The world has just recovered from the Covid 19 pandemic in a reasonably short time span. The Romans were not so lucky. In 165 – 180 BC, for 15 years the Antonine Plague killed 10 percent of the Roman Empire’s population. Although caused by a virus, the Romans believed it to be a punishment for Roman soldiers who has desecrated a temple. Then from 251 to 270 AD raging for about 20 years, the Cyprian Plague decimated the population, with estimates of ,000 people dying per day in Rome, but the worst was to come with the Justinian Plague, although a shorter time span from 541 to 549 Ad, it was estimated 10,000 people per day died in Constantinople.
Mario Bartolini has a master’s degree in political history from the Université de Sherbrooke, Canada, and a second master’s degree in war studies, obtained at the Royal Military College of Canada. He is the author of Roman Emperors: A Guide to the Men Who Ruled the Empire
