I have always wondered why it was so easy for the Arabs to sweep into Mesopotamia and Palestine in the 630's and 40's. The historical consensus is that both the Roman and Persian empires had exhausted each other after nearly 26 years of constant warfare. This argument makes logical sense, but does not show a complete picture of what happened. Yersinia pestis, an gram negative bacteria found in rats and flea's, had been introduced to the western world in the early 540's during the Roman Emperor Justinian's reign. The subsequent plague of Justinian killed upwards to 40 million people and devastated the Eastern Roman empire, however it really never left. Yersinia pestis became endemic to the mediterranean and would continue to flare up from time to time in cities for well into the 800's CE. A similar scenario can be seen to this day in Madagascar, where every spring to fall a plague season erupts and kills countless people. In 628 CE, after the Persian defeat by the Romans, Yersinia pestis reared it's ugly head once more and struck the middle east in full force. It was recorded that the Persian capital of Ctesiphon lost over 100,000 of it's residents to the bacterium and that entire villages were wiped out. So disruptive was the epidemic that Kavad II( Sheroe), son of Khosuro II, died of the plague in 628 after a reign of about 8 months. Kavad's death opened pandora's box for succession to the Persian throne that would see 13 rulers in the next 4 years. Unfortunately Yersina pestis still wasn't done, in 634 the bacterium struck both the Sassanid heartland and Roman syria, killing an estimated 40,000 people in 638 alone. It was in this political and civil vacuum that the Arab muslims successfully walked into. The Plague of Sheroe is relatively unknown yet it's ramifications helped to change world history forever. It is unknown what caused Yersinia pestis to erupt all of a sudden in 628, but it could have been the massive movement of solders and civilians back to Mesopotamia and Iran after the defeat of Persia by the Romans. As for the bacteria it self, Yersinia pestis relies on an arsenal of proteins and secretion systems to evade immune cells and to actively reproduce in the lympnodes or lungs. In ancient times the bubonic form of the disease would be 50-80% fatal, where as the septic and pneumonic form were almost always 100% fatal. Luckily with the advent of antibiotics most serotypes are treatable with a weekly regimen of tetracycline and most patients make a full recovery. The Plague of Sheroe helped bring down the Sassanid empire and weaken the Eastern Roman Empire, but is rarely mentioned or recalled. It is fascinating to think how a 4 micrometer long bacteria helped to changed world history forever. So to celebrate Yersinia pestis, here is a Sassanid Dirham of Khosuro II, father of Kavad II (Sheroe), that likely circulated during the epidemic. 4.2 grams 32mm in diameter One of my favorite pieces of art: The April 2014 cover photo for The Lancet Medical Journal depicting Emperor Justinian I, a flea, a rat, and the bacteria responsible for The Plague of Justinian. And finally, a gram stain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis Sources https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5037359/ https://www.who.int/csr/don/02-november-2017-plague-madagascar/en/ https://f1000research.com/articles/5-1370
Excellent post! I enjoyed the 2007 book Justinian's Flea by William Rosen. It subtitle is "Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe." It covers 284-664 CE, more than just the time of Justinian. I recommend it. Justinian. Sear 219. 40 nummia. 39-37 mm. (Large!) 22.53 grams. 6:00. Year XG = 16 = 542/3. Mintmark: CHEUPo, bar over the CH. Antioch = Theopolis mint. Hahn 1454a. DO I 216 This mintmark for Antioch is only from year 16 and no coins with years 17, 18 or 19 were minted at Antioch, for reasons uncertain, but possibly because of the plague. For more about the tragedy of Antioch's decline, see this page about his mintmarks at Antioch: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/interesting/Justinian.html
@Valentinian Thanks! I’d been meaning to pick up that book for awhile. I’ve heard glowing reviews about it from multiple people.
I'm enjoying your pathology posts! A "plague follis" of Justinian has been on my buy list for some time. I should try harder to find one .
Aaaah! Don't bring that plague-infested dirham in here! Seriously, very interesting post. Similarly, I think the impact of (a different) plague in leading to collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century is also greatly underappreciated.
Great post!! I think the coins from this transitional period are fascinating. Justinian plague follis: Plague also helped clear the way for the Lombard invasion of Italy in the latter half of the sixth century. Here's an early Lombard half siliqua imitating Justinian: Sasanian occupation of Syria c. 611-625 (overstruck on a follis of Anastasius): Drachm of Yazdgard III issued 635-6: Early Islamic Arab-Byzantine imitative issue, c. 640s-650s:
