Very interesting book about the time period, and the possible causes of the Dark Ages. Volcano - Weather - Famine - Plague. All basically inter-linked, but basically starting with a volcano.
Posted on 01/28/2014 3:29:18 PM PST by Renfield
hat caused the fall of the Roman Empire? A devastating plague that struck during the reign of Emperor Justinian in 541 AD, killing a quarter of the population, seems to have landed the final blow, but the identity of the infection was a mystery.
Now sequencing of DNA taken from two skeletons buried in Bavaria, Germany, in the 6th century has uncovered the complete genome of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria also blamed for the Black Death that struck Europe in 1348. The find suggests that Y. pestis may have emerged to ravage humanity several times.
Hendrik Poinar at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, who led the team that sequenced the German bacteria, also helped sequence Y. pestis bacteria from Londoners killed by the Black Death. He says the new finds don't prove Y. pestis was the sole cause of both plagues, but "make it more likely Yersinia was part of the larger story"...
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
Ping
>>Black Death may have scuppered Roman Empire<<
Black Idiocy may well end America.
nothing to do with Rome debasing their currency, letting in hordes of illegals, massive government corruption, loss of any meaning to citizenship, insane taxes/regulations and an out of control oligarchy???
The Eastern (Byzantine) Empire lasted until 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Turks.
The plague of Justinian was a devastating event. But no one thinks the Roman world fell in 541 AD.
Journalists. They know nothing about everything.
While it did not topple the Roman Empire, the plague insured the Dark Ages began very dark indeed.
Very interesting book about the time period, and the possible causes of the Dark Ages. Volcano - Weather - Famine - Plague. All basically inter-linked, but basically starting with a volcano.
Barbarians to Angels is written by archeologist Peter Wells who states that archaeological evidence shows people thriving in areas of the post Western Roman Empire despite what the contemporary texts wrote.
It’s an interesting read.
Pshaw! That was merely coincidentally complementary!
What are you trying to do - ruin the Liberal explanation of "history"?
Shame on you!!!
CA....
Interesting that he links population loss in the Arabian Peninsula with the rise of Islam. Quite some catastrophe there.
We have black death in the White Hut.
“Justinian’s Flea” laid out the case of plague pretty well.
But the West fell well before 541. And aguably before 476.
The eastern empire could be said to not have realy fallen until the Russian Revolution.
“Mehmed II and his successors continued to consider themselves heirs to the Roman Empire until the demise of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century. They considered that they had simply shifted its religious basis as Constantine had done before. Meanwhile, the Danubian Principalities (whose rulers also considered themselves the heirs of the Eastern Roman Emperors[157]) harboured Orthodox refugees, including some Byzantine nobles.
At his death, the role of the emperor as a patron of Eastern Orthodoxy was claimed by Ivan III, Grand duke of Muscovy. He had married Andreas’ sister, Sophia Paleologue, whose grandson, Ivan IV, would become the first Tsar of Russia (tsar, or czar, meaning caesar, is a term traditionally applied by Slavs to the Byzantine Emperors). Their successors supported the idea that Moscow was the proper heir to Rome and Constantinople. The idea of the Russian Empire as the successive Third Rome was kept alive until its demise with the Russian Revolution.[158]” [Wikipedia]
BTTT
Exactly - My 8th grade history teacher (Rochester, NY in mid-60s) told us it was the institution of the Dole so those who had no real contributions to make could provide art/music/etc.
I'm sure there are no teachers left in NY State that would dare say that today.
Final blow? Byzantium lasted until 1453!
A devastating plague that struck during the reign of Emperor Justinian in 541 AD, killing a quarter of the population... sequencing of DNA taken from two skeletons buried in Bavaria, Germany, in the 6th century has uncovered the complete genome of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria also blamed for the Black Death that struck Europe in 1348.Thanks Renfield! I agree, colorado tanker -- for one thing, Justinian's reconquest of decent-sized swaths of the already fallen parts of the Empire cost an enormous fortune; for another, the Byzantine era went on for centuries more, hitting its next (and final) peak during the reign of Basil II, and not ending until Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453.
Thanks Snickering Hound. From the poltical standpoint, the western parts of the empire shattered during the 3rd century, but the economic life continued to thrive, and merchants traveled between the schismatic “empires” as before. This went on after the legions vanished in the west. “Dark Ages” Britain shows up in the form of continued occupation of former Roman sites, and these strata contain Byz. pottery and other goods from distant places, which implies their products — whatever they may have been — got bartered for the foreign goods.
http://www.amazon.com/Barbarians-Angels-Dark-Ages-Reconsidered/dp/0393335399/
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