The fire that destroyed some two-thirds of Rome began on this date in 64. Popular myth has it that Rome's emperor at that time, Nero, fiddled as he watched Rome burn. He blamed the fire on the Christians, a claim that led to the first Roman persecutions. Hated for his cruelty and extravagances, a revolt of both citizens and senators of Rome – including his own Praetorian Guard – drove Nero to commit suicide four years later.