Nero was rumored to have had captured Christians dipped in oil and set on fire in his garden at night as a source of light . This view is based on the writings of Tacitus , Suetonius and Cassius Dio , the main surviving sources for Nero 's reign , but a few surviving sources paint Nero in a more favourable light . Some sources , including some mentioned above , portray him as an emperor who was popular with the common Roman people , especially in the East . Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Nero 's tyrannical acts .