On July 18, 64 AD, a fire rarely seen in the ancient Roman city occurred. The fire destroyed almost the entire city of Rome, killing thousands of people and leaving more than 200,000 homeless. However, who is responsible for the fire has not been determined. Many people believe that the biggest suspect is the Roman Emperor Nero, so is he really inseparable from this matter?
Why would everyone suspect Emperor Nero?
(Image of Emperor Amagoroku)
Emperor Nero was the fifth emperor of the ancient Roman Empire and the last emperor of ancient Rome.
He was not the son of the emperor, but of the nobleman Domidius.
At the time of Nero's birth, since he was the "first-in-the-spider womb", his mother, Agrippina the Younger, sought out the most famous astrologer at the time to predict Nero's future, and the results showed that Nero would become emperor and she would be killed by Nero.
Little Agrippina was thrilled when she heard this. Soon after, Nero's father, Dominius, fell ill and died. Driven by ambition, Agrippina the Younger married her uncle, the Roman Emperor claudius I at the time.
After gaining the favor and trust of Claudius I, the younger Agrippina first installed cronies in the former dynasty to help her deal with the political opponents who opposed her. At the same time, she used means to defeat all the love enemies in the harem and sat on the throne of the empress in one fell swoop.
Seduced by Agrippina the Younger, Claudius I stripped his own son Bretanicus of his legitimate inheritance and gave it to his 12-year-old adopted son Nero.
Shortly after the establishment of the succession, Claudius I died of food poisoning. Since he died suddenly, some suspected that it was poisoned by little Agrippina.
In any case, Nero, with the help of Agrippina Jr., successfully ascended to the throne and became the fifth king of the Roman dynasty. Agrippina the Younger, on the other hand, held the military in her hands and used the power of the army to force the Senate to obey Nero.
(Little Apegrina in prints)
In the early days, the Roman regime was almost all pinched in the hands of Agrippina Jr. When Nero became an adult, he was very dissatisfied with his mother's approach, so he successively accused the younger Agrippina of the crimes of his henchmen in the court, exiled them one by one, and then killed the younger Agrippina for "attempting to murder the emperor", thus regaining military and political power.
In order to gain the support of the common people and consolidate power, Nero implemented a series of policies of light-heartedness. At the same time, he also carried out anti-corruption and other campaigns, in which all the officials who opposed him were deposed or exiled.
At the same time, he lowered the price of food in order to make it accessible to the commoners, and to prevent the nobles from exploiting the commoners unequally.
Nero's efforts were not in vain. Ancient Rome, which had endured too long of war and famine, soon showed a prosperous scene.
Nero looked at his achievements and couldn't help but be overjoyed. He thought that the dilapidated palace was no longer suitable for living, and he hoped to build a splendid palace. But the palace was surrounded by densely packed houses that could not be expanded. And those houses have also existed for a long time, showing a dilapidated appearance, and the narrow streets have tightly connected the dilapidated houses. In Nero's view, it is really impossible to show his great achievements.
Therefore, Nero repeatedly said in his speech that he was eager to tear down the city of Rome and rebuild it.
Since Nero had said that, there was such an urgent thought. Naturally, after the Fire of Rome, he became the object of everyone's suspicions.
In addition, the Roman historian Tacitus also has a detailed description of this matter in the "History of Tacitus". He mentioned that after the fire spread, many people tried to fight the fire, but they received a warning that "no fire is allowed". At the same time, people were also seen throwing torches around.
Although Tacitus did not say that it was Nero who ordered the people to set fire from beginning to end. But in his description, it is constantly revealed that Nero was the arsonist behind the scenes.
(Statue of Tacitus)
Another Roman biographical historian, Suvitonius, simply said in the "Biography of the Emperor" that Nero openly ordered the city to be lit because he did not like the ugly and dilapidated old buildings and narrow streets of Rome. While several retired archons were in the manor, they encountered Nero's attendants holding hemp shavings and torches and setting fires everywhere. Although they saw it, they did not dare to come forward to stop it.
Of course, the reason why everyone thinks that Nero is behind the arson is also because Nero's private life is improper.
After Nero was in power, he was no longer as respectful to the Senate as he once was. This displeased the nobles and parliamentarians of the Senate, who plotted to assassinate Nero. As a result, Nero took the opportunity to execute them all, which naturally killed many nobles and parliamentarians, and Nero also gained the notoriety of "cruelty".
In addition, Nero also had a penchant for adultery, and he once castrated the little boy Spaurus, dressed him as a beautiful girl, and then held a grand wedding with him, and then treated him like a wife.
In addition, almost all the people around Nero were defiled by him.
In the end, his absurdity and fornication were almost unspeakably high, which also made him infamous.
(Great Roman Fire)
Although Nero was not in the city when the fire spread, he quickly returned after receiving the news. He not only opened the palace to house civilians affected by the disaster, but also actively mobilized food from various places to solve the problem of hunger. But for the people who lost their homes, he still can't get rid of the suspicion. Especially after Nero soon built a golden "Golden Palace" on the ruins, everyone believed that he caused the fire.
Nero, in order to get rid of the suspicion, accused that this was a conspiracy of the Christian system. He then ordered a mass hunt for Christians to quench their anger.
It is impossible to know whether the "Roman fire" was the work of Nero, but it is indisputable that Christians must have been scapegoats.
Maybe the fire was a natural disaster, maybe it was really man-made, and in any case, the roman city that was rebuilt on the ruins can no longer recreate its original prosperous scene.
(Reference historical materials: "History of Tacitus", "Biography of the Emperor")