In the spring of 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, a new form of Coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease.
By Theo Mak Drummer, Singer, Songwriter and History geek
A pandemic (from Greek, pan, "all" and demos, "local people" the '’community'’) is an infectious disease outbreak that spreads through a vast area, such as whole countries, several continents or the whole world, affecting a large number of people. There have been many pandemics of diseases in human history and Covid-19 is by far the least threatening in comparison to other pandemic diseases but still draconian measures have been taken because of its highly contagious nature.
COVID-19 Compared to Other Pandemic Diseases - Silvio Daniel Pitlik
Every day, we hear a variety of opinions on the situation, ranging from whether the measures are appropriate, whether the virus arose as a lab leak, whether it is a social experiment, and a gazillion other theories or assumptions but one thing is certain:
People all over the world have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in one way or another. Many countries have taken steps to slow the spread of the virus some of which are very strict. Although some countries are still debating whether or not to relax the restrictions, others have already agreed to keep the measures taken in place for the foreseeable future. Covid-19 has a variety of consequences on many aspects of life ranging from family problems, mental issues, education, work, health care and foreign affairs to the economy and geopolitics. Our world is changing and we can all feel it without a doubt.
The post-World War 2 era is over. Its first phase was from, 1945 to 1989, when the fall of the Berlin Wall ended the Cold War. Phase 2, characterised chiefly by the twin forces of de-industrialisation and globalisation, ended this year with Covid-19. Now we’re on the threshold of Phase 3. - friendsofeurope.org
We can only attempt to predict the future by studying the past, but one thing we discover is that our predictions will still be shaky; things do, after all, change in unexpected ways.
The Black Death, being the deadliest pandemic in history ever recorded, killed an estimated 75–200 million people in the 14th century. The same pathogen, the Yersinia pestis that was responsible for the Black Death pandemic researchers now believe that it is the same bacteria that appeared in Europe during the era of Justinian in the Roman Empire in the sixth century. It was an illness that devastated the world for about one thousand years.
By the middle of the sixth century, Emperor Justinian had managed to regain the territories lost along the Mediterranean and across Europe, setting the foundation for what he hoped would be a long-lasting and strong restored Roman Empire.
Emperor Justinian
In AD 540, an invisible and invincible enemy from lower Egypt arrived, crushing his aspirations. The ‘’Plague of Justinian’’ ravaged the Eastern Roman Empire, especially Constantinople and its coastal cities throughout the Mediterranean basin.
According to the most important Byzantine historian of the period, Procopius, who wrote the History of the Wars, the Buildings, and the Secret History in the 6th century the first outbreak was reported in Pelusium (541 AD), near modern-day Port Said in northeastern Egypt and spread across the Mediterranean in ships transporting grain to the rest of the Empire.
Replica of a merchant ship - Hellenic Maritime Museum
The disease spread both west, to Alexandria, and east, to Palestine. Alexandria was a thriving commercial center. Dubbed "the granary of the Roman Empire," with its great waterfront warehouses and large fleets it was also the end of important trade routes connecting Europe with Asia. Cargos full with gems from India, Chinese silk and exotic spices and products of all kinds were coming into the port of Alexandria managing a vast shipping network that was supplying goods to cities in the rest of the Empire and the rest of Europe. The world was connected more than any other previous point in history.
In 542 AD, the disease spread to Constantinople, the empire's capital, and gradually spread to the west, eventually reaching even Britain and Ireland. The plague is thought by modern scientists to have started in China, then spread to India, Persia (Sassanid Empire) and the Middle East before reaching Egypt.
Prokopios' "History of Wars," especially the books on the Persian War, is the primary source of knowledge about the events that occurred in Constantinople at the time.
According to Procopius' description, the epidemic in the city of Constantinople lasted four months. The symptoms were common to all patients. Fever was a regular first symptom that did not cause concern to patients or physicians but within a few days or even on the same day, there was a rapid downturn in the general condition of the infected. Procopius paints a gloomy image of the epidemic's victims, saying that, at its climax, up to 5,000 people died every day.
Another historian, John of Ephesus raises the number of the dead at an average of 16,000 per day. He also mentions that the citizens of Constantinople knew about the disease for two years before it arrived in the city, but they made no attempt to prepare for what was heading their way.
By the time the plague was over in AD 590, it had killed half of the population. This was not the end; for the next two hundred years, the disease would keep sporadically reappearing.
Justinian’s Plague
The image of Constantinople during the peak of the pandemic, as described by Procopius, is that of a ghost city, where it was difficult to meet people on the streets, the public spaces and forums were deserted while all kinds of work and trade had ceased. People began wearing name tags so that they could be identified if they suddenly died, the healthy population remained at home in part social distancing (without practising it deliberately though) or attending to the sick, grieving the deceased and after a point there was also widespread famine which killed even more of the sick people who were by then lacking even the necessary to survive.
But later on they were unwilling even to give heed to their friends when they called to them, and they shut themselves up in their rooms and pretended that they did not hear, although their doors were being beaten down, fearing, obviously, that he who was calling was one of those demons. - Social distancing as described by Procopius
Hospitals & Healthcare (Eastern Roman Nosokomeion)
Medicine in the Eastern Roman Empire was expanded upon the accumulated ancient knowledge, built by its Greek forerunners such as Hippocrates and Galenos. It influenced Islamic medicine as well as (later on) the evolution of Renaissance's medicine in western Europe by preserving two thousand years of medical traditions. Medical knowledge, observations, research and surgery techniques was collected and organized by physicians and doctors into textbooks. In the time of the plague the Empire had already started having the first dedicated medical institutions, which we now refer to as hospitals. In Greek we still use the same exact word for hospital: Nosokomeion.
Dental instruments of the Byzantine period. Archaeological Museum of Corinth
Hospitals were originally established by the church to provide a safe haven for the poor to receive basic medical care but they gradually, throughout the centuries, developed to being Europe's first fully equipped hospitals. The hospitals had separate departments according to the patients' diseases, what we now call medical specialties. They had departments of Surgery, General Pathology, Ophthalmology and Gynecology.
Dentists were not considered a specialized profession but ordinary general surgeons practiced dentistry. Τhere are texts that show that they used metal fasteners or bridges to stabilize loose teeth. They could also remove tooth decay and even make prosthetic teeth from animal bones. In addition to the invention of more than 200 types of surgical instruments textbooks describe surgeries that demonstrate the skills of the surgeons. Skull surgeries were performed as well as aneurysm resections with new surgical tools. A well-known operation since then has been the removal of the thyroid gland, the goiter.
from at least the mid-fourth century up to the late twelfth (and to a much lesser extent from the end of the Latin conquest until the fall of Constantinople) a very wide variety of philanthropic institutions were founded in the Byzantine empire by emperors, churchmen, monks, and lay individuals; and many of those institutions must be regarded as basically therapeutic in character. We encounter the xenodocheion (house for strangers), the xenon (literally meaning much the same), the nosokomeion (house for the sick), the ptochotropheion (poor house), the orphanotropheion (orphanage), gerokomeion (home for the elderly), and other. - Novoscriptorium
The first record of separating conjoined twins took place in the Byzantine Empire in the 900s. One of the conjoined twins had already died, so surgeons attempted to separate the dead twin from the surviving twin. The result was partly successful as the remaining twin lived for three days after separation. The next case of separating conjoined twins was recorded in 1689 in Germany several centuries later. - Byzantine Medicine
When Hagia Eirene and Hagia Sophia were destroyed by fire during the Nika Riot in 532, also the Hospital of Sampson burned down, which lay between them, and was subsequently restored by emperor Justinian. The Hospital of Sampson formed a complex together with the Hagia Sophia, Hagia Eirene and some other subsidiary buildings, and it was served by the same clergy. - Byzantium1200
Even if the fields of medicine and healthcare were quite advanced they believed that epidemics and other diseases were caused by a miasma (Ancient Greek for pollution) a ‘bad air’ which emanated from decaying organic matter. This theory was first introduced by Hippocrates in the fourth century BC and it was only abandoned in 1880 (!!!) when it was replaced by the Germ Theory of Disease.
‘Monster soup commonly called Thames water…’, 😂 1828 by Thomas McLean © Guildhall Library & Art Gallery/Heritage Images/Getty Images
They found that positioning a lens at the top and bottom of a tube and looking through it magnified things at the other end and of course they started discovering a new world of microscopical monsters!
Germ theory of disease is based on the concept that many diseases are caused by infections with microorganisms, typically only visualized under high magnification. Such microorganisms can consist of bacterial, viral, fungal, or protist species. - BiologyDictionary
Of course in 541 AD, the patients often resorted to miraculous medicine when science failed to fulfill its purpose. In Classical Greece the ‘Asclepeia’ were the Classical world's healing centres, where sick people went in the hope of being healed. The treatment was based on the great faith of the patients, the healing power of God Asclepius while it was divided into three stages. Healing was achieved through a series of rituals involving animal sacrifices on the altar of the Asclepius, tributes, consecration and medical treatment. Patients were often treated with medications, operations, and natural methods such as kinesiotherapy, among other methods.
Several surgical instruments made from brass were discovered during archeological excavations in various Asclepieia.
In the times of Justinian and Medieval Christianity, the treatment of diseases continued to have the same two types: The miraculous and the scientific. The first was the work of God, Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Saints of the Orthodox Christian Church with supernatural powers and borrowed several elements from the Asclepieia of antiquity. God Asclepius and his snake were replaced by several Saints. At the same time, other practices of the Asclepieia were adopted, such as fasting, vigils, the documentation of the miracles and the dedication of the ‘’tamata’’ of the healed members to the Saint who offered healing.
Left: Silver baby ‘’tama’’ Christian period. Right: Tama (Αnáthima) 2nd Century AD to God Dionysus
Tama (Greek: τάμα, pl. τάματα tamata) are a form of votive offering or ex-voto used in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, particularly the Greek Orthodox Church. Tamata are usually small metal plaques, which may be of base or precious metal, usually with an embossed image symbolizing the subject of prayer for which the plaque is offered. - Tamata
The historian Evagrius Scholasticus (537-594) in contrast to Procopius, he described the plague with a more scientific approach and considered it transmitted by contact through visiting infected houses or even by interpersonal relationships in the marketplace or other communal areas.
Despite efforts to find a scientific explanation for the disease, it did offer some new information to the concept of contagion but nevertheless; they were helpless to stop it and had no idea how to fight it other than trying to stay away from the infected, managing the dead bodies, praying and/or coming up with various conspiracy theories and demons. Burial of the dead gradually became impossible. The corpses were initially transported and stacked in an abandoned fortress, but it was quickly filled. Special teams organized by Justinian then collected the bodies on ships and threw them in the sea, while others threw them in old quarries. People were locked in their homes and did not open to anyone, not even their relatives, for fear of infection. In the midst of the crisis many of the infected died because there was no one to take care of them. The caregivers were exhausted, fatigued and could not cope anymore with the workload. Even emperor Justinian himself was stricken with the plague, but survived eventually.
Procopius - History of the Wars, Book II.22
(translation by H. B. Dewing)
‘’...During these times there was a pestilence by which the whole human race came near to being annihilated. Now in the case of all other scourges sent from heaven some explanation of a cause might be given by daring men, such as the many theories propounded by those who are clever in these matters; for they love to conjure up causes which are absolutely incomprehensible to man, and to fabricate outlandish theories of natural philosophy knowing well that they are saying nothing sound but considering it sufficient for them, if they completely deceive by their argument some of those whom they meet and persuade them to their view. But for this calamity it is quite impossible either to express in words or to conceive in thought any explanation, except indeed to refer it to God. For it did not come in a part of the world nor upon certain men, nor did it confine itself to any season of the year, so that from such circumstances it might be possible to find subtle explanations of a cause, but it embraced the entire world, and blighted the lives of all men, though differing from one another in the most marked degree, respecting neither sex nor age.
For much as men differ with regard to places in which they live, or in the law of their daily life, or in natural bent, or in active pursuits, or in whatever else man differs from man, in the case of this disease alone the difference availed naught. And it attacked some in the summer season, others in the winter, and still others at the other times of the year. Now let each one express his own judgment concerning the matter, both sophist and astrologer, but as for me, I shall proceed to tell where this disease originated and the manner in which it destroyed men. It started from the Egyptians who dwell in Pelusium. Then it divided and moved in one direction towards Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and in the other direction it came to Palestine on the borders of Egypt; and from there it spread over the whole world, always moving forward and travelling at times favorable to it. For it seemed to move by fixed arrangement, and to tarry for a specified time in each country, casting its blight slightingly upon none, but spreading in either direction right out to the ends of the world, as if fearing lest some corner of the earth might escape it.
For it left neither island nor cave nor mountain ridge which had human inhabitants; and if it had passed by any land, either not affecting the men there or touching them in indifferent fashion, still at a later time it came back; then those who dwelt round about this land, whom formerly it had afflicted most sorely, it did not touch at all, but it did not remove from the place in question until it had given up its just and proper tale of dead, so as to correspond exactly to the number destroyed at the earlier time among those who dwelt roundabout. And this disease always took its start from the coast, and from there went up to the interior.
And in the second year it reached Byzantium in the middle of spring, where it happened that I was staying at that time. And it came as follows. Apparitions of supernatural beings in human guise of every description were seen by many persons, and those who encountered them thought that they were struck by the man they had met in this or that part of the body, as it havened, and immediately upon seeing this apparition they were seized also by the disease. Now at first those who met these creatures tried to turn them aside by uttering the holiest of names and exorcising them in other ways as well as each one could, but they accomplished absolutely nothing, for even in the sanctuaries where the most of them fled for refuge they were dying constantly. But later on they were unwilling even to give heed to their friends when they called to them and they shut themselves up in their rooms and pretended that they did not hear, although their doors were being beaten down, fearing, obviously, that he who was calling was one of those demons. But in the case of some the pestilence did not come on in this way, but they saw a vision in a dream and seemed to suffer the very same thing at the hands of the creature who stood over them, or else to hear a voice foretelling to them that they were written down in the number of those who were to die. But with the majority it came about that they were seized by the disease without becoming aware of what was coming either through a waking vision or a dream.
And they were taken in the following manner. They had a sudden fever, some when just roused from sleep, others while walking about, and others while otherwise engaged, without any regard to what they were doing. And the body showed no change from its previous color, nor was it hot as might be expected when attacked by a fever, nor indeed did any inflammation set in, but the fever was of such a languid sort from its commencement and up till evening that neither to the sick themselves nor to a physician who touched them would it afford any suspicion of danger. It was natural, therefore, that not one of those who had contracted the disease expected to die from it. But on the same day in some cases, in others on the following day, and in the rest not many days later, a bubonic swelling developed; and this took place not only in the particular part of the body which is called boubon, that is, "below the abdomen," but also inside the armpit, and in some cases also beside the ears, and at different points on the thighs.
Up to this point, then, everything went in about the same way with all who had taken the disease. But from then on very marked differences developed; and I am unable to say whether the cause of this diversity of symptoms was to be found in the difference in bodies, or in the fact that it followed the wish of Him who brought the disease into the world. For there ensued with some a deep coma, with others a violent delirium, and in either case they suffered the characteristic symptoms of the disease. For those who were under the spell of the coma forgot all those who were familiar to them and seemed to lie sleeping constantly. And if anyone cared for them, they would eat without waking, but some also were neglected, and these would die directly through lack of sustenance. But those who were seized with delirium suffered from insomnia and were victims of a distorted imagination; for they suspected that men were coming upon them to destroy them, and they would become excited and rush off in flight, crying out at the top of their voices. And those who were attending them were in a state of constant exhaustion and had a most difficult time of it throughout. For this reason, everybody pitied them no less than the sufferers…because of the great hardships which they were undergoing. For when the patients fell from their beds and lay rolling upon the floor, they kept putting them back in place, and when they were struggling to rush headlong out of their houses, they would force them back by shoving and pulling against them…
Plague makes war on humanity in this detail from Bosch's Apocalypse (late 15th century AD)
Death came in some cases immediately, in others after many days; and with some the body broke out with black pustules about as large as a lentil and these did not survive even one day, but all succumbed immediately. With many also a vomiting of blood ensued without visible cause and straightway brought death. Moreover, I am able to declare this, that the most illustrious physicians predicted that many would die, who unexpectedly escaped entirely from suffering shortly afterwards, and that they declared that many would be saved, who were destined to be carried off almost immediately. So it was that in this disease there was no cause which came within the province of human reasoning; for in all cases the issue tended to be something unaccountable. For example, while some were helped by bathing, others were harmed in no less degree. And of those who received no care many died, but others, contrary to reason, were saved. And again, methods of treatment showed different results with different patients. Indeed the whole matter may be stated thus, that no device was discovered by man to save himself, so that either by taking precautions he should not suffer, or that when the malady had assailed him he should get the better of it; but suffering came without warning and recovery was due to no external cause. And in the case of women who were pregnant death could be certainly foreseen if they were taken with the disease. For some died through miscarriage, but others perished immediately at the time of birth with the infants they bore. However, they say that three women in confinement survived though their children perished, and that one woman died at the very time of childbirth but that the child was born and survived…’’
‘’...Now the disease in Byzantium ran a course of four months, and its greatest virulence lasted about three. And at first the deaths were a little more than the normal, then the mortality rose still higher, and afterwards the tale of dead reached five thousand each day, and again it even came to ten thousand and still more than that. Now in the beginning each man attended to the burial of the dead of his own house, and these they threw even into the tombs of others, either escaping detection or using violence; but afterwards confusion and disorder everywhere became complete. For slaves remained destitute of masters, and men who in former times were very prosperous were deprived of the service of their domestics who were either sick or dead, and many houses became completely destitute of human inhabitants. For this reason, it came about that some of the notable men of the city because of the universal destitution remained unburied for many days…
And when it came about that all the tombs which had existed previously were filled with the dead, then they dug up all the places about the city one after the other, laid the dead there, each one as he could, and departed; but later on those who were making these trenches, no longer able to keep up with the number of the dying, mounted the towers of the fortifications in Sycae, and tearing off the roofs threw the bodies there in complete disorder; and they piled them up just as each one happened to fall, and filled practically all the towers with corpses, and then covered them again with their roofs. As a result of this an evil stench pervaded the city and distressed the inhabitants still more, and especially whenever the wind blew fresh from that quarter.
At that time all the customary rites of burial were overlooked. For the dead were not carried out escorted by a procession in the customary manner, nor were the usual chants sung over them, but it was sufficient if one carried on his shoulders the body of one of the dead to the parts of the city which bordered on the sea and flung him down; and there the corpses would be thrown upon skiffs in a heap, to be conveyed wherever it might chance. At that time, too, those of the population who had formerly been members of the factions laid aside their mutual enmity and in common they attended to the burial rites of the dead, and they carried with their own hands the bodies of those who were no connections of theirs and buried them. Nay, more, those who in times past used to take delight in devoting themselves to pursuits both shameful and base, shook off the unrighteousness of their daily lives and practiced the duties of religion with diligence, not so much because they had learned wisdom at last nor because they had become all of a sudden lovers of virtue, as it were—-for when qualities have become fixed in men by nature or by the training of a long period of time, it is impossible for them to lay them aside thus lightly, except, indeed, some divine influence for good has breathed upon them—-but then all, so to speak, being thoroughly terrified by the things which were happening, and supposing that they would die immediately, did, as was natural, learn respectability for a season by sheer necessity. Therefore, as soon as they were rid of the disease and were saved, and already supposed that they were in security, since the curse had moved on to other peoples, then they turned sharply about and reverted once more to their baseness of hearts…
Bubonic plague under the microscope - BusinessInsider
And work of every description ceased, and all the trades were abandoned by the artisans, and all other work as well, such as each had in hand. Indeed, in a city which was simply abounding in all good things, starvation almost absolute was running riot. Certainly, it seemed a difficult and very notable thing to have a sufficiency of bread or of anything else; so that with some of the sick it appeared that the end of life came about sooner than it should have come by reason of the lack of the necessities of life…
Such was the course of the pestilence in the Roman empire at large as well as in Byzantium. And it fell also upon the land of the Persians and visited all the other barbarians besides...’’
The Aftermath of the Justinian Plague
The immediate consequences of the plague were population decline, poverty, inflation and famine. The effects on society, on the economy, on the military, on religion were significant. There was a shortage of labor and large parts of the land were left unfarmed. The uncultivated land resulted in food shortages along the way. There were not enough men to fight in the military, and not enough active farming that could be taxed in order to support the military forces in the first place.
The general demographic decline, which about 100 years later, as the empire had not fully recovered, would play an important role in the occupation of the Middle Eastern provinces and the complete subsequent annihilation of the Persian empire, which had also suffered heavy loses by the plague by a new enemy, the Muslim Arabs.
The plague continued in 18 waves until 750 AD. Slavs and Bulgarians took advantage of the unrest and settled permanently in the Balkans. Justinian's efforts to reunite the Roman Empire crumbled and the empire could not defend the west from the various Germanic tribes. It was the beginning of the Dark Ages.
Justinian and various successors were forced to strengthen the health-care system and devote more resources to community health and tried with legislative measures to boost agricultural production, increase imports and keep prices low.
Some historians think that the carnage may also have marked the end for slavery as the high demand for labor freed the slaves from their chains. Emperor Justinian revised and codified the ancient Roman law, including slavery law. Slavery is an unnatural state of human life, he admitted, and not a part of natural law.
The army was re-organised, the Themata (from Greek ‘’thesis’’ meaning placement) replaced the older Provincial System and became a much more flexible, cost-effective and region-focused force.
Pic by WeaponsAndWarfare
Weapons of Mass Diplomacy:
Diplomacy was crucial to the empire's governance from that point onwards. It was largely tailored to the understanding of the numerous enemies, some of whom were now much more powerful than the empire.
The "Bureau of Barbarians" was the first foreign intelligence agency, gathering information on the empire’s rivals from every imaginable source. While on the surface a protocol office—its main duty was to ensure foreign envoys were properly cared for and received sufficient state funds for their maintenance, and it kept all the official translators—it clearly had a security function as well. On Strategy, from the 6th century, offers advice about foreign embassies: "[Envoys] who are sent to us should be received honourably and generously, for everyone holds envoys in high esteem. Their attendants, however, should be kept under surveillance to keep them from obtaining any information by asking questions of our people."
"Since many and various matters lead toward one end, victory, it is a matter of indifference which one uses to reach it." - Joannes Kinnamos (1143-1185) Greek historian.
Modern depiction of the reception of the ambassadors of Emperor Constans II at the court of Tang Taizong at Chang'an, 643 CE
Diplomacy was also aligned to military action and was therefore one of the state's key agencies. It was a cheap and absolutely successful weapon.
Christianisation was also an instrument of the empire's foreign policy that eventually, totally transformed Europe.
The Eastern Roman Empire received severe blows, bent but did not break, because it was still a strong, resilient and highly adaptive state. As a result of internal processes and external challenges, the Empire reinvented itself and transformed many times over its incredibly long lifespan.
Covid-19 the Justinian Plague and Commonalities
There are some common consequences of pandemics of all time. The global economy is affected but also the supply chain, demand for goods declines, and prices rise and the populations become less free before a new balance is finally achieved. Some countries and economies are weakened dramatically while other countries manage to become more powerful by taking advantage of the situation. New alliances occur as well as new enemies. Demographic changes and broken business increase the cost of human labor. New demands shuffle the socio-political spectrum.
The Covid-19 pandemic is a catalyst in the "chemical reaction" of our modern history. The pandemic will give birth to a new, different world. What to do? What the Empire did. Adaptation, adaptation, adaptation.
Adaptation on an individual, national, continental and global basis. Let’s just hope that this time we will be wise and actually learn from our past experiences and that the basis of this global adaptation will be constructed on solidarity and not plundering. Humanity has actually become the viral pandemic infection that is devastating planet Earth. We are the virus and we need to learn how to live a more sustainable lifestyle before it's too late.
The word crisis may have a negative connotation nowadays but it derives from the verb ‘’krino’’. "Krino-κρινω" in ancient and modern Greek means tο think, tο evaluate. To separate, divide, part, distinguish between two things or people or among a group of things or people, to order, arrange, to inquire, investigate, to select, choose, prefer. To decide a dispute or contest, to pass judgement, come to a decision. To contend, dispute, to decide or judge. To discern between good and bad. To condemn and criticize.
I'm in a tough situation, and I need to take a step back and weigh my options calmly. As a result, the solution, the positive outcome, the katharsis, coexists with the negative sense of the word. Yin and yang. The Greek language may be the language of philosophy, but it is philosophy in itself!
