How the Black Death Killed Rome - The Plague of Justinian DOCUMENTARY

The decline and fall of the Roman Empire is often associated with marauding barbarian hordes. Yet throughout history, it is the invisible invaders of disease who proved far more deadly and impactful in their assaults upon the lands. This is especially true in the 6th century AD when the Byzantine Empire was in the midst of reconquering the lost lands of the west. However, just when they appeared to be on the cusp of victory, an unseen foe struck them from all sides. Millions died, and with it the chance of a Rome reforged. This was the plague of just I spend a lot of time reading history books to make these documentaries, yet I still find myself with a growing list of titles I just don't have time to get to. I'm sure in your own busy life it can be tough to find the time to explore as many books as you'd like. Thankfully, our sponsor Blinkist has a solution. 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Larger pandemics were also fairly common occurrences, and thanks to the interconnectedness of the Roman world, they could consume the whole empire. Ancient people generally accepted such dangers as part of daily life, and in an era before the germ theory of disease, attempted to contextualize them through religious or philosophical means. For instance, one might seek healing through divine intervention, magic, or a correction of elemental imbalances. You can learn more about this fascinating topic in one of our previous videos. In this episode, though, we will be diving straight into one of the worst pandemics to have rocked the ancient world, the Plague of The outbreak occurred in the 6th century AD, and was named after the reigning Roman emperor at the time, Justinian. Seeded in the east, the pandemic would spread across the entire Mediterranean region and beyond. It repeatedly struck the population in waves over several centuries, racking up an estimated death toll of anywhere from 20 to 100 million people. The effects were devastating. So what was it? While most of the time, ancient plagues are too poorly documented for proper identification, fortunately or unfortunately for the people of Rome, the Plague of Justinian has left us with enough historical descriptions and archaeological records such that we can piece together an answer. The end result is that scientists have been able to confirm its cause, the bacterium Yersinia pestis, better known as the bearer of the Black Death. This deadly plague came to Europe 500 years before its infamous medieval outbreak. With this key fact in place, let's spend some time discussing the Black Death itself. As we mentioned, its root cause is the Yersinia pestis bacterium. This organism typically exists within the digestive system of fleas. When these insects feed on a mammal, they then circulate it into the new host bloodstream, the bacterium that invades the mammal and begins its assault on the body. The plague comes in several different forms, with a variety of associated symptoms. Overall, however, it starts by disrupting the host's immune system, proliferating in lymph nodes, and triggering cell death. While alive, the host can spread the bacterium through vomiting, coughing, or sneezing in its pneumonic form, or by additional fleas biting them and spreading it that way. Once dead, the host body can continue to spread the bacterium to new targets who might come into contact with it. The end result is a highly infectious and deadly disease. Generally, the life cycle of Yersinia pestis repeats within some reservoir population in the environment. Rodents such as rats, mice, and gerbils are common hosts. This occurs because of their high population densities and reproductive rates, which allow bacterium-bearing fleas to infect many individuals whilst not burning out the population. Some studies have calculated that it only takes around 25 rodents per acre to sustain a reservoir of Yersinia pestis. In places where food is plentiful, however, rodent population densities can explode, leading to a corresponding outbreak of the Black Death. This kills the rodents en masse, resulting in a boom and bust cycle. Over time, the survivors develop an immunity to the disease, or can at least become asymptomatic carriers. While this might be good for the reservoir population, it does not bode well for other populations they might come in contact with who have not yet developed a natural defense. Thus, the dominant explanation for the cause of the Black Death is from human exposure to an infected rodent reservoir via fleas as the vector. But why did the outbreak occur when it did? This is the subject of much ongoing debate. A common model, however, is that climate changes have a large impact on rodent populations, which alters their boom-bust cycle or behavior and can ultimately lead the Black Death to spill over into human populations. Researchers, for instance, have been able to correlate plague waves emanating from Central Asia to periods of harsh, disruptive environmental conditions. Shortly before the Plague of Justinian, for example, it appears that The cause was probably volcanic eruptions, which formed an extensive atmospheric veil of dust that triggered unseasonable weather, crop failures, and famines worldwide. This promptly opened the doors to the Black Death. In the 6th century AD, the Roman Empire was no longer the continent-spanning behemoth it had once been. The western half had fallen to repeated invasion, with many regions being controlled by migrating tribes such as the Vandals, Visigoths, and Ostrogoths. Yet the eastern half remained strong. Its provinces were wealthy, its military was strong, and its leadership was stable. Under the rule of the Emperor Justinian, the empire even succeeded in reconquering vast swaths of the west. A key part of the empire's operations was Egypt. The province served not only as an important trade and economic hub, but also as a major breadbasket for the realm. Merchant fleets and grain barges were constantly sailing out of Egyptian ports to feed the hungry citizens and soldiers of the empire. The capital of Constantinople in particular relied quite heavily on these imports to sustain its enormous population. Unfortunately, such a distribution network was not just suited for delivering supplies. As we shall see, it also served as a major vector for disease. According to our records, the Black Death first appeared in 541 AD in Pelusium, a fortress town on the eastern edge of the Nile Delta. Genetic analysis points to an origin in Central Asia, but we don't know enough to connect the dots. However, there were many land and sea routes leading to Egypt, which could have served as points of entry. One eerie data point from this period shows a decline in ivory production of 90%, which indicates that some dark shadow was making its way across the African hinterlands. In any case, once seeded, it appears that the bacteria quickly began to spread among the rodent populations which infested the grain depots and port facilities of Egypt. From here, the plague hitched a ride onto the numerous outbound shipments and was injected directly into the bloodstream of the empire. As the ships set off, those aboard may have gotten a first taste of what was to come. Perhaps a rat skittered by the crew, shedding a few fleas which eagerly jumped onto a new host. As these insects bit into warm flesh, their diseased digestive system caused them to vomit into the open wounds. Patient Zero had just been infected. From here, the incubation period would begin. This would last a few days. By the time the first symptoms of chills, elevated temperatures, and aches are noticeable, the body has already been heavily compromised. From here, one's lymph nodes begin to expand into bulbs around the neck, armpit, and groin. A gangrene sets in, causing the flesh to die and turn black. It's an agonizing process. If the bubonic growths pop or go septic, the patient dies. If the plague enters the lungs, the patient dies. Otherwise, there's a 40 to 70% mortality rate, a rather unbalanced coin flip. By the time the grain barges landed, most of their crews were probably dead or dying. Survivors would succumb only a few days later. Meanwhile, the rodents aboard the ship scattered to continue their busy work in the dark shadows. As the plague entered the capital of Constantinople, it was like a tsunami from the sea. The low ground showed the first effects, being poorer, more crowded, and filled with vermin. According to Procopius, quote, at first the deaths were a little more than normal. Then, the mortality rose still higher, and afterwards the tally of dead reached 5,000 each day, and again, it even came to 10,000, and still more than that. Soon, the disease spread to the wealthy upon the hills, and even made it into the imperial palace. None were immune to its monstrous effects, with the emperor himself falling ill but surviving. This first assault of the plague upon Constantinople raged for four months until it had literally burned itself out of victims. One can only begin to imagine the hellish nightmare. As an eyewitness writes, quote, this disease always took its start from the coast, and from there went up to the interior. In the second year, it reached Byzantium in the middle of spring, where it happened that I was staying at the time, and it came as follows. Apparitions of supernatural beings in human guise of every description were seen by many persons, and those who encountered them thought that they were struck by the man they had met, in this or that part of the body, as it happened, and immediately upon seeing this apparition, they were seized also by the disease. Now at first those who met these creatures tried to turn them aside by uttering the holiest of names and exercising them in other ways, as well as each one could, but they accomplished absolutely nothing, for even in the sanctuaries, where the most of them fled for refuge, they were dying constantly. But later on, they were unwilling even to give heed to their friends when they called to them, and they shut themselves up in their rooms and pretended that they did not hear, although their doors were being beaten down, fearing obviously that he who was calling was one of these demons. But in the case of some, the pestilence did not come in this way at all. But they saw a vision in a dream, and seemed to suffer the very same thing at the hands of these creatures who stood over them, or else to hear a voice foretelling to them that they were written down in the number of those who were to die. But with the majority, it came about that they were seized by the disease without becoming aware of what was coming either through a waking vision or a dream. Clearly those at the time were traumatized by the experience, and could only rationalize it through supernatural interpretation. As another chronicler writes, quote, many people saw shapes of bronze boats and figures sitting in them resembling people with their heads cut off. Holding staves, also of bronze, they moved along on the sea and could be seen going whithersoever they headed. These figures were seen everywhere in a frightening fashion, especially at night. Like flashing bronze and like fire did they appear, black people without heads sitting in a glistening boat and traveling swiftly on the sea so that the sight almost caused the souls of the people who saw it to expire. With the fury of the heavens upon it, the city of Constantinople ground to a halt. All work, all trade, all travel was stopped. Few dared to leave their homes and those who ventured outside wore a name tag in case they died before they were able to return. The only people on the streets were those who were transporting bodies in a vain attempt to clear the houses and streets of the dead, and the only people who were still willing to do that were those who had been conscripted by the emperor himself. It was a losing fight. Traditional burial grounds and tombs were completely overwhelmed. As the tombs were filled, ancient graves were opened. When these too were filled, trenches were dug. But as the dead continued to pile up, even more drastic measures had to be taken. Apparently the roofs were taken off of the fortress towers and these too were filled with corpses. But the Black Death was not the only killer. Famine too accompanied the outbreak as grain shipments dwindled and no one remained to offload or prepare what little food had arrived. In Procopius' words, quote, absolute starvation was running riot. Certainly it seemed a difficult and very notable thing to have a sufficiency of bread or of anything else, so that with some of the sick it appeared that the end of life came about sooner than it should have come by reason of the lack of the necessities of life. And to put all in a word, it was not possible to see a single man in Byzantium clad in uniform, and especially when the emperor became ill, but in a city which held dominion over the whole Roman Empire, every man was wearing clothes befitting private station and remaining quietly at home. The jewel of the empire had become hell on earth. Thousands who remained trapped were driven mad from the horrors and hundreds chose to end their lives by leaping from the city walls and buildings. Those few who managed to flee the city simply spread the plague further. Thus, this grim spectacle repeated itself across the empire and beyond. The Romans did take some steps to combat the plague. For instance, we have records of quarantines being put in place to limit travel such as the movement of farmers to markets. However, this was by no means a widespread coordinated effort by people in charge. After all, the mechanisms of disease propagation were poorly understood and most quarantines were merely a product of individuals being too frightened to leave their homes. Another line of defense against the Black Death were the public hospitals. These institutions predated the outbreak and had proved so popular that they began popping up across the empire. Most facilities were massive complexes backed by wealthy individuals and the state. They served as places to treat the sick, nursing homes, social gathering spots, and even hostels. Yet, while they might be able to handle the day-to-day issues of the ancient world, they were ill-prepared to deal with the avalanche of plague victims which descended upon them. Here's an anecdote from the city of Edessa. By the care of Marnonis, the nurses used afterwards to All the people of the city used to assemble at the gate of the hospital and go forth and bury them from morning to morning. The stewards of the great church established an infirmary among the buildings attached to the great church of Edessa. Those who were very ill used to go in and lie down there and many dead bodies were found in the infirmary which they buried along with those at the hospital. The governors blocked up the gates of the colonnades attached to the but it was not sufficient for them. When the grandees of the city saw this, they too established infirmaries and many went in and found shelter in them. The Roman soldiers too set up places in which the sick slept and charged themselves with their expenses. They died by a painful and melancholy death and though many of them were buried every day, the number still went on increasing. For a report had gone forth throughout the province of that the Edessenes took good care of those who were in want and for this reason a countless multitude of people entered the city. The bath too that was under the church of the apostles beside the great gate was so full of sick and many dead bodies were carried forth from it every day. And when the graves of the hospital and the church were full, the governor went forth and opened the old graves that were beside the church of Marcona which had been constructed by the ancients with great pains and they filled them. Then they opened others and they were not sufficient for them and at last they opened any old grave no matter what and filled it. For more than 100 bodies were carried out every day from the hospital and many a day 120 and up to 130 from the beginning of November till the end of March. During that time nothing could be heard in all the streets of the city but either weeping over the dead or the lamentable cries of those in pain. As should be obvious, without proper scientific understanding there was little that could actually be done to hold back the Black Death. All that remained was to let nature run its deadly course. Based on our records, the ancient world would be rocked by multiple waves of this plague for the next 250 years. In its wake would be untold destruction. Looking back, scientists and historians have attempted to assess its full effects. The traditional narrative is that the plague of Justinian caused the deaths of tens of millions, culling a huge percentage of the population. The scourge crippled the resurgent Byzantines who were on the cusp of reforming the Roman Empire and put the final nail in the coffin of antiquity which would now slide into the Middle Ages. However, more modern analysis have begun to question this understanding. Certainly, architectural evidence is quite alarming but data for tracking demographic, economic or political changes fail to support the idea of such a widespread deviation from existing trends. What we're talking about here is a cross-discipline analysis of things like coinage, papyri, inscriptions, legislation, pollen, ancient DNA and mortuary archaeology. Similar sorts of indicators have been used to analyze the effects of later plagues and found them to be far, far more devastating. That being said, it is impossible to judge the butterfly effects across history and we could speculate endlessly about the true impact of the plague of Justinian. In any case, I look forward to hearing about your ideas about what might have been in the comments below. you