Catastrophe

Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of the Modern World (1999)

by David Keys

Exhaustively researched. The author draws together many diverse sources to document how the year 535 AD was one of the most important in human history.

A massive volcanic eruption in 535 AD at Krakatoa in the Sunda Straits area between Java and Sumatra had a world-wide effect. [Note: A lesser eruption at Krakatoa in the 1880s also wrought destruction, but on a lesser scale.]

The 535 AD eruption indirectly caused plague, famine, war, and revolution on an unprecedented scale.

The dreaded bubonic plague originated in Africa and spread throughout Europe due to drought and famine caused by the massive volcanic eruption. It started with gerbils, spread to rats, rats were carried on ships, and huge numbers of people died.

Drought and famine caused the Turks to throw off the yoke of the Avars. The Avars were driven westward where they weakened the Byzantine Empire.

The author documents how the disruptions caused by the volcano set the stage for the rise of Islam.

One of the most fascinating chapters is about the ancient Jewish empire of Khazar located around the Black and Caspian Seas. I have read a fair amount of world history, and this was my first introduction to this long lost empire.

Indirectly, the eruption resulted in the formation of the modern states of Ireland, France, Spain, China, Korea, and Japan.

In North America, disruptions caused by the volcano sowed the seeds for the growth of the Anasazi culture.

Drought and famine brought down the massive Mesoamerican Teotihaucan Empire, setting the stage for the expansion of the Maya.

It is absolutely fascinating how one massive volcanic eruption can change the entire world.