An international team of researchers has obtained direct genetic evidence for the first time that the bacterium Yersinia pestis was the causative agent of the Justinian plague, the first recorded pandemic in human history.
The remains of the victims were found in a mass grave in the ancient city of Jerash in Jordan, not far from the presumed epicentre of the epidemic that began about 1,500 years ago. DNA was isolated and sequenced from eight teeth found in a burial site under the ruins of a Roman hippodrome. Analysis showed that all of the victims were infected with nearly identical strains of Y. pestis, indicating the rapid spread and deadly nature of the outbreak, consistent with historical accounts.
The Plague of Justinian swept through the Eastern Roman Empire in 541–750 AD, claiming an estimated 100 million lives and radically changing the region’s economy and politics. Until now, its origin had only been confirmed by indirect evidence, so the genetic discovery was a scientific breakthrough.
Scientists remind us that the plague is still relevant today: the bacterium continues to circulate in nature, and new cases of the disease, including fatal ones, have already been reported in the United States.
An accompanying study published in the journal Pathogens showed that plague pandemics arose from different natural foci, rather than from a single source, as was the case with COVID-19.
Archaeologists also noted the social response to the tragedy: the hippodrome in Jerash, formerly a centre of entertainment, was turned into a mass cemetery, reflecting the scale of the crisis. In the future, scientists plan to study the burials of victims of the 14th-century Black Death in Venice to trace the evolution of the pathogen and develop strategies to counter future epidemics.
