Mid-July, 64 CE, in the heart of Rome, tragedy struck as fire erupted into a massive inferno. Did Emperor Nero, regent at the time, purposely set the city ablaze or merely preside over the disaster?

Written by Matthew Reich. Narration by Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/great-fire-rome.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

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Roman History Introduction:

Potter, David S. Ancient Rome: A New History. Third Edition. New York, New York: Thames & Hudson, 2018.

On the Great Fire:

Walsh, Joseph J. The Great Fire of Rome: Life and Death in the Ancient City. Witness to Ancient History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019.

Dando-Collins, Stephen. The Great Fire of Rome: The Fall of the Emperor Nero and His City. 1. ed. Cambridge, Mass: Da Capo Press, 2010.

Ancient Authors:

Tacitus, Annals, https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/tacitus/annals/15b*.html

Suetonius, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html