More specifically, Galen noted that the diarrhea appeared blackish which suggested gastrointestinal bleeding. With it, the plague brought the death knell of the Roman Empire , and would herald in a time of constant upheaval, betrayal, and - some would argue - insanity at the hands of a capricious dictator. Galen, Aelius Aristides, Lucian and Cassius Dio were all first-hand witnesses to the epidemic. Scholars have … Books The Antonine Plague was far deadlier than COVID-19, and the society it hit was far less capable of saving the sick than we are now. It is most probable that the extreme death toll was due to this disease exposure being new to people living around the Mediterranean. Scholars have suspected it to have been either smallpox[1] or measles. to 1085 B.C. [12] The latter view is bolstered by molecular estimates that place the evolution of measles sometime after 1000 AD. As the disease swept north to the Rhine, it also infected Germanic and Gallic peoples outside the empire's borders. ", Gourevitch, D. "The Galenic Plague: a Breakdown of the Imperial Pathocoenosis. At the outbreak of the plague, Rome's military consisted of 28 legions totaling approximately 150,000 men. The information that was provided by Galen does not unambiguously identify the nature of the disease, but scholars have generally preferred to diagnose it as smallpox. Ancient History Encyclopedia has a new name! We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. The Antonine Plague of 165 to 180 AD, also known as the Plague of Galen (after Galen, the physician who described it), was an ancient pandemic brought to the Roman Empire by troops who were returning from campaigns in the Near East. Ramses V, for example, who ruled for roughly four years in the 12th century B.C., looks to have had the … The success of the external attacks, especially by the Germans, facilitated the decline of the Roman military, which, along with the economic disruptions, contributed ultimately to the decline and fall of the Empire. The contagions easily spread along the land and sea trade routes which connected the cities to the outlying provinces. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. Among the more common symptoms were fever, diarrhea, vomiting, thirstiness, swollen throat, and coughing. [4] Ammianus Marcellinus reported that the plague spread to Gaul and to the legions along the Rhine. Any discussion of the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West begins with Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. ", Fears, J. R. "The plague under Marcus Aurelius and the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. It nearl… The Antonine Plague, also known as the Plague of Gelen, erupted in 165 CE and affected the entire Roman Empire. The Antonine Plague ( pestis Antonini ), also called the plague of Galen, was a pandemic brought to the Roman Empire by returning Roman soldiers from the Middle East campaign. Marcus Aurelius and his co-emperor Lucius Verrus were both members of the Antonine family. The legions were well-trained, well-armed, and well-prepared, none of which prevented them from catching the disease, falling ill, and dying. The impact of the Antonine plague - Volume 9. The suffering was terrible. Lucian of Samosata's irony-laden account of the charlatan Alexander of Abonoteichus records a verse of his "which he despatched to all the nations during the pestilence... was to be seen written over doorways everywhere", particularly in the houses that were emptied, Lucian further remarks. "Antonine Plague." [21] McLaughlin surmised that the origins of the plague lay in Central Asia, from some unknown and isolated population group, which then spread to the Chinese and the Roman worlds. Although the Antonine Plague would have little influence over the arts or Roman culture, its social and political effects have left an indelible mark on the pages of history. Last modified May 02, 2019. The information provided by Galen does not clearly d… One of the hardest paradoxes to reckon with, though, is that the Antonine Plague was as much a symptom of the empire’s success as its sins or stresses. (2019, May 02). "There is not enough evidence satisfactorily to identify the disease or diseases", concluded J. F. Gilliam in his summary (1961) of the written sources, with inconclusive Greek and Latin inscriptions, two groups of papyri and coinage. The Antonine Plague, which flared up during the reign of Marcus Aurelius from 165 AD and continued under the rule of his son Commodus, played such a major role that the pathocenosis in the Ancient World was changed. In 166, during the epidemic, the Greek physician and writer Galen traveled from Rome to his home in Asia Minor. Galen briefly recorded observations and a description of the epidemic in the treatise Methodus Medendi ("Method of Treatment"), and he scattered other references to it among his voluminous writings. Written by John Horgan, published on 02 May 2019 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. [citation needed], Some direct effects of the contagion stand out. [14], The epidemic had drastic social and political effects throughout the Roman Empire. Dio Cassius, LXXII 14.3–4; his book that would cover the plague under Marcus Aurelius is missing; the later outburst was the greatest of which the historian had knowledge. Rome was struck at its apex of power and prosperity — precisely because that power and prosperity had made it ecologically more likely that such a microbiological challenge would emerge and disseminate. Welcome to the home of the Roma Nova thrillers . … Those who survived gained comfort in knowing that loved ones, who died as Christians, could receive the reward of heaven. Gibbon did not rule out the role of the effects of disease outbreaks; in regard to Justinian's Plague (541-42 CE), Gibbon argues early in his multi-volume work that “Pestilence and famine contributed to fill up the measure of the calamities of Rome”(Vol. Roman Military Hospital, Novaeby Janusz RecÅ‚aw (CC BY-NC-SA). Artist's Depiction of an Ailing Romanby Mohawk Games (Copyright) Horgan, John. Harper argues that the Antonine Plague was the first of three devasting pandemics, including the Plague of Cyprian (249-262 CE) and the Justinian Plague (541-542 CE), which rocked the foundations of the Roman Empire largely due to the high mortality rates. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. https://www.ancient.eu/Antonine_Plague/. Black death ravaged Europe between 1347-1351. 100 Dennis P. Kehoe, Law and the Rural Economy in the Roman Empire (Ann Arbor, 2007), 114. Galen (129 – c. 216 CE), a Greek physician and author of Methodus Medendi, not only witnessed the outbreak but described its symptoms and course. Learn More. In Rom selbst brach die Seuche 166 n. Chr. Many historians trace the fall of the Roman empire back to the Antonine Plague, which swept Rome during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. See. The origin of the plague is less than clear and was even more mysterious to ancient peoples living in more superstitious times. His on-going reading and research interests include plagues & diseases and food in world history . Littman, R.J. and Littman, M.L. The two emperors had risen to the throne by virtue of being adopted by the previous emperor, Antoninus Pius, and as a result, their family name, Antoninus, has become associated with the pandemic. [18][19][20], Raoul McLaughlin wrote that the Roman subjects visiting the Han Chinese court in 166 could have ushered in a new era of Roman Far East trade, but it was a "harbinger of something much more ominous" instead. The symptoms recorded by Roman historians were fever, soar throat, diarrhea and skin lesions. "Antonine Plague." A major offensive against the Marcomanni was postponed to 169 because of a shortage of imperial troops. 05 Mar 2021. (Littman & Littman, p. 246). Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. Two different 4th-century CE sources, Res Gestae by Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 330-391 – 400 CE) and the biographies of Lucius Verus & Marcus Aurelius, ascribe the outbreak to participating in a sacrilege, violating the sanctuary of a god and breaking the oath. From 167 to his death, Marcus Aurelius personally commanded legions near the Danube, trying, with only partial success, to control the advance of Germanic peoples across the river. Between 10 and 18 million people eventually died. The coughing produced a foul odor on the breath a… Troops returning from the wars in the East spread the disease northward to Gaul and among troops stationed along the Rhine River. Cite This Work Other historians believe that both outbreaks involved smallpox. Currently an Assistant Professor of History at Concordia University-Wisconsin in the United States. A few mummies from that era contain familiar-looking skin lesions. Antonine Plague. The scarcity of crops caused steep price increases along with decreasing food supplies. Unlike adherents to the Roman polytheistic system, Christians believed in an obligation to assist others in a time of need, including illness. [23][24] Chinese histories also insist that further Roman embassies came to China by way of Rinan in Vietnam in 226 and 284 AD, where Roman artifacts have been found. "[15] During the Marcomannic Wars, Marcus Aurelius wrote his philosophical work Meditations. De Crespigny suggests that the plagues led to the rise of the cult faith hea… In Manpower Shortage and the Fall of the Roman Empire, Boak argues that the outbreak of plague in 166 CE contributed to a decline in population growth, leading the military to draft more peasants and local officials into its ranks resulting in lower food production and a lack of support for day-to-day affairs in administering the towns and cities, thus weakening Rome's abilities to fend off the barbarian invasions. This page was last edited on 4 March 2021, at 17:06. The decrease in tax revenues was attributable to less production on the farms as fewer farmers meant too much land left uncultivated. [21] The plague would kill roughly 10% of the Roman population, as cited by McLaughlin, causing "irreparable" damage to the Roman maritime trade in the Indian Ocean as proven by the archaeological record spanning from Egypt to India as well as significantly decreased Roman commercial activity in Southeast Asia. The very strengths which often characterize flattering descriptions of Rome's empire - the Roman army, the extent of the empire, the extensive trade networks, the size and number of Roman cities - ultimately provided the basis for devastating disease transmissions leading to the fall of the empire. Its communities rebuilt. Nearly every citizen lost immediate family members to the Antonine Plague. Related Content The Antonine Plague of 165 to 180 AD, also known as the Plague of Galen (after Galen, the physician who described it), was an ancient pandemic brought to the Roman Empire by troops who were returning from campaigns in the Near East. He described the plague as "great" and of long duration, and mentioned fever, diarrhea, and pharyngitis as well as a skin eruption, sometimes dry and sometimes pustular, that appeared on the ninth day of the illness. 3. World History Encyclopedia, 02 May 2019. With their ranks thinned by the epidemic, Roman armies were now unable to push the tribes back. Antonine Plague symptoms according to the Roman imperial physician Galen – the most authoritative contemporaneous medical historic source documenting the virus outbreak – describes a condition … In more general terms, the horrific death toll reduced the number of taxpayers, recruits for the army, candidates for public office, businessmen, and farmers. [22] However, as evidenced by the 3rd-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and the 6th-century Christian Topography by Cosmas Indicopleustes, Roman maritime trade into the Indian Ocean, particularly in the silk and spice trades, certainly did not cease but continued until the loss of Egypt to the Muslim Rashidun Caliphate. The epidemic most likely emerged in China shortly before 166 CE spreading westward along the Silk Road and by trading ships headed for Rome. [10], The historian William H. McNeill[11] asserts that the Antonine Plague and the later Plague of Cyprian (251–c. It happened at the end of the reign of the Antonine Dinasty (165-180 AD) that gives name to the plague. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. The shortage of workforce also led to higher wages for those who survived the epidemic and the lack of businessmen, merchants, traders, and financiers caused profound interruptions in domestic and international trade. There are two Emperors of Rome, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, who have been ruling together for four years, and day-to-day life is good. All told it has been suggested that a quarter to a third of the entire population perished, estimated at 60-70 million throughout the empire. All of these downturns meant fewer taxes for the state, which was already sorely pressed to meet its financial obligations. Horgan, John. In those places where it was not ulcerated, the exanthem was rough and scabby and fell away like some husk and hence all became healthy. The coughing produced a foul odor on the breath and an exanthema, skin eruptions or rash, over the entirety of the body distinguished by red and black papules or eruptions: Of some of theses which had become ulcerated, that part of the surface called the scab fell away and then the remaining part nearby was healthy and after one or two days became scarred over. Fewer craftsmen meant fewer things being made which stymied local economies. He was in Rome when the plague reached there in 166 A.D., although he soon left (Kiihn 19.15). The organism is transmitted to humans who are bitten by fleas that have fed on infected rodents or by humans handling infected animals.Known as the Black Death during medieval times, today plague occurs in fewer than 5,000 people a year worldwide. However, it was not the only epidemic to reshape European history. Scholars disagree on whether the Antonine Plague was smallpox or measles. We’re talking, of course, about the Antonine Plague of 165 CE, a global pandemic with a mortality rate of between 2-3%, which began with flu-like symptoms until it escalated and became gruesome and painfully fatal. "Galen and the Antonine Plague". Nails and horses, a stitch in time, plugging a hole, greasing a cartridge, dropping a letter, not changing the batteries – all … The Antonine Plague - the germs that killed an empire. [5] According to the contemporary Roman historian Cassius Dio, the disease broke out again nine years later in 189 AD and caused up to 2,000 deaths a day in Rome, one quarter of those who were affected. The most recent scientific data have eliminated that possibility. Imagine, if you will, that it’s the year 165 AD. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. The new emperor’s permit free speech, they’re popular … The Antonine plague, also called the Antonine pest or Galenian plagues, was the first to affect the Roman Empire in the second century AD, in the western world. World History Encyclopedia. Gibbon pays scant attention to the Antonine Plague, arguing instead that barbarian invasions, the loss of Roman civic virtue, and the rise of Christianity played the most important roles in the empire's decline. According to the 5th-century Spanish writer Paulus Orosius, many towns and villages in the Italian Peninsula and the European provinces lost all of their inhabitants. Der Historiker Cassius Dio berichtet von 2000 Toten täglich in Rom, jeder vierte Erkrankte sei verstorbe… Plague is a serious bacterial infection that's transmitted primarily by fleas. Web. More recently, researchers and historians, such as A. E. R. Boak, suggest that the Antonine Plague, along with a series of other outbreaks, represents a useful starting point for understanding the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire in the West. Referred to as the Antonine Plague(after emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus), this epidemic did what hordes of roving armies could not. The gaining of adherents established the context in which Christianity would emerge as the sole, official religion of the empire. The Antonine Plague, sometimes referred to as the Plague of Galen, erupted in 165 CE, at the height of Roman power throughout the Mediterranean world during the reign of the last of the Five Good Emperors, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (161-180 CE). Christians were willing to provide the most basic needs, food and water, for those too ill to fend for themselves. Smallpox is believed to have first infected humans around the time of the earliest agricultural settlements some 12,000 years ago. Among the more common symptoms were fever, diarrhea, vomiting, thirstiness, swollen throat, and coughing. Antonine Plague. The disease’s symptoms worsened for weeks. Numerous scholars believed that it was either measles or smallpox; however, the cause of the Antonine plague … This simple level of nursing care produced good feelings between Christians and their pagan neighbors. Galen's observations and description of the epidemic, found in the treatise "Methodus Medendi", is brief. As he lay dying, he uttered the words, "Weep not for me; think rather of the pestilence and the deaths of so many others." The tale suggests that the epidemic was a punishment as the Romans violated an oath to the gods not to pillage the city. The plague's effect on the economy was not limited to the agricultural sector. The Antonine Plague (named of course after Marcus Aurelius, who’s real name was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) did what no one else could do at the time, it almost broke the Roman Empire apart, and many attribute this plague as a starting point for the beginning of … Around 165 CE, a mysterious disease broke out across the Roman Empire. [9], In 166, during the epidemic, the Greek physician and writer Galen travelled from Rome to his home in Asia Minor and returned to Rome in 168, when he was summoned by the two Augusti, the co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Galen (129 - c. 216 CE), a Greek physician and author of Methodus Medendi, not only witnessed the outbreak but described its symptoms and course. No surviving evidence of it, however, predates the so-called New Kingdom of Egypt, which lasted from about 1570 B.C. This debate is focused on the methodology used to compute the actual number of people who died. Gilliam, J. F. "The Plague under Marcus Aurelius". The common symptoms were fever, diarrhea, vomiting, thirstiness, swollen throat, and coughing. To send this article to your Kindle, first ensure
[email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. The spread of the epidemic was favoured by the occurrence of two military episodes i … Sometime between late 165 to early 166 CE, the Roman military came into contact with the disease during the siege of Seleucia (a major city on the Tigris River). Black death. With your help we create free content that helps millions of people learn history all around the world. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Although the Antonine Plague would have little influence over the arts or Roman culture, its social and political effects have left an indelible mark on the pages of history. Overcrowded cities, poor diets leading to malnutrition, and a lack of sanitary measures made Roman cities epicenters for disease transmission. But Rome survived. From Galen’s descriptions, it is thought today that the Antonine Plague was an outbreak of small pox. Roman Votive Male Torso, from Isola Farnese. Ancient sources agree that the plague appeared first during the Roman siege of the Mesopotamian city Seleucia in the winter of 165–166. The Antonine Plague killed up to 3,000 ancient Romans per day during the reign of Marcus Aurelius from about 165-180 A.D., but its underlying cause remains unknown. Furthermore, Christianity provided meaning to life and death in times of crisis. Those infected suffered from the illness for roughly two weeks. What is undisputed is that Lucius Verus, co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, died from the illness in 169 CE; Marcus Aurelius died 11 years later from the same illness. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Antonine_Plague/. Christians often stayed to provide assistance while pagans fled. Depleting the supply of gladiators resulted in fewer games at home, which upset the Roman people who demanded more, not less, entertainment during a time of intense stress. Most recently, Kyle Harper suggests that "the paradoxes of social development and the inherent unpredictability of nature, worked in concert to bring about Rome's demise" (Harper, 2). 99 Duncan-Jones, ‘The Impact of the Antonine Plague’, 121–24; Scheidel, ‘A Model of Demographic and Economic Change in Roman Egypt after the Antonine Plague’, 97–8. Horgan, J. Ironically, it was Verus' soldiers who contributed to spreading the disease from the Near East to the rest of the empire. World History Encyclopedia. The lack of available soldiers caused Marcus Aurelius to recruit any able-bodied man who could fight: freed slaves, Germans, criminals, and gladiators. The Antonine plague holds an important place in the history of medicine because of its association with Galen. Paulus Orosius schreibt im 4. When imperial forces moved east, under the command of Emperor Verus, after the forces of Vologases IV of Parthia attacked Armenia, the Romans' defense of the eastern territories was hampered when large numbers of troops succumbed to the disease. It has been suggested that a quarter to a third of the entire population perished, estimated at 60-70 million throughout the empire. [2][3] The plague may have claimed the life of a Roman emperor, Lucius Verus, who died in 169 and was the co-regent of Marcus Aurelius. Galen had first hand knowledge of the disease. [13], In their consternation, many turned to the protection offered by magic. [citation needed], Although Ge Hong was the first writer of traditional Chinese medicine who accurately described the symptoms of smallpox, the historian Rafe de Crespigny mused that the plagues afflicting the Eastern Han Empire during the reigns of Emperor Huan of Han (r. 146–168) and Emperor Ling of Han (r. 168–189) – with outbreaks in 151, 161, 171, 173, 179, 182, and 185 – were perhaps connected to the Antonine plague on the western end of Eurasia. World History Encyclopedia. Please look around while you are here. It has been suggested by some historians that the plague represents a useful starting point for understanding the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire in the West but also the underpinning to its ultimate fall. Throughout history, epidemics and pandemics of plague and other... Bruun, C. "The Antonine Plague and the 'Third-Century Crisis. The symptoms included severe fever, diarrhea, pharyngitis, and on the ninth day of the illness, the appearance of skin eruptions (boils or pustules). 1) uses to describe the Boukoloi is ‘desperate’ (ἀπόνοιαν). Jahrhundert, dass dort viele Ortschaften völlig entvölkert worden seien. Besonders schwer muss sie in den iberischen Provinzen und auf der italienischen Halbinsel gewütet haben. The Galen plague of 165 to 180 AD, also referred to as the Antonine plague, was a pandemic brought to the Roman Empire by soldiers who were coming from the Near East. In the first story, the Roman general, and later co-emperor, Lucius Verus opened a closed tomb in Seleucia during the subsequent sacking of the city thus releasing the disease. Justinain Plague was in 540-590 AD in the Roman Empire Symptoms- headache, conjuctivitis, rash, fever, cough blood, stomach cramps, vomiting, insomnia, and restlessness. Marcus Aurelius launched persecutions against Christians who refused to pay homage to the gods which, the emperor believed, in turn angered the gods whose wrath made itself known in the form of a devastating epidemic. ", Littman, R. J. and Littman, M. L. "Galen and the Antonine Plague. Other Romans blamed Christians for making the gods angry precipitating the outbreak. 1., p. 91). The patchwork army failed in its duty: in 167 CE, Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine River for the first time in more than 200 years. Plagues in History: Antonine Plague – Origins and Symptoms. Eutropius stated that a large population died throughout the empire. by Levasseur after J. Delaunay (CC BY-SA). Galen (129 - c. 216 CE), a Greek physician and author of Methodus Medendi, not only witnessed the outbreak but described its symptoms and course. [6] The total death count has been estimated at 5–10 million,[7][8] and the disease killed as much as one third of the population in some areas and devastated the Roman army. He mentions fever, diarrhea, and inflammation of the pharynx, as well as a skin eruption, sometimes dry and sometimes pustular, appearing on the ninth day of the illness. 270) were outbreaks of two different diseases, one of smallpox and one of measles but not necessarily in that order. The Roman historian Dio Cassius (155-235 CE) estimated 2,000 deaths per day in Rome at the height of the outbreak. Antonine Plague. He returned to Rome in 168 when summoned by the two Augusti. For years, those northern groups had pressed south in search of more lands to sustain their growing populations. Although Ge Hong was the first writer of traditional Chinese medicine who accurately described the symptoms of smallpox, the historian Rafe de Crespigny mused that the plagues afflicting the Eastern Han Empire during the reigns of Emperor Huan of Han (r. 146–168) and Emperor Ling of Han (r. 168–189) – with outbreaks in 151, 161, 171, 173, 179, 182, and 185 – were perhaps connected to the Antonine plague on the western end of Eurasia. The Antonine Plague: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Roman Empire’s... Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. RELATED: Level Of Disease Endemic Epidemic And Pandemic The coughing produced a foul odor on the breath and an exanthema, … In the second outbreak, the estimate of the rate of death was much higher, upwards of 5,000 per day. The Antonine Plague was believed to have originated in East Asia, likely proliferating into Roman territory due to normal economic activity and legions returning from combat in Parthia. Not all who caught the disease died, and those who survived developed immunity from further outbreaks. The ill and dying caused manpower shortages especially along the German frontiers thus weakening the Romans' abilities to defend the empire. The first phase of the outbreak would last until 180 CE affecting the entirety of the Roman Empire, while a second outbreak occurred in 251-266 CE, compounding the effects of the earlier outbreak. The scourge, which according to today’s research was most likely smallpox or measles, took pride after the Empire in 165-180 CE. ", Gilliam, J. F. "The Plague under Marcus Aurelius. Plague of Romeby Levasseur after J. Delaunay (CC BY-SA). License. [17] He also stated that "it may be only chance" that the outbreak of the Antonine plague in 166 coincides with the Roman embassy of "Daqin" (the Roman Empire) landing in Jiaozhi (northern Vietnam) and visiting the Han court of Emperor Huan, claiming to represent "Andun" (安敦; a transliteration of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus or his predecessor Antoninus Pius). He was present at the outbreak among troops stationed at Aquileia in the winter of 168/69. More specifically, Galen noted that the diarrhea appeared blackish which suggested gastrointestinal bleeding. It is a pandemic because it was in the Roman Empire (Europe, Africa, and Asia) It would infect 10,000 people