It is said that "Rome burned while Nero fiddled." In 64 AD, when he was in control of the Roman Empire, Nero asked the Senate for a plot of land upon which he could build his masterpiece, the Domus Aurea, or the Golden House. The Senate denied his proposal; this angered the emperor to no end, and soon after, the exact place which he was refused mysteriously burned to the ground. Only four of Rome's fourteen districts were not damaged by the flames. Immediately, the citizens of Rome suspected Nero to be the culprit of the crime. The emperor blamed the Christians for this tragedy and made it legal and lawful to punish them. His declaration was called Christiani non sint which means, "Let the Christians be exterminated." This event marks the beginning of a long, arduous battle for the Christians living in the Roman Empire.
The followers of Christ were brutally slaughtered and tortured following Nero's order to persecute them; they were sewn into the hides of wild animals and hidden in fields so that they could be torn apart by huge dogs, crucified, …show more content…
Also, martyrs such as St. Perpetua, who died by getting her throat slashed open, and St. Polycarp, who died by burning, inspired people with their faith and courage to convert to Christianity. Eventually this inspiration reached the emperor of the time, Constantine, and he too became a disciple of Christ. Constantine was converted when he was leading his troops into battle; he saw a symbol which looked like the intersection of the Greek letters chi and rho in the sky with the inscription in hoc signo vinces which means "in this sign you will be victorious." This sign became an insignia of his regime. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, effectively making it legal to practice the Christian faith in the Roman
The followers of Christ were brutally slaughtered and tortured following Nero's order to persecute them; they were sewn into the hides of wild animals and hidden in fields so that they could be torn apart by huge dogs, crucified, …show more content…
Also, martyrs such as St. Perpetua, who died by getting her throat slashed open, and St. Polycarp, who died by burning, inspired people with their faith and courage to convert to Christianity. Eventually this inspiration reached the emperor of the time, Constantine, and he too became a disciple of Christ. Constantine was converted when he was leading his troops into battle; he saw a symbol which looked like the intersection of the Greek letters chi and rho in the sky with the inscription in hoc signo vinces which means "in this sign you will be victorious." This sign became an insignia of his regime. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, effectively making it legal to practice the Christian faith in the Roman