Nero's Alexandria: The Great Jewish-Greek Riot of 66 AD

Nero: Mad Tyrant or Misunderstood Emperor? — Fexingo History · May 31, 2026 · 6m · transcript

In the summer of 66 AD, Alexandria exploded into a firestorm of ethnic violence between Greeks and Jews that left streets choked with bodies. This episode takes you inside the riot that nearly cost Rome its grain supply — and forced the emperor Nero to send his own personal envoy across the Mediterranean. We follow the chain reaction: from a booby-trapped Greek amphitheater, to the lynching of an Egyptian prefect, to the letter that Nero dictated from his Golden House. We explore the deep roots of Greek-Jewish hatred in Alexandria — the gymnasium, the civic privileges, the synagogues — and…