paul reached rome in chains. just in time for rome's first official persecution of christians at the hands of the emperor, nero. in the year 64 a.d., when a fire destroyed much of imperial rome, nero famously fiddled while he burned. but he had his reasons for letting the fire burn. he wanted to clear out space for grand new buildings. >> the christians living in the south of the city are immune from the fire that sweeps northwards. the christians thought under suspicion, nero, the emperor, being blamed widely, realizes the christians are the scapegoats, the natural scapegoats. >> he apparently had some of them burned as human torches in his gardens. he had others wrapped in animal