Plagues in Ancient Rome and Christianity

[guy]

 

Another book I'll add to my queue. This new book dealing with pandemics thru history shows that disease has played an important role in the arc of history. I found this statement from a critical review interesting:
 

Quote

 

 

Kennedy lays this argument out through reframing well-known historical events in terms of the diseases and epidemics that led to them. The rise and fall of empires, the brutal conquests of colonial powers, the map as we now know it—all this has depended far more on disease than we may have thought. Some of this may sound familiar: for example, the fact that European settlers in North America, both intentionally and unintentionally, used smallpox to wipe out Indigenous populations, to make the work of colonizing easier. Entirely new to North America, smallpox “raced ahead of the Spanish,” in Kennedy’s words, devastating whole communities. The disease proved decisive: “Without the help of Old World pathogens,” he argues, “early efforts to colonize the American mainland foundered.” Take, for example, the Spanish conquistadors’ attempts to take Tenochtitlan. The first try failed, but a second expeditionary force arriving a year later brought with it smallpox, which devastated the city and brought the Spanish victory.

Other examples that Kennedy invokes may be more surprising. Despite the Roman Empire’s vaunted aqueduct and sewer systems, he explains, Romans’ lack of any understanding of germ theory meant that their water infrastructure festered with disease, hastening the empire’s downfall. Citing Kyle Harper’s The Fate of Rome, Kennedy argues that “pandemics caused immense damage and played a crucial role in weakening the Roman Empire,” far more so, he claims, than the “Barbarians” at the gates.

Kennedy argues that the rise of Christianity over Roman pagan religions can be traced to its version of the afterlife, an afterlife that became attractive in the face of repeated plagues and pandemics. But it would seem that if the issue here is simply mortality, the Roman Empire’s ceaseless warfare might drive soldiers into embracing Christianity’s afterlife as well.

 

 

The idea that instability and chaos results in increased religiosity is not a new one. Several other books have suggested that Christianity offered comfort in this life and potentially the next. I can't remember the name of the book that stressed Christian "burial societies" (which helped to pay for funeral services) in Ancient Rome helped to solidify Christianity in Ancient Rome. This book looks interesting, nevertheless.

Burial society - Wikipedia

 

Are Germs the Main Characters in History? | The New Republic

(Thanks to Lapman's Quarterly for bringing this to my attention)