The Antonine Plague

One of the deadliest and most common epidemic diseases of ancient Rome was the Antonine Plague, from which victims could never recover. Scholars largely concur that smallpox caused the epidemic, however measles has also been proposed. The Roman emperor Lucius Verus, who shared a pregnancy with Marcus Aurelius in 169 AD, may have perished as a result of the disease. Due to the fact that the previous emperor, Antoninus Pius, had adopted these two emperors, their family name, Antoninus, has come to be linked to the pandemic.

The soldiers who had just returned from their expedition in Western Asia introduced it into Rome's cities. During the siege of Seleucia, they came into contact with the germs in the Tigris River. Skin sores, diarrhea, sore throats, and discomfort both internally and externally would be experienced by those affected. They would endure pain for more than two weeks before passing away.

Millions of people were infected by the Antonine plague, which spread throughout the Roman Empire and maybe other places like China. The pandemic broke out in the latter years of Marcus Aurelius' co-emperorship, which is frequently referred to as Rome's "golden age”. At that time, the Roman Empire was home to around 75 million people, or one-fourth of all humankind. Most historians concur that the Roman Empire's population peaked around the time the Antonine Plague first arrived and then dropped. Along with Rome, ancient Egypt too experienced a severe epidemic that reduced its population and damaged its economic foundation. Over 15% of the Roman population perished during the plague's over ten-year period, from 165 to 180.