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Climate Change during and after the Roman Empire: Reconstructing the Past from Scientific and Historical Evidence.

The article discusses the possibility that climate change affected the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, using both historical and scientific evidence. It is said that the earth's climate was stable during the rise of the Empire, with the Nile River flooding in an optimal manner for Egypt's agricul...

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Published in:Journal of Interdisciplinary History Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 169 - 221
Main Authors: McCormick, Michael, Büntgen, Ulf, Cane, Mark A., Cook, Edward R., Harper, Kyle, Huybers, Peter, Litt, Thomas, Manning, Sturt W., Mayewski, Paul Andrew, More, Alexander F. M., Nicolussi, Kurt, Tegel, Willy
Format: Article
Published: MIT Press Autumn2012
Subjects:
Climate change
Roman history
Science & history
Agriculture
Effect of volcanic eruptions on Earth temperature
Global temperature changes
Meteorological precipitation
Droughts
History
Rome
Egypt
Nile River
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:The article discusses the possibility that climate change affected the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, using both historical and scientific evidence. It is said that the earth's climate was stable during the rise of the Empire, with the Nile River flooding in an optimal manner for Egypt's agriculture. Also noted are the possible effects of cooling around 260, warmer weather and a severe drought during the fourth century, and cooling following a possible volcanic eruption around 536. The authors note a probable link between temperature and precipitation patterns.