Recognition of the Outbreak of Deadly Diseases of the Antonine or Galen Era in the Second Century AD (96-192 AD)

One of the most glorious historical periods of ancient Rome is the era of the reign of several Roman emperors between 192 to 196 AD. known as the Golden Age of the Roman Empire. During the reignof Antonius, several successive kings, namely, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius, Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus, took political power. With the exception of Commodus, all of these people did their best to develop the prosperity, administration and the welfare of the people of the empire. It is at this glorious era that scholars and scientists such as Galen emerged. The essence of this article sheds some light on the demise of Trajan in 117 AD. in Cappadocia, Anatolia, due to an unknown disease after the occurrenceof the winter earthquake of 115 AD. which devastated the city of Antioch to the ground. Subsequently, the article addresses the plague of 165 AD. which broke out during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD.) and prevailed to the last years of his reign to the extent that this pandemic wreaked havoc on his emperor. In this article, we try to examine the plague outbreak during the era of Antonius or Galen and its consequences on the societies and peoples of the Roman Empire and adjacent regions such as Syria, Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean, parts of the Parthian Empire, as well as the role of Galen in the epidemic.This epidemic continued until 189 AD in Mesopotamia, Iran, and the eastern part of the Roman Empire, and suddenly disappeared. In this study, we examine the prevalence of this epidemic, which is probably smallpox, and the possible causes of this disease and its consequences.