Today we are going back to Rome during July of 64 A.D. Did you know at the time that there was a six-day long fire that raged through the city?
Starting in the poorest neighborhood south of Palpatine Hill, the fire traveled north reaching 10 out of the 14 Roman districts. Contemporary reports show that heavy winds helped the fire spread that far into the city. To make matters worse, without modern technology extinguishing the fires was a task that authorities and citizens simply could not handle. The fires were left to burn until they finally ceased.
In a report published after the event the writers claim that while hundreds of citizens tragically perished during in the blaze, the emperor was playing his fiddle. The story, as sensational as it sounds, is wrong. The fiddle did not exist at the time although it is possible that the emperor in question could have played something else.
Other reports tell us that Emperor Nero was away from the city at the time of the fire and when the tragic news reached him, he opened up his home to the thousands of refugees who were now left homeless.
The fires started in a lower-class district on the night of July 18. Scholars believe it was likely caused by someone leaving a torch or oil lamp on for the evening. The buildings in this area were largely made of wood, making the entire neighborhood extremely flammable.
Historic accounts also claim that the emperor himself gave the command for the fires to be started as a display of power, rumors debunked by many modern historians. Yet another popular theory was that the fires were an act of arson committed by common criminals. While the exact cause remains unknown, what we know for sure was that it was a tragedy for the citizens of Rome at the time.
Rylee Schaeffer
Associate Editor/Staff Writer