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"How the Roman Empire faced a Global Pandemic under the wise, courageous Marcus Aurelius"
In 161, Marcus Aurelius became the Emperor of the Roman Empire and ruled for nearly two decades until his death in 180. During his reign, he faced the Antonine Plague of 165 CE.
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In 161, Marcus Aurelius became the Emperor of the Roman Empire and ruled for nearly two decades until his death in 180. During his reign, he faced the Antonine Plague of 165 CE.
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Antonine Plague was the deadliest in Rome's history. It was a global pandemic with a mortality rate of between 2-3%. It began with flu-like symptoms which escalated in days. Millions were infected. Between 10 and 18 million people died.
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Marcus Aurelius surprised everyone by rising to the occasion. He fought the plague with his wise and brave leadership till his death. He never showed any fear and reassured his people by his very presence.
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The famous historian Edward Gibbon wrote that under Marcus, the last of the ‘Five Good Emperors,’ “the Roman Empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of wisdom and virtue”.
This is how Marcus responded to the pandemic. He writes in his book Meditations:
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This is how Marcus responded to the pandemic. He writes in his book Meditations:
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“To bear in mind constantly that all of this has happened before. And will happen again—the same plot from beginning to end, the identical staging. Produce them in your mind, as you know them from experience or from history: the court of Hadrian, of Antoninus.
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The courts of Philip, Alexander, Croesus. All just the same. Only the people different.”
As McLynn explains, Marcus Aurelius’s “shrewd and careful personnel selection” is worthy of study for any leader. He empowered people to make decisions.
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As McLynn explains, Marcus Aurelius’s “shrewd and careful personnel selection” is worthy of study for any leader. He empowered people to make decisions.
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Marcus brought the people who were the experts of that time in handling the situation. He had no ego. He hired Galen, the most famous physician and polymath of antiquity, to lead the combat against the plague. He was the connoisseur of medicine of his time.
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Marcus “conducted a two-month sale of imperial effects and possessions, putting under the hammer not just sumptuous furniture from the imperial apartments, gold goblets, silver flagons, crystals and chandeliers, but also his wife’s silken, gold-embroidered robes and her jewels.”
Funerals for plague victims were paid by the state. Marcus confiscated capital from Rome’s elite-classes knowing that they can still afford everything. He audited his cabinet and allowed no expenditures without approval.
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Marcus was deeply moved by the suffering of the people. Historians have written lugubrious accounts of Marcus Aurelius in public when he heard someone saying,
“Blessed are they who died in the plague.”
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“Blessed are they who died in the plague.”
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In 180 CE, having led the people in the face of adversity with audacity and sanity, he started showing symptoms of the disease. It was a fate that was inevitable given his style of leadership.
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Doctors told Marcus that he had only a few days to live. He called his five most-trusted friends to plan for his succession and to ensure a peaceful transition of power to his son. But the advisors were bereft with grief.
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“Marcus reproached them for taking such an unphilosophical attitude,” McLynn writes. “They should instead be thinking about the implications of the Antonine plague and pondering death in general.”
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Marcus’s famous last words:
“Weep not for me rather of the pestilence and the deaths of so many others.”
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“Weep not for me rather of the pestilence and the deaths of so many others.”
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Be good to each other, that was the prevailing belief of Marcus’s life. A disease like the plague, “can only threaten your life,” he said in Meditations, but evil, selfishness, pride, hypocrisy, fear—these things “attack our humanity.”
