Nero

Nero was the Roman emperor during Christianity's first great persecution, the ruler to whom Paul appealed and under whom Peter and Paul traditionally were martyred. His name became synonymous with tyranny and persecution in Christian memory.

He became emperor at sixteen when his mother Agrippina poisoned her husband Claudius. His early reign, guided by the philosopher Seneca and the prefect Burrus, was relatively moderate. Ancient historians called this his "quinquennium"—five good years. But after he freed himself from these advisors' influence, his character deteriorated.

Paul appealed to "Caesar" while Nero reigned. The appeal brought Paul to Rome, where he spent two years under house arrest—able to receive visitors and preach the gospel but chained to a guard. Whether Paul was released after this imprisonment, conducted further ministry, and was rearrested, or whether he was executed following this first imprisonment, remains historically uncertain.

The great fire of Rome in AD 64 proved decisive for Christians. When rumors spread that Nero himself had started the fire (he allegedly sang while watching it burn), he deflected blame onto Christians. The historian Tacitus describes the resulting persecution: Christians were "covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired."

Tradition holds that Peter was crucified (upside down, at his request, feeling unworthy to die as Christ died) and Paul was beheaded (a Roman citizen's privilege, sparing him crucifixion) during this persecution. Both apostles thus met their end under Nero's reign.

Nero's final years were chaos—rebellion, paranoia, and eventual suicide in AD 68 when the senate declared him a public enemy. He died at thirty, having reigned for nearly fourteen years. His death ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty; civil war followed.