64 · Rome, Italy
Persecution under Nero
Emperor Nero blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, launching the first imperial persecution and killing many believers, likely including Peter and Paul.
On the night of July 18, 64 AD, a fire broke out near the Circus Maximus in Rome and burned for six days, destroying much of the city. Rumors spread that Emperor Nero himself had ordered the fire to clear land for his building projects. Whether or not that was true, Nero needed someone to blame, and he chose the Christians. They were an easy target: a small, misunderstood religious minority that most Romans considered strange and antisocial. The Roman historian Tacitus, who had no sympathy for Christians, described what followed with disgust. Believers were arrested, covered in animal skins and torn apart by dogs, crucified, or coated in pitch and set on fire to serve as human torches in Nero's gardens. Tacitus says the cruelty was so extreme that people began to feel pity for the victims. Early Church tradition holds that both Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome during this persecution, Peter by crucifixion upside down and Paul by beheading. The evidence is not airtight, but it is early and consistent. What matters beyond the details is the pattern Nero set. For the first time, the Roman state singled out Christians for punishment simply for being Christian. It would not be the last.
Why it matters
The first targeted imperial persecution of Christians, establishing a pattern that would recur for 250 years and likely claiming the lives of the apostles Peter and Paul.
What Happened
After the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, Nero accused Christians of arson. Mass arrests followed. Tacitus records that victims were killed in spectacularly cruel ways: fed to dogs, crucified, and burned alive as garden lights. The persecution was concentrated in Rome and did not extend empire-wide, but it was savage. Church tradition places the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul during this period, around 64-67 AD.
Why It Still Matters
Nero's persecution established that following Christ could cost you your life. The blood of the early martyrs became central to Christian identity. The fact that Peter and Paul are both associated with Rome is the reason Rome became the seat of the papacy. Catholics venerate the site of Peter's burial beneath St. Peter's Basilica, and archaeological evidence from the twentieth century supports the tradition that a tomb under the altar is genuinely ancient.