A Christian tradition holds that Nero persecuted the Christians living in Rome because he blamed them for the Great Fire in the year 64 CE, and to divert suspicion from himself. However, historians have been unable to find any evidence of such persecution or even a reason for Nero to want to blame them unjustly - he is believed not to have been in Rome at the time, so did not need to divert suspicion from himself. And there is no record of any Christian mentioning this supposed persecution until some centuries later.
It was following the great fire of Rome in 64AD where he sought to blame the Christians.
Nero ordered the arrest of a few Christians and torture led to others being blamed. Tacitus, although not sympathetic to Christians, thought that Nero persecuted them to avoid blame for his failings.
Pretty much right from the start. Imperial suppression of religious groups, at least those who declined to worship the emperor and the gods of Rome was already customary when he took the throne. Things stepped up after a big fire in Rome and he needed a scapegoat. Some historians believe Nero arranged for the fire himself since he had major urban renewal projects in mind. His boast was that he found a city of brick and left one of marble. On the other hand, there were always fires in Rome (no electricity, remember?) and it was inevitable one was going to get out of hand.
Nero came to power in 54. he was said to have persecuted the Christians after the Great Fire of Rome of 64.
There were no emperors persecuting the Christians in 64 AD. This is a misconception. 64 was the year of the Great Fire of Rome and the emperor Nero was in power. Nero did not persecute the Christians for their religion. Nero punished the Christians for the crime of arson. After the outrage died down, the Christians were free to worship as they saw fit.
The Roman Government began persecuting Christians under Emperor Nero. Nero began to execute large numbers of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, the population searched for a scapegoat and rumors held Nero responsible. To deflect blame, Nero targeted Christians.
Nero
I think the emperor you're wondering about was Roman Emperor Constantine. He, after Nero, stopped persecuting Christians. The legend says that on October 312, in the morning, he saw what looked like a cross in the sky. He prayed, and asked the God of the Christians, to help him win the battle. If he did, he would convert to Christianity. So, after he won the battle. He became a Christian and stopped the Persecution of Nero. And he even put a cross on every soldiers' shield.
There were ten Roman emperors who persecuted the Christians. You can take your pick of Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aureius, Septimus Severus, Maximus the Thracian, Decius, Valerian, and Diocletian.
There were no emperors persecuting the Christians in 64 AD. This is a misconception. 64 was the year of the Great Fire of Rome and the emperor Nero was in power. Nero did not persecute the Christians for their religion. Nero punished the Christians for the crime of arson. After the outrage died down, the Christians were free to worship as they saw fit.
The Roman Government began persecuting Christians under Emperor Nero. Nero began to execute large numbers of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, the population searched for a scapegoat and rumors held Nero responsible. To deflect blame, Nero targeted Christians.
The Roman Government began persecuting Christians under Emperor Nero. Nero began to execute large numbers of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, the population searched for a scapegoat and rumors held Nero responsible. To deflect blame, Nero targeted Christians.
It is a misconception but the book of Revelation is NOT about the Apocalypse. It was written by John when Emperor Nero was persecuting the Christians terribly. It is a letter of encouragement for the Christians not to give up hope. But he couldn't have written 'Nero is being a pain, I know' so instead, Nero is alluded to as monsters.
Nero
I think the emperor you're wondering about was Roman Emperor Constantine. He, after Nero, stopped persecuting Christians. The legend says that on October 312, in the morning, he saw what looked like a cross in the sky. He prayed, and asked the God of the Christians, to help him win the battle. If he did, he would convert to Christianity. So, after he won the battle. He became a Christian and stopped the Persecution of Nero. And he even put a cross on every soldiers' shield.
Nero was not a Roman god, he was an insane Roman emperor.
It seems likely that Decius (249-251) was the first Roman emperor to officially persecute Christians.AnswerYou could loosely say it was Nero, although he did not persecute them for their faith, but for the crime of arson. Some authorities say there was a persecution under the emperor Domitian, other doubt this. The major persecutions came under the emperors Decius, Valerian and Diocletian.
Nero was said to have persecuted the Christians as a scapegoat because there were accusations that he started the Great Fire of Rome in 64. Some modern historians doubt this. It this was the case, the Christians would not have been friends with Nero.
There were ten Roman emperors who persecuted the Christians. You can take your pick of Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aureius, Septimus Severus, Maximus the Thracian, Decius, Valerian, and Diocletian.
It is generally agreed that there was no organised, general, centrally directed persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire before the edict of Emperor Decius in 249. This remained in effect until 251 CE. The "great persecution" of Christians was initiated by Emperor Diocletian in 303 CE. It lasted until 305 in the West, but continued until 311 in the East.
At various times, Romans embraced, ignored or slaughtered Jews and Christians. Nero was notorious for persecuting Christians. Under Hadrian, at least half a million Jews died and many more were enslaved.