The Antonine Plague of 165–180 AD—also known as the Plague of Galen, who described it—was an ancient pandemic brought back to the Roman Empire by troops returning from campaigns in the Near East.
Remarkably extensive trade routes in Europe & Asia have existed since neolithic times, at least, and it's reasonable to suppose that diseases were carried along them. In the U.S./Canada, cobalt-glass beads introduced by the Russians in Alaska reached Maine & Nova Scotia within two years, so diseases would probably spread about as far & rapidly. Documentation ... seems to be lacking, probably (IMHO) because people back then didn't bother about such things... or died of the disease before writing anything down.
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james_davis_nicoll) wrote2015-01-15 12:14 pm
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(surely Asia had pandemics back then?)
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The smallpox epidemic under Marcus Aurelius, depending on your definition of "pan" in "pandemic".
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Remarkably extensive trade routes in Europe & Asia have existed since neolithic times, at least, and it's reasonable to suppose that diseases were carried along them. In the U.S./Canada, cobalt-glass beads introduced by the Russians in Alaska reached Maine & Nova Scotia within two years, so diseases would probably spread about as far & rapidly. Documentation ... seems to be lacking, probably (IMHO) because people back then didn't bother about such things... or died of the disease before writing anything down.
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amarna plagues
see also. significantly affecting two empires makes it a pandemic, right?