Yes, I was referring to the Plague of Justinian.
Smallpox is a very deadly disease, especially among those without immunity. There's evidence of it hitting very hard in the 2nd Century and then continuing to do so for a couple hundred years until the Plague of Justinian completely finished off any chance for imperial reclamation.
Now, I don't want to assign all of the blame to disease but don't underestimate it's tertiary effects such as any effects it may have on general outlook on life in subsequent leaders, of all levels of authority. Is it a mere coincidence that we consider Marcus Aurelius to be the last of the Five Good Emperors? I don't think we can ever know with any certainty.
It is very unlikely that pestilence alone brought about the collapse of the Western Roman state because there are several other factors at play. Factors, all of which in combination, plunged Europe into the Dark Ages. Nathan, read up on what Smallpox did to the Aztecs and you'll understand why I'm arguing as intensely as I am. 2,000 Spanish conquered the entire Empire, and it wasn't because of technological superiority like text books indicate. It was because the Aztec people were dying in droves. Smallpox is terrible and I'm quite happy that it was eradicated before I was born. Determining the health of any kingdom solely on the number of soldiers it can field is incredibly misleading, as it will continue drafting an ever higher percent of its male populace. This in turn lowers the amount of skilled male civilians of which very sophisticated armor is completely reliant.
One day we might have evidence for just how bad the Antonine Plague was. We can only guess, and I'm going to say that it was probably pretty terrible because it led the Romans directly into the Crisis of the Third Century, which it's a miracle the Empire survived! It also caused a dramatic expansion in Christianity.
Smallpox is a very deadly disease, especially among those without immunity. There's evidence of it hitting very hard in the 2nd Century and then continuing to do so for a couple hundred years until the Plague of Justinian completely finished off any chance for imperial reclamation.
Now, I don't want to assign all of the blame to disease but don't underestimate it's tertiary effects such as any effects it may have on general outlook on life in subsequent leaders, of all levels of authority. Is it a mere coincidence that we consider Marcus Aurelius to be the last of the Five Good Emperors? I don't think we can ever know with any certainty.
It is very unlikely that pestilence alone brought about the collapse of the Western Roman state because there are several other factors at play. Factors, all of which in combination, plunged Europe into the Dark Ages. Nathan, read up on what Smallpox did to the Aztecs and you'll understand why I'm arguing as intensely as I am. 2,000 Spanish conquered the entire Empire, and it wasn't because of technological superiority like text books indicate. It was because the Aztec people were dying in droves. Smallpox is terrible and I'm quite happy that it was eradicated before I was born. Determining the health of any kingdom solely on the number of soldiers it can field is incredibly misleading, as it will continue drafting an ever higher percent of its male populace. This in turn lowers the amount of skilled male civilians of which very sophisticated armor is completely reliant.
Quote:"It is the worst human disease. It probably killed more people in history than any other infectious agent, including the Black Death of the Middle Ages," says Richard Preston, who writes about deadly diseases like Ebola and anthrax. Nothing scares him like smallpox.
One day we might have evidence for just how bad the Antonine Plague was. We can only guess, and I'm going to say that it was probably pretty terrible because it led the Romans directly into the Crisis of the Third Century, which it's a miracle the Empire survived! It also caused a dramatic expansion in Christianity.
Quote:By virtually any count, smallpox has taken more human lives than any other communicable disease. In the twentieth century alone, smallpox caused roughly 300 to 500 million deaths.
Christopher Vidrine, 30
