Plague has been around since the dawn of civilization and probably existed in animals before humans inhabited the earth. The first recorded plague epidemic occurred in 1320 BC and is described by its symptoms in the Bible (I Samuel, V and VI). It is not known how many people were infected. The first known pandemic, or severe worldwide epidemic, occurred in Asia, Africa, and Europe between 542 and 546 AD. It was named Justinian's plague, after the emperor of the Byzantine Empire at the time, and killed an estimated 50 million to 100 million people.
The first pandemic is believed to have started in Egypt, spreading north through the eastern Mediterranean. The plague struck at a critical time. In Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire, Justinian and his generals were in the midst of battles to rejoin Byzantium to the remains of Western Roman Empire. Justinian's dream was to reestablish the former Roman Empire; and he might have succeeded if not for the plague. Procopius, a historian living in Constantinople at the time, vividly described the plague and its effects. His writings also include an accurate description of what would later be called the bubonic plague.
This is a free page. This page contains 194 words. This
article contains 1,869 words (approx. 6 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Plague Access Pass.
