In the summer of 64 AD, Rome burned, and Emperor Nero needed someone to blame.

As flames consumed the Eternal City, rumors swirled that the emperor himself had ordered the fire. To deflect outrage, Nero turned on a small, misunderstood religious group: Christians. What followed was one of the first state-sponsored persecutions in Western history — brutal executions meant to terrify and entertain the Roman public alike.

At the center of this terror stood two of Christianity's most influential figures: Peter, the fisherman-turned-apostle, and Paul, the former persecutor who became the faith's greatest missionary. Both would meet their deaths under Nero's reign — one crucified upside down, the other beheaded outside Rome's walls.

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