants who had no prior criminal record including children as young as 11 and 12 Not linked to any particular race Few mentioned grievances, such as the abolition of some educational allowances An "underclass driven to looting because of economic despair" The quotes were also interesting: "It�s us versus them, the police, the system�" "This is purely acquisitive � it�s not social and economic but moral and cultural�." "We have to admit this is a new cultural phenomenon about which we know very little" The London events were triggered by an isolated event where a police control of a local person from a relatively poor area of the city degenerated into a gunfight and the person was shot dead. The riots which followed however though initially inspired by the peaceful demonstration mounted by the local population itself degenerated into a series of actions which had little to do with the initial event. Comparing the London riots with the great fire of Rome: Whilst we certainly cannot say that the great fire of Rome in AD64 followed the same set of mechanics it is fair to wonder whether similar mechanisms may have been at work.

Let�s imagine the following hypothesis: The fire breaks out by accident in a workshop, the city is ill-suited to fire control and after all, we already know that fires were extremely common in ancient Rome so a disaster was waiting to happen. However, social and economic conditions by the time of Nero had evolved to an extent that a sharp divide was generated between the wealthy and the poorer social classes. (Incidentally this would fit with Nero�s fixation on policies to assist the poorer end of society). As might be ascribed to London or to the Paris "banlieau" fires and indeed the spreading uprisings across northern Africa in 2010-2011 not to mention the large yet peaceful movement of "indignados" in Spain, we can imagine a broad section of society which has been reduced to a degree of poverty and loss of hope for the future such that they undertake collective action in a sometimes irrational and violent attempt to change their situation or at any rate a violent reaction. In the London case it exploded into an outbreak of materialism where the concept of legality was suspended in favour of personal material gain (looting). Might something similar have occurred in Rome?

Might it be that disaffected, abandoned portions of Roman society had by then reached such a degree of poverty that selling themselves into slavery might be their only option for a future and that therefore would care little but to take advantage of a blaze in order to wreak further destruction and looting of shops and property? The situation was almost uncontrollable in London where, in the end, 16000 police were brought in, the equivalent of a Roman legion. At the time of Nero such an enormous policing force was likely not available and certainly not trained and equipped to control such a situation. We can therefore imagine the subsequent blaming and finger-pointing whilst in the background, one of the many parties at play, the Christians were chiming and cheering "we told you so! God is punishing your evil pagan and materialistic ways! You deserve all you got". Guess who got persecuted.

Leaders and Caesars of Ancient Rome in chronological order : | ancient roman kings | tarquin | marius | sulla | rome julius caesar | augustus |The 12 Caesars | Emperor Tiberius | caligula | Emperor Claudius | Emperor Nero | Emperor Vespasian | Rome's Five Good Emperors | Hadrian | Roman Emperor Trajan | Emperor Constantine | Emperor Justinian | Other emperors of Ancient Rome | You might also have a look at what it was to be emperor or "imperator". A list of roman emperors . A glimpse at famous romans like emperor Nero and scaevola "the left handed". Please email us if you feel a correction is required to the Rome information provided. Please read the disclaimer The Great Fire of Rome | Background | Secrets of the Dead | PBS The Great Fire of Rome Background Explore more from this episode More The emperor Nero ruled from 54 to 68 AD, when he lost his power and committed suicide. Though the infamous emperor Nero ruled Rome for less than two decades, his reign witnessed tremendous changes to the empire’s capital city.

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus — more often known as Nero — was a great-grandson of Caesar Augustus. When he was a child, he and his mother, Agrippina, were exiled by Agrippina’s brother, emperor Gaius Caligula, to the tiny Pontian Islands. Two years later, however, the banishment was lifted when Agrippina’s uncle, Claudius, took hold of the empire. Nero’s mother soon convinced Claudius to marry her and make Nero his heir. In 54 A.D., Claudius was murdered, purportedly a victim of poisonous mushrooms given to him by Agrippina. Nero became the emperor of Rome at age 16. Several years later, Nero had his power-hungry mother moved to a separate residence; shortly thereafter, he allegedly had her killed. There was no end to Nero’s ambition. One of his grandest plans was to tear down a third of Rome so that he could build an elaborate series of palaces that would be known as Neropolis. The senate, however, objected ardently to this proposal. Exactly what happened next has remained a mystery for nearly 2,000 years.

On the night of July 19, 64 A.D., a fire broke out among the shops lining the Circus Maximus, Rome’s mammoth chariot stadium. In a city of two million, there was nothing unusual about such a fire — the sweltering summer heat kindled conflagrations around Rome on a regular basis, particularly in the slums that covered much of the city. Knowing this, Nero himself was miles away in the cooler coastal resort of Antium. Yet this was no ordinary fire. The flames raged for six days before coming under control; then the fire reignited and burned for another three. When the smoke cleared, 10 of Rome’s 14 districts were in ruin. The 800-year-old Temple of Jupiter Stator and the Atrium Vestae, the hearth of the Vestal Virgins, were gone. Two thirds of Rome had been destroyed. A crumpled iron gate, melted by the force of Rome’s great fire. History has blamed Nero for the disaster, implying that he started the fire so that he could bypass the senate and rebuild Rome to his liking.

Much of what is known about the great fire of Rome comes from the aristocrat and historian Tacitus, who claimed that Nero watched Rome burn while merrily playing his fiddle. Gangs of thugs prevented citizens from fighting the fire with threats of torture, Tacitus wrote. There is some support for the theory that Nero leveled the city on purpose: the Domus Aurea, Nero’s majestic series of villas and pavilions set upon a landscaped park and a man-made lake, was built in the wake of the fire. “It would have been seen as very inappropriate on the part of the elite in Rome,” says art historian Eric Varner. “They would have been happy if Nero had built the Domus Aurea out in the country, but to do it here in the city really was an extraordinary kind of statement.” Tacitus was a member of this Roman elite, and whether there is a bias in his writing is difficult to know. Indeed, Tacitus was still a boy at the time of the fire, and he would have been a young teenager in 68 A.D., when Nero died. Nero himself blamed the fire on an obscure new Jewish religious sect called the Christians, whom he indiscriminately and mercilessly crucified.

During gladiator matches he would feed Christians to lions, and he often lit his garden parties with the burning carcasses of Christian human torches. Yet there is evidence that, in 64 A.D., many Roman Christians believed in prophecies predicting that Rome would soon be destroyed by fire. Perhaps the fire was set off by someone hoping to make the prediction come true. Twenty centuries later, is there a way to establish who or what started one of antiquity’s most destructive conflagrations? Is there any truth to Tacitus’s insinuation? Or to Nero’s? Archaeologists, historians, and contemporary fire investigators try to pinpoint the cause of this monumental tragedy of the ancient world. Emperor Nero - Ancient Rome for Kids Worksheets Emperor Nero Early Life: Nero was a Roman Emperor born in 37 AD who ruled Roman Empire from 54 to 68 AD. He came from an imperial background. His mother Agrippina the Younger was a sister of Emperor Caligula and Nero himself was a great nephew of Emperor Claudius. He was also related to famous Roman politician and general, Mark Antony.

During the reign of his uncle Caligula, Nero and his mother were sent on a forced exile after they fell out of favor with Caligula. After the assassination of Caligula, Claudius ascended to throne and married Nero’s mother. Ascension to Throne: Emperor Claudius had two sons from previous marriages and after marrying Agrippina, he also adopted Nero as his son. One of his sons died at a young age and while the other son, Britannicus lived, Claudius preferred Nero over him. He groomed and appointed Nero as his heir. After Claudius died in 54 AD, Nero became the Roman emperor. At the time of his ascension, Nero was only 17 years old and was the youngest Roman Emperor until that time. Reign as Emperor: The initial years of Nero’s rule were marred by the struggle for control and influence between his mother Agrippina and his close advisors Seneca and Burrus. Agrippina’s desire to exercise greater authority in matters of state resulted in strained relations between her and Nero. Nero had a special liking for arts and architecture. He built many theaters and participated in acting and singing activities.

While he is infamous for playing fiddle while Rome burnt (Great Fire of Rome- 64 AD), some historians believe that he in fact did all he could to help victims of fire and initiated a huge rescue and relief effort. Many historians wrote that Nero was popular among common people for his generosity and decrees in favor of poor, while rich and powerful despised him. Many historians however, describe him as unjust, cruel and temperamental. Some historians have described him in a more positive way. Historian Josephus has written that accurate depiction of Nero in history has been compromised by either those historians who had a blind hatred for him or those who gained favors from him. Important Events during Nero’s Reign: Early years of Nero’s reign were lost in a power struggle between his mother and his close advisors. Agrippina, after failing to control Nero, even tried to install her step son Britannicus as emperor. However, Britannicus died under suspicious circumstances before he could be declared an adult. The menace ended with Agrippina’s execution, ordered by Nero. He then consolidated his power base.

During his reign Rome fought a five year long war with Parthia (58-63 AD), quelled a British revolt (60-61 AD) and fought the First Roman-Jewish war (66-70 AD), which ended after Nero’s death. Revolt Against Nero and His Death: In 68 AD two of Nero’s influential governors Vindex and Galba revolted against his taxation policies and joined hands against him. While Nero’s loyal forces defeated and killed Vindex, Galba grew strong and popular and even Nero’s army generals and officers stopped taking orders from him. Nero lost all support in Rome and Senate also declared him a public enemy. Nero ran away from Rome with few close aides and in face of approaching enemy forces, made his personal secretary,Epaphroditos kill him before he could be arrested. He was the first Roman emperor to commit suicide. With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty also ended. Legacy: While many historians have a negative opinion of Nero, some historians have written about positive aspects of his rule and personality. He is however, widely considered as the first sponsor of state persecution of Christians.

He is also alleged by some as the killer of apostles Paul and Peter. Early Christian writers portrayed him as the anti-Christ who will come back and bring destruction. Sponsored Links Nero Persecutes The Christians, 64 A.D. Printer Friendly Version >>> A generation after the death of Christ, Christianity had reached Rome in the form of an obscure offshoot of Judaism popular among the city's poor and destitute. Members of this religious sect spoke of the coming of a new kingdom and a new king. These views provoked suspicion among the Jewish authorities who rejected the group and fear among the Roman authorities who perceived these sentiments as a threat to the Empire. A Roman mosaic shows prisoners put to death in the arena as part of a festival In the summer of 64, Rome suffered a terrible fire that burned for six days and seven nights consuming almost three quarters of the city. The people accused the Emperor Nero for the devastation claiming he set the fire for his own amusement. In order to deflect these accusations and placate the people, Nero laid blame for the fire on the Christians. The emperor ordered the arrest of a few members of the sect who, under torture, accused others until the entire Christian populace was implicated and became fair game for retribution.

As many of the religious sect that could be found were rounded up and put to death in the most horrific manner for the amusement of the citizens of Rome. The ghastly way in which the victims were put to death aroused sympathy among many Romans, although most felt their execution justified. Beginnings of Christian Martyrdom The following account was written by the Roman historian Tacitus in his book Annals published a few years after the event. Tacitus was a young boy living in Rome during the time of the persecutions. "Therefore, to stop the rumor [that he had set Rome on fire], he [Emperor Nero] falsely charged with guilt, and punished with the most fearful tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were [generally] hated for their enormities.

Christus, the founder of that name, was put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius, but the pernicious superstition - repressed for a time, broke out yet again, not only through Judea, - where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, whither all things horrible and disgraceful flow from all quarters, as to a common receptacle, and where they are encouraged. Accordingly first those were arrested who confessed they were Christians; next on their information, a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city, as of "hating the human race." In their very deaths they were made the subjects of sport: for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights. Nero offered his own garden players for the spectacle, and exhibited a Circensian game, indiscriminately mingling with the common people in the dress of a charioteer, or else standing in his chariot.

For this cause a feeling of compassion arose towards the sufferers, though guilty and deserving of exemplary capital punishment, because they seemed not to be cut off for the public good, but were victims of the ferocity of one man." References: Carrington, Phillip, The Early Christian Church (1957); Davis, William Stearns, Readings In Ancient History (1913); Duruy, Victor, History of Rome and the Roman People, vol V (1883). How To Cite This Article: "Nero Persecutes The Christians, 64 A.D.," EyeWitness to History, (2000). The Great Fire of Rome | History Today The Great Fire of Rome The city burned on July 18th, AD 64. Lyre, lyre, Rome's on fire: Peter Ustinov (centre) plays Nero in the 1951 Hollywood film, Quo Vadis Of the early Roman emperors, Nero alone rivalled Caligula in his reputation for sheer unbridled viciousness.

Just 16 when he was proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard in AD 54 in succession to the Emperor Claudius, he had allegedly been born feet-first, which was considered ominous. He seems to have made a promising start, however, under the guidance of Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the Stoic philosopher who had been his tutor, and Sextus Afranius Burrus, head of the Praetorian Guard. He was seriously interested in the arts, wrote poetry and played the lyre and showed off his singing voice in stage appearances. He should have been an entertainer rather than an emperor, in which role he turned into a debauched and murderous megalomaniac. Seneca, forced to commit suicide in AD 65, would be one of his many victims. The inhabitants of Rome in the year 64 lived mostly in wooden houses and shacks, an easy prey to fire. The earliest surviving detailed account of the one which broke out under the full moon that night in July comes from the Roman historian Tacitus, who was only a small boy at the time. He says that it started in shops at the Circus Maximus, the chariot-racing stadium.

Fanned by the wind, it quickly turned into an inferno, raging through the narrow streets and cramped alleys to the terrified cries of the people. Children and the elderly were equally helpless and crowds of confused citizens ran this way and that in attempts to get away, while some died trying bravely to save others. Fire-fighting efforts were hindered by gangs of men, some of whom threw blazing torches to encourage the flames, and it was not clear whether they were looters or, as they claimed, were acting under orders. After five days the demolition of all the buildings in a large space at the foot of the Esquiline Hill seemed to have brought the fire to an end, but it broke out again as furiously as ever and spread more widely still. When it finally died out, most of the city was either completely destroyed or severely damaged. Tacitus says that Nero was at Antium on the coast when the fire began. He returned to Rome to organise relief efforts. People who had lost their homes were allowed to camp in public buildings, open spaces and gardens. Supplies of food were brought in from Ostia and other neighbouring towns and the price of corn was reduced.

Meanwhile, however, word spread that while the fire was raging the emperor had been seen performing on a stage in a private home singing of the fall and destruction of Troy. People began to believe that Nero had deliberately started the fire so that he could then rebuild Rome as a glorious new city and name it after himself. Tacitus was non-committal as to whether the disaster had occurred accidentally or had been treacherously contrived by the emperor. He said that ‘authors have given both accounts’. Nero did take the opportunity to build himself a new palace, which he called the Golden House, and later historians like Suetonius and Dio Cassius were in no doubt that Nero had been responsible for the fire and had been seen singing exultantly as it burned. Dio Cassius said the emperor had sent out men pretending to be drunk to set the fire alight. According to Tacitus, Nero was sufficiently disturbed by the widespread belief that the fire had been started on his orders that he picked the Christians to blame as scapegoats. They were believers in what Tacitus called ‘a most mischievous superstition’ that had spread to Rome ‘where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular’.

Christians were seized and tortured into confessing, then torn to pieces by dogs, crucified or burned alive and used as human torches at night. A Christian text of the second century proclaimed that Nero was the Antichrist. Today’s historians generally doubt that Nero ordered his minions to start the fire. Whether he did or not, he had little time left. The increasingly frequent stage appearances he relied on for popularity came to seem ever more undignified. Menacing conspiracies formed against the emperor in Rome, the army was losing confidence in him and there were uprisings in Spain, Gaul and the eastern provinces. In ad 68, when even the Praetorian Guard deserted him, he fled to a villa outside Rome where, aged 30, he committed suicide. He had a grave dug for himself, it was said, and ordered his secretary to help him stab himself in the neck with a dagger.

During all this he was crying out Qualis artifex pereo – ‘What an artist dies in me!’ Nero - Ancient History - HISTORY.com Google Nero’s Murderous Path to Power Born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero took his familiar name when he was adopted at age 13 by his great-uncle, the emperor Claudius (his father, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, had died when the future emperor was only 2). Nero’s mother, Agrippina the Younger, had married Claudius after arranging the death of her second husband and was the driving force behind her son’s adoption. She arranged for Nero to wed Claudius’ daughter Octavia in 53, further sidelining the emperor’s son Britannicus. Upon Claudius’ sudden death in 54—classical sources suggest Agrippina fed him poisoned mushrooms—the 17-year-old Nero ascended the throne. Did You Know? Although it’s unknown whether Nero sang and strummed his lyre while Rome burned in 64 A.D., he certainly didn't play a fiddle: bowed string instruments wouldn't appear in Europe for another 800 years.

In his first five years as emperor, Nero gained a reputation for political generosity, promoting power-sharing with the Senate and ending closed-door political trials, though he generally pursued his own passions and left the ruling up to three key advisers—the Stoic philosopher Seneca, the prefect Burrus and ultimately Agrippina. Eventually Seneca encouraged Nero to step out from his domineering mother’s shadow. She turned against him, promoting her stepson Britannicus as the true heir to the throne and protesting Nero’s affair with his friend’s wife Poppaea Sabina. But Nero had learned his mother’s lessons well: Brittanicus soon died under dubious circumstances, and in 59, after a failed plot to drown her in a collapsible boat, Nero had Agrippina stabbed to death in her villa. The empress Octavia was exiled and executed, and in 62 Nero and Poppaea were married. Three years later, in what the Roman historian Tacitus described as “a casual outburst of rage,” Nero killed Poppea with a single kick to her belly. Nero: The Artist and the Fire Following his mother’s death, Nero gave himself fully to his longstanding artistic and aesthetic passions.

At private events beginning in 59, he sang and performed on the lyre and encouraged members of the upper classes to take dancing lessons. He ordered public games to be held every five years in Rome and trained as an athlete himself, competing as a charioteer. His most lasting artistic legacy, though, was his re-creation of Rome following the fire that destroyed most of the city. Early in the morning of June 19, 64 a blaze broke out in the shops around the Circus Maximus and quickly spread throughout the city. Over the next nine days, three of Rome’s 14 districts were destroyed and an additional seven were severely damaged. Several classical sources place Nero on the roof of his palace during the fire, dressed in stage garb and singing from the Greek epic “The Sack of Ilium.” Rumors quickly circulated that the emperor had started the fire to clear land for an expanded palace complex on the Palatine Hill. Whatever responsibility he actually bore for the disaster, Nero deflected attention by blaming members of the fledgling Christian religion for the fire.

He ordered all manner of creative and brutal persecutions: Some were condemned to be dressed in animal skins and torn apart by dogs, while others were burned to death in nighttime pyres that provided light for the emperor’s garden parties. Nero exhausted the Roman treasury rebuilding the city around his 100-acre Domus Aurea (“Golden House”) palace complex. At its center he commissioned a 100-foot-tall bronze statue of himself, the Colossus Neronis. Nero’s Decline and Fall By the final years of his Nero’s rule, the Roman Empire was under great strain. Reconstruction costs in Rome, revolts in Britain and Judea, conflicts with Parthia and rebuilding expenses in the capital forced him to devalue the imperial currency, lowering the silver content of the denarius by 10 percent. In 65 a high-level conspiracy to assassinate the emperor emerged, leading Nero to order the deaths of a prefect and several senators and officers. The emperor’s old advisor Seneca was caught up in the affair and forced to commit suicide.

With things falling apart at home, Nero took an extended tour of Greece, where he gave himself to music and theatrical performance, drove a chariot in the Olympic games, announced pro-Hellenic political reforms and launched an expensive and futile project to dig a canal across the Isthmus of Corinth. Upon his return to Rome in 68, Nero failed to respond decisively to a revolt in Gaul, prompting further unrest in Africa and in Spain, where the governor Galba declared himself legate of the Senate and Roman People. Soon the Praetorian Guard declared allegiance to Galba, and the Senate followed suit, declaring Nero an enemy of the people. Nero attempted to flee, but upon learning that his arrest and execution were imminent, he took his own life. Fifty years later, the historian Suetonius reported Nero’s final lament: “What an artist dies in me!” Nero’s Legacy In the centuries followed his reign, the name Nero would become a byword for debauchery, misrule and anti-Christian persecution. In the short term, his demise marked the end of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, which had ruled Rome since 27 B.C.

It would be 30 years before Rome had another emperor, Trajan, who would rule as long as Nero had. Nero’s death was followed by the chaotic “Year of the Four Emperors,” which the Roman historian Tacitus described as “a period rich in disasters … even in peace full of horrors.” So while many of Nero’s contemporaries celebrated his death, others looked back on the pomp and celebrations of his reign with nostalgia. Tags

Question: Who was Emperor of Rome during the great fire of 64AD?
Answer: Nero