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541 to 542 CEPeer-reviewed · 2 sourcesWell documented

The Plague of Justinian Devastates the Empire

The first recorded bubonic plague pandemic kills a fifth of Constantinople and weakens the empire for a generation

On the timeline · around 541 to 542 CE · Justinian, Reconquest, and CrisisFounding and DivisionJustinian, Reconquest, and CrisisThe Plague of Justinian Devastates the Empire425 CE450 CE475 CE550 CE575 CE600 CE

Quick facts

Onset
541 CE
Primary source
Procopius, History of the Wars
Reported mortality in Constantinople
about one-fifth of the population
Emperor at the time
Justinian I (contracted and survived)

What happened

Beginning around 541 CE, a pandemic of bubonic plague, the first fully documented outbreak of the disease in history, spread from Egypt across the Mediterranean into Constantinople. Justinian's court historian Procopius, who lived through the outbreak, recorded it in Book II of his History of the Wars and reported that the disease killed roughly a fifth of the population in the capital at its peak. Justinian himself contracted the plague and survived, but the epidemic recurred in waves across the empire for years afterward, straining tax revenue, military recruitment, and the labor force needed to sustain his reconquest campaigns.

Why it matters

The plague's death toll undercut the economic and manpower base Justinian needed to hold his reconquered territories in Italy and North Africa, contributing to the empire's later difficulty defending those gains. It also stands as the earliest well-documented instance of the same pathogen behind the later medieval Black Death.

How we know

Procopius's firsthand account in History of the Wars is the primary source for the plague's course and mortality; the World History Encyclopedia's article on the plague summarizes his testimony and its spread from Egypt to Constantinople.

Sources

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Part of a timelineThe Byzantine Empire27 events · How the eastern half of Rome outlived the west by a thousand years, then fell to Ottoman cannonView all →
The Plague of Justinian Devastates the Empire · The Byzantine Empire · SourcedStory