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KF5JRV > TODAY 19.07.26 12:09l 12 Lines 1702 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 28402_KF5JRV
Read: OE5RCO DJ6UX GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jul 19
Path: DB0FHN<OE2XZR<OK1TOR<SR6DWH<SR1BSZ<EA2RCF<LU9DCE<VE3CGR<VK2RZ<W0ARP<
KF5JRV
Sent: 260719/0958Z 28402@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.24
The great fire of Rome breaks out and destroys much of the city beginning on July 19 in the year 64. Despite the well-known stories, there is no evidence that the Roman emperor, Nero, either started the fire or played the fiddle while it burned. Still, he did use the disaster to further his political agenda.
The fire began in the slums of a district south of the legendary Palatine Hill. The areaâ€Ös homes burned very quickly and the fire spread north, fueled by high winds. During the chaos of the fire, there were reports of heavy looting. The fire ended up raging out of control for nearly three days. Three of Romeâ€Ös 14 districts were completely wiped out; only four were untouched by the tremendous conflagration. Hundreds of people died in the fire and many thousands were left homeless.
Although popular legend holds that Emperor Nero fiddled while the city burned, this account is wrong on several accounts. First, the fiddle did not even exist at the time. Instead, Nero was well known for his talent on the lyre; he often composed his own music. More importantly, Nero was actually 35 miles away in Antium when the fire broke out. In fact, he let his palace be used as a shelter.
Legend has long blamed Nero for a couple of reasons. Nero did not like the aesthetics of the city and used the devastation of the fire in order to change much of it and institute new building codes throughout the city. Nero also used the fire to clamp down on the growing influence of Christians in Rome. He arrested, tortured and executed hundreds of Christians on the pretext that they had something to do with the fire.
73 de Scott KF5JRVPmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NAEmail KF5JRV@gmail.com
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