What Anthony Kaldellis has said about Plague of Justinian
1 quote · 1 episode · Jun 30, 2026
Anthony Kaldellis, Historian of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire at the University of Chicago and author of "The New Roman Empire", has been quoted on Plague of Justinian once in 1 episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, most recently on June 30, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.
In their words
Kaldellis rejects estimates that the Plague of Justinian killed half the population, noting that wars, taxation and courts continued without pause.
“And some scholars argue for a kind of maximalist position of 50%. I think that would have brought this society to a halt, just logistically speaking”
Lex Fridman Podcast: #498 – Anthony Kaldellis: Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Rise & Fall of Empires (Jun 30, 2026) · Listen from 2:52:00
Episodes
#498 – Anthony Kaldellis: Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Rise & Fall of EmpiresLex Fridman Podcast · Jun 30, 2026 · 3 h 59 min
Historian Anthony Kaldellis and Lex Fridman trace 2,200 years of Roman history, arguing the Byzantine Empire was simply the Roman Empire and explaining its longevity.
Anthony Kaldellis on other topics
- Byzantine Empire · 10 quotes
- Christianity · 2 quotes
- Taxation in the Byzantine Empire · 2 quotes
- Byzantine Iconoclasm · 1 quote
- Fall of the Western Roman Empire · 1 quote
- Constantinople · 1 quote
- Constitutio Antoniniana · 1 quote