The Impact Of Tacitus On The Persecution Of Christians At Rome Under Nero

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Tacitus on the persecution of Christians at Rome under Nero

On July 19th, 64AD, the great fire of Rome broke out and the Christian populace was blamed for the disaster, leading to a city-wide persecution. The foremost primary source detailing this event is the historian Tacitus, whose account provides crucial insights into these persecutions.

Understanding Tacitus's narrative necessitates an appreciation of the contextual challenges confronting the early Christian community. For Christians, 54 – 59 AD was a peaceful and prosperous time, so much so that Paul wrote Romans 13:1- 7. Furthermore, outside observers could not separate Christians from the Jews and viewed them as a radical branch of a much-despised religion. Christians

Interestingly, he does not condemn the punishment of the accused, but he finds the method of punishment barbaric . He also reports that Nero was under suspicion for starting the fire himself and using the Christians as scapegoats to divert attention and suspicion from himself . What is also significant is that he briefly discusses the naming of the Christian movement after Christus, who was put to death under Pontius Pilate during the reign of

Moreover, the persecution of Nero contributed to the growing differentiation between Christian and as they were becoming more identifiable as their religious groupE16. Consequently, Nero gained notoriety as the first Emperor to persecute Christians . Furthermore, Tacitus’s reference to Christ's death under Pontius Pilate is vital evidence of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Thus, the importance of Tacitus's account cannot be understated as not only an account of the first Emperor sanctioned persecution of Christians but also for the attestation to the historical reality and death of