The plague of Justinian (1 gen 541 anni – 1 gen 549 anni)

Descrizione:

The plague of Justinian, occurring between AD 541–549, was a devastating epidemic that affected the entire Mediterranean Basin, Europe, and the Near East, particularly impacting the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire, especially Constantinople. It is named after the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, who reportedly contracted the disease but survived in 542, at the height of the epidemic.

The plague is believed to have been caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the same microorganism responsible for the Black Death in the 14th century. Research has suggested that the origin of the Justinian plague was in Central Asia, with ancient and modern strains closely related to the ancestor of the Justinian plague strain found in the Tian Shan region.

The outbreak was first reported in 541 in Egypt, and it spread rapidly around the Mediterranean until 544, persisting in Northern Europe and the Arabian Peninsula until 549. The plague caused immense social, economic, and political disruptions across Europe and the Near East, with profound cultural and religious impacts on Eastern Roman society.

Procopius, a Byzantine historian, provided vivid descriptions of the devastation caused by the plague in Constantinople, where it was thought to have been carried by infected rats on grain ships arriving from Egypt. The mortality rate in Constantinople was reportedly so high that bodies were left stacked in the open due to a lack of burial space.

The long-term effects of the plague were significant, weakening the Byzantine Empire at a critical moment when it was engaged in military conflicts and construction projects. The plague's impact on European and Christian history was immense, contributing to the decline of the Byzantine Empire and reshaping geopolitical dynamics in Europe.

The Plague of Justinian is considered the first historically recorded epidemic of Yersinia pestis and is regarded as the onset of the first plague pandemic, which continued to recur until the middle of the 8th century. Estimates of the death toll vary, with some historians suggesting it killed up to 5,000 people per day in Constantinople at its peak. However, recent research has challenged previous assumptions about the mortality rate, suggesting it may have been lower than previously believed.

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