![]() ![]() Almost ten percent of the empire of 75 million people perished in multiple waves of the plague. One in four of those infected died, the rest recovered and became immune to the disease. Others got red and black pustules on their skin, bad breath and black diarrhea. The victims suffered from fever, vomiting, thirst, coughing and a swollen throat for two weeks. ![]() The course of the disease was precisely documented by the Greek doctor Galen. While all fought steadfastly on the Empire's outer borders, they maintained peace, security, and prosperity within Empire territory. The then ruler, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, was the last of the "five good emperors". In the decades before, Rome had risen to unprecedented heights, after the plague the Roman power began to decline - even if the decline could always be stopped for a short time.īefore the plague - presumably it was smallpox - the empire experienced a period of prosperity such as had only been seen during the long reign of the first emperor, the great Augustus. But the Empire had never seen a disease like the Antonine Plague that broke out in AD 165. The citizens of the Roman Empire were used to illness, plague and death. ![]()
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