Great Fire of Rome

Nero's Torches by Henryk Siemiradzki. According to Tacitus, Nero targeted Christians as those responsible for the fire.

The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire in July of the year AD 64. It caused widespread devastation in the city on 19 July,[1] before being brought under control after six days. Differing accounts either blame Emperor Nero for initiating the fire or credit him with organizing measures to contain it and provide relief for refugees. According to Tacitus and later Christians, Nero blamed the devastation on the Christian community in the city, initiating the empire's first persecution against the Christians.[2]

Varying historical accounts

The varying historical accounts of the event come from three secondary sources—Cassius Dio, Suetonius and Tacitus. The primary accounts, which possibly included histories written by Fabius Rusticus, Marcus Cluvius Rufus and Pliny the Elder, did not survive. At least five separate stories circulate regarding Nero and the fire:

  • Motivated by a desire to destroy the city, Nero secretly sent out men pretending to be drunk to set fire to the city. Nero watched from his palace on the Palatine Hill singing and playing the lyre.[3]
  • Nero quite openly sent out men to set fire to the city. Nero watched from the Tower of Maecenas on the Esquiline Hill singing and playing the lyre.[4]
  • Nero sent out men to set fire to the city. Nero sang and played his lyre from a private stage.[5]
  • The fire was an accident. Nero was in Antium.[6]
  • Rumor had it that Nero had started the fire. Therefore, to blame someone else for it (and thus exonerate Nero from blame), the fire was said to have been caused by the already unpopular Christians.[7]

Outbreak and progress of fire

Tacitus describes the fire as beginning in shops where flammable goods were stored, in the region of the Circus neighboring the Caelian and Palatine Hills of Rome. The night was a windy one and the flames rapidly spread along the full length of the Circus. The fire expanded through an area of narrow, twisting streets and closely located apartment blocks. In this lower area of ancient Rome there were no large buildings such as temples, or open areas of ground, to impede the conflagration. It then spread along the Palatine and Caelian slopes.

The population fled first to areas unaffected by the fire and then to the open fields and rural roads outside the city. Looters and arsonists were reported to have spread the flames by throwing torches or, acting in groups, to have hindered measures being made to halt or slow the progress of the flames. Tacitus surmises that some may have acted under orders or that they may simply have wanted to plunder unhindered.

Later stages

According to Tacitus, Nero was away from Rome, in Antium, when the fire broke out.[6] He returned to the city and took measures to bring in food supplies and open gardens and public buildings to accommodate refugees. After six days the organized clearing of built-up areas brought the conflagration to a halt before it reached the Esquiline Hill. There was a further outbreak in the Aemilian district, involving the destruction of temples and arcades but less loss of life. However the fire was now under control. According to Tacitus, of Rome's 14 districts, 3 were completely devastated, 7 more were reduced to a few scorched and mangled ruins and only 4 completely escaped damage.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Great Fire of Rome". National Geographic Society. 18 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Dando-Collins, Stephen (September 2010). The Great Fire of Rome. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81890-5.
  3. ↑ Cassius Dio,
  4. ↑ Suetonius. "Life of Nero". Lives of Twelve Caesars.
  5. ↑ Tacitus, Annal XV.38–44
  6. 1 2 Tacitus, Annals XV.38–9
  7. ↑ Tacitus, Annals XV.44

Bibliography

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