On that day, June 9, 68 that the Roman Emperor Nero committed forced suicide.

Earlier that year, Vindex, a governor in Gaul, rebelled against Nero's taxes. He called on a governor in Hispania Citerior, Galba, to become emperor. Virginius Rufus defeated Vindex and forced him to commit suicide and Galba was declared a public enemy.

But it was the senate who had the last laugh because they elected Galba emperor and declared Nero a public enemy.

Nero fled to Via Salaria, where his praetorian guard was bribed to kill him. In a classic, "You won't kill me. I'll kill myself!" Nero did the work for the guard by having his secretary Epaphroditos kill him instead.

It was said that when Nero saw the guard, he was reported as saying "This is fidelity". Suetonius thought it would be funny to add, "Nero diddled his fiddle while he piddled his sandals" but it was changed over the years to being "Nero played his fiddle while Rome burned".

No one is sure why this was changed, nor do they care. It just happened.