July 19th: The Day Rome Went up in Flames

When in Rome, they say. Well, on July 19th AD 64 that would mean you would be running and screaming whilst an uncontrollable, unstoppable fire chased you out of house and home. Not the best day to do as the Romans do. Tacitus, a senator and historian of the Roman Empire reported the fire spread fast and burned for 6 days, destroying 10 out of the 14 districts of Rome in its path.

   The mystery remains as to who or what started the fire, but various rumours have circulated in the last 1038 odd years. While some placed the blame with Nero, the emperor of Rome at the time, and his apparent motivation to destroy the city; he soon shifted the blame framing the Christians as arsonists. Alternatively, the Great Fire of Rome was just an accident. Whichever story you side with, the event was recorded in three principal accounts by historians Tacitus, Cassius Dio and Suetonius, who each described the same devastating effects upon the city of Rome.