The plague pandemic is named after Justinian I, who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire) at the time of the initial outbreak. Indeed, it is said that Justinian ...

Emperor Justinian I and Empress Theodora were the 6th Century golden couple of the Byzantine Empire. Think Jay-Z and Beyonce - but with a lot more chariots. Script and narration by Emma Nagouse ...

and halted Justinian's dreams of reuniting the Roman Empire. In 396 BCE, as Carthaginian forces laid siege to Syracuse, a devastating plague erupted among their troops. The disease, intensified by ...