![]() ![]() These pressures resulted in great changes to the empire and to its fortunes. There are two key components Rosen focuses on: the rising power of Christianity, even in its fractured form and the increasing hostility of surrounding tribes, such as the Goths and the Huns. For the first part, Rosen provides a narrative view of the fourth and fifth centuries of the empire, from Constantine and Constantinople to Justin, whose nephew was probably the power behind the throne and would, upon his ascension to it, become the eponymous Justinian. ![]() This is all well and good, but after the introduction, the next discussion of the plague doesn’t come until about 200 pages into the book. But in a careful counterfactual musing in the final chapter, he ponders how the final days of the empire might have been different. William Rosen is careful to point out that the plague was not the critical component to Rome’s demise-that is to say, it’s doubtful the empire would have lasted even if the plague hadn’t been so severe. The plague ravaged the empire’s labour base, short-circuiting its economy and leaving it weakened. Already on shaky ground but no means down for the count, the empire was struggling to maintain a hold on its lands in western Europe-including Rome itself-even as the Persians and Huns intermittently harried its eastern borders. ![]() Justinian’s Flea, as its title, description, and introduction are eager to announce, examines how the bubonic plague epidemic in the sixth century contributed to the demise of the Roman Empire. ![]()
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