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Bust of Nero
This painting represents a bust of Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (37-68 AD), located in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Nero became Emperor of Rome in 54 AD at the age of 17. He was known for his cruelty, he murdered his wife, his mother, his tutor Seneca, Lucan the Poet and he executed leading Roman citizens. He finally committed suicide at the age of 31.
It reveals the image of the Roman Emperor who gave the original order to destroy Jerusalem which resulted in her destruction in 70 AD. The destruction of Jerusalem was dreadfully foreseen and predicted by Jesus 40 years prior: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'" - Matthew 23:37-39 Josephus described the horror: "As the flames shot up, a cry, as poignant as the tragedy, arose from the Jews, who flock to the rescue," - Josephus Josephus also added:
Title: Marble Bust of Nero Nero Chief Events. Son of Agrippina, Claudius' second wife. Murder of his mother. The burning of Rome, attributed to Nero, by him charged to the Christians ; inhuman slaughter of Christians, including the apostles, Peter and Paul. Oppression, confiscations, proscriptions. Murder of Seneca, the philosopher, of lyucian, the poet, of Octavia and Poppaea, Nero's wives. Revolt of Spain, Gaul, Germany, Judaea. Conspiracy of Galba and the soldiers against Nero. Suicide of Nero. Character: " His life divided between frivolity and heartless butchery." "His thirst for blood was insatiable." [Julian Emperors] Reign:
October 13, 54 AD – June 9, 68 AD Nero (5468), whose name became opprobrious, seemed for a short time, while he remained under the wise tutorship of the philosopher Seneca and the Praetor Burrhus, to be an ideal prince. His prodigality, exhausting his resources, was perhaps the principal cause of the terrible change which came over him. All at once the monster was revealed in all his ferocity his life became one tissue of debauchery and crime. Besides being a fratricide and parricide, he was the first persecutor of the Christians (No. 193), and enlivened one of his feats by burning down the city of Home. Jealous of the comedians, he dragged the imperial dignity on to the boards of the theatre, and on being condemned to death by the Senate, he found only this ridiculous complaint, " What an artist the world is about to lose ! " (68). With him the family of Augustus became extinct. The Praetorians recognised G-albx, elected by the legions of Spain ; but the provincial troops, proud of their number and strength, soon began to neglect seeking the concurrence of the Praetorian cohort. This Imperial body-guard, which had assassinated Galba and proclaimed Otho, beheld the latter give place to Bedriac ( 5 9), and essayed in vain to defend a new emperor, Vitellius ; who appeared only on the throne to render his gluttony celebrated, and to leave to posterity an atrocious souvenir of a sanguinary and oppressive government. After this vile tyrant, the Praetorians submitted to the domination of Vespasian, who was supported by the Eastern legions. The military anarchy lasted two years. [INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE] Christian persecution began under Nero. This tyrant, who was accused of the incendiarism of Rome (No. 183), imputed his crime to the Christians, and the new religion was proscribed (64). Fresh torments were invented to punish such an offence as that of which they were pronounced guilty. Repeatedly told that they were odious to mankind, the Christians were clothed in the skins of beasts and thrown to dogs ; or, steeped in resin, they served as torches to illuminate Nero's gardens. Saint Peter was crucified on the Janiculum,1 Saint Paul was beheaded. [Ancient History] Nero. A dish of poisoned mushrooms proved fatal to the weak Claudius, a. d. 54 ; it was prepared by order of his wife Agrippi'na, who had previously secured the succession for Nero, her son by a former husband. This young prince, the grandson of Germanicus, for five years ruled with justice and clemency. He is even said, when required to sign the death-warrant of a malefactor, to have expressed regret that he had ever learned to write. As Nero increased in years, however, he began to show the stuff of which he was made. His murder of Agrippina, who for his sake had become a murderess, commenced a career of crime to which history offers no parallel ; and the only wonder is, that it was so long tolerated by the people. Their forbearance is explained by the liberal largesses of food supplied to them at the expense of the state. As long as they were fed, they were willing to close their eyes to the vices of their emperors, and even to participate therein. In the tenth year of this reign, a conflagration destroyed the greater part of Rome. It was rumored that the emperor himself had fired the city, and enjoyed a view of the flames from a lofty tower, singing the Sack of Troy. To screen himself, he charged the crime upon the Christians, and began a persecution, the details of which are too shocking for recital. Among the martyrs were the apostles Peter and Paul. Tyranny, cruelty, and extortion, at length provoked a conspiracy. Its detection led to fresh murders, which spared not even such men as Lu'can the poet, and Sen'eca the moralist. The family of Augustus was extirpated, and fear of the poisoners and assassins of Nero fell on all the rich and noble. At last the world could endure the monster no longer. His generals revolted ; the senate declared him a public enemy ; and the cowardly despot, fearing to kill himself, received a death-blow at the hands of a slave (a. d. 68). Nero was the last of the Julian line ; but history recognizes Twelve Caesars, the six successors of Nero making up the number. From this time, military command or favor with the army seems to have been the surest road to the imperial throne. During Nero's reign, Boadice'a, a gallant British queen, roused her people to insurrection. London was sacked and burned, and many Romans were massacred ; but at last Boadicea's force was cut to pieces, and she took poison to escape captivity. [Reign of Nero] Nero was the son of Agrippina, and pupil of Seneca. The first five years of his reign were mild and just. But his furious passions soon grew impatient of restraint. He put to death his mother, his brother, his tutor ; set fire to the city, charged the Christians with the crime, and began the persecution of that sect. He prostituted the dignity of his station, and the majesty of Rome, by appearing as a singer on the public stage. The patience of mankind could no longer endure this combination of cruelty, insult, debauchery, and meanness: several conspiracies were formed against him, but without success; the tyrant discovering them in time. At length Galba was declared emperor, and Nero by the senate pronounced a public enemy, and sentenced to death more majorum, which sentence he avoided by a voluntary death. Yet, vile as he was, there were those who loved his memory, and raised monuments to the monster who had perpetrated so many crimes. It is not undeserving of notice, that within a century after the death of Cato, the senate, which once gave laws to the world, was convoked on the solemn occasions of the marriage of Nero with two of his own sex. So utterly can the greatest institutions be degraded ! [Rome an Empire] Nero, A.D. 54-68. The first five years of his reign were marked by the mildness and equity of his government. He discouraged luxury, reduced the taxes, and increased the authority of the Senate. His two preceptors, Seneca and Burrus, controlled his mind, and restrained for a time the constitutional insanity of the Claudian race. At length, however, he sank into licentiousness, and from licentiousness to its necessary attendants, cruelty and crime. From a modest and philosophic youth, Nero became the most cruel and dissolute of tyrants. He quarreled with his mother Agrippina, who for his sake had murdered the feeble Claudius; and when she threatened to restore Britannicus to the throne, he ordered that young prince to be poisoned at an entertainment. In order to marry Poppaca Sabina, a beautiful and dissolute woman, wife of Salvius Otho, he resolved to divorce his wife Octavia, and also to murder his mother Agrippina. Under the pretense of a reconciliation, he invited Agrippina to meet him at Baiae, where she was placed in a boat, which fell to pieces as she entered it. Agrippina swam to the shore, but was there assassinated by the orders of her son. The Roman Senate congratulated Nero upon this fearful deed, while the philosopher Sepeca wrote a defense of the matricide. The philosopher, the Senate, and the emperor seem worthy of each other. It would be impossible to enumerate all the crimes of Nero. In A.D. 64 a, fire broke out in Rome, which lasted for six days, consuming the greater part of the city. Nero was supposed to have ordered the city to be fired, to obtain a clear representation of the burning of Troy, and, while Rome was in flames, amused himself by playing upon musical instruments. He sought to throw the odium of this event upon the Christians, and inflicted upon them fearful cruelties. The city was rebuilt upon an improved plan, and Nero's palace, called the Golden House, occupied a large part of the ruined capital with groves, gardens, and buildings of unequaled magnificence. In A.D. 65 a plot was discovered in which many eminent Romans were engaged. The poet Lucan, Seneca, the philosopher And defender of matricide, together with many others, were put to death. In A.D. 67 Nero traveled to Greece, and performed on the cithara at the Olympian and Isthmian games. He also contended for the prize in singing, and put to death a singer whose voice was louder than his own. Stained with every crime of which human nature is capable, haunted by the shade of the mother he had murdered, and filled with remorse, Nero was finally dethroned by the Praetorian Guards, and died by his own hand, June 9, A.D. 68. He was the last of the Claudian family. No one remained who had an hereditary claim to the empire of Augustus, and the future emperors were selected by the Praetorian Guards or the provincial legions. During this reign, Boadicea, the British queen, A.D. 61, revolted against the Romans and defeated several armies; but the governor, Suetonius Paulinus, conquered the insurgents in a battle in which eighty thousand Britons are said to have fallen. Boadicea, unwilling to survive her liberty, put an end to her life. On the death of Nero, Servius Sulpicius Galba, already chosen emperor by the Praetorians and the Senate, was murdered in the Forum, January, A.D. 69. He was succeeded by Salvius Otho, the infamous friend of Nero, and the husband of Poppsea Sabina. The legions on the Rhine, however, proclaimed their own commander, Vitellius, emperor, and Otho's forces being defeated in a battle near Bedriacum, between Verona and Cremona, he destroyed himself. Vitellius, the new emperor, was remarkable for his gluttony and his coarse vices. He neglected every duty of his office, and soon became universally contemptible. Vespasian, the distinguished general, who had been lighting successfully against the Jews in Palestine, was proclaimed emperor by the governor of Egypt. Leaving his son Titus to continue the war, Vespasian prepared to advance upon Rome. His brave adherent, Antonius Primus, at the head of the legions of the Danube, without any orders from Vespasian, marched into Italy and defeated the army of Vitellius. The Praetorians and the Roman populace still supported Vitellius; a fearful massacre took place in the city, and the Capitoline Temple was burned; but Antonius Primus took the Praetorian camp, and Vitellius was dragged from his palace and put to death, December 20, A.D. 69. [History of Rome] The Death of Nero. Feelings at the Death of Nero ad. 68. Welcome as the death of Nero had been in the first burst of joy only roused various emotions in Rome, among the senators, the people, or the soldiery of the capital, it had also excited all the legions and their generals; for now had been divulged that secret of the empire, that Emperors could be made elsewhere than at Rome. The senators enjoyed the first exercise of freedom with the less restraint, because the Emperor was new to power, and absent from the capital. The leading men of the equestrian order sympathized most closely with the joy of the senators. The respectable portion of the people, which was connected with the great families, as well as the dependants and freedmen of condemned and banished persons, were high in hope. The degraded populace, frequenters of the arena and the theatre, the most worthless of the slaves, and those who having wasted their property were supported by the infamous excesses of Nero, caught eagerly in their dejection at every rumor. [Tacitus: History, Book 1, Chapter 4] Nero spent immense wealth rebuilding Rome and constructed his "golden house" on the Palatine hill. Oppression increased, until all his despotism and crimes led the Gallic and Spanish legions, under Julius Vindex and Servius Sulpicius Galba, to revolt against Nero. When the Roman legions under Galba approached the capital, Nero escaped to his country villa, and riding on a chariot like THE GODDESS FREVA he arrived and proclaimed 'what a great artist the world will lose In me!' and he committed suicide by having a freed slave stab him. Julius Vindex, who had been in Gaul when he revolted against Nero, did not live to see the overthrow of Nero. His army was defeated in an unfortunate battle, brought about by a misunderstanding, with the legions of the Upper Rhine. With Nero the house of Augustus became extinct. Nero in Wikipedia (Latin: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; 15 December 37 – 9 June 68), was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death. During his reign, Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. He ordered theaters built and promoted athletic games. During his reign, the redoubtable general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire. His general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a revolt in Britain and also annexed the Bosporan Kingdom to the Empire, beginning the First Roman–Jewish War. In 64, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne. Facing assassination, he committed suicide on 9 June 68. His death ended the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance. He is known for many executions, including those of his mother and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother, Britannicus. He is infamously known as the Emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned", although this is now considered an inaccurate rumor, and as an early persecutor of Christians. He was known for having captured Christians burned in his garden at night for a source of light. This view is based on the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio, the main surviving sources for Nero's reign. Few surviving sources paint Nero in a favorable light. Some sources, though, including some mentioned above, portray him as an emperor who was popular with the common Roman people, especially in the East. The study of Nero is problematic as some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Nero's tyrannical acts. [Wikipedia] Titus ( ad 39-81), Roman emperor 79-81, son of Vespasian; full name Titus Vespasianus Augustus; born Titus Flavius Vespasianus. In 70 he ended a revolt in Judaea with the conquest of Jerusalem. [Oxford Dictionary]
- Nero Himself - Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus - Agrippina - Nero's dominating mother - Claudius - The emperor before Nero- Octavia - Claudius' daughter and Nero's first wife - Britannicus - Claudius' son and rightful heir to the throne- Seneca and Burrus - Nero's trusted tutors - Poppaea - Nero's second wife- Galba - General in Spain and the next emperor of Rome
- The first Jewish Revolt Against Rome – 66 A.D.
- Cassius Dio Dion Cassius Cocceianus (155-235 A.D. approx.) - Philostratus II Life of Apollonius Tyana (Books 4 and 5) - Jewish and Christian Tradition
Agrippina the elder, sister of Caligula and mother of Nero, was born at Oppidum Ubiorum on the Rhine, afterwards named in her honour Colonia Agrippinae (mod . Cologne) . Her life was notorious for intrigue and perfidy . By her first husband, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, she was the mother of the emperor Nero; her second husband was Passienus Crispus, whom she was accused of poisoning . Assisted by the influential freedman Pallas, she induced her uncle the emperor Claudius to marry her after the death of Messalina, and adopt the future Nero as heir to the throne in place of Britannicus . Soon afterwards she poisoned Claudius and secured the throne for her son, with the intention of practically ruling on his behalf . Being alarmed at the influence of the freedwoman Acte over Nero, she threatened to support the claims of the rightful heir Britannicus . Nero thereupon murdered the young prince and decided to get rid of his mother . Pretending a re-conciliation, he invited her to Baiae, where an attempt was made to drown her on a vessel especially constructed to founder . As this proved a failure, he had her put to death at her country house . Agrippina wrote memoirs of her times, referred to by Tacitus ( Ann. iv . 53) . [Ency Britannica 1911]
Map of the Roman Empire in 68 AD Key Dates in the Life of Nero 37 December 15 Nero is born.39 Claudius marries fourteen year old Valeria Messalina. 39 Messalina bears Claudius a daughter (Octavia).41 Messalina bears Claudius a son (Britannicus). 41 Claudius is Emperor.48 Execution of Messalina. 49 Claudius marries niece Agrippina the Younger, (daughter of Claudius's brother Germanicus).49 Seneca is appointed tutor to Nero. 50 Claudius adopts Nero (then, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus) as his own son, February 25.50 The Senate votes Agrippina the title "Augusta." 51 Claudius Consul.51 Emperor Claudius orders the exile of the Jews from Rome. 53 Nero marries Octavia, Claudius' daughter.54 Claudius poisoned. 54 Claudius dies (Agrippina probably had him poisoned)54 Nero becomes emperor at age 17. Seneca and Burrus are his tutors. 55 Britannicus, the son of Emperor Claudius dies during dinner (Nero probably had him poisoned).58 Beginning of Roman-Parthian hostilities over Armenia. 59 Agrippina the Younger is put to death for criticizing Nero’s mistress.59 Nero begins to get out of control. 60 Paul the Apostle is in Rome60 Revolts break out in Britain against Roman rule. 62 Burrus dies, and Seneca retires.62 Nero divorces Octavia (banishes her and later kills her) 62 Nero marries his mistress Poppaea.64 The Great Fire of Rome 64 First imperial 'persecution' of Christians;65 Work begins on Nero’s 'Golden House' (Domus Aurea) 65 Nero's first public stage performance leads to scandals and plots on his life.65 In the interest of personal security, Nero kills anyone suspected of treason. 65 Seneca is forced to commit suicide.66 Nero continues to execute any suspected of treason. 66 Outbreak of rebellion in Judea, the first Jewish revolt against Rome.66 Nero goes on an extended tour of Greece, many theatrical performances 67 Nero makes Judea consular imperial province67 Nero appoints Vespasian to head campaign against Jews 68 After receiving political pressure about military matters Nero returns to Rome.68 (March) Revolt of Vindex 68 (April) Galba's troops in Spain hail Galba emperor.68 (June 9) Nero is forced to commit suicide (end of Julio-Claudian dynasty). 68 The emperor Nero's assassination launches a year of civil war in Rome.69 Year of the four emperors: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. 69 Vespasian is sole emperor until 79.70 Siege and fall of Jerusalem under military leadership of Vespasian's son, Titus. 70 Colosseum begun by Emperor Vespasian (funded by Jewish defeat).73 AD Masada the final Jewish stronghold is captured after a long siege. 77 Josephus publishes The War of the Jews 80 The New Testament writings were completed by this time (Bible closed).80 The Early Church completed her work (foundation
laid).  Nero, A Heart Message
When the righteous are in authority,
the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
(Proverbs 29:2) Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (December 15, 37 C.E. – June 9, 68 C.E.), born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (54 C.E. - 68 C.E.). Nero became heir to the then emperor, his grand-uncle and adoptive father Claudius. As Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus he succeeded to the throne on October 13, 54 C.E., following Claudius's death. In 66 C.E., he added the prefix imperator to his name. In the year 68 C.E., at 31 years old, Nero was deposed. His subsequent death was reportedly the result of suicide assisted by his scribe Epaphroditos. Popular legend remembers Nero as a pleasure seeker who engaged in petty amusements while neglecting the problems of the Roman city and empire and as the emperor who metaphorically "fiddled while Rome burned." Because of his excesses and eccentricities, he is traditionally viewed as the second of the so-called "Mad Emperors," the first being Caligula. After the Great Fire of Rome in July 64 C.E. much of the population blamed Nero for failing to control the fire. In retaliation, Nero began to persecute Christians. He ordered that Christians were to be arrested and sentenced to be eaten by lions in public arenas, such as the Colosseum, for the entertainment of the common people. Early Christians considered him an anti-Christ. This form of persecution continued more or less unchecked until Constantine the Great legalized Christianity in 313 C.E. Rome's earlier emperors (technically Rome's first citizens) rose to power on the backs of great deeds. Nero, like Caligula, obtained power by the privilege of his birth. Born into great wealth and luxury with little training in administration, a life of indolence was probable for Nero. He was, in a sense, a victim of his own elite status. [New World Encyclopedia] The Great Fire of Rome Great Fire of Rome. In the summer of the 64th year of our era, a great conflagration, which lasted nine days, destroyed or damaged 10 out of the 14 quarters of the city. The Romans were panic-stricken. They believed that the fire was the work ofpaid incendiaries. It was asserted that Nero had watched the flames from a turret of his palace, amusing himself all the while with singing verses on the burning of Troy. The belief gained ground that he had himself caused the conflagration, as a spectacle for his own wanton enjoyment. [Ancient Rome] Christian Persecution First General Persecution (a. d. 64-68). To divert the public indignation from himself and remove these suspicions, the emperor devised the satanical plan of laying this crime to the charge of the Christians. There were many of them already in Rome. As the purity of their lives was a censure on the corruption of the age, and their total separation from pagan festivities an occasion of hatred and contempt, Nero thought them fit subjects for public vengeance. Numbers of them were arrested, and subjected to the most frightful torments. Some, enveloped in the skins of wild beasts, were left to be devoured by dogs. Others were roasted alive ; and many, wrapped in pitched cloth, were set on fire, so as to burn like torches in the imperial gardens. By the light thus afforded Nero delighted to ride through the avenues, in the dress of a charioteer. During this persecution, St. Peter and St. Paul suffered martyrdom at Rome, on the same day, the former by the cross, the latter by the sword. [Ancient Rome] The Death of Nero Death of Nero (a. d. 68).- Nero had gained his object. The first fury of his subjects had been assuaged, and it subsided into mere distrust or careless contempt. True, a plot for the destruction of the tyrant, to which Seneca and Lucan gave their adhesion, was arranged by Piso and other members ofthe aristocracy. But the scheme was betrayed, and the conspirators perished (a. d. 64). For four years longer Nero was allowed to proceed in his career of shame, and plunge still deeper, if possible, into his ignominious prostitution of the Roman character. At last, the news arrived that two provincial governors, Vindex in Gaul and Galba in Spain, had revolted. Virginius, with the legions of Germany, defeated Vindex. But the victors attached themselves to Galba, who at once made preparations to march upon Rome, at the head of the united forces of the two great provinces of the west. Thereupon Nero found himself abandoned by all. The senate decreed his death, and the pretorians refused to draw the sword in his defence. The tyrant fled by night from the city, and hid himself in the villa of one of his freedmen, four miles from Rome. He was traced to his hiding-place by the emissaries of the senate, who were ordered to kill him ' in the ancient fashion,' that is, to beat him with rods till he died. Terrified at the thought of so horrible a death, Nero resolved to anticipate the executioners ; and, as the soldiers were bursting into the house, he stabbed himself, exclaiming : " What a musician the world is going to lose ! " With him, the adoptive race of the great dictator was extinguished. Henceforth, most of the emperors will be selected by the pretorian guards or the provincial legions. [Ancient Rome] * See Suetonius and Cassius Dio Suicide. Returning to Rome after the following year, Nero found quite a cold atmosphere; Gaius Julius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, revolted, and this brought Nero to a paranoid hunt for eventual threats. In this state of mind he ordered the elimination of any patrician (aristocrat) with suspect ideas. His once faithful servant Galba, governor of Iberia, was one of those dangerous nobles, so he ordered his death. Galba, lacking any choice, declared his loyalty to the Senate and the people of Rome, no longer recognizing Nero's authority. Moreover, he started organizing his own campaign for the empire.As a result, Lucius Clodius Macer, legate of the legion III Augusta in Africa, revolted and stopped sending grain to Rome. Nymphidius corrupted the imperial guard, which turned against Nero on the promise of financial reward by Galba. The Senate deposed Nero, and declared him an enemy of the state. Nero fled, and committed suicide on June 9, 68 C.E. It is said that he uttered these last words before slitting his throat: “Qualis artifex pereo; What an artist dies in me!" Other sources, however, state that Nero uttered his last words as he lay bleeding to death on the floor. Upon seeing the figure of a Roman soldier who had come to capture him, the confused and dying emperor thought that the centurion was coming to rescue him, and muttered the (arguably less grotesque) "hoc est fides." A literal translation would be "this is fidelity," but "what faithfulness" [on the part of the soldier] is probably closer to what Nero meant. With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end. Chaos ensued in the Year of the Four Emperors. [New World Encyclopedia] Jewish Account of Nero. A Jewish legend contained in the Talmud (tractate Gittin 56B) claims that Nero shot four arrows to the four corners of the earth, and they fell in Jerusalem. Thus he realized that God had decided to allow the Temple to be destroyed. He also requested a Jewish religious student to show him the Bible verse most appropriate to that situation, and the young boy read to Nero Ezekiel's prophecy about God's revenge on the nation of Edom[10] for their destruction of Jerusalem. Nero thus realized that the Lord would punish him for destroying his Temple, so he fled Rome and converted to Judaism, to avoid such retribution. In this telling, his descendant is Rabbi Meir, a prominent supporter of Bar Kokhba's rebellion against Roman rule (132 C.E.–135 C.E.). [New World Encyclopedia] The Corruption of Nero Suetonius notes, "Besides the abuse of free-born
lads, and the debauch of married women, he committed a rape upon
Rubria, a Vestal Virgin. He was upon the point of marrying Acte, his
freedwoman, having suborned some men of consular rank to swear that
she was of royal descent. He gelded the boy Sporus, and endeavoured
to transform him into a woman. He even went so far as to marry him,
with all the usual formalities of a marriage settlement, the rose-coloured
nuptial veil, and a numerous company at the wedding. When the
ceremony was over, he had him conducted like a bride to his own
house, and treated him as his wife. It was jocularly observed by
some person, "that it would have been well for mankind, had such a
wife fallen to the lot of his father Domitius." This Sporus he
carried about with him in a litter round the solemn assemblies and
fairs of Greece, and afterwards at Rome through the Sigillaria,
dressed in the rich attire of an empress; kissing him from time to
time as they rode together." (Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Nero,
XXVIII).
Nero in Easton's Bible Dictionary
occurs only in
the superscription (which is probably spurious, and is altogether
omitted in the R.V.) to the Second Epistle to Timothy. He became
emperor of Rome when he was about seventeen years of age (A.D. 54),
and soon began to exhibit the character of a cruel tyrant and
heathen debauchee. In May A.D. 64, a terrible conflagration broke
out in Rome, which raged for six days and seven nights, and totally
destroyed a great part of the city. The guilt of this fire was
attached to him at the time, and the general verdict of history
accuses him of the crime. "Hence, to suppress the rumour," says
Tacitus (Annals, xv. 44), "he falsely charged with the guilt, and
punished with the most exquisite tortures, the persons commonly
called Christians, who are hated for their enormities. Christus, the
founder of that name, was put to death as a criminal by Pontius
Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius; but the
pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not
only throughout Judea, where the mischief originated, but through
the city of Rome also, whither all things horrible and disgraceful
flow, from all quarters, as to a common receptacle, and where they
are encouraged. Accordingly, first three were seized, who confessed
they were Christians. Next, on their information, a vast multitude
were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city as of
hating the human race. And in their deaths they were also made the
subjects of sport; for they were covered with the hides of wild
beasts and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set
fire to, and, when day declined, burned to serve for nocturnal
lights. Nero offered his own gardens for that spectacle, and
exhibited a Circensian game, indiscriminately mingling with the
common people in the habit of a charioteer, or else standing in his
chariot; whence a feeling of compassion arose toward the sufferers,
though guilty and deserving to be made examples of by capital
punishment, because they seemed not to be cut off for the public
good, but victims to the ferocity of one man." Another Roman
historian, Suetonius (Nero, xvi.), says of him: "He likewise
inflicted punishments on the Christians, a sort of people who hold a
new and impious superstition" (Forbes's Footsteps of St. Paul, p.
60). Nero was the emperor before whom Paul was brought on his first
imprisonment at Rome, and the apostle is supposed to have suffered
martyrdom during this persecution. He is repeatedly alluded to in
Scripture (Acts 25:11; Phil. 1:12, 13; 4:22). He died A.D. 68.
Nero in Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
Claudius
Caesar. The sixth of the Roman emperors, born at Antium, in Latium,
A.D. 37, nine months after the death of Tiberius. He was the son of
Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus, and
was originally named Lucius Domitius. After the death of Ahenobarbus,
and a second husband, Crispus Passienus, Agrippina married her
uncle, the emperor Claudius, who gave his daughter Octavia in
marriage to her son Lucius, and subsequently adopted him with the
formal sanction of a lex Curiata. The education of Nero was
carefully attended to in his youth. He was placed under the care of
the philosopher Seneca, and appears to have applied himself with
considerable perseverance to study. He is said to have made great
progress in Greek, of which he gave a specimen in his sixteenth
year, by pleading in that tongue the rights of the Rhodians, and of
the inhabitants of Ilium (Suet. Nero, 7; Tac. Ann. xii. 58). At the
death of Claudius (A.D. 54), while Agrippina, by flatteries and
lamentations, detained Britannicus, the son of Claudius and
Messalina, within the palace, Nero, presenting himself before the
gates, was lifted by the guard-in-waiting into the covered chariot
used for the purpose of carrying in procession an elected emperor,
and was followed by a multitude of the people, under the illusion
that it was Britannicus. He entered the camp, promised a donative to
the cohorts, was saluted emperor, and pronounced before the Senate,
in honour of Claudius, a panegyric composed by his preceptor Seneca.
Coin of Nero. Agrippina soon endeavoured to obtain the chief
management of public affairs; and her vindictive and cruel temper
would have hurried Nero, at the commencement of his reign, into acts
of violence and bloodshed, if her influence had not been
counteracted by Seneca and Burrus, to whom Nero had intrusted the
government of the State. Through their counsels the first five years
of Nero's reign were distinguished by justice and clemency; and an
anecdote is related of him, that, having on one occasion to sign an
order for the execution of a malefactor, he exclaimed, “Would that I
could not write!” (Suet. Nero, 10). He discouraged public informers,
refused the statues of gold and silver which were offered him by the
Senate and people, and used every art to ingratiate himself with the
latter. But his mother was enraged to find that her power over him
became weaker every day, and that he constantly disregarded her
advice and refused her requests. His neglect of his wife Octavia,
and his criminal love of Acté, a woman of low birth, still farther
widened the breach between him and his mother. She frequently
addressed him in the most contemptuous language; reminded him that
he owed his elevation solely to her, and threatened that she would
inform the soldiers of the manner in which Claudius had met his end,
and would call upon them to support the claims of Britannicus, the
son of the late emperor. The threats of his mother only served to
hasten the death of Britannicus, whose murder forms the commencement
of that long catalogue of crimes which afterwards disgraced the
reign of Nero. But while the management of public affairs appears,
from the testimony of most historians, to have been wisely conducted
by Burrus and Seneca, Nero indulged in private in dissipation and
profligacy. He was accustomed, in company with other young men of
his own age, to sally into the streets of Rome at night, in order to
rob and maltreat passengers, and even to break into private houses
and carry off the property of their owners. But these extravagances
were comparatively harmless; his love for Poppaea, whom he had
seduced from Otho, led him into more serious crimes. Poppaea, who
was ambitious of sharing the imperial throne, perceived that she
could not hope to attain her object while Agrippina was alive, and,
accordingly, induced Nero to consent to the murder of his mother.
The entreaties of Poppaea appear to have been supported by the
advice of Burrus and Seneca; and the philosopher did not hesitate to
justify the murder of a mother by her son (Tac. Ann. xiv. 11;
Quint.viii. 5). In the eighth year of his reign, Nero lost his best
counsellor, Burrus; and Seneca had the wisdom to withdraw from the
court, where his presence had become disliked, and where his
enormous wealth was calculated to excite the envy even of the
emperor. About the same time Nero divorced Octavia and married
Poppaea, and soon after put to death the former on a false
accusation of adultery and treason. In the tenth year of his reign
(A.D. 64) Rome was almost destroyed by fire. Of the fourteen
districts into which the city was divided, four only remained
entire. The fire originated at that part of the Circus which was
contiguous to the Palatine and Coelian Hills, and raged with the
greatest fury for six days and seven nights; and, after it was
thought to have been extinguished, it burst forth again, and
continued for two days longer. Nero appears to have acted on this
occasion with the greatest liberality and kindness; the city was
supplied with provisions at a very moderate price; and the imperial
gardens were thrown open to the sufferers, and buildings erected for
their accommodation. But these acts of humanity and benevolence were
insufficient to screen him from the popular suspicion. It was
generally believed that he had set fire to the city himself, and
some even reported that he had ascended the top of a high tower in
order to witness the conflagration, where he amused himself with
singing the “Destruction of Troy.” From many circumstances, however,
it appears improbable that Nero was guilty of this crime. His guilt,
indeed, is asserted by Suetonius ( Nero, 38) and Dio Cassius (lxii.
17), but Tacitus admits that he was not able to prove the truth of
the accusation ( Ann. xv. 38). In order, however, to remove the
suspicions of the people, Nero spread a report that the Christians
were the authors of the fire, and numbers of them, accordingly, were
seized and put to death. Their execution served as an amusement to
the people. Some were covered with skins of wild beasts, and were
torn to pieces by dogs; others were crucified; and several were
smeared with pitch and other combustible materials, and burned in
the imperial gardens in the night: “Whence,” says the historian,
“pity arose Nero. (Bust in the Louvre.) for the guilty (though they
deserved the severest punishments), since they were put to death,
not for the public good, but to gratify the cruelty of a single man”
(Tac. Ann. xv. 44). In the following year (A.D. 65) a powerful
conspiracy was formed for the purpose of placing Piso upon the
throne, but it was discovered by Nero, and the principal
conspirators were put to death. Among others who suffered on this
occasion were Lucan and Seneca; but the guilt of the latter is
doubtful. (See Seneca.) In the same year Poppaea died, in
consequence of a kick which she received from her husband while she
was in an advanced state of pregnancy. A long list of victims is to
be found in the pages of the annalists. The distinguished general
Domitius Corbulo, Thrasea Paetus, and Barea Soranus are among these.
During the latter part of his reign, Nero was principally engaged in
amateur theatricals, and in contending for the prizes at the public
games. He had previously appeared as an actor on the Roman stage;
and he now visited in succession the chief cities of Greece, and
received no less than 1800 crowns for his victories in the public
Grecian games. He also began the canal across the Isthmus of
Corinth, but ordered the work to be stopped (Dio Cass. lxiii. 6 foll.),
leaving its completion to our own times (1893). On his return to
Italy he entered Naples and Rome as a conqueror, and was received
with triumphal honours. But while he was engaged in these
extravagances, Vindex, who commanded the legions in Gaul, declared
against his authority; and his example was speedily followed by
Galba, who commanded in Spain. The praetorian cohorts espoused the
cause of Galba, and the Senate pronounced sentence of death against
Nero, who had fled from Rome as soon as he heard of the revolt of
the Praetorian Guards. Nero, however, anticipated the execution of
the sentence which had been passed against him, by requesting one of
his attendants to put him to death, after making an ineffectual
attempt to do so with his own hands. He died A.D. 68, in the
thirty-second year of his age, and the fourteenth of his reign. See
the chapter in Baring-Gould's Tragedy of the Caesars, vol. ii.
(1892).
Arch of Titus in Wikipedia
The Arch of Titus is a 1st-century honorific arch located on the Via
Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was
constructed in c.82 AD by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after
the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus'
victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD...
Significance. The Arch provides one of the few contemporary
depictions of Temple period artifacts. The seven-branched menorah
and trumpets are clearly depicted. It became a symbol of the Jewish
diaspora. In a later era, Pope Paul IV made it the place of a yearly
oath of submission. Roman Jews refused to walk under it. The menorah
depicted on the Arch served as the model for the menorah used on the
emblem of the state of Israel...
=========================== THE ARCH
OF TITUS. It was erected in commemoration of the capture and
destruction of Jerusalem, and in honour of the successful general,
by the Senate and Roman people. Crowning the highest point of the
Sacred Way, the Summa Sacra Via, not only is it the most elegant of
all the triumphal arches, but also, as from its connection with
Scripture history it has been justly styled, " one of the most
interesting ruins in Rome." It consists of a single arch of white
marble, flanked by a fluted Composke column. During the pontificate
of Pius VII it was rescued from impending ruin by extensive and
judicious restorations; which, however, unlike the ancient portions,
were executed in travertine. The sculptures with which it is
embellished are of a very elaborate character. Those of the frieze
represent a procession of warriors conducting white bulls or oxen to
the sacrificial altar ; the keystone of the arch is adorned with a
spirited figure of a Roman warrior. On the attic, he who runs may
read the original inscription ; which, it is evident, from the use
of the word divo ("divine"), was recorded after the death of Titus,
the "delight of the human race," and, probably, by his successor
Domitian. It runs thus: The piers, under the arch, are covered with bas-reliefs of remarkable interest. On the one side may be seen a body of Roman soldiers bearing the precious spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem ; among which conspicuously shine the golden table, the silver trumpets, and the seven- ranched candlestick of massive gold, which afterwards fell into the Tiber from the Milvian Bridge, during the flight of the Emperor Maxentius before the victorious arms of Constantine." The size of this candlestick, as here represented, appears to be nearly a man's height : so that both in size and form these bas- reliefs perfectly correspond with the description of Josephus, and are the only authentic representations of these sacred objects." On the other side we see the Imperator himself, crowned by the goddess Victory, seated in his triumphal quadriga, or chariot drawn by four horses, with the lictors bearing their laurel-wreathed fasces before him, and around him soldiers and citizens, cheering tumultuously, and waving boughs of laurel. The vaulted roof of the arch is richly ornamented with sunk panels and roses, while a central bas- relief is devoted to the apotheosis of Titus. The length of the arch is 49 feet; its breadth, 16 feet 6 inches ; its height is equal to its length. The width of its passage, or opening, is 19 feet. Above the entablature rises an attic, 12 feet in height. The arch is semicircular, and springs from a horizontal moulding, called the impost which crosses the front of the building at about 22 feet from the ground. The height of the Composite marble columns on either side of the opening is 22,065 feet, and they stand upon pedestals 9 feet high. [Roman Architecture] THE SACRA VIA AND THE VELIA. The Sacra via, the oldest and most famous street in Rome, began at the sacellum Streniae a shrine mentioned only in this connection, and undoubtedly near the lucus Streniae in the Colosseum valley, and ran northwest to the summit of the Velia, which it crossed near the arch of Titus. This was the summa Sacra via, and from here the street curved toward the north and entered the Forum at the fornix Fabianus. Its course from this point to the Capitol has been described . Originally the name Sacra via was given only to that part of the street which was between the Velia and the Forum, but it was soon made to include the whole extent from the Colosseum to the Forum, and in modern times even the part within the Forum. The part from the Forum to the Velia was also called the Sacer clivus. [Topography of Ancient Rome 1911]
The Destruction of Jerusalem. Vespasian committed the care of the war against the Jews to his son Titus ; for after the ascension of our Saviour, the Jews, in addition to their wickedness against him, were now incessantly plotting mischief against his apostles. First they slew Stephen by stoning him, next James, who first obtained the episcopal seat at Jerusalem, after the ascension of our Saviour. . . . But the rest of the apostles they harassed in many ways with a view to destroying them, and they drove them from the land of Judea. These apostles accordingly went to preach the gospel to all nations, relying upon the aid of Christ, when he said, " Go and teach all nations in my name." The whole body of the church at Jerusalem, however,— when commanded by a divine revelation given to men of approved piety there before the war, — removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town called Pella beyond the Jordan. The Jews formed their line close under their walls, whence if successful they might venture to advance, and where if repulsed they had a refuge at hand. . . . The Romans then began to prepare for an assault. It seemed beneath them to await the result of famine. . . . But the commanding situation of the city the Jews had strengthened by enormous works which would have been a thorough defense even for level ground. Two hills of great height they fenced in with walls skillfully bent inward in such a manner that the flank of an assailant was exposed to missiles. The work ended in a precipice ; the towers they had raised to a height of sixty feet where the hill lent its aid to the fortification ; where the ground fell, they were a hundred and twenty feet high. These towers presented a marvelous appearance, and to a distant spectator seemed to be of uniform height. There had been prodigies, which this nation, prone to superstition but hating all religious rites, did not deem it lawful to expiate by offerings and sacrifice. They had seen hosts joining battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the temple illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds. The doors of the inner shrine suddenly opened, and a voice of more than mortal tone was heard to cry that the Gods were going away. At the same instant there was a mighty stir as of departure. A few put a fearful meaning on these events, but in most people was a firm persuasion that the ancient records of their priests contained a prediction that at this very time the East was to grow powerful, and rulers from Judea were to acquire universal empire. These mysterious prophecies had pointed to Vespasian and Titus ; but the common people, with the usual blindness of ambition, had interpreted these mighty omens in their own favor, and could not be brought even by disasters to believe the truth. In computing the whole number of the slain, the historian says, that eleven hundred thousand perished by famine, and that the rest, including factions and robbers, mutually informing against each other after the capture, were put to death. Of the young men the tallest and those distinguished for beauty were kept for the triumph. Of the remaining multitude all above seventeen were sent as prisoners to labor in the mines of Egypt. Great numbers, however, were distributed among the provinces, to be destroyed by the sword or by wild beasts in the theatres. Those under seventeen were carried away to be sold as slaves. In the last named class alone were as many as ninety thousand. Vespasian died on the eighth of the calends of July at the age of sixty-nine years. [Story of Rome] The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called The Great Revolt (Hebrew: המרד הגדול, ha-Mered Ha-Gadol), was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews of Judaea Province (Iudaea), against the Roman Empire. The second was the Kitos War in 115–117 CE; the third was Bar Kokhba's revolt of 132–135 CE). The Great Revolt began in the year 66 CE, initially due to Greek and Jewish religious tensions, but later escalated due to anti-taxation protests and attacks upon Roman citizens.[2] The Roman military garrison of Judaea was quickly overrun by rebels and the pro-Roman king Agrippa II fled Jerusalem, together with Roman officials to Galilee. Cestius Gallus, the legate of Syria, brought the Syrian army, based on XII Fulminata, reinforced by auxiliary troops, to restore order and quell the revolt. The legion, however, was ambushed and defeated by Jewish rebels at the Battle of Beth Horon, a result that shocked the Roman leadership. The Roman command of the revolt's suppression was then handed to general Vespasian and his son Titus, who assembled four legions and began cleansing the country, starting with Galilee, in the year 67 CE. The revolt ended when legions under Titus besieged and destroyed the center of rebel resistance in Jerusalem in the year 70 CE, and defeated the remaining Jewish strongholds later on. [Wikipedia] The Fall of Jerusalem. The siege of Jerusalem, the capital city, had begun early in the war, but had turned into a stalemate. Unable to breach the city's defences, the Roman armies established a permanent camp just outside the city, digging a trench around the circumference of its walls and building a wall as high as the city walls themselves around Jerusalem. Anyone caught in the trench attempting to flee the city would be captured, crucified, and placed in lines on top of the dirt wall facing into Jerusalem. The two Zealot leaders, John of Gischala and Simon Bar Giora, only ceased hostilities and joined forces to defend the city when the Romans began to construct ramparts for the siege. Those attempting to escape the city were crucified, with as many as five hundred crucifixions occurring in a day. Titus Flavius, Vespasian's son, led the final assault and siege of Jerusalem. During the infighting inside the city walls, a stockpiled supply of dry food was intentionally burned by Sicarii to induce the defenders to fight against the siege instead of negotiating peace; as a result many city dwellers and soldiers died of starvation during the siege. Zealots under Eleazar ben Simon held the Temple, Sicarii led by Simon Bar Giora held the upper city. Titus eventually wiped out the last remnants of Jewish resistance. By the summer of 70, the Romans had breached the walls of Jerusalem, ransacking and burning nearly the entire city. The Romans began by attacking the weakest spot: the third wall. It was built shortly before the siege so it did not have as much time invested in its protection. They succeeded towards the end of May and shortly afterwards broke through the more important second wall. The Second Temple (the renovated Herod's Temple) was destroyed on Tisha B'Av (29 or 30 July 70). Tacitus, a historian of the time, notes that those who were besieged in Jerusalem amounted to no fewer than six hundred thousand, that men and women alike and every age engaged in armed resistance, everyone who could pick up a weapon did, both sexes showed equal determination, preferring death to a life that involved expulsion from their country. All three walls were destroyed and in turn so was the Temple, some of whose overturned stones and their place of impact can still be seen. John of Giscala surrendered at Agrippa II's fortress of Jotapata and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The famous Arch of Titus still stands in Rome: it depicts Roman legionaries carrying the Temple of Jerusalem's treasuries, including the Menorah, during Titus's triumphal procession in Rome... The defeat of the Jewish revolt altered the Jewish diaspora, as many of the Jewish rebels were scattered or sold into slavery. Josephus claims that 1,100,000 people were killed during the siege, a sizeable portion of these were at Jewish hands and due to illnesses brought about by hunger. "A pestilential destruction upon them, and soon afterward such a famine, as destroyed them more suddenly." 97,000 were captured and enslaved and many others fled to areas around the Mediterranean. The Jewish Encyclopedia article on the Hebrew Alphabet states: "Not until the revolts against Nero and against Hadrian did the Jews return to the use of the old Hebrew script on their coins, which they did from motives similar to those which had governed them two or three centuries previously; both times, it is true, only for a brief period." Titus reportedly refused to accept a wreath of victory, claiming that he had "lent his arms to God". [Wikipedia] Josephus Describes the Siege. "Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be done), [Titus] Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and Temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as they were of the greatest eminence; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne; and so much of the wall enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison [in the Upper City], as were the towers [the three forts] also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall [surrounding Jerusalem], it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it [Jerusalem] had ever been inhabited. This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind... And truly, the very view itself was a melancholy thing; for those places which were adorned with trees and pleasant gardens, were now become desolate country every way, and its trees were all cut down. Nor could any foreigner that had formerly seen Judaea and the most beautiful suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a desert, but lament and mourn sadly at so great a change. For the war had laid all signs of beauty quite waste. Nor had anyone who had known the place before, had come on a sudden to it now, would he have known it again. But though he [a foreigner] were at the city itself, yet would he have inquired for it... The slaughter within was even more dreadful than the spectacle from without. Men and women, old and young, insurgents and priests, those who fought and those who entreated mercy, were hewn down in indiscriminate carnage. The number of the slain exceeded that of the slayers. The legionaries had to clamber over heaps of dead to carry on the work of extermination." [Josephus]
Judaea Capta coins were originally issued by the Roman Emperor Vespasian to commemorate the capture of Judaea and the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by his son Titus in 70 AD during the First Jewish Revolt. Josephus. The main account of the revolt comes from Josephus, the former Jewish commander of Galilee who, after capture by the Romans after the Siege of Yodfat, attempted to end the rebellion by negotiating with the Judeans on Titus's behalf. Josephus and Titus became close friends, and later Josephus was granted Roman citizenship and a pension. He never returned to his homeland after the fall of Jerusalem, living in Rome as a historian under the patronage of Vespasian and Titus. He wrote two works, The Jewish War (c. 75) and Jewish Antiquities (c. 94) which, on occasion, are contradictory. These are the only surviving source materials containing information on specific events occurring during the fighting. But the material has been questioned because of claims that cannot be verified by secondary sources and because of Josephus' potential bias as a client of the Romans and defender of the Roman cause. Only since the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls has some solid confirmation been given to the events he describes. [Wikipedia]
The Word "Caesar" is Mentioned many Times
in the Bible Luke 3:1 - Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene.
Matthew 22:21 - They
say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them,
Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are
Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. Some Scriptures mentioning the word "Rome"
Acts 23:11
- And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of
good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so
must thou bear witness also at Rome.
Daniel 2:40 - "And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all [things]: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise." Acts 23:11 - And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
Related Pages:
Nero: People - Ancient Rome - Bible History Links - Nero in Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities Claudius Caesar. The sixth of the
Roman emperors, born at Antium, in Latium, A.D. 37, nine months after the ...
Bible History Online - Arch of Titus Menorah Relief - 1 - This wall relief on the Arch of Titus reveals one of the most troubling scenes in all history, Roman soldiers carrying
spoils from the destruction of the Temple of ...
More Images of Rome's Emperors Also see Roman Emperors - Photos, information , coins
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