Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea ( c . 275 – 339 ) was the first to write explicitly that Paul was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero . He states that Nero 's persecution led to Peter and Paul 's deaths , but that Nero did not give any specific orders . However , several other accounts going back to the 1st century have Paul surviving his two years in Rome and travelling to Hispania , before facing trial in Rome again prior to his death .