Pox Romana: The Plague That Shook the Roman World

Pox Romana: The Plague That Shook the Roman World by Colin Elliott

A plague broke through the Roman world and killed a large portion of the population. It helped amplify some of the problems that were occuring in the empire. In some cases, the responses were worse than the problems. Price controls seem like a good solution until they cause a shortage. A form of religious piety also arose as an attempt to appease the gods. Alas, this also involved attacks on those that were "different" (like Christians). The Christian ended up doing better despite the persecution. They cared for the sick. This helped them gain immunity and thus greater numbers survived.

We are unsure what the plague was that hit Rome. Perhaps it was small pox, or perhaps it was something else. There seemed to also be a plague in China around the same time, so it could have been global. There seemed to be a significant reduction in human activity during this time. Records in the Greenland ice confirm some of this changes. The epidemic was likely spread via soldiers and trade. The city got hit harder, likely due to people living in close quarters without immunity. Modern medicine can also trace some of its roots to the Roman plague.

The book is very cautious in the analysis. There are many possibilities. We are not sure what happened, but it can be fun to analyze.