The Plague of Cyprian: Was there Ebola in Ancient Rome?

Of Roman plagues, Justinian takes the spotlight, but the Plague of Cyprian is an enticing mystery of a transcontinental disease of rare magnitude.

It came from Ethiopia, sweeping north and west across the Roman Empire in the third century CE. In Thebes, in Upper Egypt, bodies were thrown in a mass grave with lime poured in after them. In Alexandria, the bishop recorded its arrival in 249 CE. It spread from southeast to northwest. By 251, it arrived in Rome.

Music
Title: Solo Cello Passion by Doug Maxwell, Media Right Productions Genre and Mood: Classical + Sad License: You're free to use this song and monetize your videos.

Attributions
Roman Empire Map (File:Roman Empire Trajan 117AD.png - Wikimedia Commons – Tartaryn)

[HobbiesofaVampire]

Sources
The Fate of Rome: Climate, disease, and the end of an empire by Kyle Harper
Famine and Pestilence in the late Roman and early Byzantine Empire by D. Ch. Stathakopoulos

[MagdaleneDivine]

You are the only person to have talked about this virus

[saffodils]

thank goodness we don't have that bug on our hands today!