Sources: Tacitus, Annals 15.44; Suetonius, Nero 16; 1 Clement (~96 AD); 1 Peter 5:13 (“Babylon” = Rome).

The Neronian persecution (~64 AD) is the first Roman imperial persecution of Christians — triggered by the Great Fire of Rome. Tacitus records that Nero blamed the Christians to deflect suspicion from himself: they were arrested, convicted “not so much for the crime of arson as for hatred of the human race,” and executed “with exquisite cruelty” — some thrown to dogs, some crucified, some burned as human torches in Nero’s garden. Tacitus calls this punishment “deserved” (for their “abominations”) but notes that even Romans felt pity for the victims. Both Peter and Paul are traditionally martyred in Rome during this period (~64–68 AD). The theological impact: (1) Martyrdom theology develops — the martyr as witness (Greek: martus) who testifies to faith through death; (2) “Babylon” as code for Rome — 1 Peter 5:13 and Revelation use “Babylon” to mean Rome, inaugurating a coded anti-imperial language; (3) The question of the state’s legitimacy — Romans 13’s “governing authorities are established by God” and Revelation’s “the Beast” are both responding to Roman imperial power, and their tension has never been fully resolved in Christian political theology.