Tacitus records on the Christian persecution in Rome.

This passage is a early

witness by a Roman historian to the presence of the Christian movement and
evidence for the existence of a historical Jesus. It's also evidence for
persecution of Christians by the Romans. On July, 19th, 64 A.D. a fire started in
Rome and burned for nine days, finally destroying or damaging almost three
quarters of the city, including numerous public buildings. Rumors spread that the
fire had been planned by Nero. And according to Tacitus, to put an end to such
rumors, Nero blamed the disaster on the Christians. The persecution of Christians
under Nero after the fire: "Yet no human effort, no princely largess nor
offerings to the gods could make that infamous rumor disappear that Nero had
somehow ordered the fire. Therefore, in order to abolish that rumor, Nero falsely
accused and executed with the most exquisite punishments those people called
Christians, who were infamous for their abominations. . . . Therefore, first those
were seized who admitted their faith, and then, using the information they
provided, a vast multitude were convicted, not so much for the crime of burning
the city, but for hatred of the human race. And perishing they were additionally
made into sports: they were killed by dogs by having eh hides of beasts attached
to them, or they were nailed to crosses or set aflame and when the daylight passed
away, they were used as nighttime lamps. Nero gave his own gardens for this
spectacle and performed a Circus game, in the habit of a charioteer mixing with
the plebs or driving about the race-course. Even though they were clearly guilty
and merited being made the most recent example of the consequences of crimes,
people began to pity these sufferers, because they were consumed not for the
public good but on account of the fierceness of one man." From Tacitus, The
Annals, 44.2-44.5. Why did Nero blame the Christians? The answer may be that they
were living near the place where the fire started: the eastern part of the Circus
Maximus. It should be noted that the first Roman Christians were Jews and probably
lived with the other Jews. One of the Jewish quarters in Rome was just east of the
Circus, near the Capena Gate. It is described by the Roman author Juvenal as a
slum area:

Now, the grove with its sacred spring and the shrine [of a water goddess] are
rented to Jews, whose worldly goods are no more than a basket and some hay. [...]
The wood has become the haunt of beggars.
[Satires 3.12-16]
But Nero could never punished the Jews of Rome: there were thousands of them. The
Christians, on the other hand, were an easy target. Moreover, there may have been
some element of distorted truth on the part of their accusers, because the
Christians believed that Rome would be destroyed during Christ's return. Tacitus
tells us that at least some of them pleaded guilty, i.e. admitted to something
that their interlocutors interpreted or used as a confession. Perhaps these were
tortured or forced confessions. Their execution (in a circus on the Vatican hill,
where Nero's family possessed a villa and a park) was a kind of comic relief to
the badly hit Romans. There were many victims - both Tacitus and a very ancient
Christian document, the First letter of Clement 6.1, mentions 'an immense
multitude'. Regardless of how they died, no doubt that they were used as
scapegoats for the fire that burned down much of Rome. They remained faithful unto
Christ Jesus in all things even unto their death, that they might obtain eternal
life.