- Plague of Emmaus
The Plague of Emmaus (طاعون عمواس in
Arabic , ţā`ûn 'amwās transliterated), also known as the Plague of Amwas, was an outbreak of plague, possiblybubonic plague , that occurred in639 AD (18 AH) in the town ofEmmaus (Amwas) inPalestine . The town had been re-founded asNicopolis in 221 AD by the Roman EmperorElagabalus , and was given the title of 'city'. After the plague of 639 AD, the city disappeared. Excavations of the site, now a village called Amwas, have found aChristian basilica from the 3rd century, another basilica from the 6th century and a 12th century Crusaderchurch . [Dols (1974).]This plague
epidemic is famous inMuslim sources because of the death of many prominent companions of the MessengerMuhammad . 25,000 people died in this outbreak of plague. It is considered part of the outbreaks of plague in the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries that followed the major pandemic of the 6th century, thePlague of Justinian . [Dols (1974).]References
ources
*Dols, Michael W. "Plague in Early Islamic History". "
Journal of the American Oriental Society ", Vol. 94, No. 3 (Jul-Sep, 1974), pp. 371-383.
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