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Nero was the first Roman Emperor to actively persecute the small sect of Christians. They had grown greatly since the crucifixion of Jesus. They had established themselves in Rome and they had managed to attract many followers. They were not popular with other groups and their beliefs were treated with suspicion. They were after all self-confessed followers of Jesus who had been lawfully executed by the governor of Judea <ref> Tacitus. Annals of Imperial Rome. 67</ref>. In 69 AD a great fire swept through Rome and cause great unrest in the city. It is widely believed that Nero made scapegoats out of the Christians in the city <ref> Holland, p. 334</ref>. According to Tacitus, he was very eager to quell rumours that he was responsible for the fire ‘ consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called "Christians" by the populace’ <ref> Tacitus. The Annals of Imperial Rome. 15. 44</ref>. Nero established a precedent whereby an Emperor could declare the Christians to be public enemies. Nero’s and later persecutions were to shape the nature of Christianity but it did not stop its spread. The many martyrs created by the persecutions only strengthened the faith and it eventually became the state religion of the Empire in the later 4th century AD.
==Nero’s policies in the East==
Nero was a far more active Emperor than many gave him credit for at the time and since. He was particularly interested in the East. His record here was mixed. Nero attempted to permanently annex the Bosphoran Kingdom in the Crimea but his successors reversed this and were content to have it as a client kingdom. Nero fought a war with Parthia. He appointed a commoner to lead the Roman armies and he managed to inflict several defeats on the Parthians <ref> Suetonius. Life of Nero. 43</ref>. Nero was able to turn the strategic kingdom of Armenia into a client kingdom and this allowed him to secure the borders with Parthia. He also obliged the Parthians to hand over some legion ‘eagles’ or standards that had been captured. Nero’ s success against the Parthians meant that the Eastern frontier was at peace for several decades <ref> Tacitus. The Annals of Imperial Rome, 56</ref>. However, during his reign the administration of Judea was poor and this contributed to the great Jewish Revolt (66-71 AD). The Jewish historian stated that the Jews believed him to be a ‘tyrant’ <ref> Josephus. History of the Jewish War, ii</ref>. Perhaps his most lasting legacy was his generally pro-Greek policies in the Eastern half of the Empire. He granted ‘liberties’ to many Greek cities in the eastern portion of his empire. This led them to become economically successful and culturally vibrant <ref> Holland, p. 324</ref> . This partly explains why unlike the west that the east did not succumb to Romanization but remained very much influenced by Hellenic culture. Later emperors such as Hadrian imitated Nero’s policies towards the Greek cities.
[[File:Vespasianus02 pushkin.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Bust of the Emperor Vespasian]]