Rome Burns: Nero's Great Fire Devastates the Capital
The Great Fire of Rome broke out in the merchant district near the Circus Maximus on July 18, 64 AD, and burned for six days, destroying ten of the city's fourteen districts. Emperor Nero was at his villa in Antium when the fire started and returned to organize relief efforts, opening public buildings and his own gardens to the homeless. The famous story that he played his lyre while Rome burned was almost certainly propaganda spread by his political enemies. Nero redirected blame onto the small Christian community, who were arrested, wrapped in animal skins to be torn apart by dogs, or used as human torches to illuminate his gardens. He then built his extravagant Golden House on the cleared land.
July 18, 64
1962 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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