Latest / Marcus Aurelius: Rome's Philosopher King — Fexingo History / Marcus Aurelius and the Antonine Plague's True Toll
Transcript
- Lucas: So, we've talked a lot about Marcus's wars and philosophy, but one thing that looms over his entire reign is the Antonine Plague. It's actually named after his family — the Antonines — and it may have killed as many as five to ten million people across the empire. Luna: Wait, I thought the Antonine Plague was a vague historical footnote. It was that bad? Lucas: Oh, it was catastrophic. Our best sources are the physician Galen, who lived through it, and the historian Cassius Dio, writing a generation later. Galen described symptoms like fever, diarrhea, pustules — a black rash that covered the body. Most scholars now think it was smallpox, though some suggest measles. Luna: And it started around 165 AD, right? When Lucius Verus's army returned from the East? Lucas: Exactly. The army campaigned in Mesopotamia, besieged Seleucia, and when they came back, they brought the plague with them. It spread like wildfire along the trade routes and into Rome itself. Cassius Dio says at its peak, thousands died daily in the capital alone. Luna: How did Marcus and the government respond? They didn't have modern medicine. Lucas: They did what they could. They organized burials, tried to maintain food supply, and Marcus actually changed some legal procedures to handle the crisis — for example, he allowed cases to be decided without the parties appearing in person if they were sick. But there's a limit to what pre-modern states can do. Galen fled Rome for a while, advising his patients to avoid crowds and practice moderation. Luna: Did Marcus's Stoicism help him cope? I'm thinking of the Meditations. Lucas: That's a great question. The Meditations were written during the Marcomannic Wars, right in the middle of the plague years. And they do reflect a kind of Stoic fatalism — accepting that death is natural, that the universe is rational, that we should focus on what we can control. In one entry he writes, 'Alexander the Great and his groom died the same death.' But it's also a very human document. You can sense his exhaustion and grief. Luna: Did the plague affect his military campaigns? Because they dragged on for years. Lucas: Hugely. The army was decimated. The Marcomannic Wars were partly a result of Germanic tribes exploiting Rome's weakened defenses. Recruitment became difficult — Marcus even enlisted slaves and gladiators into the legions. And the plague probably spread further through the army's movements. Some historians argue the plague was a key factor in the eventual 'Crisis of the Third Century'. Luna: So the plague wasn't just a brief epidemic — it had long-term consequences. Lucas: Right. It came in waves over maybe fifteen years. And it hit the cities especially hard. Archaeologists have found mass burial sites — 'plague pits' — near Rome and in the provinces. One site at the Via Labicana contained hundreds of skeletons, many showing signs of the disease. The demographic loss was enormous. It disrupted trade, agriculture, and tax revenues. Luna: Did Marcus himself die of the plague? I know he died in Vindobona in 180. Lucas: We don't know for sure. The sources say he died of an illness, but they're vague. Cassius Dio says it was a 'fever' possibly aggravated by grief over the revolt of Avidius Cassius. He could have had the plague, but given his age and the stress, it might have been something else. His son Commodus, though, didn't die of it — he was murdered. Luna: So after Marcus, the empire just kept declining? The plague never really went away? Lucas: It faded, but its effects lingered. The Antonine Plague was a major shock to the system. Rome recovered somewhat under the Severans, but it never regained the same stability. And then another pandemic, the Plague of Cyprian, hit in the third century. So in a way, the Antonine Plague was a preview of the troubles to come. Luna: It's sobering to think that even a philosopher-king couldn't protect his people from disease. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's part of why Marcus's Meditations still resonate — they're a record of a man trying to find meaning in the face of chaos and suffering. He writes, 'A plague, a famine, a war — these are not evils, but events. What is evil is to fail to act with virtue.' It's a challenging idea, but it helped him endure. Luna: Next time maybe we can look at how the plague affected daily life in Rome — like, what did people think caused it? Lucas: Great idea. They blamed everything from bad air to angry gods. But for now, I think we've given the Antonine Plague its due.