The first recorded official persecution of Christian s was during the reign of Nero in the first century CE. Nero had some architectural designs in mind for Rome and according to Tacitus he has some fires set in Rome to clear the way for them. Since he did not want to be blamed for the fires he decided to blame the new religious group in Rome called the Christians. The Christians at first were not persecuted for religious beliefs, they were persecuted for arson.

(The Great Courses – After the New Testament)