In the mid-second century AD, ancient Rome thrived at the height of its power under the emperor Marcus Aurelius. The Pax Romana, a period of relative peace and stability, seemed unassailable. Yet around AD 165, a devastating illness, now known as the Antonine plague—possibly history’s first pandemic—swept through the Roman legions and ravaged urban centers, including the imperial capital itself. This fast-spreading but mysterious disease killed thousands and acted as a catalyst for profound social, economic, and political changes while exposing deep-seated fragilities in the Empire’s institutions. The Antonine plague disrupted Rome’s economy, already strained by stagnation, exacerbated food insecurity that fueled riots and mass migration, and strained military campaigns in the Balkans and Middle East. It also intensified social tensions, including the persecution of early Christians. This talk provides a comprehensive history of the plague, blending ancient accounts from figures like the physician Galen with modern scientific analysis. It examines the interplay of epidemiology, environmental stressors and Rome’s institutions, offering a vivid picture of how the plague both reflected and accelerated the Empire’s vulnerabilities, setting the stage for its eventual decline. Click here for the Zoom link.
Colin Elliott is a Professor of History at Indiana University, Bloomington. He specializes in the Roman Empire’s economic, social and environmental history. He is author of Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World (Princeton, 2024) and Economic Theory and the Roman Monetary Economy (Cambridge, 2020).
Image: Jules Elie Delaunay, The Plague in Rome (1869), public domain image from the Minneapolis Institute of Art
This event is good for Catalogue of Opportunity Credit.
*Please note the new time! After decades of events at 6pm on Tuesday evenings, we are pushing back the start time to 7pm to better accommodate folks who are commuting, have sign-out after a shift, or are joining us from more western time zones. We are also no longer catering dinner since the pandemic. Therefore, all lectures will begin at 7pm Eastern and wrap up by 8:15pm.*
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