The epidemic of Justinian (AD 542): a prelude to the Middle Ages by Francois P. Retief, Louise Cilliers

“…It is estimated that about one third of the population died — a figure comparable to the death rate during the Black Death in the Middle Ages. Famine and inflation, the depopulation of the countryside, and a critical manpower shortage in the army were further effects which all contributed to bringing to a premature end Justinian’s attempt to restore the grandeur of the Roman empire, and precipitating the advent of the Middle Ages. …”
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