Plague of Cyprian
E903632
The Plague of Cyprian was a devastating mid-3rd-century epidemic that severely weakened the Roman Empire’s population, military, and economy, and is known largely through the writings of Bishop Cyprian of Carthage.
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
disease outbreak
ⓘ
epidemic ⓘ historical event ⓘ pandemic ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Cyprianic Plague NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Crisis of the Third Century
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Roman Empire demographic decline ⓘ |
| authorOfPrimaryTextSource | Cyprian of Carthage NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryAffected | Roman Empire NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| describedBySource |
Cyprian of Carthage
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Eusebius of Caesarea NERFINISHED ⓘ Pontius the Deacon NERFINISHED ⓘ later Christian chroniclers ⓘ |
| effectOnChristianity |
may have strengthened the social cohesion of Christian communities
ⓘ
provided opportunities for Christian charity and care of the sick ⓘ used in Christian apologetic literature ⓘ |
| endTime | circa 270 ⓘ |
| impact |
contributed to labor shortages
ⓘ
contributed to military recruitment difficulties ⓘ contributed to political instability in the Roman Empire ⓘ contributed to social disruption in the Roman Empire ⓘ contributed to tax revenue decline ⓘ contributed to the Crisis of the Third Century ⓘ increased mortality in urban centers ⓘ severely weakened the Roman economy ⓘ severely weakened the Roman military ⓘ severely weakened the population of the Roman Empire ⓘ |
| location |
Alexandria
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Carthage NERFINISHED ⓘ Eastern Mediterranean NERFINISHED ⓘ Egypt ⓘ Gaul NERFINISHED ⓘ Italy ⓘ North Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ Rome ⓘ |
| mortalityRate | very high (reported) ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Cyprian of Carthage NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| possibleCause |
measles (hypothesized)
ⓘ
smallpox (hypothesized) ⓘ viral hemorrhagic fever (hypothesized) ⓘ |
| primaryTextSource | De mortalitate GENERATED ⓘ |
| religiousInterpretation |
interpreted as divine judgment by some contemporaries
ⓘ
interpreted by Cyprian as a test of Christian faith ⓘ |
| startTime | circa 249 ⓘ |
| symptomsDescribedAs |
fever
ⓘ
gangrene of extremities ⓘ severe diarrhea ⓘ ulcerations of the throat ⓘ vomiting ⓘ |
| timePeriod | mid-3rd century ⓘ |
| uncertainty | exact pathogen is unknown ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.