NERO AND THE GREAT FIRE IN ROME — AD 64 -- In AD 64, flames tore through Rome’s crowded wooden districts, turning night into a storm of smoke and ash. As families fled toward the Tiber, Emperor Nero faced a city in panic—orders shouted, streets jammed, rumors spreading faster than fire. From the Palatine heights, the glow painted temples and tenements the same color. When dawn finally came, survivors searched the ruins as officials planned wider streets and tougher building rules. The blaze last

The Great Fire of Rome

The Great Fire of Rome | Origins