Editing Persecution of Christians (section)

==== Neronian persecution ====
[[File:Siemiradzki Christian Dirce.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|''A Christian Dirce'', by [[Henryk Siemiradzki]] (1897, [[National Museum, Warsaw]]) A Christian woman is martyred under [[Nero]] in this re-enactment of the myth of [[Dirce]]]]
{{Main|Neronian persecution}}
The first documented case of imperially supervised persecution of Christians in the [[Roman Empire]] begins with [[Nero]] (54–68). In the ''Annals'', [[Tacitus]] states that Nero blamed Christians for the [[Great Fire of Rome]], and while it is generally believed to be authentic and reliable, some modern scholars have cast doubt on this view, largely because there is no further reference to Nero's blaming of Christians for the fire until the late 4th century.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Myth of the Neronian Persecution|last1=Shaw|first1=Brent|journal=The Journal of Roman Studies|volume=105|pages=73–100|doi=10.1017/S0075435815000982|date=14 August 2015|s2cid=162564651}}</ref><ref name="carrier">{{Cite journal|url=https://brill.com/abstract/journals/vc/68/3/article-p264_2.xml|title=The prospect of a Christian interpolation in Tacitus, Annals 15.44.|last1=Carrier|first1=Richard|journal=Vigiliae Christianae|volume=68|issue=3|pages=264–283|doi=10.1163/15700720-12341171|publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]]|date=2 July 2014}}</ref> [[Suetonius]] mentions punishments inflicted on Christians, defined as men following a new and malefic superstition, but does not specify the reasons for the punishment; he simply lists the fact together with other abuses put down by Nero.<ref name="carrier" />{{rp|269}} It is widely agreed on that the [[Number of the beast]] in the [[Book of Revelation]], adding up to 666, is derived from a [[gematria]] of the name of Nero Caesar, indicating that Nero was viewed as an exceptionally evil figure.<ref>Ben Witherington III, Revelation, Cambridge 2003, p177</ref> Several Christian sources report that [[Paul the Apostle]] and [[Saint Peter]] both died during the Neronian persecution.<ref>[[Tertullian]], ''Adversus Gnosticos Scorpiace'', Book 15, Chapters 2-5</ref><ref>[[Lactantius]], ''[[De mortibus persecutorum]]'', Book 2, Chapters 4-6</ref><ref>[[Sulpicius Severus]], ''Chronicorum'', Book 3, Chapter 29.</ref><ref>[[Orosius]], ''Historiarum'', Book 7, Chapters 7-10</ref>