Rome Is Burning: Nero and the Fire That Ended a Dynasty

by Anthony A. Barrett

Overview

Drawing on new archaeological evidence, an authoritative history of Rome’s Great Fire—and how it inflicted lasting harm on the Roman Empire

According to legend, the Roman emperor Nero set fire to his majestic imperial capital on the night of July 19, AD 64 and fiddled while the city burned. It’s a story that has been told for more than two millennia—and it’s likely that almost none of it is true. In Rome Is Burning, distinguished Roman historian Anthony Barrett sets the record straight, providing a comprehensive and authoritative account of the Great Fire of Rome, its immediate aftermath, and its damaging longterm consequences for the Roman world. Drawing on remarkable new archaeological discoveries and sifting through all the literary evidence, he tells what is known about what actually happened—and argues that the disaster was a turning point in Roman history, one that ultimately led to the fall of Nero and the end of the dynasty that began with Julius Caesar.

Rome Is Burning tells how the fire destroyed much of the city and threw the population into panic. It describes how it also destroyed Nero’s golden image and provoked a financial crisis and currency devaluation that made a permanent impact on the Roman economy. Most importantly, the book surveys, and includes many photographs of, recent archaeological evidence that shows visible traces of the fire’s destruction. Finally, the book describes the fire’s continuing afterlife in literature, opera, ballet, and film.

A richly detailed and scrupulously factual narrative of an event that has always been shrouded in myth, Rome Is Burning promises to become the standard account of the Great Fire of Rome for our time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691208503
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	11/10/2020
Series:	Turning Points in Ancient History , #9
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	532,233
File size:	37 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Anthony A. Barrett is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia and visiting professor at the University of Heidelberg. His many books include Caligula: The Abuse of Power and Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome. He is also the coeditor of The Emperor Nero: A Guide to the Ancient Sources (Princeton).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Series Editor's Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xi

Timeline xiii

Prologue 1

I Introduction 7

The Fire

II Fires in Ancient Rome 27

III The Great Fire 57

IV Responsibility 114

The Aftermath

V The Christians and the Great Fire 143

VI The New Rome 175

VII The Significance of the Great Fire 223

Epilogue The Great Fire as an Enduring Cultural Phenomenon 253

Principal Sources: Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dio 259

Notes 269

Glossary 305

Bibliography 311

Index 335

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Was Nero responsible for the devastating fire of AD 64? Did he fiddle while Rome burned? And is it true that Christians were made scapegoats and suffered horrific punishment? With a meticulous but accessible analysis of the latest archaeological research and an expert reading of ancient accounts, Anthony Barrett tackles these questions head-on and makes a persuasive case for seeing the fire and its aftermath as a turning point in the fortunes of imperial Rome.”—Catharine Edwards, author of Death in Ancient Rome

“With its clear narrative and new and insightful interpretations of sources and evidence, Rome Is Burning is an exceptional book from a first-rate Roman historian.”—John Pollini, University of Southern California

“Rome Is Burning offers a clear and thorough reinvestigation of the Great Fire of AD 64 for scholars and general readers alike. It can be recommended not just as a reconstruction of the Neronian fire but also as a thoughtful exploration of how to do ancient history.”—Josiah Osgood, Georgetown University

Editorial Reviews

"Anthony Barrett has produced arguably the most comprehensive and detailed treatment of the fiery disaster. . . .Barrett’s work exemplifies the latest, most detailed and generously illustrated narrative about the Great Fire to date, and would be an asset on the shelf of anyone, scholar or enthusiast, interested in the archaeology and history of Rome."

Popular Archaeology

"Intriguing. . . . A lucid analysis of Nero and the Great Fire, enhanced by Barrett’s clear, engaging style, his obvious love of his subject, and an extensive selection of maps, schematics and photographs. Historically minded visitors to Rome as well as Roman-history enthusiasts will appreciate the erudition and context with which he illuminates one of the great stories—and personalities—of the ancient world."—-Diana Preston, Washington Post

"Barrett’s central and most timely theme is the role of rumour and conspiracy theory in accelerating political change. . . . What matters for Barrett isn’t so much whether Nero started the fire as what it meant to Rome to believe that he had."—-James Romm, London Review of Books

From the Publisher

★ 2020-07-23
A thorough, high-quality work on Emperor Nero and the fire that destroyed Rome in 64 C.E.

A noted biographer of such ancient figures as Caligula and Livia, Barrett focuses on one of the turning points in the history of the Eternal City, one that proved a “human tragedy” of panic, mayhem, horror, death, and loss. Drawing on the latest archaeological discoveries, writing with practiced skepticism, challenging the accounts of ancient chroniclers, and showing his deep learning, the author sorts out and dismisses many of the myths surrounding the fire, which raged for nine days and destroyed two-thirds of the city. Nero didn’t fiddle while the city burned, and no one, including the suspected, martyred Christians, set the fire, whose precise origins remain undetermined. Yet for all that didn’t happen, the conflagration did effectively destroy the Roman economy and Nero’s reputation (although Barrett succeeds in saving what can be saved of the emperor’s name) and led to his leadership’s collapse and the end of the imperial line that began with Julius Caesar. The city’s reconstruction, to which the author devotes much attention, led to architectural innovations like octagonal structures, domes, and the use of concrete vaulting. While context-setting is necessary, there’s excess information about the history of fires, and a couple of the book’s chapters, especially those on the archaeological evidence of the fire’s extent and the city’s rebuilding, may be a test for general readers—but will interest students of the period. On the whole, the book is briskly written in a colloquial voice and succeeds in bringing burning Rome vividly alive. Barrett ends with a distinctive survey of the places of Nero and the fire in a variety of artistic disciplines, including literature, film, and opera. An unusual number of maps and photos add greatly to the reading experience.

Sure to be the most enduring treatment of this major historical event for some time.

Kirkus Reviews