Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of EuropeA richly told story of the collision between nature’s smallest organism and history’s mightiest empire The Emperor Justinian reunified Rome’s fractured empire by defeating the Goths and Vandals who had separated Italy, Spain, and North Africa from imperial rule. In his capital at Constantinople he built the world’s most beautiful building, married its most powerful empress, and wrote its most enduring legal code, seemingly restoring Rome’s fortunes for the next five hundred years. Then, in the summer of 542, he encountered a flea. The ensuing outbreak of bubonic plague killed five thousand people a day in Constantinople and nearly killed Justinian himself. In Justinian’s Flea, William Rosen tells the story of history’s first pandemic—a plague seven centuries before the Black Death that killed tens of millions, devastated the empires of Persia and Rome, left a path of victims from Ireland to Iraq, and opened the way for the armies of Islam. Weaving together evolutionary microbiology, economics, military strategy, ecology, and ancient and modern medicine, Rosen offers a sweeping narrative of one of the great hinge moments in history, one that will appeal to readers of John Kelly’s The Great Mortality, John Barry’s The Great Influenza, and Jared Diamond’s Collapse. |
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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
Contents
The Three ThousandBody Problem | 1 |
Pelusium 540 | 9 |
Four Princes of the World 286470 | 15 |
Boundaries of the Roman Empire | 18 |
We Do Not Love Anything Uncivilized 337518 | 37 |
Our Most Pious Consort 518530 | 64 |
Solomon I Have Outdone Thee 530537 | 91 |
City of Constantinople 71 | 92 |
The Victories Granted Us by Heaven 533540 | 134 |
Daughter of Chance and Number | 167 |
From So Simple a Beginning | 185 |
The Fury of the Wrath of God 540542 | 198 |
A Man of Unruly Mind 523545 | 227 |
The Silk Road | 301 |
Acknowledgments | 327 |
Bibliographical Note | 347 |
Other editions - View all
Justinian's Flea: The First Great Plague and the End of the Roman Empire William Rosen Limited preview - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
Africa Agathias Alexandria Anastasius Anthemius Antioch Antonina Arab arch Arian army arrived attack bacteria bacterium barbarian battle Belisarius Belisarius's bishop bubonic plague built Byzantine called Cambridge capital cavalry century China Christian chronicler church city's command conquest Constantine Constantinople Danube death defeated demon despite Diocletian disease dome dozens east eastern emperor empire's Europe flea force Gaul Gelimer gold Gothic Goths Greek Hagia Sophia Hippodrome historian human hundred Huns Ibid imperial Italy J. B. Bury John Justin Justinian Justinian and Theodora Khusro king land late antiquity Later Roman Empire less Mediterranean military modern Monophysite Narses Narses's Ostrogoths palace pandemic Persian pestis piers population Procopius Procopius's reign Roman Empire Rome Rome's rule ruler Sassanid siege silk sixth-century soldiers successor thousand throne tion Totila trans Tribonian troops turned University Press Vandals Visigoths Vitigis walls Wars western York
Bibliographic information
| Title | Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe |
| Author | William Rosen |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Penguin, 2007 |
| ISBN | 0670038555, 9780670038558 |
| Length | 367 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Europe / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |