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Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, also known as Nero, was Emperor of Rome when the First Jewish-Roman War began in 66 CE. He ordered Vespasian to put down the Jewish Revolt, and together with his son Titus, they eventually subjugated the land and destroyed the Second Temple.[1] According to Roman history, in 68 CE, an uprising against Nero broke out in Rome. He was labeled a public enemy and sentenced to death by the Roman Senate. When Nero discovered his fate, he committed suicide.[2]

Jewish history reveals a different story. The Talmud[3] states that Nero visited Jerusalem during the war. In an attempt to check if fate was on his side, he fired arrows in all four directions. Every one of the arrows landed facing Jerusalem. In an attempt to delve deeper, he asked a Jewish child what verse from the Jewish Bible he was studying. The boy reacted by reading Ezekiel 21: "And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom (Rome) by the hand of My people Israel."

The Roman aristocracy began to view paganism as bankrupt. This prompted a large number of people, particularly the elite, to embrace Judaism. This also prepared the groundwork for the empire's ultimate conversion to Christianity. The religion of Jesus was a lot easier pill to swallow because it provided a kind of ethical monotheism without required commandments such as Sabbath observance and circumcision.


[1] Josephus, War of the Jews III.1.3

[2] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero 47

[3] Babylonian Talmud: Gittin 56

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