First, the fire swept violently over the level spaces. There were no walled mansions or temples, or any other obstructions, which could arrest it. Breaking out in shops selling inflammable goods, and fanned by the wind, the conflagration instantly grew and swept the whole length of the Circus. It began in the Circus, where it adjoins the Palatine and Caelian hills. “…Now started the most terrible and destructive fire which Rome had ever experienced. Still, he did use the disaster to further his political agenda and created a more spectacular Rome, a city made of marble and stone with wide streets, pedestrian arcades and ample supplies of water. Despite the well-known stories, there is no evidence that Nero, either started the fire or played the fiddle while it burned. Almost 70 percent of the entire city was destroyed. According to the Roman historian Tacitus three of the 14 city districts were completely burned down, in seven districts only debris and rubble was left from the former buildings, and only 4 districts were not affected. On July 19, 64 AD, the Great Fire of Rome (Latin: Magnum Incendium Romae) occurred and continued burning until July 26 during the reign of emperor Nero. According to Tacitus, Nero targeted Christians as those responsible for the fire. Nero’s Torches by Henryk Siemiradzki (1876).
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