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
Mediterranean world
Sasanian Empire
urban centers
associatedWithRuler Emperor Justinian I
linked to: 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 Plague of Justinian
linked to: Justinianic Plague
hasCauseAgent Yersinia pestis
hasDiseaseType bubonic plague
linked to: Yersinia pestis

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 Antonine Plague
spreadTo Constantinople
linked to: Istanbul

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

Western Mediterranean
startTime c. 541
timePeriod 6th century
First Plague Pandemic
linked to: Justinianic Plague
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 era
linked to: Justinianic Plague
Yersinia pestis associatedPandemic Justinianic Plague
Justinianic Plague timePeriod First Plague Pandemic
linked to: Justinianic Plague
Justinianic Plague hasAlternativeName Plague of Justinian
linked to: Justinianic Plague
Justinian dynasty notableEvent Justinianic Plague
Belisarius associatedWith Justinianic Plague era
linked to: Justinianic Plague
John of Ephesus wroteAbout Justinianic Plague
House of Justinian associatedEvent Justinianic Plague