Elizabeth Dean Y11 (London)
Justinian Plague
The reign of byzantine Emperor Justinian 1 saw one of the worst outbreaks of the plague in human history. Modern estimates suggest that between 25-50 million succumbed to the disease as it swept through the empire for 225 years; the first reported outbreak was in 541 AD and last reported in 750 AD. The plague would not return again in such devastation until the Black Death. The Justinian plague was also the first plague epidemic to be at all reliably reported. The historian Procopius is one such ancient source. Combining this with modern understanding of how the plague works, historians have been able stitch together an outline of what happened and why.
Left: Saint Sebastian pleads with Jesus for the life of a grave digger during the Justinian Plague. By Josse Lieferinxe c. 1497–1499
The plague first arrived in the outer-provinces of the empire in 541AD. By 542AD it had arrived in the capital, Constantinople. Procopius reports that victims spiked high fevers, swelling in the armpit, groin, behind the ears and suffered nightmares. He notes that some infected individuals lapsed into comas whereas others descended into delirium. Such symptoms describe bubonic plague. Genomic evidence has found the bacterium behind plague in the teeth of victims in mass graves, confirming this as a plague outbreak. The death toll was so high that bodies littered the streets as the authorities struggled to cope. Soldiers were ordered to help dispose of corpses; once the graveyards and tombs were filled, they resorted to mass burial pits, trenches, abandoned buildings and even threw bodies into the sea. Procopius claims that there were 10,000 deaths per day in Constantinople. Modern historians are a little more conservative and estimate 5,000. Either way, 20-40% of Constantinople’s inhabitants perished within just four months.
No one was safe. Even Emperor Justinian himself fell ill and although rumours of his death spread through the city he recovered. Once infected, there was often little individuals could do. Many people were unable to seek ‘medical’ treatment and resorted to home remedies. These included cold baths, ‘blessed’ powders, magic jewellery and various drugs, such as alkaloids. Perhaps most familiar to us today of all was participation in quarantining to try to slow the spread.
Origin of the Plague
Plagues, (those confirmed are the Justinian plague, the black death and outbreaks in the 1800s), have all been caused by the same bacterium called Y.pestis. Alarmingly, Y.pestis is still extant today. It is primarily found at low levels in a rodents-fleas-rodents cycle within China and the surrounding area and for the most part remains enclosed in this cycle; modern cases are sporadic and occur when people are in close contact to infested animals. Further, modern therapy has reduced global fatality rate from historical 50-90% to below 15%.
1st: Justinian Plague
2nd: Black Death
3rd: 19th Century, outbreaks in Hong Kong, from there Japan, India, South America, US and Europe.
A number of human and environmental factors must combine to spark an epidemic. First of all, Y.Pestis must become much more widely spread between the rats and fleas so that a large proportion of rats are killed. Deprived of their ordinary food source, starving fleas will bite other animals including humans. From China and the surrounding region, Y.pestis has then swept out to the rest of the world in waves several times. Historians point to the silk road and maritime trade as key modes of transmission due to the en masse movement of people and goods.
In the case of the Justinian Plague, (according to Procopius and others), the plague can be identified as reaching the capital directly from Egypt. Plague had become widespread in African rat populations and these infected rats could often be found in the warehouses used to store grain. At this time, Constantinople was receiving large amounts of grain as tribute from African provinces. With the transport of grain and rat-stowaways, this inadvertently brought plague straight into the heart of the empire. Constantinople was the empire’s center for commercial trade and, being located near both the Black and Aegean sea, became a crossroads for trade to and from China, the Middle East and North African provinces. In the next ½ a century, the plague would spread westward into the Mediterranean and eastward into Persia through these very trade routes.
Conditions that caused the epidemic
Low level presence of Y.pestis alone isn’t enough to incite an epidemic. By examining plagues throughout history, one can identify several key conditions which facilitate a massive, sustained outbreak. These include little to no immunity in the newly-infected population, movement and trade, people packed together in impoverished conditions and a population which has only very recently settled. All were in abundance.
Procopius recorded unusual climatic conditions in Italy -among which were snow and frost in summer, below average temperatures and diminished sunshine. These preceded a plummet into a decades-long cold spell. Crops failed and food was scarce. The population was cold and hungry, increasing their susceptibility to infection and the proportion of people forced into increasingly impoverished conditions. The spread of infection was further exacerbated as many felt they had no choice but to desperately migrate. Vulnerable, impoverished migrants with no prior exposure to Y.pestis were accompanied by the plague-bearing black rats as they fled. Infections soared. Over the preceding years, Justinian had also undergone a series of military campaigns to expand the byzantine empire. This meant that much of the population was newly settled into the crowded unsanitary cities of the time. Large scale movement of troops and supply trains also exacerbated the spread. These factors combined to produce a vulnerable population, with a high degree of movement and no prior exposure. With the introduction Y.pestis from infected rats in carts, maritime vessels and chasing migrants, the epidemic spiraled out of control.
Latter effect on the empire
As the plague raged on, Justinian persisted in his military campaigns and taxation, despite the fact people simply couldn’t afford to pay. The economy, especially the agricultural sector, had been devastated and the social impact is unimaginable. Militarily and politically the empire was weakened and with fewer and fewer recruits the army shrank. In 568 AD the Lombards successfully invaded Northern Italy, fracturing the Italian peninsula until it was re-unified centuries later in the 19th Century. In North Africa and the North East, the Arabs seized control.
The plague killed an estimated 25% of the population, leaving the empire scarred for years afterwards, losing many territories and finally its grip on Rome…
Sources
Close, James P. “Ancient Plagues Shaped the World.” Scientific American, Nov. 2020, pp. 63–67.
Horgan, John. “Justinian’s Plague (541-542 CE).” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 26 Dec. 2014, www.ancient.eu/article/782/justinians-plague-541-542-ce/.
“Plague - History.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/science/plague/History#ref1217512. Accessed 30 Oct. 2020.
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