Justinian's Flea

William Rosen was a senior executive at Macmillan and Simon & Schuster publishing houses for more than twenty-five years. The title of his book is Justinian’s Flea. The subtitle is Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe (hardcover 2007, paperback 2008).

The main text is divided into thirteen chapters which follow a (more or less) chronological line from AD 286 to 565. At the end of the book there are notes with references, acknowledgements, a brief bibliographical note, and an index.

The text is illustrated by seven maps (in black-and-white), but there are no pictures.

James Allan Evans is an expert on Late Antiquity. In The Power Game in Byzantium (2011) he describes Rosen’s book as “an invaluable contribution” (page 236). Therefore I was looking forward to reading it. My expectations were high. Unfortunately, they were not fulfilled.

Justinian’s Flea is, in many ways, an interesting book. I can understand why Evans likes it, but there are some flaws, and in my opinion they are not insignificant. Let me explain:

(1) The structure of the book is unfortunate:

Justinian does not really enter the account until chapter 3, which begins on page 64. The plague, which hit Constantinople in 542, does not really enter the account until chapter 7, which begins on page 167, and after chapter 9 it fades into the background. The birth of Europe is not really discussed until the epilogue, which begins on page 315, and the whole discussion covers less than four pages.

(2) Many references are incomplete:

Rosen gives the name of the author and the title of the work, but in most cases that is all. For modern works he does not like to provide a specific page. For ancient works he does not like to provide a proper citation, such as book and chapter.

(3) Rosen is rather careless when it comes to dates and facts:

** He claims Christianity was adopted as “the official religion of the empire” during the reign of Constantine I (page 2) or upon his death in 337 (pp. 99-100). But this important change did not happen until much later, during the reign of Theodosius I (379-395).

** On page 4 he refers to the empire “founded by Augustus in 74 CE.” But the empire of Augustus was founded in 27 BC.

** The map on page 17 includes a legend, which shows “The extent [of the Byzantine Empire] at the accession of Justinian: 517 CE.” But Justinian became emperor in 527, as Rosen says on page 76.

** On page 21 he mentions “the fermented fish sauce called garam.” But the name of the famous Roman fish sauce is garum.

** Rosen thinks Diocletian became emperor in 285 (page 24). But this emperor ruled from 284.

** Rosen claims Diocletian “waited until the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of his reign … before visiting Rome” (page 26). He does not understand the Roman way of counting: While in Rome, in November and December 303, Diocletian celebrated his vicennalia, which is the beginning of his twentieth year as emperor (not his 20 year anniversary).

** On page 33 Rosen provides a list of the pagan monuments which Constantine allegedly brought to Constantinople: “obelisks of Egyptian pharaohs, the Serpent Column from the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, and the famous horses … brought by Nero to Rome for display in his Domus Aurea.”

Constantine moved an obelisk from Thebes to Alexandria ca. 330, but he never erected an obelisk in his new capital. The obelisk which stands in the remains of the ancient hippodrome in present-day Istanbul was erected by Theodosius in AD 390.

And Nero did not bring the horses to Rome. According to the British historian Charles Freeman, there is no credible evidence for this suggestion. See The Horses of St. Mark’s (2004) page 48.

** In a footnote about the horses, Rosen tells us that “Napoleon Bonaparte took them as spoils to Paris in 1797.” Napoleon conquered Venice in 1797, but the horses did not arrive in Paris until July 1798.

** On page 80 he refers to “the capture of Valerian in 259 CE by Shapur I.” But this event took place in AD 260, as he himself says on page 230.

** On page 115 Rosen says the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapsed in May 558, but fails to mention that it had been damaged by two earthquakes: the first in August 553, the second in December 557. He adds “the now-chastened Isidore rebuilt it in 563.”

Both name and date are wrong: the new dome was completed in 562, and the man in charge was Isidore the Younger, a nephew of Isidore the Elder, who was one of the two original architects on the church (532-537).

** On page 290 the Hagia Sophia appears again. This time Rosen mentions the second earthquake, but the first one is still unmentioned. On the next page he refers to “the destruction of the Hagia Sophia’s dome in December 557.” But this event took place in May 558, as he himself says on page 115.

** Rosen thinks Julius Caesar began the Roman conquest of Britain in 54 BC (page 265). But Caesar’s first expedition to Britain took place in 55 BC; 54 BC was the year of his second expedition.

** Rosen says the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in 1458 (page 320). But this event took place in 1453, as he himself says on page 38.

Taken one by one, these flaws may seem minor. Taken together, they become a serious problem.

The author worked in publishing for more than twenty-five years, but it seems he never learned the first rule of writing and publishing: Check your facts before sending a manuscript to the printer.

* * *

William Rosen,

Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe,

Hardcover 2007, paperback 2008, 367 pages

* * *

* * *