Justinian's Flea: The First Great Plague and the End of the Roman EmpireFrom the acclaimed author of Miracle Cure and The Third Horseman, the epic story of the collision between one of nature's smallest organisms and history's mightiest empire During the golden age of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian reigned over a territory that stretched from Italy to North Africa. It was the zenith of his achievements and the last of them. In 542 AD, the bubonic plague struck. In weeks, the glorious classical world of Justinian had been plunged into the medieval and modern Europe was born. At its height, five thousand people died every day in Constantinople. Cities were completely depopulated. It was the first pandemic the world had ever known and it left its indelible mark: when the plague finally ended, more than 25 million people were dead. Weaving together history, microbiology, ecology, jurisprudence, theology, and epidemiology, Justinian's Flea is a unique and sweeping account of the little known event that changed the course of a continent. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - Farree - LibraryThingI have been putting off reading this since August 15, 2015 (or so), because I wanted a little more coverage of the Roman Empire (and I don't currently have Gibbon in my library). I got that earlier ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - pbjwelch - LibraryThingThe book's flaws (and successes) have been covered by many former reviewers so let me add just a few notes that may be of interest to someone at some time: For anyone who slept through their world ... Read full review
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Africa Agathias Alexandria Anthemius Antonina Arab arch Arian army arrived bacteria bacterium barbarian battle Belisarius Belisarius’s bishop bubonic plague built Byzantine called Cambridge capital cavalry China Christian chronicle church city’s command conflict conquest Constantine Constantinople Danube death defeated defined demon despite Diocletian disease dozens east eastern emperor empire’s Europe Evagrius Scholasticus field fifteen fifty final finally find fire first five flea force Gelimer Gothic Goths Greek Hagia Sophia Hippodrome historian History ofthe human hundred Huns I/.pestis Ibid imperial Italy John Justin justinian and Theodora Khusro king late antiquity Later Roman Empire Mediterranean military modern Monophysite Narses Narses’s Ostrogoths palace pandemic Persian pestilence piers population Procopius Procopius’s reign Roman Empire Rome Rome’s rule ruler Sassanid siege significant silk sixth-century soldiers specific successor sufficient thousand throne tion Totila trans Tribonian troops turned University Press Vandals Visigoths Vitigis walls western York
Bibliographic information
| Title | Justinian's Flea: The First Great Plague and the End of the Roman Empire |
| Author | William Rosen |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Penguin, 2007 |
| ISBN | 1101202424, 9781101202425 |
| Length | 384 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |