Justinian’s plague and black death In Byzantium
Justinian’s plague and black death In Byzantium

Summary/Abstract: This study presents an overview of Justinian’s Plague and Black Death in Byzantium. The data collected for this study derived from descriptions of the plague, as depicted in the texts of Byzantine historians and prominent annalists grouped by time of appearance and geographical spread. During Justinian’s Plague (541–751 a.D.), a total of 79 plague reports were noted, which can be distinguished in 17 epidemic waves and 4 intervals with local outbreaks. During Black Death (1347–1453 a.D.), a total of 61 plague reports were noted, which can be distinguished in 9 major epidemic waves and 16 local outbreaks. The capital Constantinople and the Venetian colonies of Ionian and Aegean Sea are the areas mostly affected by the plague, whereas the epidemic waves of the Black Death in Byzantium in the course of the two centuries had a total average duration of 3,8 years.

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