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The Cyprianic Plague and the Rise of Christianity

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The Cyprianic Plague and the Rise of Christianity Bates College SCARAB Honors Theses Capstone Projects 5-2021 Pestilence and Penitence: The Cyprianic Plague and the Rise of Christianity Alan C. Bisesi Bates College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses Recommended Citation Bisesi, Alan C., "Pestilence and Penitence: The Cyprianic Plague and the Rise of Christianity" (2021). Honors Theses. 345. https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/345 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Capstone Projects at SCARAB. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of SCARAB. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Pestilence and Penitence: The Cyprianic Plague and the Rise of Christianity An Honors Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Classical and Medieval Studies at Bates College In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts By Alan Christopher Bisesi Lewiston, Maine 5/5/2021 1 Acknowledgements This thesis was researched and written, in its entirety, while the Covid-19 pandemic devastated countries across the world. During these uncertain times I have received abundant support from many amazing people. First, I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Professor Mark Tizzoni, for supervising me through this challenging process and for providing me with his invaluable expertise and insights. His knowledge and skill can be matched only by his expert guidance and mentorship. Despite frustrating detours and challenging concepts, Professor Tizzoni has helped me develop as a historian, student and person. I would also like to thank my mother, Tanja Bisesi, who acted as primary editor for this work, helping me to ensure that the writing was clear, precise, and accessible to the lay reader. Her excellent feedback and helped this thesis achieve its quality and completion. I am immensely grateful for contributions of my father, Mark Bisesi, and my sibling, Ave Bisesi, for offering their wealth of knowledge by advising me on the medical and scientific details included in the zoonosis and differential diagnosis sections of this work. Additionally, I would like to thank the faculty and staff of the Ladd library that help me locate and retrieve a multitude of materials that I would not have otherwise found. I also owe a great debt to my friends, Jake O’Hara, Eva Melendes, and Andrew Murdock. Without their encouragement, understanding, and companionship that helped me through this academic endeavor. Much of the analysis and writing were completed in the winter of 2020-2021 during the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic. This thesis would not exist in its current form without the support of all these individuals. I am truly grateful to them for their time, expertise and support. Thank you all! 2 Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 4 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 13 Review of the Literature ........................................................................................................ 22 Modern Scholarship ...................................................................................................................... 24 Symptomatology .................................................................................................................... 32 Symptoms of the Cyprianic Plague ............................................................................................... 34 Understanding Zoonosis ................................................................................................................ 38 Examples of Epidemic Zoonoses ................................................................................................... 43 Possible Pathogenic Agents ........................................................................................................... 47 Y. Pestis/Plague ................................................................................................................................................. 47 Smallpox. .......................................................................................................................................................... 50 Measles. ............................................................................................................................................................. 52 Ebola ................................................................................................................................................................. 56 Lassa Fever ........................................................................................................................................................ 58 Differential Diagnosis ........................................................................................................... 61 Symptoms ...................................................................................................................................... 61 Y. Pestis Plague ................................................................................................................................................. 63 Smallpox ........................................................................................................................................................... 64 Measles .............................................................................................................................................................. 67 Ebola ................................................................................................................................................................. 68 Lassa Fever ........................................................................................................................................................ 69 Initial Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 70 Geographical Origin ..................................................................................................................... 71 Growth of Christianity in the Third Century .......................................................................... 85 Cyprian’s Curious Martyrdom ..................................................................................................... 94 The Creation of the Christian Hero Systems ........................................................................ 100 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 112 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................... 116 3 Introduction The Roman Empire’s borders extended throughout the Mediterranean world and their connection beyond their frontiers brought them into contact with many peoples, including their religions and their pathogens. In the midst of the Third-Century Crisis, the Roman Empire faced multiple disasters that its central government struggled to overcome. At one point, the Empire was divided, with the succession of the Gallic Empire in the north and the Palmyrene Empire in the east. The political strife continued to mount until Diocletian’s victory in 284. Romans also suffered from economic pressures, experiencing high inflation and debasement of their currency.1 Despite the compounding political and economic hardships, a religious conflict also began growing. Christianity, a young mystery cult from the Province of Judea, had begun to grow and form a strong community in the larger cities of the Roman Empire. Roman authorities increasingly saw this community as a threat. In the midst of this, the Plague of Cyprian ravaged Roman Africa and eventually spread to other parts of the Empire. This lesser-known plague was likely brought to the Roman Empire through long-distance trade routes and its devastation crippled the Roman world, or so our sources indicate. The Cyprianic Plague bolstered the rapid rise of Christianity throughout the Empire, and especially in the African provinces. The frightening symptoms of this novel plague, and the deaths it caused, drew many Romans to a religion that promised comfort, salvation and the afterlife. This study examines this devastating plague and explores the ways in which it aided the rapid growth of Christian communities. Societal trauma is a constant companion to all societies, whether they are thriving metropolitan empires, or collapsing agrarian states. Mass violence and death leave lasting 1 Clifford Ando, Imperial Rome 193-284: The Critical Century (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2012), 102- 104. 4 damage and scars upon those who survive them.2 They can also profoundly change political systems and obstruct the administrations of ruling authorities. Even those observers whose personal lives are not directly or substantially affected by the ongoing tragedies occurring around them carry with them the heavy weight of the impact of these traumatic events. Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage who documented the Plague of Cyprian, was one of these individuals.3 The plague, which he first described, brought additional pain and suffering, beyond that already present in several converging plights, to the struggling Roman Empire.
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