Justinianic Plague

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The Justinianic Plague was a devastating 6th-century pandemic of bubonic plague that ravaged the Byzantine Empire and Mediterranean world, often considered a precursor to the later Black Death.

All labels observed (4)

Label Occurrences
Justinianic Plague canonical 6
Justinianic Plague era 2
First Plague Pandemic 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf bubonic plague outbreak
historical event
pandemic
affectedEntity Byzantine Empire
Ancient Mediterranean world
surface form: Mediterranean world

Sasanian Empire
urban centers
associatedWithRuler Justinian I
surface form: Emperor Justinian I
documentedBy Evagrius Scholasticus
John of Ephesus
Procopius
endTime c. mid-8th century
estimatedDeaths tens of millions (uncertain)
estimatedMortalityRate very high
firstMajorOutbreakLocation Egypt
Pelusium
followedBy Black Death
hasAlternativeName Justinianic Plague
surface form: Plague of Justinian
hasCauseAgent Yersinia pestis
hasDiseaseType Yersinia pestis
surface form: bubonic plague

pneumonic plague
septicemic plague
hasEpicenter Byzantine Empire
hasGeneticEvidence confirmed Yersinia pestis DNA in early medieval remains
historicalDebate scale and demographic impact are debated by scholars
impactOn Byzantine demography
Byzantine economy
Byzantine military strength
tax revenues of the Byzantine Empire
urbanization in the Mediterranean
isConsidered precursor to the Black Death
namedAfter Justinian I
occurredDuring reign of Justinian I
precededBy Outbreak of Antonine Plague
surface form: Antonine Plague
spreadTo Istanbul
surface form: Constantinople

Eastern Mediterranean
Gaul
Germanic kingdoms
Iberian Peninsula
Italy
Middle East
North Africa
Sasanian Empire
surface form: Persian Empire

Western Mediterranean
startTime c. 541
timePeriod 6th century
Justinianic Plague self-linksurface differs
surface form: First Plague Pandemic
transmissionMode flea bites
respiratory droplets (pneumonic form)
transmissionVector black rats
fleas

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (10)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Black Death relatedTo Justinianic Plague
Late Antiquity hasMajorEvent Justinianic Plague
Justinian I knownFor Justinianic Plague
this entity surface form: Justinianic Plague era
Yersinia pestis associatedPandemic Justinianic Plague
Justinianic Plague timePeriod Justinianic Plague self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: First Plague Pandemic
Justinianic Plague hasAlternativeName Justinianic Plague
this entity surface form: Plague of Justinian
Justinian dynasty notableEvent Justinianic Plague
Belisarius associatedWith Justinianic Plague
this entity surface form: Justinianic Plague era
John of Ephesus wroteAbout Justinianic Plague
House of Justinian associatedEvent Justinianic Plague