Professor Kyle Harper

So this particularly is building, you know, over the decades leading into the reign of Marcus Aurelius, but then from like the 160s and 170s, it seems to become more acute. Simultaneously, so leave aside any causal links, but just observing that at the same time in the 160s, there's a pandemic.

So this particularly is building, you know, over the decades leading into the reign of Marcus Aurelius, but then from like the 160s and 170s, it seems to become more acute. Simultaneously, so leave aside any causal links, but just observing that at the same time in the 160s, there's a pandemic.

So this particularly is building, you know, over the decades leading into the reign of Marcus Aurelius, but then from like the 160s and 170s, it seems to become more acute. Simultaneously, so leave aside any causal links, but just observing that at the same time in the 160s, there's a pandemic.

Just unambiguously, for the first time in centuries, there are dozens of indications from all corners of the empire that simultaneously there's an outbreak of infectious disease that people perceive as something different. So it's not just sort of the ordinary disease. background stew of diseases. It's not even sort of the ordinary, just a bad year, right? The Romans, again, they have bad years.

Just unambiguously, for the first time in centuries, there are dozens of indications from all corners of the empire that simultaneously there's an outbreak of infectious disease that people perceive as something different. So it's not just sort of the ordinary disease. background stew of diseases. It's not even sort of the ordinary, just a bad year, right? The Romans, again, they have bad years.

Just unambiguously, for the first time in centuries, there are dozens of indications from all corners of the empire that simultaneously there's an outbreak of infectious disease that people perceive as something different. So it's not just sort of the ordinary disease. background stew of diseases. It's not even sort of the ordinary, just a bad year, right? The Romans, again, they have bad years.

There are epidemics every 10 years, every 5, 10, 20 years. There's dying. That's the nature of the world in a society where infectious diseases are dominant. This stands out. This is absolutely different. In the written record, you have people from all different languages, different ideologies, different genres, who talk about what we call the Antonine Plague.

There are epidemics every 10 years, every 5, 10, 20 years. There's dying. That's the nature of the world in a society where infectious diseases are dominant. This stands out. This is absolutely different. In the written record, you have people from all different languages, different ideologies, different genres, who talk about what we call the Antonine Plague.

There are epidemics every 10 years, every 5, 10, 20 years. There's dying. That's the nature of the world in a society where infectious diseases are dominant. This stands out. This is absolutely different. In the written record, you have people from all different languages, different ideologies, different genres, who talk about what we call the Antonine Plague.

The Antonine dynasty is in power, and we call it the plague. Plague is a really bad term for it, actually. Plague is kind of an annoying word in English because it's ambiguous. Plague can either just mean pandemic or outbreak of disease or pestilence.

The Antonine dynasty is in power, and we call it the plague. Plague is a really bad term for it, actually. Plague is kind of an annoying word in English because it's ambiguous. Plague can either just mean pandemic or outbreak of disease or pestilence.

The Antonine dynasty is in power, and we call it the plague. Plague is a really bad term for it, actually. Plague is kind of an annoying word in English because it's ambiguous. Plague can either just mean pandemic or outbreak of disease or pestilence.

The plague also sometimes implies the specific disease of bubonic plague, the plague, the disease that caused the Black Death, the disease that caused the Justinianic plague. It's caused by a specific bacterium called Yersinia pestis. It's a totally fascinating bacterium. But the Antonine Plague is not the plague itself. It's just, we should call it the Antonine Pestilence.

The plague also sometimes implies the specific disease of bubonic plague, the plague, the disease that caused the Black Death, the disease that caused the Justinianic plague. It's caused by a specific bacterium called Yersinia pestis. It's a totally fascinating bacterium. But the Antonine Plague is not the plague itself. It's just, we should call it the Antonine Pestilence.

The plague also sometimes implies the specific disease of bubonic plague, the plague, the disease that caused the Black Death, the disease that caused the Justinianic plague. It's caused by a specific bacterium called Yersinia pestis. It's a totally fascinating bacterium. But the Antonine Plague is not the plague itself. It's just, we should call it the Antonine Pestilence.

But we don't think it was caused by the plague, the bubonic plague. It's not totally impossible and like, We should always have a little skepticism in our mind about how much we know about these ancient pandemics. But we don't think it was the plague. So we should call it the Antonine Pestilence.

But we don't think it was caused by the plague, the bubonic plague. It's not totally impossible and like, We should always have a little skepticism in our mind about how much we know about these ancient pandemics. But we don't think it was the plague. So we should call it the Antonine Pestilence.

But we don't think it was caused by the plague, the bubonic plague. It's not totally impossible and like, We should always have a little skepticism in our mind about how much we know about these ancient pandemics. But we don't think it was the plague. So we should call it the Antonine Pestilence.

And whatever caused it, it was highly alarming to people all over the empire who describe significant mortality. And this is a society where they're used to a lot of people dying. And this stands out somehow to their experience, to their background. So simultaneously... You've got the human things going on.

And whatever caused it, it was highly alarming to people all over the empire who describe significant mortality. And this is a society where they're used to a lot of people dying. And this stands out somehow to their experience, to their background. So simultaneously... You've got the human things going on.