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The Great Fire Of Rome By Ava Strieker

3711 Words15 Pages

The Great Fire of Rome – Ava Strieker Task one The conditions that might have led up to the fire. The Great Fire of Rome still has an unknown starting date. However, the overall opinion from secondary and primary sources is that the most likely dates are the 18th or 19th of July, 64AD, during the middle of a hot summer. According to Stephen Dando Collins, in The Great Fire of Rome, “This very morn, Sirius the Dog Star rose in the heavens, signalling the beginning of summer’s hottest period.” This secondary source material can back the claim that it was mid-July, as this star only rises in July. The geographical starting location was allegedly underneath the Circus Maximus. According to Tacitus, “It took its rise in the part of the Circus touching …show more content…

There were many shops packed with flammable goods such as lamp oil and candles, therefore when one broke out into a fire, the rest caught ablaze as a domino effect. At this time, Roman housing was mainly built out of wood due to a lack of resources and being easily accessible to support the growing population. This led to mass fire growth in a short space of time, due to the wood kindling the flames and getting its fuel from the merchandise inside. Another possible cause of the Great Fire of Rome is that it was set on purpose by one of Nero’s agents. According to Cassius Dio, in A History of Rome, Nero “sent out men who pretended to be drunk or engaged in other kinds of mischief”. “Caused them to go out to set fire to one or two or even several buildings”. He also stated that soldiers on watch would “instead of putting out fires, kindle new ones”. This could have gotten out of hand and been the start of this …show more content…

“He set the city of Rome on fire so that he might see the likeliness that the spectacle which Troy once presented when it was captured and burned.” Later generations concluded this to be a fact and dismissed its likeliness of being a rumour. However, Nero’s actions regarding relieving the fire can argue against his responsibility. Nero’s palace, the Domus Transitoria, was destroyed, and this can vouch for his innocence. Predominantly the sources are in disagreement, regarding the causes of the Great Fire, with Tacitus believing that it started among shops catching ablaze, and Cassius believing that Nero sent out men to commit arson. Robert Draper, in his article ‘Rethinking Nero’, National Geographic states that “Even Tacitus, the great accuser of Nero, writes that no one knows whether Rome burned from arson or by chance.” More weight could be given to Tacitus's account as he was alive during this

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In 366 CE, a “violent and destructive earthquake”(Document F) followed by a tsunami hit the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, leaving Rome shocked and frightened. “Fifty thousand persons had lost their lives in the city of Alexandria alone” according to Edward Gibbon’s The History of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. The vast loss of lives meant that Rome had fewer defenders for their empire. A concatenation of plagues struck the Rome’s Empire and reduced the population to less than half of what it once was. “A series of plagues...swept over the empire which brought diseases.....

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However, Nero’s true character of selfishness is prominent during the rest of his reign. When urgently needed in Rome, Nero chose his musical career with the Greeks over his own homeland (Suetonius, Nero, 219, 23). During nightfall, Nero would prowl the streets of Rome in search of mischief. He would attack men on their way home from dinner, stab them if they offered resistance, and then drop their bodies down the sewers (Suetonius, Nero, 221, 26). He would break into shops, afterwards opening a miniature market in his home with the stolen goods, dividing them up into lots, auctioning them himself, and squandering the proceeds (Suetonius, Nero, 221, 26).

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As talked about in Document 7, the Valens reigned the Roman Empire in 366 CE. The empire was struck by a destructive earthquake. The beaches of the Mediterranean Sea were left dry and barren until the tide soon returned. The tide caused a major flood. This scared the people of Rome as they watched their empire being destroyed.

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Nero created a huge impact on Rome showing some of his achievements over his lifetime causing him to be fit for king. First, he reduced taxes, regularly distributed grain to the unfortunate people, and staged huge sights to see to entertain the Romans. This shows Nero helped people benefit giving them their needs and their wants to be happy and survive. He helped people in need when they were either lacking in resources or were just unhappy. Second, he was also quite popular with the lower classes.

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He set Rome ablaze and used the Christians as scapegoats. He accused them of arson and persecuted many by burning them alive or allowing dogs to tear them to pieces (Lunn-Rockliffe). Emperor Diocletian (284-305) was also notorious for the persecution of Christians. A fire broke out in his palace which caused him great anger. Like the Romans did to the Christians when Nero was in rule, they blamed them for the fire.

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Tom I like the connection you made about Christians being set apart from the Roman culture. One of the reasons why they were disliked so much was because they were perceived as being pompous. Definitely I am in agreement that Nero was a ruthless emperor who did detestable selfish acts. One of which he made a public spectacle showing his cruelty, like when you said “Nero blamed the Christians for [the] major fire that broke out in Rome…” even though “…many of the Romans believe that Nero set the fire to make room for his palace” he began torturing Christians to death for his amusement as if it proved his innocence. Your explanation on Arianism gave me a greater understanding about the heresy.

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Finally, in 476 A.D., a Germanic General named Flavius Odoacer overthrew the Roman Empire marking the end of the empire, and became the first King of Italy (476-493 A.D.). With the over expansion of land and overspending of the military combined with the corrupt government and the wars between the religions, the entire structure of the Roman Empire was 4 damaged. This last strike, in 476 A.D., caused the once powerful and mighty Roman Empire to fall. As they say, Rome was not built in a day, and it did not fall in a day either. It was a combination of all of these events taking place that brought this mighty empire to its knees.

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