Lecture 9 : Roman Times Overview

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Lecture 9 Roman TimesOverview

• HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
• The Macedonian Empire (Alexander The Great)
• The Roman Empire
• China (Han Dynasty)
• Persia and India
• HEALTH AND DISEASE
• Malaria
• Plague of Orosius
• The Antonine And Cyprian Plagues
• The Justinian Plague

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Alexander The Great

• Alexander became king of Macedonia in 336 BC.
• He established hegemony over most of Greece, then
  established a major empire embracing Egypt, the
  Middle East, Persia, the Indus plus other areas.
• Died in 323 BC aged 33 from an infection.
• His empire was divided after his death. Ptolemy
  established a dynasty in Egypt which survived
  until Cleopatra was defeated by Octavian
  (Augustus Caesar) in 31 BC.

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The Roman Empire

• Romans overtook the Etruscans in Italy in 4th
  century BC.
• Defeated the Carthaginians in the Punic Wars (2nd
  century BC).
• Further conquests extended their control over
  large parts of Alexanders empire and also into
  Gaul and Britain.
• Greek culture diffused to western Europe.
• Population of Rome was about 2 million the
  empire about 50 million.

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China

• Han dynasty established 202 BC.
• Main focus was around the Hwang Ho.
• Development of the Yangtze was inhibited by
  tropical diseases (e.g. malaria, dengue,
  schistosomiasis).

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Persia And India

• Greek Seleucid empire was established in Middle
  East by one of Alexanders generals.
• Succeeded by Parthian empire (248BC-226AD) and
  Sassanid empire (226-641).
• Succession of major empires in India Maurya,
  Sakas, Kushan.

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Trade

• The four main regions of civilisation formed a
  ring around the periphery of Asia.
• The central areas remained sparsely populated.
• A direct trade route (the Silk Road) was
  established between China and the Roman empire.
• Roman ships traded with the Middle East and India
  through the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

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Health And Disease

• Following increased contacts, each region became
  exposed to the diseaes of the other regions.
• Epidemics became global in extent for the first
  time i.e. pandemics.

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Malaria

• Malaria turned the rich agricultural Campagna
  Romano region into a malarial wasteland.
• Only made habitable again in the late 19th /
  early 20th centuries.

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Early Epidemics

• Rome was hit by a major epidemic in 79AD.
• Rome was hit by another epidemic (the Plague or
  Orosius) in 125AD which had originated in Africa
  where it killed 1 million people.
• Roman army lost 30,000 men.

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The Antonine Plague

• Roman troops sent to quell a rebellion in Syria
  in 164 brought back a disease in 166 which killed
  about one quarter to one third of the Italian
  population and a total of 4-7 million throughout
  the empire.
• Greek physician Galen left a description which
  the 9th century Persian physician ar-Razi
  recognised as smallpox in a virgin population.
• Another epidemic (Plague of Cyprian) in 251-266
  killed 5,000 per day in Rome. This is now thought
  to have been measles.
• Population declines severely weakened the empire,
  contributing to the collapse of the western
  empire in the 5th century.

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The Justinian Plague (1)

• The Roman empire split in two in the 4th century,
  and the western half collapsed in the 5th
  century.
• The eastern emperor Justinian reclaimed much of
  the western empire before Constantinople was hit
  by a plague in 542.
• Believed to have been bubonic plague.

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The Justinian Plague (2)

• Bubonic plague is caused by bacillus Pasteurella
  pestis which is endemic in burrowing rodents in
  Himalayan foothills.
• It is transmitted by fleas.
• The Indian black rat (Rattus rattus) became
  infected. When the black rats died, the fleas
  start biting humans.
• Pneumonic form is highly infectious and almost
  100 per cent fatal.

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The Justinian Plague (3)

• The Justinian plague killed 40 per cent of the
  population of Constantinople in its first attack.
  
• It spread from Constantinople to the rest of
  Europe.
• Repeated attacks over the next 200 years reduced
  the population of Europe by 50 per cent.
• The eastern Empire fell to the Moslems in 634.
• Population losses resulted in the collapse of
  urban civilisation and ushered in the Dark Ages.