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Ancient trash heaps reveal the Plague of Justinian’s economic toll
- Avicebron 6y agoI'm currently listening to the "The History of Byzantium" podcast. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys deep dives into history as much as I do.
- st-isidore 6y agoThanks for the recommendation! What perspective do the hosts take in their representation of history?
- Avicebron 6y agoIt's similar to "The history of Rome" podcast if you are familiar. From what I gather, the host offers a quasi-linear narrative of the history of the Byzantine empire, with small asides that focus on clarifying important aspects of daily/military/religious/bureaucratic life. It can be somewhat dense in the presentation of a lot of names, places, and religious concepts. But I find it very rewarding. EDIT: If you are asking who the host follows, it is the Byzantine (Christian) perspective, with generous asides given to explaining the myriad of cultures surrounding Constantinople and how they shape the emerging empire.
- travmatt 6y agoHe does a good job of showing a broad swath of the Byzantine empire, not just the intrigue among royals.
- Fiveplus 6y agoComing from someone whose goto history podcast is Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, I appreciate you for the suggestion!
- frandroid 6y agoIf you're not already listening to the Revolutions Podcast, treat yourself... (You can skip the American and maybe British "revolution", and start at the French Revolution if you're not sure this is for you) https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/ https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/
- codpiece 6y agoAnother great podcast is 12 Byzantine Rulers. I've listened to it multiple times. https://12byzantinerulers.com https://12byzantinerulers.com
- dougmwne 6y agoI recently fished reading Lost to the West by Lars Brownworth. Excellent detailed history of the Byzantine empire and it's impacts on Europe.
- torusenthusiast 6y agoThe more I learn about the Plague of Justinian the happier I am that our current plague is relatively "mild". I am also amazed how much of an impact these kinds of things can have on the world. I wonder what the long term fallout of the current situation will be (will there be a large one?). Death tolls are nowhere near past plagues, but the lockdowns have had a large economic impact for some countries. It's an interesting thought experiment, what do people here think?
- ngold 6y ago>Plague of Justinian: the bubonic plague's first-known visit to Europe, in 541 CE. The first wave of plague killed 20 percent of the population of Constantinople. Infection also devastated the trade port of Alexandria. Over the next 160 years, wave after wave of plague may have carried away up to half the population of the Byzantine Empire. Imagine looking at a crowd and 1/5 to 1/2 of everyone is just gone.
- koheripbal 6y agoIt shrank the empire so much that after the war with Persia, the Levant was heavily depopulated. ...and it was that void that the army of Mohammed filled in the rise of Islam when they conquered the Levant, Egypt, Persia, Messopotamia, and the rest of North Africa in a short period. Those plagues tremendously changed history. Historyofbyzantium podcast is stellar, btw.
- ngold 6y agoOn a side note. Mike Duncan's been silent since april 7th. At least on revolutionspodcast.com.
- vondur 6y agoThe plague and it’s after effects is what basically of what some people call the Dark Ages and is a pretty clear line to demarcate late ancient to the Middle Ages.
- foobarian 6y ago
- ZinniaZirconium 6y agoYup. That silly chroma virus. It turns you a different color. My recycle bin is getting more use than ever since I've been eating a lot of canned food and bottled drinks. Unlike the article says though I don't have food delivered. I carry my own takeout like a mule.
- pfdietz 6y agoAt least we have adequate records about that time. Unlike, say, the Late Bronze Age Collapse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age_collapse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age_collapse
- rorykoehler 6y agoThe youtube algo is strong. This is the second time I've seen this topic mentioned today after watching a youtube recommended video about it earlier this week.
- pfdietz 6y agoThis book is fun, although I'm not really convinced of his theory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1177_B.C.:_The_Year_Civilization_Collapsed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1177_B.C.:_The_Year_Civilizati...
- Cactus2018 6y agoOne of the author's hour long lectures on youtube 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Eric Cline, PhD) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRcu-ysocX4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRcu-ysocX4
- lps41 6y agoOn a similar note: The period leading up to the Black Death in Europe was a warmer climate than usual, allowing agriculture to expand and populations to explode. Deforestation was widespread as agriculture expanded. There is a theory that the immense depopulation caused by the Black Death also allowed significant reforestation to occur in Europe, which in turn led to increased carbon capture from the atmosphere, and perhaps helped cause the Little Ice Age that began in the 1500’s. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4755328.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4755328.stm
- dan-robertson 6y agoThere’s a similar theory based on reforestation of land that was previously cultivated by the Mayans after their population collapse.
- CMCDragonkai 6y agoThe little ice age helped the collapse of the Ming Dynasty in China.