JUSTINIAN'S EPIDEMIC
JUSTINIAN'S EPIDEMIC
Prof. Dr. H. Kadircan KESKİNBORA
Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Medicine
Rebuilt with Hagia Sophia in 541 AD, Constantinople was becoming one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The welfare level of the society increased and the city began to live twenty-four hours a day. The Roman Empire also entered a period of recovery and a political transformation took place; Art and architecture reached their peak in Istanbul with Hagia Sophia. Legal reforms had been made. While Antakya was being rebuilt, 30,000 people were massacred in the Nika rebellion. Emperor Justinianus, who had stability in certain matters during his 38-year rule, was on the verge of conquering Italy and uniting Western and Eastern Rome, which had not come together for more than a century.
However, the black plague, which emerged in Central Africa, had reached the Egyptian region of the Byzantine Empire at that time. Although food shipments from Egypt by ships were immediately stopped, the plague spread to Palestine, Syria, and from there to various cities of Anatolia within a few months. Thereupon, entry and exit to Constantinople was almost banned.
Despite all precautions, rats carrying plague microbes were overlooked among the supplies brought to the city by a military unit. Within a week, the plague spread rapidly in the area between Theater Street and Theodosius Port, where the poorest parts of the city lived, and deaths began. The area where the nobles lived and the surroundings of the Grand Palace were quarantined by military units. Entry and exit there is strictly prohibited at all costs. But the plague continued to spread at incredible speeds.
While some of the patients fell into a deep coma, others were trying to survive in a semi-conscious state. Then, severe delirium and delusions occurred, and then the swellings in the body turned into gangrene, causing the death of the patients. Sampson Hospital's physicians were helpless. The epidemic quickly spread in the crowded city. The death toll, which was a few hundred a day, soon reached thousands, sometimes nearly 10 thousand people a day.
Corpses were no longer buried, but were thrown haphazardly into graves. When the cemeteries were full, the dead were thrown into the city's towers, and the smell of rotting flesh began to surround the city. Some corpses were put on boats and thrown into the sea. Eventually, the infrastructure of Constantinople completely collapsed and at least 300 thousand of the population of 750 thousand people lost their lives in this incident. For this reason, Justinian's plans for the conquest of Italy were also thwarted.
On the advice of physicians, Empress Theodora and Emperor Justinian were very careful. As a responsible emperor, he was very upset because he could not find a solution. Even though doctors said there was nothing they could do, he was looking for solutions but couldn't find them.
Due to the plague, the streets were empty and trade and agriculture almost stopped. Still, no one escaped outside the walls. Some volunteers even collected the bodies and buried them. Despite the disease spreading widely in the summer heat, the patrols of the guard and Emperor Justinian's attendance at the church with his ceremonial processions boosted the morale of the people. He couldn't bear to sit in his palace under quarantine, away from danger, with his hands tied, while his people moaned and groaned. One night, without telling anyone, he changed clothes and quietly left the palace. He moved towards Theater Street. This district of Constantinople, where a week or two ago the sounds of music could be heard in the streets, people were walking around cheerfully, and the theaters were open until the first light of the morning with their singers, dancers and entertainers, was now buried in an eerie desolation. He suffered from the current state of the city. Desperate, he returned to the palace. He acted cautiously, took off his clothes before going in, and went to bed in his bed clothes. Two days later, the emperor, who had the habit of starting work early in the morning, did not appear even though it was noon. They went to Justinian's apartment. Justinian was sleeping making strange noises and shouting from time to time: the emperor had caught the plague. Was there any hope of salvation? Thanks to his strong will and body, Justinian became one of the rare people who survived this disease with minor damage.
Despite everything, famine and hunger broke out, the value of money dropped, and the epidemic spread to the Balkans. Interestingly; Around Christmas, the epidemic left the city as quickly as it arrived.
Although this epidemic, which went down in history as the Justinian Epidemic, ended in 542 AD, it continued to be seen as a common disease in the Byzantine Empire until the 8th century, and a total of about 30 million people died from this disease.
Plague has been recognized since ancient times. Another name is "Black Death". In medieval Europe, 1/3 of the population died from this disease. Today, developed countries have overcome this problem, as it is possible to treat it with modern antibiotics. It is still the biggest problem and one of the biggest diseases in some parts of the Asian and African continents.
The flea genus insect called Xenopsylla, which is smaller than one millimeter and hides among the fur of mice, carries the deadly plague bacterium called Yersinia (Pasteurella) pestis in its stomach; They fly and settle among the feathers of other mice in the environment and reproduce rapidly. Then, they get up from the feathers, land directly on any part of the human body and bite, thus transmitting the plague microbe. Mice also die as a result of these fleas biting and transmitting the microbe. Mice run from place to place and act as carriers of the microbe, causing it to spread.
Unhygienic, dirty places, areas where the sun does not penetrate, are the most suitable environments for plague, as for other infectious diseases. Even if the person is not constantly in this environment, once infected, troublesome times may begin for the person. The microbe begins to show its first symptoms within 2-8 days, approximately one week, after entering the body: fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, head, back, groin and joint pain, swelling in the lymph nodes, nosebleeds, coughing up blood, difficulty breathing, weakness. and spots on the skin. Black spots appear on the skin as a result of the accumulation of bleeding under the skin and in internal organs. That's why it is called black; Another name is "bubonic plague", referring to the blisters.
If the disease is diagnosed at an early stage, it can be treated with various antibiotics and vaccines. The bacteria that causes the disease begins to cause harm as soon as it enters the body. As soon as symptoms are noticed, a doctor should be consulted immediately. If the disease is delayed, some organs may be lost.
The best way to protect yourself from the disease is to stay away from places and animals where fleas live and cause the disease to spread. The environment should always be clean, sunny places should be preferred, and most importantly, contact with people and animals carrying plague should be strictly avoided.
Resources
Field J. The Bloody History of the World. Istanbul, Maya Kitap, 2015:38-39.
Nikiforuk A. The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse. Istanbul, İletişim Publishing, 2007:67-90.
3)http://www.tarihiistanbul.com/roma-imparatoru-1-justinyen/ access: 28.05.2017