"appellera l'histoire"""". Great figures of the past have stories told about them which grow in the telling, and so become myths and legends which may dominate or displace the more prosaic historical facts about them. For example, some ancient chroniclers said that the Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but Tacitus disputed this by saying the stories were just malicious rumours. Similarly, there is no good evidence that Marie-Antoinette ever said ""let them eat cake"", or that Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry. Thomas Carlyle pointed out that even to the person living it, every life ""remains"
"the fire to remove suspicion from himself. According to this account, many Christians were arrested and brutally executed by ""being thrown to the beasts, crucified, and being burned alive"". Suetonius and Cassius Dio alleged that Nero sang the ""Sack of Ilium"" in stage costume while the city burned. The popular legend that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned ""is at least partly a literary construct of Flavian propaganda [...] which looked askance on the abortive Neronian attempt to rewrite Augustan models of rule."" According to Tacitus, Nero was in Antium during the fire. Upon hearing news of the fire,"
"had started the fire himself. To divert attention from himself, Nero accused the Christians of starting the fire and persecuted them, making this the first documented confrontation between Christians and the authorities in Rome. Tacitus never accused Nero of playing the lyre while Rome burned – that statement came from Cassius Dio, who died in the 3rd century. But Tacitus did suggest that Nero used the Christians as scapegoats. No original manuscripts of the ""Annals"" exist and the surviving copies of Tacitus' works derive from two principal manuscripts, known as the ""Medicean manuscripts"", written in Latin, which are held in"
"Great Fire of Rome The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire in July of the year 64 AD. It caused widespread devastation in the city on 18 July, before being brought under control after six days. Differing accounts either blame Emperor Nero for initiating the fire or credit him with organizing measures to contain it and provide relief for refugees. According to Tacitus and later Christians, Nero blamed the devastation on the Christian community in the city, initiating the empire's first persecution against the Christians. The varying historical accounts of the event come from three secondary sources—Cassius Dio,"
"which usually accompany the storming of a besieged city. Nonetheless, the written sources do not mention damages wrought by fire, save the Gardens of Sallust, which were situated close to the gate by which the Goths had made their entrance; nor is there any reason to attribute any extensive destruction of the buildings of the city to Alaric and his followers. The Basilica Aemilia in the Roman Forum did burn down, which perhaps can be attributed to Alaric: the archaeological evidence was provided by coins dating from 410 found melted in the floor. The pagan emperors' tombs of the Mausoleum"
"is sometimes said to have been “fluctuating between the parties of Cinna and Sulla,” it is unclear what facts indicate support of Sulla. As both Cicero and Valerius Maximus note, the Sullan regime established that same year took no action in the matter, even though the legitimate governor of a major province had been killed. Both sources state that the violence in Utica was instigated not by Africans rebelling against Rome, but by Roman citizens (""cives""). At first glance, Orosius seems to contradict both Cicero and Valerius, claiming that Hadrianus was burned alive with his entire household because he had"
"Suetonius and Tacitus. The primary accounts, which possibly included histories written by Fabius Rusticus, Marcus Cluvius Rufus and Pliny the Elder, did not survive. At least five separate stories circulate regarding Nero and the fire: Tacitus describes the fire as beginning in shops where flammable goods were stored, in the region of the Circus neighboring the Caelian and Palatine Hills of Rome. The night was a windy one and the flames rapidly spread along the full length of the Circus. The fire expanded through an area of narrow, twisting streets and closely located apartment blocks. In this lower area of"
"the Senate. In the midst of these developments, Hybrida first tried to remain on the fence, but was forced to action in the face of the risk of having himself charged as a co-conspirator. On 6 November 63, Cicero learned of a plot to have himself and other members of the Senate assassinated and Rome set on fire and sacked. While all of this was happening, Catiline and an army of his supporters, under the command of Gaius Manlius, were to march on Rome in response to this attack and bring Rome to its salvation. This did not happen, and"
"was repeatedly damaged by fire and storms, but carefully restored to its original state on each occasion. Destruction by fire is recorded for 38 BC, as a result of a ceremony held inside the ""casa"" by the ""pontifices"" (""College of High Priests""), presumably a burnt sacrifice to Romulus in his deified state as the god Quirinus, during which the altar-fire probably ran out of control. The last recorded fire was in 12 BC, on the death of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, right-hand man of the first Roman emperor, Augustus (ruled 30 BC - AD 14). On this occasion, the ""casa"" was"
"no references to the persecution of Christians by the Roman state prior to Nero, who according to Tacitus and later Christian tradition, blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome in 64, which destroyed portions of the city and economically devastated the Roman population. Tacitus records (Annals 15.44) that Nero was rumored to have ordered the fire himself, and in order to dispel the accusations, accused and savagely punished the already-detested Christians. Suetonius mentions that Christians were killed under Nero's reign, but does not say anything about the fire (Nero 16.2) Scholars disagree about whether Christians were persecuted solely under"
"a pail of water, Virgilius jumped into it, saying he was going to Sicily and magically vanished. Andrew Lang has heavily bowdlerized his sources here; in the original Medieval tradition, the fire could only be rekindled from her vagina. The story was very popular with Renaissance artists. The Metropolitan Museum has a Venetian ""confittiera"" (ca. 1475–1500) showing Febilla standing on the square with raised skirt, a gift by J. Pierpont Morgan. The fairy tale says that it is unknown how he reconciled with the emperor, but he next made statues of the gods of every country, including Rome, with bells"
"of the war the Carthaginians did not seriously challenge Roman supremacy. The Roman fleet was hence engaged primarily with raiding the shores of Africa and guarding Italy, a task which included the interception of Carthaginian convoys of supplies and reinforcements for Hannibal's army, as well as keeping an eye on a potential intervention by Carthage's ally, Philip V. The only major action in which the Roman fleet was involved was the siege of Syracuse in 214–212 BC with 130 ships under Marcus Claudius Marcellus. The siege is remembered for the ingenious inventions of Archimedes, such as mirrors that burned ships"
"on grounds of infertility, and banished her. After public protests over Octavia's exile, Nero accused her of adultery with Anicetus and she was executed. In 64, Nero married Pythagoras, a freedman. The Great Fire of Rome erupted on the night of 18 July to 19 July, AD 64. The fire started on the slope of the Aventine overlooking the Circus Maximus. Tacitus wrote that some ancient accounts described the fire as an accident, while others had claimed that it was a plot of Nero's. Tacitus is the only surviving source which does not blame Nero for starting the fire; he"
"struggle against the Arabs would lead to its discovery being ascribed to divine intervention. The Emperor Constantine Porphyrogennetos (r. 945–959), in his book ""De Administrando Imperio"", admonishes his son and heir, Romanos II (r. 959–963), to never reveal the secrets of its composition, as it was ""shown and revealed by an angel to the great and holy first Christian emperor Constantine"" and that the angel bound him ""not to prepare this fire but for Christians, and only in the imperial city."" As a warning, he adds that one official, who was bribed into handing some of it over to the"
"Rome was unofficially occupied by Octavian is unknown, but feasible, since he had always overseen parts of his divine father's cult in Rome. After Antony's death the position of ""flamen Divi Iulii"" in the city of Rome was assumed by a Sextus Apuleius. The date of his inauguration is unknown, but it must have been before the consecration of the ""Ara Pacis Augusteae"" in July 13 BC, because the southern frieze shows all four ""flamines maiores"". The right dating might also be dependent on the correct identity of Apuleius. It was mostly assumed that the husband of Octavia maior and"
"were reduced to a few scorched and mangled ruins and only 4 completely escaped damage. Great Fire of Rome The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire in July of the year 64 AD. It caused widespread devastation in the city on 18 July, before being brought under control after six days. Differing accounts either blame Emperor Nero for initiating the fire or credit him with organizing measures to contain it and provide relief for refugees. According to Tacitus and later Christians, Nero blamed the devastation on the Christian community in the city, initiating the empire's first persecution against"
"from the spoils. Tiberius, however, refused to take anything else save some incense used for sacrificial rituals. Tiberius' actions stirred up a frenzy in Rome; his opponents argued that Tiberius' negotiation made Rome appear weak and the losers of the war, while his proponents maintained that the general Mancinus was several times defeated and had tried to ignobly retreat and Tiberius' actions saved the lives of many citizen-soldiers. The people voted to have Mancinus sent back to the Numantines in chains, a proposition Mancinus himself accepted, though later the Numantines refused to accept him as a prisoner. Scipio Aemilianus played"
"of imperially supervised persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire begins with Nero (37–68). In 64 AD, a great fire broke out in Rome, destroying portions of the city and economically devastating the Roman population. Some people suspected that Nero himself was the arsonist, as Suetonius reported, claiming that he played the lyre and sang the 'Sack of Ilium' during the fires. In his ""Annals"", Tacitus (who wrote that Nero was in Antium at the time of the fire's outbreak), stated that """"to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a"
"a terrible sickness despite all his sacrifices to the Roman gods. At a tavern, his friends suggest that he find some evidence that the Christians were responsible for burning down Rome despite rumors abounding that it was Nero who started the fire. The Christian community continues to suffer losses, including a Roman boy named Tarquin who was sent to enlist the aid of citizens sympathetic to the Christians' plight. Tarquin's cousin, Cassius, adamantly calls for Christians to take up arms and seek revenge against the Romans for all their persecutions. But, Aquila rebukes him by saying that Paul never sought"
"the Roman Empire begins with Nero (37–68). In 64 AD, a great fire broke out in Rome, destroying portions of the city and economically devastating the Roman population. Nero himself was suspected as the arsonist by Suetonius, claiming he played the lyre and sang the 'Sack of Ilium' during the fires. In his ""Annals"", Tacitus (who claimed Nero was in Antium at the time of the fire's outbreak), stated that ""to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians [or Chrestians] by the populace"""
"should emerge first with the Holy Fire led to a struggle between the factions. In the course of the scuffle the Armenian's candle was blown out, forcing him to reignite his ""Holy Fire"" using a cigarette lighter, while the Greek Patriarch was despoiled of one of his shoes. In the end the Israeli Police entered the premises to restore order. According to Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi, the 13th century Ayyubid ruler Al-Muazzam Turanshah is mentioned as having discovered the fraudulence of the Holy Fire; however, he allowed the monks to continue their fraud in exchange for money. This is written in"
"the Saepta Julia among others. Once again, Titus personally compensated for the damaged regions. According to Suetonius, a plague also broke out during the fire. The nature of the disease, however, or the death toll are unknown. Meanwhile, war had resumed in Britannia, where Gnaeus Julius Agricola pushed further into Caledonia and managed to establish several forts there. As a result of his actions, Titus received the title of Imperator for the fifteenth time, between September 9 and December 31, 79 AD. His reign also saw the rebellion led by Terentius Maximus, one of several ""false Neros"" who appeared throughout"
"is supposed to have broken in front of it. The temple was destroyed by a fire during the reign of Claudius, though the Muses were rescued. It was not rebuilt at this site. Sulla identified himself so closely with the quality of ""felicitcas"" that he adopted the ""agnomen"" (nickname) ""Felix."" His domination as dictator resulted from civil war and unprecedented military violence within the city of Rome itself, but he legitimated his authority by claiming that the mere fact of his victory was proof he was ""felix"" and enjoyed the divine favor of the gods. Republican precedent was to regard"
"fire to his own ships, which, after burning the docks, thence spread on and destroyed the great library."" The Roman historian Cassius Dio ( 155 – 235 AD), however, writes: ""Many places were set on fire, with the result that, along with other buildings, the dockyards and storehouses of grain and books, said to be great in number and of the finest, were burned."" However, Florus and Lucan only mention that the flames burned the fleet itself and some ""houses near the sea"". Scholars have interpreted Cassius Dio's wording to indicate that the fire did not actually destroy the entire"
"al-Qarafi's work ""al-Ajwiba"", one of many polemic works exchanged between Christians and Muslims of that period. In 1238, Pope Gregory IX denounced the Holy Fire as a fraud and forbade Franciscans from participating in the ceremony. Similarly, many Christians have remained unconvinced by the occurrence. The Ottoman traveller, Evliya Celebi, claimed that a hidden zinc jar of naphtha was dripped down a chain by a hidden monk. Edward Gibbon wrote scathingly about the alleged phenomenon in the concluding volume of ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"": This pious fraud, first devised in the ninth century,"
"the Great Fire of Rome of 64 AD, in order to entertain the people of Rome after that fire. It is believed that Nero replaced the timber bridge of the Via Triumphalis with the stone bridge named after him, the Pons Neronianus or 'Triumphalis' because the Via Triumphalis, the Triumphal Way, passed over it. The people of Rome most likely crossed the Pons Neronianus to get to the Circus of Nero. Starting with Titus, the victorious Emperors celebrating their Triumphs entered Rome marching across the Pons Neronianus along the Via Triumphalis. It is probable that the capacity of the Pons"
"on the slopes of the Capitoline Hill in Rome in the area that would later become the Comitium and Roman Forum. It was located in the open here, between the hill-villages, in the days before Rome existed, because the fire god was considered to be too destructive to be located anywhere near an occupied house. (He was mainly worshiped in order to avert fires.) It contained a lotus tree and cypress tree long honored as being older than the city of Rome itself. According to literary sources, the site originally featured a sculpture of a four-horse chariot (""quadriga"") celebrating Romulus'"
"Rome Burning Rome Burning is the second book of Sophia McDougall's trilogy, following her debut novel, ""Romanitas"", set in a world where the Roman Empire has survived to contemporary times. Three years after the events of ""Romanitas"", the Roman Empire is on the brink of war with Nionia (Japan), and plagued by a sequence of mysterious wildfires. Marcus Novius, the young heir to the Roman throne is forced to take charge as Regent when the Emperor Faustus falls suddenly ill. Marcus attempts to recruit Varius as his advisor, but Varius, who is still haunted by the events of the first"
"heard on the summit of the mount complaining that the Albans had failed to show devotion to their former gods, and a pestilence struck in Rome. King Tullus became ill and was filled with superstition. He reviewed the commentaries of Numa Pompilius and attempted to carry out sacrifices recommended by Numa to Jupiter Elicius. However, Tullus did not undertake the ceremony correctly, and both he and his house were struck by lightning and reduced to ashes as a result of the anger of Jupiter. As with those of all the early kings of Rome, the events ascribed to the reign"
"reinstated no later than 25 August 410 and the overall trend of repression of paganism continued. Procopius mentions a story in which Honorius, on hearing the news that Rome had ""perished"", was shocked, thinking the news was in reference to his favorite chicken he had named ""Roma"". On hearing that Rome itself had fallen he breathed a sigh of relief: Alaric then moved south, intending to sail to Africa, but his ships were wrecked in a storm and he shortly died of fever. His successor Ataulf, still regarded as an usurper and given only occasional and short-term grants of supplies,"
"unhindered. According to Tacitus, Nero was away from Rome, in Antium, when the fire broke out. He returned to the city and took measures to bring in food supplies and open gardens and public buildings to accommodate refugees. After six days the organized clearing of built-up areas brought the conflagration to a halt before it reached the Esquiline Hill. There was a further outbreak in the Aemilian district, involving the destruction of temples and arcades but less loss of life. However the fire was now under control. According to Tacitus, of Rome's 14 districts, 3 were completely devastated, 7 more"
"in the civil war of the 80s BC. In 63 BC Caesar was elected to the position of the Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of the Roman state religion, which came with an official residence on the ""Via Sacra"". In 62 BC Pompeia hosted the festival of the Bona Dea (""good goddess""), which no man was permitted to attend, in this house. However a young patrician named Publius Clodius Pulcher managed to gain admittance disguised as a woman, apparently for the purpose of seducing Pompeia. He was caught and prosecuted for sacrilege. Caesar gave no evidence against Clodius at his"
"Domitian, was involved with the scheme. When a freedman bursts in to inform the Emperor that the Temple of Hercules Gaditanus is on fire, Anacrites is sent to the Transtiberina to find a freedman (Barnabas) who has been following Falco around, whilst Falco is sent to investigate the arson attack. There he discovers that Curtius Longinus, who had been summoned to Rome to account for his role in the plot, has been killed in the fire. He returns to the palace to be informed that Anacrites had been unable to locate Barnabas, the freedman immediately becoming suspect in the arson"