Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

The Christian Martyrs of Rome 

    Nero's 10th year marked the beginning of several years of persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire. 

This was the first major persecution against Christians that proceeded from a Roman emperor. Previous 

persecutions had been initiated by various Jewish leaders, or by lesser Roman leaders (such as Herod Agrippa 

I). The persecution began with a great fire in Rome. Dio Cassius tells us that Nero himself sent out men to 

start fires in the city, deliberately to destroy the city and so to increase his greatness by being the last emperor 

of Rome.

682

 Tacitus gives a different reason, that Nero wanted to found a new city in place of Rome, and name 

it after himself.

683

 Perhaps they were both correct. In any case, as the people of Rome began to suspect that 

Nero was the instigator of this great fire of Rome, he tried to deflect their suspicions by blaming the 

Christians.

684

 Many Christians in Rome were arrested, charged with  hatred of the human race,  and put to 

death in torturous ways.

685

The Martyrdom of Mark 

    Mark journeyed to Alexandria in Egypt and established a community of Christians there. The holiness of 

the church he founded is extolled by Eusebius, Philo, and Jerome.

686

 According to Jerome:  He died in the 

eighth year of Nero and was buried at Alexandria, Annianus succeeding him.  In this revised chronology, the 

8th year of Nero was 

A.D.

 47. 

    The above reassessment of Jerome's date for the death of James the Less places some doubt on the 

statement of Jerome and Eusebius that Mark the Gospel writer died in Nero's eighth year.

687

  In the eighth 

year of Nero's reign Annianus was the first after Mark the evangelist to take charge of the see of 

Alexandria. 

688

 Despite this assertion, Mark's martyrdom may have been placed in Nero's 8th year because it 

was the year after James the Less' martyrdom. Note that Albinus, who took office at the time of James the 

Less' death, came to Jerusalem directly from Alexandria, so that the dates of those two events, James' death in 

Jerusalem and Mark's death in Alexandria, may have become connected.

689

 If so, then Mark's death should be 

placed in Nero's 11th year. This conclusion fits into the political events of the time. Nero began to openly 

persecute Christians after the fire at Rome during his 10th year. Once people learned that the Roman Empire 

was persecuting and killing Christians, there would have been an implied permission for them to do the same. 

    How soon would the people of Alexandria in Egypt have found out that Nero was persecuting Christians? 

The burning of Rome occurred in Nero's 10th year, in July.

690

 After the fire, people began to talk among 

themselves about the cause of the fire. Many suspected that Nero had ordered the burning of Rome. This idea 

took time to be formulated and  to spread among the people. Eventually, Nero began to realize that people 

were accusing him. Though the fire occurred in July of Nero's 10th year, Nero's persecution of Christians was 

not immediate. According to Tacitus, at first Nero tried other strategies to end these accusations.  But neither 

human help, nor imperial munificence, nor all the modes of placating Heaven, could stifle scandal or dispel 

the belief that the fire had taken place by order. 

691

 After these other strategies failed, Nero hit upon the idea of 

accusing the Christians.  

    He blamed the Christians for starting the fire and for other problems in society. In Rome at that time, 

Christians were a minority; their religious beliefs were considered strange; their ideas were unpopular and not 

generally accepted. Tacitus says that the Christians were  loathed for their vices,  and he calls Christianity, 

 the pernicious superstition,  and,  the disease. 

692

 He says that Christianity spread to Rome,  where all 

things horrible or shameful in the world collect and find a vogue. 

693

    So Nero began to torture and to put to death some of the Christians of Rome. When, after a time, he saw 

that this strategy worked to distract people from blaming him for the fire, he continued and increased his 

efforts to persecute and kill Christians in Rome. 

    All of these events took time. He may have begun to put Christians to death by the beginning of autumn, but 

it took time for him to realize that his strategy was working for him. The people of Egypt would not have 

heard of this persecution of Christians right away. The trip by boat from Rome to Egypt may have taken 2 

months, in favorable weather. And in winter the Mediterranean was essentially closed to travel by boat 

because of winter storms and unfavorable sailing conditions. Thus, it was probably not until the spring of 

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