The Great Fire of Rome
Friday July 20th 64 A.D.
I have just returned from my expeditions in Sudan and arrived in the port of Ostia which is situated on the Italian Peninsula and about 32 kilometers from the city of Rome. I was on my way to the city when out in the distance, I could see the skies were black. After a few hours of walking and as I got closer towards Rome, I could see orange hue coming from the city. As I approached closer, I could smell smoke in the in the air, and then I could that the city was on fire. According to the locals, the fire had been burning for over a day now. It had broken out near the merchant markets outside of the Coliseum Circus Maximus. At one point the whole stadium which stretched for at least a mile was engulfed in flames. From there on out the flames had spread from section of the city to another. The city has had its fair shares over the year, but this fire I believe has been the most devastating. It has been almost two weeks now, with the fire burning for six days straight. At one point it died down it died down then immediately started back up. In all, I count a total of nine days the fire has raged since its outbreak. I can only imagine in a city of a million people, the hundreds of thousands that have now been left displaced and homeless due to the fire’s destruction. This once great city now mostly reduced to ashes and ruin. I hear that of the 14 districts of Rome, only 4 remain standing, a few completely wiped out, the rest were reduced to the bones and foundation. In the aftermath, Emperor Nero had returned to the city from Antium with plans to build his new palace over the now burnt ruins. Over the past few weeks, I have heard whispers from citizens around town that it was Nero himself who was responsible for starting these fires. People are beginning to speculate that this was his plans all along in order build his grand new palace. Other sources have told me that the Emperor is aware of these accusations and is looking to redirect the blame. Rumors are spreading that he looks find a scapegoat as cause for the fire, in the new religious sect known as Christians. I fear the worst is yet to come for this religioous group.
"The Fire of Rome" by Robert Hubert (1785)
