July 19: Great Fire of Rome Begins (AD 64)
Prayer Idea
Pray for people who fight fires and for people who suffer from their effects.
History Note
On July 19 in the year 64, a fire began in the cramped shops around the Circus Maximus in Rome. Fires in the city were not uncommon, but this particular fire quickly became uncontrollable. It burned for several days, destroying three of Rome’s 14 districts and damaging parts of seven others. Hundreds of people died and thousands more lost their homes and livelihoods.
Roman author Tacitus (who lived from about 56 to 120) described the fire in his book Annals. This quotation is from a translation by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb:
The blaze in its fury ran first through the level portions of the city, then rising to the hills, while it again devastated every place below them, it outstripped all preventive measures; so rapid was the mischief and so completely at its mercy the city, with those narrow winding passages and irregular streets, which characterised old Rome. Added to this were the wailings of terror-stricken women, the feebleness of age, the helpless inexperience of childhood, the crowds who sought to save themselves or others, dragging out the infirm or waiting for them, and by their hurry in the one case, by their delay in the other, aggravating the confusion.
The Roman emperor at this time was Nero. Some people accused Nero of celebrating the fire or even starting it by his command. To deflect criticism, Nero used the growing religious group known as Christians as a scapegoat for the disaster, ordering that Christians be arrested and executed. As Tacitus reported:
But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, 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 by the populace.
The destruction of Rome gave Nero an opportunity to rebuild according to his preferences. In addition to building an elaborate palace known as the Golden House, he instituted regulations intended to prevent widespread destruction by fire. These included a limit on the height of houses, open spaces between sections of the city, more use of stone instead of wood, and greater access to water supplies.
Cities bring people close together, which facilitates cultural, economic, and technological collaboration. That closeness also makes them vulnerable to devastation by fire, as seen in subsequent major fires such as those in London in 1666, Chicago in 1871, and Los Angeles in 2025.
In 1785 French artist Hubert Robert painted this image of the Great Fire of Rome.
Learn More
This overview of the fire includes scenes reenacting the terror and destruction people faced.
Find other resources at Homeschool History.
