Rome was devastated by the Great Roman Fire on July 18, 64 A.D. It is believed to have broke out in an area of merchant shops near the Circus Maximus. It raged for six days and then reignited for three more. 71% of the city was destroyed, including Nero’s palace. The famous story of Nero’s role comes mainly from the historian Suetonius who wrote a history of the first twelve emperors. Suetonius, no fan of Nero, wrote that Nero didn’t like the architecture and narrow streets of the city and wanted to redo the city. He also wanted a new palace. He may not have started the fire, but he sure didn’t mind it. He watched from the Tower of Maecenas and sang the song “The Fall of Troy” while strumming on his lyre. For some reason, the lyre was replaced by a fiddle by later historians. The great Roman historian Tacitus had his own take on Nero’s role. He insists that Nero was not in Rome when the fire began. He rushed to the city to organize the firefighting and start the reconstruction. He does add that some groups of men tried to prevent people from putting out the fires, but does not specifically blame Nero. In fact, he opened his private gardens to refugees and cut the corn price to help the poor. He states that the song was just a rumor. Although Tacitus’ version is more boring, it is probably closer to the truth. Historians do believe Nero took advantage of the fire as an excuse to persecute the Christians.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Rome
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