By Rainer Sousa
The greatfire from the city ofRome , which took place on the night of July 18, 64, appears as one of the most famous and instigating crimes of all antiquity. After all, living in a time of splendor and prosperity, what would be the motivations for carrying out such an act? Through this question, the figure of the controversial Emperor Nero appears as the key to an answer still debated among specialists and historians.
Known as a tyrannical and authoritarian emperor, Nero ascended to power in Rome at just seventeen years of age and, since then, has lived with the various tricks and conspiracies that surrounded his high post. While living with the threat of his opponents, he was known for overspending, holding large orgies and promoting other exaggerated actions, which gave him the figure of a heavily questioned emperor.
About the terrible fire, many said it would have been another fruit of Nero's disturbed and manipulative mind. For some, he had secretly ordered arson to only beautify some parts of the city of Rome that he didn't like. For others, the same disastrous action would be carried out with the aim of incriminating Christians, who did not submit to the recognition of the emperor as a figure capable of religious devotion.
In this perspective that incriminates the emperor, we would have the confirmation that the power in Rome was subjected to actions that today scandalize many. In addition, reports that Nero carelessly played his harp while the city burned, contributed to the moral bankruptcy of his image. However, a new historiographical interpretation aims to undertake another reading that moves away from the encounter of such a vile ruler.
Recent research says that Nero was not in the immediate vicinity of Rome when the great fire took place. He was at his residence at Anicus, approximately fifty kilometers away from the capital of the empire. As soon as he learned of the terrible fatality, Nero took the necessary steps to see that the damage was assuaged as possible. However, several Romans swore they saw the emperor's servants distributing the fires around the city.
Studies indicate that the dry climate at the time of the fire would explain the rapid spread of the fire and the various destruction it caused. At the same time, the belief of many Christians in a catastrophic event that would herald the end of time and the repudiation of the veneration of the emperor would have fueled such baseless accusations. Not by chance, Nero would establish the persecution and death of a hundred Christians who wrongfully accused him and also challenged his authority.
Finally, we must point out that Nero himself was questioned by sectors of the nobility that did not approve of his political performance as emperor. A few months after the great fire, which even affected some of the imperial dwellings – such as the newly built “Domus Transitória” and other buildings on the Palatine – Nero was the target of a terrible plot that ended his life. In such a way, we see that other interests and suspects would also be close to those polemical and destructive flames.
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