Justinianic Plague

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bubonic plague outbreak historical event pandemic

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.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form	Occurrences
First Plague Pandemic	1
Justinianic Plague era	1
Plague of Justinian	1

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 ⓘ

Referenced by (7)

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

Yersinia pestis → associatedPandemic → Justinianic Plague ⓘ

Justinianic Plague → hasAlternativeName → Justinianic Plague ⓘ

this entity surface form: Plague of Justinian

Late Antiquity → hasMajorEvent → Justinianic Plague ⓘ

Justinian I → knownFor → Justinianic Plague ⓘ

this entity surface form: Justinianic Plague era

Justinian dynasty → notableEvent → Justinianic Plague ⓘ

Black Death → relatedTo → Justinianic Plague ⓘ

Justinianic Plague → timePeriod → Justinianic Plague self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: First Plague Pandemic