What is the source of the allusion in the sentence below?
The drought is worsening, and the state politicians are fiddling while Rome burns!

 - a poem
 - history
The source of the allusion fiddling while Rome burns is history.
According to some accounts, the Roman emperor Nero stood by and did nothing while Rome burned. He is said to have played the fiddle while the crisis unfolded.
The allusion fiddling while Rome burns means ignoring a critical situation.