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> the 6th-century pandemic was still responsible for destroying at least one-third of the eastern Roman Empire population, leading to its collapse. Say what? W
by ummonk 6y ago
> the 6th-century pandemic was still responsible for destroying at least one-third of the eastern Roman Empire population, leading to its collapse.
Say what? What possible connection could there be between the plague of Justinian and the collapse of the Roman Empire several hundred years later?
- danjac 6y agoWhile the empire continued until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 (depending how you define "empire") the Justinian plague did effectively end the campaign to retake Italy and reunite the Mediterranean under Roman rule. But it marked the beginning of a prolonged slow decline rather than a collapse.
- ummonk 6y agoI mean the plague itself was just a blip in the centuries of devastating wars with the Sassanians and then the Arab Muslims.