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Wikipedia: Nero - He is infamously known as the Emperor who "fiddled
while Rome burned" and as an early persecutor of Christians - The
Great Fire of Rome erupted on the night of 18 July to 19 July 64 A.D. -
It was said by Suetonius and Cassius Dio that Nero sang the "Sack of
Ilium" in stage costume while the city burned
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. ... According to Tacitus, the population searched for a
scapegoat [for the fire] and rumors held Nero responsible. To deflect blame, Nero targeted Christians. He ordered
Christians to be thrown to dogs, while others were crucified and burned.
SAINTS PERPETUA, FELICITAS, AND COMPANIONS - MARTYRS 203
A.D. - Feast Day: March 6 - The record of the Passion of St. Perpetua,
St. Felicitas, and their Companions is one of the great treasures of
martyr literature, an authentic document preserved for us in the actual
words of the martyrs and their friends - It was in the great African city
of Carthage, in the year 203 A.D. during the persecutions ordered by
the Emperor Severus, that five catechumens [undergoing catechism
studies] were arrested for their faith - The group consisted of a slave
Revocatus, his fellow slave Felicitas, who was expecting the birth of a
child, two free men, Saturninus and Secundulus, and a matron of
twenty-two, Vivia Perpetua, wife of a man in good position and mother
of a small infant
Perpetua's father was a pagan, her mother and two brothers Christians, one of the brothers being a catechumen.
These five prisoners were soon joined by one Saturus, who seems to have been their instructor in the faith and who
now chose to share their punishment. At first they were all kept under strong guard in a private house. Perpetua
wrote a vivid account of what happened. ...
Wikipedia: Emperor Philip [the Arab] of Syria - Roman Emperor from
244 A.D. to 249 A.D. - Among early Christian writers Philip had the
reputation of being sympathetic to the Christian faith - It was even
claimed that he converted to Christianity, becoming the first Christian
Emperor - Philip and his wife received letters from [Christian writer
and theologian] Origen - Origen 184-253 A.D. was an early Christian
Alexandrian scholar and theologian - Philip was overthrown and killed
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