Fixing the chronology of the „Dark Ages„ and finding the true date of the Justinianic Plague is a very difficult task, so this chapter will be very long. Yet, it is not the most important chapter. If you are short on time now, or if you feel overwhelmed by the information, you can save this chapter for later, and now you can move on to the next one.

Sources: In writing this chapter, I looked through many medieval chronicles. Most of the information I took from chroniclers such as: Gregory of Tours (History of the Franks), Paul the Deacon (History of the Langobards), Bede the Venerable (Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England), Michael the Syrian (The Syriac Chronicle of Michael Rabo) and Theophanes the Confessor (The Chronicle Of Theophanes Confessor).

Chronology of the „Dark Ages„

In 1996, history researcher Heribert Illig presented the phantom time hypothesis in his book „Das Erfundene Mittelalter” (Invented Middle Ages). According to this hypothesis, the early Middle Ages did not proceed as the textbooks describe it, and all inaccuracies are to result from the existence of fictitious centuries inserted between the real ones. Many facts indicate that this applies to a period of about 300 years, covering the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries AD.

The phantom time hypothesis becomes more plausible when we learn about the enormous number of forgeries of historical documents from the early Middle Ages. This was most clearly shown at the international congress Monumenta Germaniae Historica in 1986, documented in six volumes with a total of 4,500 pages. Nowadays, almost every day, more documents that historians have relied on turn out to be forgeries. In some areas, the number of forgeries even exceeded 70%. In the Middle Ages, practically only the clergy used writing, so all forgeries go to the account of monks and the Church. According to some historians, the medieval monasteries were nothing other than forgery workshops. Contrary to appearances, modern medieval research relies only minimally on archeological finds or other material evidence. Historians rely mainly on documents, and these were forged on a massive scale with remarkable impudence. Church forgers were fabricating not only characters and events, but also papal decrees and letters, that granted them customs privileges, tax exemptions, immunities, and title deeds to vast tracts of land allegedly given to them in the past by former rulers.^(ref.)

The more precise definition of the phantom time was made possible by the conclusions drawn from the calendar reform carried out by Pope Gregory XIII. The Julian calendar is late by 1 day every 128 years in relation to the astronomical calendar. When Pope Gregory XIII replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar in 1582, only 10 days were added. Whereas, according to the calculations of Illig and Niemitz, the added days should have been 13. After careful research, they determined that there must have been added 297 fictional years. After Illig drew the attention of historians and archeologists to this gap, they began to fill it artificially. Finds that could be dated to the 6th century are deliberately dated to the 7th or 8th century, and finds from the 10th century, to the 9th or 8th. A great example is the Chiemsee monastery, which 40 years ago was unanimously considered to be Romanesque, then it was moved to the Carolingian times, and more recently even further back in time. Today it is dated to the year 782 AD.

As arguments against the phantom time hypothesis, one cites radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology (dating by comparing tree ring sequences). Tree rings from individual pieces of wood show characteristic sequences that vary in thickness depending on environmental factors such as temperature and amount of rainfall in a given year. In cool and dry years, trees develop thin growth rings. Weather affects all trees in an area, so examining tree-ring sequences from old wood allows to identify overlapping sequences. In this way, an uninterrupted sequence of tree rings can be extended far into the past.

Today’s dendrochronological calendar dates back about 14 thousand years. However, dendrochronology has had many problems from the beginning, especially with the gap just during the „Dark Ages„. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Niemitz claims that the dendrochronological calendar was composed incorrectly. He notes clear deficiencies especially at key points around the years 600 and 900 AD. Dendrochronology based on the width of the rings works best when the trees have grown under high environmental (climatic) stress. When trees have experienced low stress, then dating is less accurate and often fails. Moreover, due to disease or severe weather conditions, trees may not produce rings at all in some years, and in others, they produce two.^(ref.) Differences in rings are regionally dependent, therefore, the dendrochronological calendar must be composed of wood samples from the same region and is not suitable for dating samples from other places. American pines are not suitable for dating of events in Europe. Therefore, in the 1980s, attempts were made to switch to the so-called Belfast chronology using Irish oaks. This also failed. After that, many different local dendrochronologies developed. Today there are four different ones in the German state of Hessen alone.

Radiocarbon dating takes advantage of the fact that living plants (and whatever eats them) absorb traces of radioactive carbon-14. When a plant or animal dies, it stops absorbing carbon-14, and the carbon trapped inside it begins to decay gradually. By counting up the products of this decay, scientists can calculate when the plant or animal died, which is an indicator of the age of objects found nearby. But the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in the atmosphere, which is a key element in calculating radiocarbon ages, naturally fluctuates over time. For this reason, it sometimes happens that organisms that lived decades apart have the same radiocarbon age. Radiocarbon dating measurements give ages in „radiocarbon years”, which must be converted to calendar ages in a process called calibration. To obtain a curve that can be used to relate calendar years to radiocarbon years, a set of confidently dated samples is needed, which can be tested to determine their radiocarbon age. The commonly used IntCal20 calibration curve is based on tree ring dating.^(ref.) Thus, if the dendrochronological calendar is incorrect, radiocarbon dating will also give incorrect results.

Heribert Illig claims that both dating methods have been calibrated from the beginning so that they fit the official historiography. If one were to establish a historiography consistent with his theory, one could easily calibrate both methods to confirm its veracity. To make it more fun, when creating the dendrochronological calendar, the radiocarbon method was used to skip the gaps, while the radiocarbon method was calibrated using the dendrochronological calendar. Thus, the errors of the two methods reinforced each other. Heribert Illig’s theory has not passed off as a brief sensation, as was initially expected. On the contrary, many discoveries, especially archeological ones, challenge the official version of history.

The only flawless calendar is the movement of celestial bodies, and astronomical observations confirm the existence of errors in the official chronology. In the 1970’s it was loud about the sensational discovery of the American astrophysicist Robert R. Newton.^(ref.) The scientist studied the movement of the Moon in the past on the basis of historical records of eclipse observations. He discovered something amazing: the Moon made sudden jumps like a rubber ball, and the farther into the past, its movement was more complex. At the same time, in our time the Moon behaves completely calm. Newton based his calculations of the Moon’s motion on the dates of eclipses, which he took from medieval chronicles. The problem is not that the Moon behaved strangely, because there were in fact no jumps, but in the lack of accuracy in dating eclipses. A dispute has arisen over who is right. Is it astronomy, which says these dates must be shifted, or is it the historical documents causing many doubts among researchers? Can the dates contained in them be used as a basis for dating of events?

The chronology of the „Dark Ages„ is very uncertain. Heribert Illig claims that all history prior to 911 AD, including antiquity, has been moved back 297 years. Personally, I do not agree with him, because events from antiquity can be dated independently of the Middle Ages, for example, on the basis of observations of astronomical phenomena. Therefore, I believe that the distortion of chronology applies only to the „Dark Ages„. The chronology has been stretched in one place, but compressed elsewhere. It is also not the case that all events of this period have been equally shifted back by 297 years. Some have been shifted e.g. by 200 years back, while others – by 97 years forward. The period of the shift is different for different events.

After the first attack of the Justinianic Plague in 541 AD, the disease was returning in the following centuries. Several successive major waves of plague have been identified from historical records:
580–590 AD – Plague in Francia
590 AD – Rome and the Byzantine Empire
627–628 AD – Mesopotmia (the Plague of Sheroe)
638–639 AD – the Byzantine Empire, West Asia and Africa (the Plague of Amwas)
664–689 AD – the British Isles (the Yellow Plague)
680 AD – Rome and much of Italy
746–747 AD – the Byzantine Empire, West Asia and Africa

Subsequent epidemics were restricted regionally but no less deadly. For example, in 627–628 AD, for example, the plague killed half the population of Mesopotamia. In the British Isles, the first severe plague did not appear until 664 AD. And this is somewhat at odds with the chroniclers’ records, according to which the Justinianic Plague raged all over the world at the same time. The successive waves of the plague fall in a period of history where chronology is very questionable. We cannot be sure that these epidemics actually occurred in the years listed above. It is possible that epidemics that were happening simultaneously were placed at different times in history. I think it is worth looking at these events to check how reliable their dates are.

Plagues in Rome and Francia (580–590 AD)

Gregory of Tours (538–594 AD) was a bishop and the first historian of the Franks. In his most notable book, the „History of the Franks”, he described the 6th-century history of Gaul (France). In his book, Gregory wrote a lot about the plagues affecting his country, which were also accompanied by numerous disasters, weather anomalies and various unusual phenomena. These events are reminiscent of what happened during the Justinianic Plague, but according to Gregory’s chronicle, they happened several decades later – in the years 580–590 AD. The following description supposedly refers to the year 582 AD.

In the seventh year of King Childebert’s reign, which was the twenty-first of both Chilperic and Guntram, there were torrential downpours in the month of January, with flashes of lightning and heavy claps of thunder. The trees suddenly burst into flower. (…) In the city of Soissons on Easter Sunday the whole sky seemed to catch fire. There appeared to be two centres of light, one of which was bigger than the other: but after an hour or two they joined together to become one single enormous beacon, and then they disappeared. In the Paris region real blood rained from a cloud, falling on the clothes of quite a number of people and so staining them with gore that they stripped them off in horror. (…) This year the people suffered from a terrible epidemic; and great numbers of them were carried off by a whole series of malignant diseases, the main symptoms of which were boils and tumors. Quite a few of those who took precautions managed to escape. We learned that a disease of the groin was very prevalent in Narbonne this same year, and that, once a man was attacked by it, it was all up with him.

Gregory of Tours, 582 AD

History of the Franks, VI.14

In the seventh year of King Childebert’s reign, which was the twenty-first both of Chilperic and Guntram, there were torrential downpours in the month of January, with flashes of lightning and heavy claps of thunders. The trees suddenly burst into flower. (…) In the city of Soissons on Easter Sunday the whole sky seemed to catch fire. There appeared to be two centres of light, one of which was bigger than the other: but after an hour or two they joined together to become one single enormous light buoy, and then they disappeared. In the Paris region from a cloud real blood rained, falling on the clothes of quite a number of people and so staining them with gore that they stripped them off in horror. (…) This year the people suffered from a terrible epidemic; and great numbers of them were carried off by a whole series of malignant diseases, the main symptoms of which were boils and tumors. Quite a few of those who took precautions managed to escape death. We learned that a disease of the groin was very prevalent in Narbonne this same year, and that, once a man was attacked by it, it was all over with him.

Gregory of Tours, 582 AD

History of the Franks, VI.14

Gregory describes weather anomalies very similar to those we know from the Justinianic Plague. There were torrential rains and violent storms that were coming even in January. The weather was so disturbed that trees and flowers bloomed in January. In the following years, the trees bloomed in autumn and bore fruit for the second time that year. By the way, it is worth mentioning that the trees then most likely produced two rings in one year, and this favors errors in dendrochronological dating. Moreover, the French chronicler repeatedly described that the northern part of the sky was all on fire in the night.^{(HF VI.33, VII.11, VIII.8, VIII.17, IX.5, X.23)} He must have witnessed the northern lights. The auroras visible even from France indicate the occurrence of very intense geomagnetic storms caused by powerful solar flares. All this was happening at a time when France was ravaged by the plague. Only a few people managed to survive the epidemic. Further on, Gregory list other unusual phenomena that occurred in the same year.

There was an earthquake in Angers. Wolves found their way inside the walls of the town of Bordeaux and ate the dogs, showing no fear whatsoever of human beings. A great light was seen to move across the sky.

Gregory of Tours, 582 AD

History of the Franks, VI.21

Gregory wrote several times about earthquakes that occurred in that year and the following years.^{(HF V.33, VII.11, X.23)} He also wrote more than once about large meteorites that flew by, illuminating the sky and earth.^{(HF V.33, X.23)} He also wrote that there were epidemics among animals at that time: „Throughout the forest glades a great number of stags and other beasts were found lying dead.”^(ref.) Due to the lack of game, wolves began to starve. They were so desperate that they were entering towns and devouring dogs.

In 583 AD, Gregory described a meteorite strike, floods, aurorae, and other phenomena. In 584 he wrote again about weather anomalies and the plague. Epidemics also affected the livestock.

One epidemic after another killed off the flocks, until hardly any remained alive.

Gregory of Tours, 584 AD

History of the Franks, VI.44

Birds died from epidemics and frost. This opportunity was immediately seized by locusts, which, in the absence of natural enemies, reproduced without restrictions. Huge clouds of insects devoured everything they encountered on their way.

King Chilperic’s ambassadors returned home from Spain and announced that Carpitania, the district round Toledo, had been ravaged by locusts, so that not a single tree remained, not a vine, not a patch of woodland; there was no fruit of the earth, no green thing, which these insects had not destroyed.

Gregory of Tours, 584 AD

History of the Franks, VI.33

In 585 AD fire fell from the sky. It was probably a volcanic eruption.

This same year two islands in the sea were consumed by fire which fell from the sky. They burned for seven whole days, so that they were completely destroyed, together with the inhabitants and their flocks. Those who sought refuge in the sea and hurled themselves headlong into the deep died an even worse death in the water into which they had thrown themselves, while those on land who did not die immediately were consumed by fire. All were reduced to ash and the sea covered everything.

Gregory of Tours, 585 AD

History of the Franks, VIII.24

In the same year there were constant downpours and floods.

There was heavy rain this year and the rivers were so swollen with water that many boats were wrecked. They overflowed from their banks, covered the near-by crops and meadows, and did much damage. The Spring and Summer months were so wet that it seemed more like Winter than Summer.

Gregory of Tours, 585 AD

History of the Franks, VIII.23

It was constantly raining in some regions, but elsewhere there were droughts. In late spring there were frosts that destroyed crops. What the weather did not destroy was devoured by the locusts. In addition, epidemics decimated livestock population. All this combined, inevitably led to a large-scale famine.

In this year almost the whole of Gaul suffered from famine. Many people made bread out of grape-pips or hazel catkins, while others dried the roots of ferns, ground them to powder and added a little flour. Some cut green corn-stalks and treated them in the same way. Many others, who had no flour at all, gathered grasses and ate them, with the result that they swelled up and died. Vast numbers suffered from hunger to the point that they died. The merchants took sad advantage of the people, selling a bushel of corn or half a measure of wine for the third of a gold piece. The poor sold themselves into slavery in order to obtain something to eat.

Gregory of Tours, 585 AD

History of the Franks, VII.45

In this year almost the whole of Gaul suffered from famine. Many people made bread out of grape-pips or hazel catkins, while others dried the roots of ferns, ground them to powder and added a little flour. Some cut green corn-stalks and treated them in the same way. Many others, who had no flour at all, gathered grasses and ate them, with the result that they swelled up and died. Vast numbers suffered from hunger to the point that they died. The merchants took advantage of the people in a sad way, selling a bushel of corn or half a measure of wine for the third of a gold piece. The poor sold themselves into slavery in order to obtain something to eat.

Gregory of Tours, 585 AD

History of the Franks, VII.45

In November 589 AD there were such great thunderstorms in Rome as do not happen even in summer. Gregory writes, „It rained in torrents; there were violent thunder-storms in Autumn and the river-waters rose very high.” Due to the torrential rains, the river overflowed out of its banks and flooded Rome. As if from nowhere, herds of snakes appeared in the water. Shortly thereafter, in 590 AD, a great plague broke out in this city, from which only a handful of people survived.

In the fifteenth year of King Childebert’s reign, (…) my deacon (Agiulf) told me that the previous year, in the month of November, the River Tiber had covered Rome with such flood-water that a number of ancient churches had collapsed and the papal granaries had been destroyed, with the loss of several thousand bushels of wheat. A great school of water-snakes swam down the course of the river to the sea, in their midst a tremendous dragon as big as a tree-trunk, but these monsters were drowned in the turbulent salt sea-waves and their bodies were washed up on the shore. As a result there followed an epidemic, which caused swellings in the groin. This started in January. The very first to catch it was Pope Pelagius, (…) for he died almost immediately. Once Pelagius was dead a great number of other folk perished from this disease.

Gregory of Tours, 590 AD

History of the Franks, X.1

According to Gregory’s reports, in just a few years nearly all types of cataclysms occurred in Gaul. There were earthquakes, pestilence, weather anomalies, and extremely intense geomagnetic storms. I find it hard to imagine that such disasters could occur locally. Since the downpours were in Gaul and Rome, then they must have been in other countries as well. However, there are no traces in history that similar phenomena happened elsewhere at the time. One explanation for this contradiction arises. The disasters and the pestilence in Gaul must have happened at the same time as the Plague of Justinian, but the chronology of these events was distorted. I think someone wanted to hide from us the magnitude and extent of those cataclysms. Shifting the chronology was not difficult, because at that time chroniclers did not mark events with years of the common era. They defined time by years of rulership. If only the reign of a ruler is wrongly dated, then all dates of events during his reign are wrong.

Gregory writes that in the same year when the plague was raging (590 AD), a dispute arose throughout the Church over the date of Easter, which was customarily determined by the Victorius’s cycle.^(ref.) Some believers celebrated the feast a week later than others. Interestingly, a very similar event is described by Theophanes, but it was supposed to have taken place in 546 AD, that is in the time of the Justinianic Plague. Also, the dispute described by Theophanes was about moving the date of the feast by one week. Theophanes also mentioned that in 546 AD the weather was unusually rainy.^(ref.) Such similarity of both stories shows that the descriptions of both chroniclers probably refer to the same event, but they were placed at two different periods of history.

Astronomical phenomena are very useful in determining the dates of historical events. Chroniclers have always been eager to record the dates of solar eclipses or the appearance of comets. Each eclipse or comet has its own characteristics by which they cannot be confused with other phenomena of this kind. In 582 AD, that is at the beginning of the series of cataclysms, Gregory observed the appearance of a very distinctive comet.

The star which I have described as a comet appeared again, (…) gleaming so bright and spreading wide its tail. From it there issued an enormous beam of light, which from a distance looked like the great pall of smoke over a conflagration. It appeared in the western sky during the first hour of darkness.

Gregory of Tours, 582 AD

History of the Franks, VI.14

Gregory writes that the comet was visible in the early evening, in the western part of the sky. It shone extremely brightly and had a very long tail. Interestingly, Byzantine chroniclers wrote similarly that just before the outbreak of the Justinianic Plague, a large comet resembling a sword appeared in the sky. In the Middle Ages, people did not know what comets are, so these phenomena aroused great horror. They were considered harbingers of misfortune, and in this case it was indeed so. John of Ephesus saw a great comet two years before the outbreak of Justinianic Plague. His description is strikingly similar to that of Gregory.

In the same year a great and terrible star, similar to a spear of fire, appeared at evening in the western quarter (of the sky). A great flash of fire rose up from it and it shone brightly too, and from it went out little rays of fire. Thus terror seized all who saw it. The Greeks called it a „comet”. It rose and was visible for about twenty days.

John of Ephesus

Chronicle of Zuqnin by D.T.M., p. III

In the same year a great and terrible star, similar to a spear of fire, appeared at evening in the western quarter of the sky. A great flash of fire rose up from it and it shone brightly too, and from it went out little rays of fire. Thus horror seized all who saw it. The Greeks called it a „comet”. It rose and was visible for about twenty days.

John of Ephesus

Chronicle of Zuqnin by D.T.M., p. III

From this description we learn that the comet was huge, shone very brightly, and had a greatly elongated shape resembling a spear. It was visible in the evening, in the western part of the sky. The comet observed by John in 539 AD must have been the same one that is recorded in Gregory’s chronicle in 582 AD! This cannot be a coincidence. Both chroniclers described events that happened at the same time, but historians have assigned them different dates. Now we can be sure that the disasters in France happened at the same time as in Byzantium and other countries.

Also Procopius observed the same comet in 539 AD, although his description differs slightly.

At that time also the comet appeared, at first about as long as a tall man, but later much larger. And the end of it was toward the west and its beginning toward the east, and it followed behind the sun itself. For the sun was in Capricorn and it was in Sagittarius. And some called it „the swordfish” because it was of goodly length and very sharp at the point, and others called it „the bearded star”; it was seen for more than forty days.

Procopius of Caesarea, 539 AD

The Persian War, II.4

Procopius observed this comet for more than 40 days, while John of Ephesus saw it for only 20 days. It is possible that from different location, it was visible for a longer time. Procopius writes that the comet was visible both in the west and in the east. I think the point is that the comet was appearing in the morning and in the evening. In the morning, its front part emerged from behind the horizon in the east, and in the evening, after the Earth had turned 180°, the comet’s tail was visible in the western part of the sky. The same comet was also recorded by Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor:

In the eleventh year of Justinian, which is the year 850 of the Greeks, in the month of Kanun, a great and fearsome comet appeared in the sky in the evening [for] many days.

Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor

The Chronicle of P.Z.R.

This chronicler provides us with the valuable information that the comet was observed in the month of Kanun, that is, in December.

If anyone still doubts that the events of the 580s are the same events as those of the 530s, then I can give you one more proof. Gregory also described a meteorite impact that supposedly happened in 583 AD. Even though it was dark night at the time, it suddenly became as bright as noon. His description is very similar to the one written by an Italian monk in 540 AD.

In the city of Tours on 31 January, (…) the bell had just rung for matins. The people had got up and were on their way to church. The sky was overcast and it was raining. Suddenly a great ball of fire fell from the sky and moved some considerable distance through the air, shining so brightly that visibility was as clear as at high noon. Then it disappeared once more behind a cloud and darkness fell again. The rivers rose much higher than usual. In the Paris region the River Seine and the River Marne were so flooded that many boats were wrecked between the city and Saint Lawrence’s church.

Gregory of Tours, 583 AD

History of the Franks, VI.25

If we delve into the history of the early Middle Ages, we learn that great meteorites fall rarely, but when they do, strangely enough, they always fall right at the time of the plague. And for some reason, they take a liking to falling exactly at the time of the Matins... This does not look very reliably. In fact, both chroniclers described the same event, but historians assigned them different dates. The history of this period was stretched out to hide the fact that all these tremendous catastrophes happened at the same time.

Plague in Rome and British Isles (664–689 AD)

Although the Justinianic Plague reached Great Britain, very few references to this event can be found in history. The first well-documented plague epidemic in this country appear only in 664–689 AD and is known as the Yellow Plague.^(ref.) This epidemic affected Ireland and Britain except for much of Scotland. The English monk and chronicler Bede the Venerable (672–735 AD) wrote that the pestilence ravaged all the country far and wide. The history of the plague in England can be divided into two fairly well-defined phases: the first wave of 664–666 AD and the second of 683–686 AD, with other scattered outbreaks in the intervening years.^(ref.)

In Irish annals, the second wave from the year 683 is referred to as the „mortality of children”. The term suggests that the second wave affected primarily children. Adults must have already had some immunity after earlier exposure to the plague bacteria. The relapses of the Black Death plague looked similar.

AD 683: Beginning of the mortality of children in the month of October.

Annals of Ulster

In the history of the Yellow Plague, many similarities can be found with the history of the Justinianic Plague. This coincidence of events raises the suspicion that both epidemics were in fact one and the same epidemic that was divided and separated in time by about 138 years. For example, as we know, in 536 AD the sun was obscured by dust, gave little light and had a bluish color, and the moon was empty of splendor. And 138 years later, that is in 674 AD, the Irish chronicle reports that the color of the moon turned red. In the same year, also the northern lights were observed in Ireland.

AD 674: A thin and tremulous cloud in the shape of a rainbow appeared at the fourth vigil of night on the sixth feria preceding Easter, extending from east to west through a clear sky. The moon became the color of blood.

Annals of Ulster

AD 674: A thin and tremulous cloud in the shape of a rainbow appeared at the fourth vigil of night on the sixth feria preceding Easter, extending from east to west through a clear sky. The moon turned the color of blood.

Annals of Ulster

The first mention of the presence of the Justinianic Plague in the British Isles appears in the entry about the death of King Arthur in 537 AD. However, the year 544 is most commonly accepted as the beginning of the epidemic on the islands.^(ref.) These may have been two different waves of the plague. Thus, the second wave began 8 years after the darkened sun in 536 AD. Similar events are repeated in the next century. 9 years after the red moon of 674, that is, in 683 AD, the second wave of the Yellow Plague breaks out in the islands. There are even more similarities in both stories. For example, in 547 AD Maelgwn – king of Gwynedd in Wales – dies of the Plague of Justinian;^(ref.) and in 682 AD Cadwaladr – another king of Gwynedd – dies of the Yellow Plague.^(ref.) Also, in 664 there was a dispute in the Church about the date of Easter, as was the case in 546 and 590 AD. Again, the dispute was related to the Victorius’s cycle, and it also concerned the postponement of the feast by one week. What an extraordinary coincidence... And there are more such coincidences.

Adomnan (624–704 AD) was an abbot and hagiographer from Scotland. He wrote that the plague that prevailed in his days (the Yellow Plague) spread across most of the world. Only Scotland was spared, which he attributed to the intercession of Saint Columba. In my opinion, the low population density and harsh climate of Scotland were of greater importance here.

What we are about to relate concerning the plague, which in our own time twice visited the greater part of the world, deserves, I think, to be reckoned among not the least of the miracles of St. Columba. For, not to mention the other and greater countries of Europe, including Italy, the Roman States, and the Cisalpine provinces of Gaul, with the States of Spain also, which lie beyond the Pyrenees, these islands of the sea, Ireland and Britain, have twice been ravaged by a dreadful pestilence throughout their whole extent, except among the two tribes, the Picts and Scots of Britain.

Adomnan of Iona

Life of St. Columba, Ch. XLVII

Adomnan writes unequivocally that the Yellow Plague was part of a pandemic that spread throughout the world! Even twice! So there were two waves of a global pandemic, that struck in quick succession. However, there is no mention in the encyclopedias that a century after the Plague of Justinian there was another, equally great plague. Yet it is not possible for such a significant event to go unnoticed. But, if we consider that both global pandemics were in fact one and the same event, then things start to fall into place.

If you still have doubts that the history of the Yellow Plague and the history of the Justinianic Plague are the same history, then take a look at the following quote. Bede writes in his chronicle that the nuns of the monastery of Berecingum (London) witnessed an extraordinary miracle. This happened around 675 AD.

At the time of the pestilence, already often mentioned, which ravaged all the country far and wide … For one night, after matins had been sung, and those handmaids of Christ had gone out of their chapel, … and were singing the customary songs of praise to the Lord, on a sudden a light from heaven, like a great sheet, came down upon them all … resplendent light, in comparison wherewith the sun at noon-day might seem dark … The radiance of this light was so great, that one of the older brethren, who at the same time was in their chapel with another younger than himself, related in the morning, that the rays of light which came in at the crannies of the doors and windows, seemed to exceed the utmost brightness of daylight.

Bede the Venerable, circa 675 AD

Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England, Ch. VII

At the time of the pestilence, already often mentioned, which ravaged all the country far and wide … In one night, after matins had been sung and those handmaids of Christ had gone out of their chapel, … and were singing the customary songs to praise the Lord, on a sudden a light from heaven, like a great overlay, came down upon them all … resplendent light, in comparison wherewith the sun at noon-day might seem dark … The radiance of this light was so great, that one of the older brethren, who at the same time was in their chapel with another younger than himself, related in the morning, that the rays of light which came in at the crannies of the doors and windows, seemed to exceed the utmost brightness of daylight.

Bede the Venerable, circa 675 AD

Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England, Ch. VII

As we can see, Bede gives a description identical to those of the monk Benedict (540 AD) and Gregory of Tours (583 AD). All three write that the sky lit up at the time of Matins. If we believe the official history, then we must conclude that meteorites fall in very different years, but for some reason they always fall at the same hour. However, I think that a much simpler explanation is that all the chroniclers reported the same incident, but it has been placed in different years of history. And in this way, the history of the plague was spread over two centuries. The Yellow Plague is the same plague as the Plague of Justinian, but described from the perspective of the British Isles.

Interestingly, one can also find records dating back to the 7th century that mention the occurrence of weather anomalies characteristic of a global cataclysm. The Italian monk Paul the Deacon (ca 720 – ca 798) writes that in 672 AD there were frequent great downpours and extremely dangerous thunderstorms.

At this time there were such great rain storms and such thunders as no man had remembered before, so that countless thousands of men and animals were killed by strokes of lightning.

Paul the Deacon, 672 AD

History of the Lombards, V.15

Paul the Deacon also writes about a plague that decimated the population of Rome and other parts of Italy around 680 AD.

In these times during the eighth indiction the moon suffered an eclipse; also an eclipse of the sun occurred at almost the same time on the fifth day before the Nones of May [May 2nd] about the 10th hour of the day. And presently there followed a very severe pestilence for three months, that is, in July, August and September, and so great was the multitude of those dying that even parents with their children and brothers with their sisters were placed on biers two by two and conducted to their tombs at the city of Rome. And in like manner too this pestilence also depopulated Ticinum so that all citizens fled to the mountain ranges and to other places and grass and bushes grew in the market place and throughout the streets of the city.

Paul the Deacon, 680 AD

History of the Lombards, VI.5

The city was so badly depopulated that grass grew in the streets. So, again, most of the population of Rome died out. I think it was the same plague in Rome that the chronicle of Gregory of Tours dates to 590 AD.

According to Paul the Deacon, the plague in Rome broke out right after the solar and lunar eclipses of about 680 AD. Paul did not see these eclipses with his own eyes, as he was born several decades later. He probably copied them from earlier chroniclers. The information about the eclipses is extremely valuable because it allows us to discover the true date of these events. With the help of computer simulations, it is possible to reconstruct the movement of celestial bodies. In this way, scientists are able to accurately determine the day and even the hour of eclipses that occurred thousands of years ago or will occur in the future. NASA publishes on its website the dates and times of eclipses from the last 4 thousand years.^(ref.) We can easily verify whether there were indeed such eclipses in the year 680 as the chronicler writes about.

Paul writes that the epidemic began right after the lunar and solar eclipses, which occurred almost at the same time. He gives the date of the solar eclipse as May 2. He even specifies that it was exactly at 10 o’clock. According to historians, this account refers to the year 680. I checked the list on NASA’s website to see if there was a solar eclipse on May 2, 680. It turns out that there was no eclipse on that day... But there was a solar eclipse on that very date 3 years later – on May 2, 683.^(ref.)

According to the computer simulation, the solar eclipse of May 2, 683 was visible in the northern part of Europe, so it was probably observed by British and Irish chroniclers. The central phase of the eclipse was at 11:51 a.m. A partial solar eclipse can usually be observed for 2–3 hours, so from Britain it should have been visible from about 10:30 a.m. That is, there was indeed a solar eclipse on May 2 at 10 o’clock- exactly as Paul the Deacon wrote. And interestingly, according to NASA’s website, just half a month earlier – on April 17, 683 – there was also a lunar eclipse.^(ref.) Therefore, there is no doubt that it was this pair of eclipses that the chronicler wrote about. We know that the plague in Rome began right after the eclipses. Thus, we have finally succeeded in finding a reliable date for the plague! It was exactly in the year 683!

Bede noted in his chronicle that the solar eclipse was on May 3. Instead of May 2, he wrote May 3. Bede deliberately moved the date one day forward. According to historians, this was to adjust the Easter cycle so that the dispute over the date of the feast would not recur in the future. But interestingly, Bede meticulously noted that the eclipse occurred at 10 o’clock, so he was certainly writing about the same eclipse as Paul. Bede also wrote that in the year of the eclipse the plague began in Britain.

There happened an eclipse of the sun, on the 3rd day of May, about the 10th hour of the day. In the same year, a sudden pestilence depopulated first the southern parts of Britain, and afterwards attacking the province of the Northumbria, ravaged the country far and near, and destroyed a great multitude of men. … Moreover, this plague prevailed no less disastrously in the island of Ireland.

Bede the Venerable, 664 AD

Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England, Ch. XXVII

Bede’s notes make it clear that the Yellow Plague in the British Isles began just after the eclipse of 683 AD. As we know, in the same year Irish chronicles record the mortality of children. So Bede must have written about the beginning of the second wave of the plague. The first wave must have started several years earlier.

Historians interpret Bede’s words in a different manner. They believe that the chronicler wrote about about a different solar eclipse – about the one that happened on May 1, 664. Based on this, historians have concluded that the outbreak of the plague on the islands must have occurred in 664 AD. However, simulations show that the solar eclipse of 664 AD was visible in Europe only around 6 p.m.^(ref.) So it was definitely not this eclipse that the chroniclers wrote about. The chroniclers noted precisely that the eclipse occurred at 10 o’ clock, so that no one would have any doubts about which eclipse they meant. But historians got it wrong anyway... Bede undoubtedly wrote about the second wave of the plague of 683 AD, so one cannot inferr from his words that the first wave began in 664. It could have been several years later.

Dating based on eclipses confirms that the second wave of the Yellow Plague broke out in 683 AD. I was also able to discover that the Yellow Plague covered almost the entire world, and that it was in fact the same pandemic as the Plague of Justinian. In view of this, the Justinianic Plague in Constantinople and all over the world must have been in these same years, that is, in the 670s and 680s.

Plague of 746–747 AD

The next pieces of the puzzle showing the global cataclysm can be found in the mid-8th century. History tells us that around 747–749 AD there was a series of powerful earthquakes in the Middle East. In addition, in 746–747 AD or according to other sources in 749–750 AD,^(ref.) the bubonic plague killed millions of people in West Asia, Africa, and the Byzantine Empire, especially in Constantinople. In turn, in the year 754, a unique comet appeared in the sky.

In this year, plague broke out everywhere, especially in Athor, that is Mosul. In this year also, and before sunrise, the comet known as Sayf (Sword), appeared in the east toward the western part of the sky.

Michael the Syrian, 754 AD

The Chronicle of Michael Rabo, XI.24

Once again, in the period of a terrible pestilence and earthquakes, we find records of a comet resembling a sword. The chronicler writes that the comet appeared in the east toward the western part of the sky. I do not know what the author meant when he wrote this sentence, but I associate it with Procopius’ description, which refered to the comet from the year 539: „the end of it was toward the west and its beginning toward the east”. According to Michael the Syrian, this comet was seen in 754 AD and it was several years after the great earthquakes. The chronicler adds that in the same year the plague broke out. At the time of Justinianic Plague, the sequence of events was quite similar.

A devastating earthquake, known in scientific literature as the Earthquake of 749, had its epicenter in Galilee.^(ref.) The hardest hit areas were parts of Palestine and western Transjordan. Many cities across the Levant were destroyed. The earthquake was reportedly unprecedented magnitude. The death toll was in the tens of thousands. The earth continued to shake for many days, and survivors of the earthquake stayed out in the open until the tremors stopped. There are firm reasons to believe that there were either two or a series of earthquakes between 747 and 749, that were later conflated into one for various reasons, not least due to the use of different calendars in different sources.

Michael the Syrian wrote that a village near Mount Tabor had moved a distance of four miles. Other sources reported a tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea, aftershocks in Damascus that lasted for several days, and towns swallowed up in the earth. A number of cities reportedly slid down from mountainous positions to low laying plains. The moving cities reportedly stopped at a distance of about 6 miles (9.7 km) from their original positions. Eyewitness accounts from Mesopotamia reported that the ground split at a distance of 2 miles (3.2 km). From this chasm a new type of soil emerged, very white and sandy. According to a Syrian chronicler, the earthquakes were only a part of a series of terrible disasters. His description is very reminiscent of the events that occurred during the Plague of Justinian.

In December of this year, severe freezing took place and the great rivers froze up so much that they could be crossed over. The fish heaped up like mounds and died on the shores. Because of scarce rain, severe famine took place, and plague broke out. The farmers and landowners sought work just for bread to fill their stomachs, and could not find one to employ them. Constant earthquakes took place here and there, even in the desert of the Arabs; the mountains drew close to each other. In the Yaman, the number of monkeys increased so much that they forced the people to abandon their homes. They even devoured some of them.

In June of that year, a sign appeared in the sky in the form of three pillars of fire. It reappeared in September. In the following year, there appeared to the north of sky something like a half moon. It moved slowly to the south, then returned to the north, and fell down. In the middle of the month of March of the same year, the sky was filled with something like fine dense dust, which covered all quarters of the world. … At the end of January, scattered comets were seen in the sky, and from every direction, they intersected each other vehemently as if they were engaged in a fight. … Many believed that these signs symbolized wars, bloodshed, and the chastisement of people. Actually, these chastisements began, first of which was the plague which broke out everywhere, especially in the Jazira where five thousand souls were its victims. In the west, the victims were countless. In the region of Busra, twenty thousand perished every day. Moreover, famine worsened and villages became desolate. Grain owners mixed animal dung with the seeds of grapes, ate it and made bread out of it. They were grounding acorns and made bread out of it. They even chewed the hide of goats and sheep. Yet despite this mighty wrath, people did not repent. Indeed, the distress was not removed until they repented. …

Meanwhile, an earthquake occurred in Damascus for several days and shook the city like with tree leaves. … A great number of the citizens of Damascus perished. Furthermore, thousands of people perished in the Ghota (the orchards of Damasus) and Darayya. The cities of Busra, Yawa (Nawa), Dar’a Ba’lbak and Marj Uyun were destroyed, and the water spring of the latter turned into blood. Finally, the waters receded when the citizens of these cities repented and offered constant supplications. On the sea, an extraordinary storm took place where the waves appeared as if they were rising to heaven; the sea looked like water boiling in a cauldron, and from them emanated raging and doleful voices. The waters surged beyond their usual limits and destroyed many coastal villages and cities. … A village near the Mountain of Tabor was uprooted with its buildings and houses and cast away a distance of four miles, yet not one stone of its building fell off. No human being or animal, not even one rooster perished.

Miachael the Syrian, 745 AD

The Chronicle of Michael Rabo, XI.22

The chronicler Michael the Syrian reports that all these catastrophic events, including the great earthquake and the plague, began in 745 AD. Earlier, however, he wrote that the plague began in 754 AD. These could have been two different waves of the plague, separated from each other by 9 years. This is another similarity to the pandemic well known to us from the descriptions of other chroniclers. Michael’s account of the appearance of the Sword comet only confirms that these were the same events. And all this in fact happened sometime in the 670/680s AD.

The Plague of Amwas (638–639 AD)

Between 638 and 639 AD the plague again struck West Asia, Africa, and the Byzantine Empire. The Plague of Amwas received more attention in Arabic sources than any other epidemic until the 14th-century Black Death. It broke out sometime during a 9-month drought in Syria, dubbed by the Arabs „The Year of the Ashes”. There was also a famine in Arabia at the time.^(ref.) And a few years earlier, there were earthquakes as well. Also a comet distinguished by its shape flew by.

In the same time an earthquake occurred in Palestine; and there appeared a sign in the heavens called dokites in the direction of the south, foreboding the Arab conquest. It remained for thirty days, moving from south to north, and was sword-shaped.

Theophanes the Confessor, 631 AD

The Chronicle of T.C.

Just as it was the case around 745 AD, also this time an earthquake occurs in Palestine and a sword-like comet appears! The Arabs observed it for 30 days, which is similar to the chroniclers who saw it in 539 AD (for 20 or 40 days). The only difference is that here the comet was seen to the south and north, while in 539 AD it was seen in the east and west. Nevertheless, the similarity is very great and I think they could be descriptions of the same comet.

The comet preceded the great Arab conquests. The series of Islamic conquests in the 7th and 8th centuries was one of the most significant events in world history, leading to the emergence of a new civilization, the Islamized and Arabized Middle East. Islam, which had previously been confined to Arabia, became a major world religion. The Muslim conquests led to the collapse of the Sassanid Empire (Persia) and to great territorial losses for the Byzantine Empire. In the course of a hundred years, the Muslim armies managed to establish one of the largest empires in history. It is estimated that the Islamic caliphate in its heyday covered a total area of up to 13 mil km² (5 mil mi²).

One of the greatest historical mysteries is how the Arabs managed to conquer such a vast territory in such a short time. However, if we assume that this happened right after a great global cataclysm, suddenly everything becomes clear. Byzantium and Persia were located in seismic zones, and were therefore heavily affected by earthquakes. All the major cities in these regions were destroyed. The city walls collapsed and this allowed the Arabs to break through. Next, the great empires were depopulated by the plague, which probably affected the Arabs as well, but to a lesser extent. The Arabian Peninsula was less populated, so the plague did not wreak as much havoc there. Those better developed and more densely populated countries were destroyed completely. That is why the Arabs managed to conquer them without much difficulty.

Reset in the 5th century

Similar references to a global cataclysm can be found also in the history of the 5th century. It is worth citing here the account of Hydatius, who was a bishop and writer from the Western Roman province of Gallaecia (Spain). In his chronicle Hydatius writes that in the year 442 AD a comet appeared in the sky.

A comet began to appear in the month of December, and was subsequently visible for several months, and was a portent of a pestilence which spread over almost the entire world.

Hydatius, 442 AD

Chronicon

This is very interesting! A comet appears, which heralds a plague, and not just any plague, but a worldwide one! Yet official historiography knows nothing of a global plague from the 5th century. And if there really had been such a pandemic, the historians would surely have noticed it. So what is going on here? We know that Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor saw a comet that, like this one, appeared in December and heralded the Plague of Justinian. Here, a similar history repeats itself again.

Perhaps you are curious if there were also any earthquakes at that time... Yes, there were. And it’s not just any! Evagrius has written about them.

It was also in the reign of Theodosius that an extraordinary earthquake occurred, which threw all former ones into the shade, and extended, so to speak, over the whole world. Such was its violence, that many of the towers in different parts of the imperial city [Constantinople] were overthrown, and the long wall, as it is termed, of the Chersonese, was laid in ruins; the earth opened and swallowed up many villages; and innumerable other calamities happened both by land and sea. Several fountains became dry, and, on the other hand, large bodies of water were formed on the surface, where none existed before; entire trees were torn up by the roots and hurled aloft, and mountains were suddenly formed by the accumulation of masses thrown up. The sea also cast up dead fish; many islands were submerged; and, again, ships were seen stranded by the retreat of the waters.

Evagrius Scholasticus, 447 AD

Ecclesiastical History, I.17

It was also in the reign of Theodosius that an extraordinary earthquake occurred, which threw all former ones into the shade, and extended, so to speak, over the whole world. Such was its violence, that many of the towers in different parts of the imperial city [Constantinople] were overthrown, and the long wall, as it is termed, of the Chersonese, was laid in ruins; the earth opened and swallowed up many villages; and innumerable other calamities happened both by land and sea. Several fountains became dry, and, on the other hand, large bodies of water were formed on the surface, where none existed before; entire trees were torn up with the roots and hurled aloft, and mountains were suddenly formed by the accumulation of masses thrown up. The sea has also cast up dead fish; many islands were submerged; while ships were seen stranded by the retreat of the waters.

Evagrius Scholasticus, 447 AD

Ecclesiastical History, I.17

There was really a lot going on in those days. The Greek historian Socrates Scholasticus writes that cataclysms did not spare even the areas inhabited by barbarians.

For it is worth while to give attention to disasters which befell the barbarians. For their chief, whose name was Rougas, was struck dead with a thunderbolt. Then a plague followed which destroyed most of the men who were under him: and as if this was not sufficient, fire came down from heaven, and consumed many of the survivors.

Socrates Scholasticus, ca 435–440 AD

The Ecclesiastical History of Scholasticus

The Byzantine chronicler Marcellinus enumerates the events of that time year after year.

AD 442: There appeared a star called a comet which glowed for some considerable time.
AD 443: In this consulship so much snow fell that for six months scarcely anything melted. Many thousands of men and animals were weakened by the severity of the cold and perished.
AD 444: Several towns and estates of Bithynia, which were levelled and washed away by the inundation of continual rain and rising rivers, were destroyed.
AD 445: Many bodies of man and beasts inside the city also perished through disease.
AD 446: In this consulship a great famine arose at Constantinople and a plague immediately followed.
AD 447: A great earthquake shook various places and most of the walls of the imperial city, which had only recently been rebuilt, collapsed along with 57 towers. (…) The famine and noxious smell destroyed many thousands of men and beasts.

Marcellinus Comes

Chronicon

Finally, we come across a mention of noxious air. Since there were very strong earthquakes, we could expect that there must have been poisoned air as well. The sequence of cataclysms presented by Marcellinus differs slightly from that of the Justinianic Plague. Nevertheless, there are so many similarities in both accounts that they must refer to the same events. It is also worth mentioning other coinciding events from this period. For example, in 457 AD there was a dispute in the Church over the date of Easter determined by Victorius’s cycle.^(ref.) Moreover, there is a brief entry in the Irish annals that says: „AD 444: An eclipse of the sun in the 9th hour.”^(ref.) It is very strange that the chronicler gave the time of the eclipse, but did not give its date... Or was the date there, but it was erased so that the year of this event could not be identified? According to NASA’s pages, in 444 AD there was no eclipse at 9 o’clock. So this record could refer to the same eclipse that Bede saw in England in 683 AD at 10 o’clock. In Ireland this eclipse was visible a little earlier, and the hour on the clock was also a little earlier, so 9 o’clock fits perfectly here.

Consequences of the reset

Constantinople became the largest city in the ancient world just before the Justinianic Plague. Its total population was about 500,000. According to historians, the city then experienced a series of calamities, including a plague outbreak in 541 AD and other epidemics throughout the period, culminating in the great plague epidemic around 746 AD, that caused the city’s population to drop to between 30,000 and 40,000.^(ref.) So Constantinople’s population declined by a whopping 93%, and this was to happen within 200 years! This already looks terrible, but consider the fact that the history of this period has been stretched. The plague in Constantinople in 541 AD is the same epidemic as the one in the 746 AD. It turns out that the depopulation happened much faster than it seems. Indeed, the vast majority of the inhabitants died out, but it did not take 200 years; it happened in just a few years! First, earthquakes and other natural disasters struck. Some people died right away from toxic gases released from the ground. Then came famine caused by climatic anomalies. Then the plague broke out, which lasted only three months, but it was the one that killed most people. The destruction was completed by wars. Perhaps part of the population fled the city. Only a handful of people remained alive. And such a version of events fits perfectly with the chroniclers’ accounts, according to which, after the Justinianic Plague, the people of Constantinople reached the point of disappearing, only few remaining.^(ref.) The city died out, and it happened in a very short time. It took a full four centuries for Constantinople’s population to return to its pre-epidemic level. If a similar catastrophe occurred today, 14 million people would die in Istanbul alone.

The city of Rome suffered similar losses. Wikipedia states that Rome’s population declined by more than 90% between 400 and 800 AD, mainly due to famines and pestilences.^(ref.) Here, too the chronology has been stretched. Rome lost 90% of its population, that is a fact, however it did not take 400 years, but a few years at most!

In the British Isles, the reset ended the time of the legendary King Arthur, one of the last ancient kings on the islands. King Arthur was considered a historical figure until the 18th century, when he was erased from history for political and religious reasons.^(ref.) Britain itself was nearly emptied by the plague. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, for eleven years the country was completely abandoned by all the Britons, except for parts of Wales. As soon as the plague subsided, the Saxons took advantage of the depopulation and invited more of their countrymen to join them. From that point on, they became completely dominant in Britain, and the Britons came to be called „Welsh”.^(ref.)

The 5th and 6th centuries were a time of great barbarian migrations into the territory of the Roman Empire. When we put the chronology in order, it turns out that this period was in fact much shorter and coincided with the time of the global cataclysm. Finally, it becomes understandable why large masses of people suddenly began to resettle. The territories of the Roman Empire suffered from earthquakes and tsunamis much more than the areas inhabited by the barbarians. Also, the plague must have mainly affected these more developed areas, as they were more densely populated and better connected. On the other hand, the cooling of the climate that followed the disasters shortened the growing season of plants, so the barbarians may have had difficulty feeding themselves in their areas. Therefore, they migrated south and occupied the depopulated territories of the Roman Empire. These better developed and richer areas were an attractive destination for migration.

If we put all the timelines side by side, then the conquest of Rome by the Vandals (455 AD) falls right after the plague in Rome (683 AD). Now it becomes clear why such a big and strong city like Rome allowed itself to be conquered. The capital of the empire had just been ravaged by cataclysms and plague. Not long after, in 476 AD according to official historiography, the Western Roman Empire collapsed. And here we arrive at the solution of another great historical mystery. Historians put forward various theories as to why this mighty empire suddenly collapsed. But when we put the chronology in order, we find that it happened right after the global cataclysm and the plague pandemic. These were the very reasons for the fall of the empire! The fall of the empire marked the end of antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Constantinople also suffered greatly from earthquakes, which its enemies took advantage of and attacked the city. Constantinople managed to defend itself, but the Byzantine Empire lost considerable territory to the Arabs. At the same time, Persia was wiped off the map. The political map of Europe and the Middle East has changed completely. Humankind fell into the „Dark Ages„. It was a total reset of civilization!

According to chroniclers, plague and earthquakes occurred almost all over the world. Huge cataclysms must have occurred in countries such as India and China as well, and yet it is difficult to find any information on this. A similar scarcity of information applies to the Black Death. I think that the countries of the East are hiding their history. They do not want to share it with the world. In the Mediterranean countries, the memories of these events have been preserved, thanks mainly to the Catholic clergy, although the history of individual countries has been desynchronized. In various places in history, kings with similar names and similar stories appear. The history of the „Dark Ages„ has been looped in a circle. It seems that someone wanted to hide from us the fact that so many cataclysms happened at the same time. But who could benefit from this?

I think history was falsified a long time ago, back in the Middle Ages when great power was held by the Catholic Church. The foundation of Christianity is the belief in the second coming of Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus foretells what signs will appear before his return: „Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”^(ref.) All this and more was present at the time of this reset. People believed this was the apocalypse. They were waiting for the Savior’s return. This, however, did not happen. Jesus did not come back. The essential dogma of the Christian faith was under threat – both in the eyes of those who saw the cataclysm with their own eyes and those who could later learn about it from history books. It was the Church that had a reason to hide the fact that the apocalypse had already happened. The point was to keep the followers believing and waiting for the Savior to return.

The study of history is made difficult by the fact that there are few historical sources from that period. Numerous chronicles have been lost or hidden somewhere, perhaps in the Vatican Library. It has such extensive collections of various books and documents that if they were all placed on one shelf, this shelf would have to be over 50 kilometers long. For ordinary people, access to these collections is basically impossible. We do not even know what books, chronicles and knowledge are hidden there. However, not only the Church, but also the government and modern historians, conceal from us the history of this reset. The reset, which in my opinion, was the most important event in the entire history of mankind.

Timeline of events

The history of the global cataclysm and plague has been dismembered and scattered over several centuries. We have learned six versions of this history, each giving different dates for the occurrence of the cataclysm. Which of these versions is correct? I think the only credible version is the one presented by Bede the Venerable and Paul the Deacon. Both chroniclers wrote that the plague began right after the solar and lunar eclipses, and we know that such eclipses did actually happen in 683 AD. Therefore, I think that the Justinianic Plague occurred around that year.

To find out in which year exactly the Justinianic Plague began, we need to transpose the events from ca 540 AD to ca 680 AD. To do this, we first need to find common points in both histories. One such point is the beginning of the second wave of the epidemic in the British Isles. In one timeline it is 683 AD, and in the other, it is 544 AD, although the year 545 AD also appears in the annals.^(ref.) So the discrepancy here is 138–139 years. The same discrepancy (138 years) is between the year 536 AD, when the sun was darkened and the moon was empty of splendor, and the year 674 AD, when the moon became the color of blood.

In the previous chapter I determined that the first destruction of Antioch took place on May 29, 534, and the second destruction was 30 months later, that is, in 536 AD. John of Ephesus wrote that it was exactly on Wednesday, November 29. In fact, it happened some 138–139 years later, that is, around 674–675 AD. John gives us a very valuable information that it happened on a Wednesday. So it must have been in the year when the day November 29 is a Wednesday. This happens only once every six years. In this case, November 29 was a Wednesday in 674 AD!^(ref.) So the second destruction of Antioch must have been in the year 674 AD. The first destruction must therefore have been in 672 AD. All the other events are taking their right place by themselves. The timeline of events is presented below. The year of the event as it appears in the chronicles and official history is given in parentheses.

I have outlined the events of the Justinianic Plague reset and determined when exactly they happened. Now we can finally move on to our main task. We will check if there is any truth in the Aztec myth of the Five Suns, according to which great global cataclysms happen in cycles, every 676 years. Remember that these are the Aztec years, which are 365 days long and do not include leap days. Thus, the cycle is actually 675.5 years long.

We know that cataclysms always happen at the end of the 52-year cycle. At the time of this reset, the end of the cycle was exactly on August 28, 675 (all dates are given according to the Julian calendar). For simplicity, let’s round this date to whole months and assume that the cycle ended at the turn of the months Aug/Sep 675. As we know, the earthquakes during the Black Death began about 3 years and 6 months before the end of the cycle, and ended about 1 year and 6 months before the end of the cycle. If we translate this 2-year period of cataclysms into the 7th century cycle, it turns out that the period of cataclysms lasted roughly from Feb/Mar 672 to Feb/Mar 674. The middle of this period was in Feb/Mar 673.

It turns out that the most powerful cataclysms occurred exactly in this 2-year period! At the beginning of this period, Antioch was devastated by an earthquake and fire falling from the sky. Also during this period, a great landslide occurred. It is likely that the earthquake that created the great chasm also happened during this period, although unfortunately we do not know the exact date of this cataclysm. At the end of the cataclysmic period, an asteroid fell to Earth and extreme weather events began. The second earthquake in Antioch occurred after the period of cataclysms, but it was much weaker than the previous one (only 5,000 victims).

The „times of death”, which was subject to continuous earthquakes, began with the destruction of Antioch on May 29, 672. Let’s assume it was the turn of May/Jun 672. The „times of death” lasted for about 18 months, that is, to Nov/Dec 673. The middle of the „times of death” was therefore in Feb/Mar 673, which is exactly in the middle of the cataclysmic period! This is simply astounding! During the Black Death period, the earthquakes lasted from Sep 1347 to Sep 1349. The middle of this period was in Sep 1348. So the middle of the „times of death” during the Justinianic Plague was exactly 675.5 years earlier! What a cosmic precision!

According to the Aztec myth, great cataclysms occur every 675.5 years. The Black Death occurred around 1348 AD, so the earlier cataclysm should have been in 673 AD. And it so happens that the previous global cataclysm and plague pandemic occurred exactly at that time. The conclusion is that the Aztecs may have been right. But we need to look for previous major epidemics and cataclysms to be sure that they really do occur cyclically.