The Antonine Plague
An epidemic kills perhaps five million and marks the end of Rome's high point.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 15 years
- Known to
- ± 2 years
- Era
- Classical, Holocene
Troops returning from Mesopotamia bring an epidemic to the empire in 165 CE that recurs for a generation, killing an estimated 10 to 25 per cent of those infected and perhaps five million people in total. Galen describes the symptoms; smallpox is the leading modern diagnosis. It kills the emperor Lucius Verus and probably Marcus Aurelius, empties army units, disrupts trade and taxation, and is widely treated as a turning point in Roman fortunes.