Expert: Francesco Marchesani - 4/19/2005

Question
My question regards Nero's persecution of the Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD.

Why were the Christians chosen to be persecuted rather than the Jews or any other religious sect for that matter?

Answer
Why did Nero blame the Christians? The answer may be that they were living near the place where the fire started: the eastern part of the Circus Maximus. It should be noted that the first Roman Christians were Jews and probably lived with the other Jews. (The separation of Judaism and Christianity probably took place in the second quarter of the second century CE.) One of the Jewish quarters in Rome was just east of the Circus, near the Capena Gate. It is described by the Roman author Juvenal as a slum area:
"Now, the grove with its sacred spring and the shrine [of a water goddess] are rented to Jews, whose worldly goods are no more than a basket and some hay. [...] The wood has become the haunt of beggars." [Satires 3.12-16]
That there were Christians living among the Jewish proletariat, is also suggested by the presence of a very ancient church, the SS. Nereo ed Achilleo, which is, in a venerably old legend, connected with Peter's last days. Both the Capena Gate and this church are situated on the Appian Road, which was also connected with the last days of Peter.
So, there were Jews living near the place where the fire started, and there was another reason to suspect the people near the Capena Gate: their part of the city was not destroyed by the fire. But Nero could never punished the Jews of Rome: there were thousands of them. The Christians, on the other hand, were an easy target.
Moreover, there may have been some element of distorted truth in the accusation, because the Christians believed that Rome would be destroyed during Christ's return. They must have responded enthusiastically when they saw "Babylon" burning, and in fact, Tacitus tells us that at least some of them pleaded guilty, i.e. admitted something that their interlocutors interpreted as a confession.