persecution · 64–68 · Rome
After the great fire of July 64, Nero fixed the blame on Rome's Christians. A great multitude were convicted — torn by beasts, crucified, or burned as torches in the imperial gardens. The persecution was local to the city, but it set the precedent that the name alone could be punished; the tradition of the church counts Peter and Paul among its martyrs.
Nero needed the blame for the great fire of Rome.
A great multitude of Rome's Christians tortured to death; Peter and Paul among the martyrs by tradition; the name itself now punishable.