The Justinian Plague

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The Justinian Plague

The Justinian Plague, which struck the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor

Justinian in the sixth century CE, was one of the most devastating pandemics in history. This

essay will explore the symptoms and spread of the plague, the reactions of ordinary people and

individuals were struck by an acute fever which had no inflammation; later, they would have

bubonic tumors in different parts of their bodies, lower abdomen, axilla, and on the ears

(Procopius). Such symptoms as reddening of the skin and black pustules were often combined

with other grave manifestations, for example, vomiting blood, which entailed death in many

instances an hour after the onset of the disease.

It was also noted that the plague knew no boundaries, areas, ages, or status in people.

Patriarchate was first established in Alexandria and originated in Egypt. Still, it was also taken to

Palestine before it spread all over the Byzantine Empire and as far as Persia and other barbarian

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territories. Surprisingly, following the geographical contiguity, it progressed from impacting the

coastal cities to interior cities, and it infected every settlement, irrespective of whether it was an

island, cave, or a mountainside.

Consistent with this compositional style, John of Ephesus develops further the themes of

universal scourge and people’s inability to elude the disease. Sway all over the region; he

mentions that entire villages and towns were depopulated; the streets were then jam-packed with

corpses and wounded (John of Ephesus). The disease spread so rampantly that it embraced even

the corners and the dark, and it affected people of all classes, right from the peasants to the

nobles. In this regard, the random and consistent devastation in plague cases made it a genuine

worsened by the unpredictable nature of the disease, which began affecting people immediately,

without discriminating or concerning themselves with what people were doing or their health

status before the disease got to them (Procopius).

John of Ephesus also uses sorrow abound with descriptions such as peoples’ houses,

their estates, villages, cities, and entire regions – in which once entire populations dwelled and

carried on their businesses, all deserted and full of dead bodies; the corpse-strewn streets where

people cannot even be buried properly, and the social structure collapses. Cowards fled their

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homes and left their sickly loved ones to die alone, and the deceased were buried without proper

burial or quickly buried in mass graves.

The large number of deaths and swiftness with which the Black Death swept through

communities saturated the people and societies’ ability to deal with such a tragedy. Officials,

doctors, and leaders of that time were trying to come up with different solutions to the problems

of the plague victims. Doctors, while lacking tools or words to cure the disease or say what it

was, performed post-mortems to further their knowledge of this illness and learned of strange

carbuncles within the bubonic tumors (John of Ephesus). The plague that killed many people

affected Emperor Justinian himself, but he recovered from the sickness. To contain the crisis, he

sea, or piled in towers. When people were overwhelmed after the catastrophe, there was no

possibility to respect the dead and bury them properly, which made psychological and social

traumatization stronger among the survivors.

Kristina Sessa explains that people's attitudes to the scourge involved admirable and

tragic notes. On the one hand, there were examples of heroism and people’s readiness to sacrifice

their lives to help others and provide some burial for the deceased. On the other hand, Tay-Sachs

resulted in total social demoralization. At the same time, overwhelming fear and despair made

people abandon their sick relatives and run in hopes of avoiding the disease themselves (Sessa).

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Contemporary Explanations and Lessons for Today

Explanations of the plague in the sixth century CE were diverse, and the nature of these

explanations was influenced by the people’s views of the religion and philosophy of the time. It

should also be noted that the authors of both sources, Procopius of Caesarea and John of

Ephesus, attributed the plague to sins people committed. Curiously enough, Procopius

emphasizes that, apparently, this disease did not have natural causes and, therefore, stemmed

from the direct action of God’s Providence (Eisenberg). He is like John of Ephesus, the writer of

this creational ‘pestilence of darkness,’ painting it as being as much an act of divine mercy as

John did, despite the horror and terror it invoked. The above interpretations were rife when the

the disease was probably the bubonic plague, characterized by the bacterium Yersinia Pastis,

which is spread through the bites of fleas, which were probably being carried on rats. Sessa also

shows that the plague's effects were continuous and long-lasting for the Byzantine Empire as

they lost much of their population, and their economy and social structures were greatly affected.

Due to the significant deadliness and the economic pressure inflicted on the Byzantine Empire,

the empire was left with less security. It was prone to various attacks both from outside and

inside forces.

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This paper identifies that the Justinian Plague has several valuable lessons for today’s

society. First, it emphasizes the significance of studying the patterns of how or where the

diseases are spreading to contain the spread (Sessa). In the sixth century, the effective prevention

of the plague could not be achieved since people did not have information regarding its modes of

transmission and carriers. Thankfully, the medical science and public health structures present in

the modern world can prevent the frequency of a pandemic to an extent.

Secondly, the plague demonstrates people’s and society’s reactions to pandemics,

including the social and psychological aspects. The people's responses, as Procopius and John of

Ephesus mentioned, which include fear, despair, and disruption of society, resemble the reactions

and analyze how societies perceive and relate to pandemics. This awareness may help with

understanding and positive adaptation as we reflect that previous generations also experienced

such issues. To find answers and meaning, they attempted to impose their perception and

conceptualization of reality on others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Justinian Plague was one of the greatest disasters in the Byzantine

Empire's history, permanently changing the population's lives. By relying on the writings of

Procopius and John of Ephesus and analyzing the recent research by Kristina Sessa, the course

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offers a description of the plague’s signs, its diffusion, and social consequences, as well as

explanations given within that period. These ideas not only contribute to the enhancement of

historical information but also provide lessons for the handling of contemporary pandemics.

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Works Cited

Eisenberg, Merle, and Lee Mordechai. "The Justinianic plague and global pandemics: The

making of the plague concept."FThe American Historical ReviewF125.5 (2020): 1632-

John of Ephesus. Pseudo-Dionysius of Tel-Mahre Chronicle.

https://www.plu.edu/studyaway/wp-content/uploads/sites/222/2020/09/john-of-

ephesus-for-glst.pdf

Procopius. "History of the Wars, II.xxii-xxxiii: The Plague, 542." Medieval Sourcebook

https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/542procopius-plague.asp