Table of Contents

Contents: Preface; Introduction: Negotiating with the dead; Typology of Crises: The late Roman and early Byzantine empire; A quantitative overview; Subsistence crises: causes, location, duration and range: Nature-induced crises; Human-induced crises; Duration, location and range; Social response: Market activity; Response of authorities; Popular reaction; Epidemic diseases: Introduction; Smallpox; Infections of the gastro-intestinal tract; Other infectious diseases; Mass poisonings; The Justinianic plague: The chronology of the plague; The epidemiology of the plague; Was the Justinianic plague a pandemic of 'true plague'?; Social response; Results: Mortality; Shortage of human resources; Conclusion: 'History that stands still?'; Catalogue of Epidemics and Famines from 284 to 750 AD: Catalogue; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author

Dionysios Ch. Stathakopoulos, King's College London, UK

Reviews

'Dionysios Stathakopoulos's new book [...] is a feast and a blessing... unique, thorough, and extremely welcome analytical compendium of famine and disease crises in the ancient world.' Speculum