Assassin's Creed Netflix - 64 AD Roman Empire

In light of Netflix’s announcement of an Assassin’s Creed TV series set in 64 AD, I thought it might help for people to understand what was going on during that time and events and things we could possibly expect. Considering this was during the reign of Nero, there is plenty for them to work with.

Now one of the first things to understand is that 64 AD was the year of the Great Fire of Rome which lasted for 10 days and burned 14 of Rome’s districts. It was a devastating fire and while Rome was no stranger to them, being more or less a tinder box, it was made far worse by strong winds. Spokane, WA faced a similar fire in 2026 and is still recovering months later and we have the benefit of better logistics and technology to help with rebuilding and relief efforts. A common myth is that Nero is the one who ordered the fire set and played the lyre while Rome burned. Nero was not actually in Rome when the fire happened, being in Antium instead, and actually tried to help with relief efforts, including paying out of his own pocket and opening his palace as a shelter and making sure to prevent starvation after such a disaster. It is thought though, given that he was being blamed for the fire regardless, he chose the Christians as a scapegoat and revealed some of his cruelty by punishing them for what was essentially a freak accident.

While Rome was rebuilt to be a bit more spread out and have some wider roads, Nero did not do himself any favors with his next building project: Domus Auera. This palace was massive and put Rome into debt building, leading to higher taxes. You can be in any country in the world and know how grumpy people get when you increase taxes, and this is only made worse when it is a personal project rather than for anything that would benefit everyone. This was a stark contrast from his first few years as Emperor where even if his ideas and initiatives weren’t great, they were well-intentioned and he had a good government. However this might also be because his mother Agrippina was really doing the ruling through her son, even appearing on some of the coins instead of the Emperor himself. And as his cruelty began to get into full swing, it was no surprise he had plans to kill him shortly after the fire.

While I can’t find any sources saying he had any direct involvement, he was made heir to the kingdom of Iceni along with the two daughters of the King: Prasutagus. His will however, was ignored by the Romans upon his death. This led to Rome flogging his wife and raping his two daughters as they annexed Iceni into Britannia. Unfortunately for them: his wife was a woman named Boudica. And in 60-61AD, after Rome did this to her, she raised an army and raised hell, even burning Londonminium to the ground. Her rampage terrified Rome and Nero and I hope that even though she would have been dead for at least three years at this point, that there is at least a line or easter egg referencing her. Archaeologists have today have to account for her destruction when excavating often having to attribute between 20-45 centimeters being just her destruction.

But with that mentioned, there is the notion of Nero’s eventual death in the TV show. Nero would die in 68AD, just four years after the Great Fire where the show is said to begin. Nero’s death isn’t heroic and he isn’t assassinated. Mostly because he doesn’t give them that chance. When he is about to be overthrown, he takes a dagger and commits suicide by stabbing himself in the throat. When he is found, he is still alive and they do try to stop the bleeding, but it is all for naught. I imagine that the series may have the Assassin character be the one to kill Nero or like we saw with Aya and Cleopatra in Origins, at least be the one to provide the weapon he will do it with.

Nero’s cruelty has immortalized him, much like it did Caligula. With the show starting in 64 AD, we will get a more clear view of his sharp descent into bad decisions and madness. It’ll be interesting seeing where Netflix decides to take the story and the character, and honestly I hope they don’t hold back if they chose to show the building and completion of the Domus Aurea. It was destroyed shortly after Nero’s death, but it would be cool to see an interpretation of what it looked like based off the records that we have. Bonus points if they chose practical sets over CGI (within reason of course).