Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe | 
| Author: William Rosen
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
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Sales Rank: 30672
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Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3
Dewey Decimal Number: 949.5013
Publication Date: May 3, 2007
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Product Description
A richly told story of the collision between natures smallest organism and historys mightiest empire
The Emperor Justinian reunified Romes fractured empire by defeating the Goths and Vandals who had separated Italy, Spain, and North Africa from imperial rule. In his capital at Constantinople he built the worlds most beautiful building, married its most powerful empress, and wrote its most enduring legal code, seemingly restoring Romes fortunes for the next five hundred years. Then, in the summer of 542, he encountered a flea. The ensuing outbreak of bubonic plague killed five thousand people a day in Constantinople and nearly killed Justinian himself.
In Justinians Flea, William Rosen tells the story of historys first pandemica plague seven centuries before the Black Death that killed tens of millions, devastated the empires of Persia and Rome, left a path of victims from Ireland to Iraq, and opened the way for the armies of Islam. Weaving together evolutionary microbiology, economics, military strategy, ecology, and ancient and modern medicine, Rosen offers a sweeping narrative of one of the great hinge moments in history, one that will appeal to readers of John Kellys The Great Mortality, John Barrys The Great Influenza, and Jared Diamonds Collapse.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 Wide historical coverage of areas not normally covered well October 31, 2008
This book contains wonderful coverage of history that most authors gloss over. I enjoyed Mr. Rosen's balance of appreciation for the logical application of science of the day against his social interpretation which gave so much life to the crafted historical narrative.
Maybe it's just because I live in Texas, but I'll bet if you were to ask 1000 random people to describe what happened in the transition between late antiquity and the start of the middle ages, maybe two of them would be able to give a valid answer. This book answers so much.
`Plague, Empire and the Birth of Europe' September 30, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
It took me a while to get into the rhythm of Mr Rosen's writing, but once I did I couldn't put this book down. I was fascinated by the building of the Hagia Sophia, interested in the presentation of the life, times and achievements of the emperor Justinian during the 6th century and engrossed by the possible impact of the flea on the building of empires.
In this book, Mr Rosen provides a number of interpretations which can (and are) debated. People may argue about the role of Justinian, disagree about the relevance of the detail about the Hagia Sophia and prefer different theories about the birthplace of the bubonic plague. Some theories are contentious, and it is not always clear why certain aspects of the discussion are given a particular focus. However, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and for me the book was well worth reading. Mr Rosen provides plenty of notes for a reader who is seeking more information or who is trying to understand the conclusions Mr Rosen draws.
While it is both true and clever to state that: `Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence', I can understand why some readers find this book dissatisfying. The book is ambitious and may, as others have suggested, have benefitted from more ruthless editing. However, that depends on who Mr Rosen saw as his primary audience. This reader enjoyed the perambulations. If you are interested in this period of history, the life of Justinian, the growth and decline of empires and the relationship between man, rats, fleas and bacteria - you may wish to read this book.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Science and Swordplay September 28, 2008
William Rosen's "Justinian's Flea" is an ambitious attempt to explain the decline of the Byzantine and the Persian Empire and the rise of Islam and the germination of nation states in Europe. Rosen's culprit: the bubonic plague carried by the flea on the backs of black rats. Rosen weaves multiple narratives to explain the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of Justinian and the Byzantine Empire, the beginning of what would be the country of France, the fall of the Persians and the rise of Islam.
At times, Rosen's work can only be described as history at its best. Rosen skillfully demonstrates that history and the fate of nations does not occur in a vacuum. Rosen is especially adept at demonstrating this interdependence in depicting the the clash between the Persian Empire and the Byzantine Empire over the silk trade with China and the advantage (initially that is) the Persians had because of the outbreak of the plague in the Byzantine Empire.
The undoing of Rosen's work is that it is too short for its ambitious aim. Too many threads are underdeveloped including exactly how and why the Persian Empire collapsed so markedly. His treatment of the plague is adequate but also could have been better. Having read The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time (P.S.) by Thomas Kelly provided nice background on the plague , its transmission and effect. Common to both Kelly's and Rosen's account of the outbreak of the plague was a period of global cooling. Kelly explains the global cooling more convincingly than Rosen.
I truly enjoyed Rosen's work but wish it could have been tighter.
 avoid like the plague August 11, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Avoid this book like the plague. I am an avid reader of history and found this book one of the most poorly written history books that I have had the misfortune ever to read. The writer redefines the term pedantic. Historical premises are often followed by a minimum of three pages of material unrelated to the central point. By the time the reader comes back to anything remotely resembling the author's thesis the central point is nearly forgotten.Discussion of the book's central theme does not even occur until page 183. The author rambles on throughout and an editor is sorely needed. There is absolutely no linear flow and the author gaps from one historical period to another so frequently it is almost impossible to determine its relevancy to Byzantium. Beware deeply discounted Amazon book offers...there is a reason
A very hard read July 6, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe
For non-specialists this book is a very hard read.
It is a political and military history of several centuries before and after the reign of Justinian, and includes some of the religious history of the period, as well as the story of the plague. It deals little with the economic and social history of the time. The book describes the migrations, invasions and wars of the successive waves of peoples from Central Asia. These are very difficult to follow in the absence of adequate maps.
Similarly with the succession of emperors and caesars: for readers with only a passing knowledge of the time, the relationships are difficult to unravel and keep in mind in the absence of any table or chart showing chronology and relationships. The battles would have been much more interesting if maps or diagrams were provided.
The story of the plague is interesting in itself with the contemporary accounts quoted, but it does not stand out as compared with other plague literature (e.g . Philip Ziegler's `The Black Death). Interesting too are a number of the vignettes, such as brief story of Khalid the `the Sword of Allah'.
The book seeks to explain why Europe fragmented into many states while China remained united, with the argument that this was considerably due to the relatively greater impact of the plague on the Roman Empire. But it does not examine (for example) whether Europe suffered more waves of invaders than China, or not.
In my view the book does not fulfil its subtitle "Plague: Empire and the Birth of Europe". Perhaps readers with a much better background in the history of the time than I have would appreciate it more than I did. But if written for a much more informed audience, much of the confusing background detail would not have been required.
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