The
Great Fire of Rome broke out in the shops around the Circus
Maximus (chariot stadium) and almost destroyed the entire
city.
Since
a majority of the city's buildings were made of wood the
fire spread quickly. It completely leveled III
of XIV 'suburbs', severely
damaged VII suburbs
and left only IV areas
untouched. The fire also destroyed Emperor Nero's palace
and several important temples.
Historians differ on how long the fire lasted but the common
view is that it burnt for V
days & VI nights.
Nero went on to build new palace complex and to make new
laws to ensure buildings were made out of marble & stone,
the streets were widened and water was made available throughout
the entire city. The debris from the fire was used to fill
in marshes around the city which stopped the spread of the
disease malaria.
There
is an urban myth that states, 'Nero fiddled while Rome burned'.
This cannot be true since the violin was not invented for
another M years. Plus
Roman historians place Nero in another part of the country
at the time of the fire.
NB
An anachronism is something that is out of place in time.
