The epidemics exerted a wide influence on human history through the ages, leaving an indelible mark on the collective consciouness and sometimes marking the end of an historical era. Starting to describe the history of the major epidemics that have afflicted human, the aim of this paper is to examin their impact on human societies and the sociocultural responses they gave rise to. These events have powerfully shaped the economic, political, social aspects of human history, with their effects often lasting for centuries. In the late antiquity the epidemics played a major role in the fate of Roman Empire, as the Antonine Plague, which flared up during the reign of Marcus Aurelius from 165 A.D. The extent of the epidemic has been extensively debated. The majority of authors agree that the impact of the plague was severe, influencing military conscription, the agricultural and urban economy. This period, characterized by health, social and economic crises, paved the way for the “Völkerwanderungen” in the Europe. The Antonine Plague may well have created the conditions for the decline of the Roman Empire and, afterwards, for its fall in the West in the fifth century A.D. Although the phenomenon of migration ended up being "an experiment out of hand", for a long time it constituted a resource and an opportunity to contain what had been the most tragic effect of the epidemics, the millions of deaths that had trapped Europe in the silence.
Epidemia e immigrazione: note storiche
Monteleone Federica
2021-01-01
Abstract
The epidemics exerted a wide influence on human history through the ages, leaving an indelible mark on the collective consciouness and sometimes marking the end of an historical era. Starting to describe the history of the major epidemics that have afflicted human, the aim of this paper is to examin their impact on human societies and the sociocultural responses they gave rise to. These events have powerfully shaped the economic, political, social aspects of human history, with their effects often lasting for centuries. In the late antiquity the epidemics played a major role in the fate of Roman Empire, as the Antonine Plague, which flared up during the reign of Marcus Aurelius from 165 A.D. The extent of the epidemic has been extensively debated. The majority of authors agree that the impact of the plague was severe, influencing military conscription, the agricultural and urban economy. This period, characterized by health, social and economic crises, paved the way for the “Völkerwanderungen” in the Europe. The Antonine Plague may well have created the conditions for the decline of the Roman Empire and, afterwards, for its fall in the West in the fifth century A.D. Although the phenomenon of migration ended up being "an experiment out of hand", for a long time it constituted a resource and an opportunity to contain what had been the most tragic effect of the epidemics, the millions of deaths that had trapped Europe in the silence.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
