Human consequences
The capital loses a considerable share of its population. Emperor Justinian himself falls ill but survives.
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PandemicPlague of Justinian
15MDeaths
Not quantifiedDisplaced / homeless
Not quantifiedEstimated cost
- A much-debated toll: from a few million to over 50 million deaths depending on the author, all waves combined (541 – 750). Recent research tends to revise its impact downwards.
The first plague pandemic attested with certainty: ancient DNA confirms Yersinia pestis. Reported at Pelusium, Egypt, in 541, it reaches Constantinople in the spring of 542, where the historian Procopius describes thousands of deaths a day.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
It strikes just after the “volcanic winter” of 536, a period of cooling and failed harvests across the Northern Hemisphere.
Economic consequences
Labour shortages, disrupted countryside and heavier taxes on the survivors.
Political consequences
It undermines Justinian’s plan to reconquer the Roman West. The disease returns in waves until the mid-8th century.
Spread
- Pelusium → Alexandria · 541
- Constantinople · spring 542
- Gaul (Arles) · 543
Further reading
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In the rankings : The deadliest disasters in history No. 4The deadliest pandemics in history No. 3
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