On July 19, 64 CE, a fire started in the enormous Circus Maximus stadium in Rome, now the capital of Italy. Taking advantage of the fire’s destruction, Nero had the city reconstructed in the Greek style and began building a prodigious palace—the Golden House —which, had it been finished, would have covered a third of Rome. The Great Fire of Rome portrayed in an 18th-century painting by a French artist. Brief overview of the events surrounding the Great Fire of Rome. Though much revered by the public, Nero did not have a respectable death and, during a military coup, took his own life four years after the great fire. The great fire that ravaged Rome in 64 illustrates how low Nero’s reputation had sunk by this time. On the evening of July 18, in the scorching summer of 64 CE, a fire started in a shop under the Circus Maximus in Rome. However, after this fire, he faulted the Christians and burned them at the stake and crucified them. The fire quickly spread to … He is blamed for starting the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. The not-so-Great Fire of Rome: Emperor Nero's successors exaggerated its severity to tarnish his legacy, historian claims ... did not turn for long. The Great Fire of Rome . Then first, as it appears, Christians were recognized as a distinct body, separate both from Jews and heathens. The inferno raged for six days and seven nights, flaring sporadically for an additional three days. Ancient historians blamed Rome's infamous emperor, Nero, for the fire. Not good, Nero. Not Good. Undoubtedly, the main event and threat to Nero’s reign was the Great Fire, which began on July 19, 64 AD and lasted for six days. In a hot July summer of 64 A.D., a fire broke out near the Capena Gate (the marketplace near the Circus Maximus) and spread quickly across the entire Circus, and finally it was completely out of control, the fire destroyed nearly half of Rome. Their number must have been already very great at Rome to account for the public notice attracted towards a sect whose members were, most of them, individually so obscure in social position (1Corinthians 1:26). 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 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. Rome was divided in fourteen districts, where ten of them became destroyed, hundreds of people died, and thousands became homeless. When the fire was finally extinguished six days later, 10 of Rome's 14 districts were burned. (Hubert Robert / Public domain ) The Great Fire of Rome mostly destroyed the lush Palatine and Esquiline hills where the upper classes lived. Emperor Nero surveys the damage in Rome after the Great Fire of 64 A.D. One dubious story holds that he blamed, and punished, the city’s Christians for the devastating blaze. The fire brought a new era of Roman architecture and lifestyle, cementing it as an important position in the running course of history. On July 19, AD 64, a fire broke out in Rome, destroying ten of the city’s fourteen districts. Rome is often referred to as the eternal city, as it has an ancient history and isn’t going anywhere these days either. This was the long-desired objective of all the people who felt subjugated by Rome.” Moreover, the Book of Revelation, written a mere 30 years later, seems to equate evil with Rome.