The Justinianic Plague describes the devastating outbreak of the bubonic plague that wrought havoc on the Byzantine Empire in 541 CE (Sessa). The plague is named after the Byzantine emperor Justinian whose reign from 526 to 565 CE coincided with the first documented plague outbreak (Sessa). With the onset of such a disastrous, devastating plague that had no cure in sight and an ambiguous origin, the plague spread rapidly throughout the Byzantine emperor, even infecting the emperor himself (Sessa). Thus, with such a deadly disease that inflicted great suffering and devastation on a once-booming empire, people of that period were left to contemplate what the cause might have been.
A statement from a court historian recounting the events of the…show more content… With the death toll increasing at an exorbitant rate, people were unable to keep up with the proper burial of bodies that fell victim to the plague to the point where the bodies were piled on boats and thrown into the sea (Dionysus 90). This account exemplifies the imagery of such a gruesome sight: “Innumerable (corpses) piled up on the entire seashore. . . and the pus flowed, discharging itself down into the sea” (Dionysus 89). The survivors having to dispose of the dead in this manner exemplifies the desperation and helplessness they experienced in such an unprecedented time. When Emperor Justinian was made aware of these dire circumstances, called into action his soldiers and appointed Theodorus, his referendarius, today known as a secretary or person who handles administrative matters, as the man in charge (Procopius). Justinian ordered Theodorus and his soldiers to distribute payments to the people in return for their assistance in burying the large number of bodies that families and caregivers were unable to attend to (Procopius). Still, overwhelmed by the increasing number of corpses and already full tombs, roofs were torn off of towers in which bodies were thrown, the roofs being replaced again in an attempt to hinder the smell of rotting corpses (Procopius). Therefore, the actions of government officials, although diligent and well-intentioned, were not sufficient enough to keep up with the rising number of deaths and the limited space available for burying the dead
