The Worst Year in History to Be Alive
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Everything Else
TaraDeS — 5 months ago(October 16, 2025 06:53 PM)
The Worst Year in History to Be Alive
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Climate catastrophe, mass deaths, crop failures and wars – the year 536 AD had all of this.
Therefore its considered by experts the worst year to be alive.
In other words, the year in which nobody really wanted to live.
Triumph of Death - by Pieter Bruegel the Elder ca. 1562
Humanity as a whole was never as well off as it is today – even if it might not seem that way given the numerous crises. But today, the average European has far more access to education, travel, medicine and social participation than even a king did 100 years ago or earlier.
The further back you look, the more striking the differences become. The worst year for humanity in Europe, Asia and the Middle East is said to be around 1,500 years ago – more precisely, in 536 AD.
By 536, the Western Roman Empire already was in decline for about 60 years. After the deposition of the last emperor (Romulus Augustulus in 476) the Ostrogoths took over nowadays Italy. The Eastern Roman Empire with its capital in Constantinople, would last for almost another 1,000 years – and under Emperor Justinian, was in the midst of an attempt to reconquer Italy.
The period was marked by territorial disputes and peoples vying for control of the empire's former provinces. Then, in the summer of 536, an event occurred that had repercussions far beyond the empire's borders. The chronicler Procopius of Caesarea wrote that
"the sun was without brightness"
. A mysterious veil of dust settled over Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
A Fog of Chaos and Destruction
What followed prompted Harvard historian Michael McCormick to declare that 536 was the worst year anyone could ever have lived. A mysterious fog obscured the sun for 18 months. Temperatures dropped by 1.5-2.5 °C. In China a summer snowfall destroyed entire harvests and triggered a famine. Irish chronicles describe a famine between 536 and 539. Collapse of agriculture was also recorded from Mesopotamia.
These events must have been so inexplicable to most people that they even found their way into mythological narratives. Historians suspect, for example, that it was the basis for the
"eternal winter"
(Fimbulvetr) in North mythology, the precursor to
Ragnarök- the Old North twilight of the gods.
Ragnarök - by William Gershom Collingwood 1908
Not even Trees grew anymore
It's long known that this mysterious cloud actually existed and ushered in a dark age. Initially, the cause remained unclear. Finally, Michael McCormick and glacier researcher Paul Mayewski were able to prove, using ice samples from a Swiss glacier, that a volcanic eruption in Iceland was responsible for the catastrophe. Further eruptions followed in 540 and 547 AD.
The effects of these eruptions can also be seen in tree rings discovered by archaeologists from this period. They show significantly reduced growth — a clear sign of extreme climatic conditions. For societies that relied largely on agriculture and livestock farming, this was a catastrophe. Communities that lived predominantly as hunter-gatherers, proved to be significantly more resilient, as a study of tribes from Estonia has shown.
The crop failures of 536/537 were followed by a second eruption in 540, making the next years the coldest decade of the past 2,300 years. The second cold shock ultimately led to an epidemic in the Eastern Roman Empire, which spread throughout the Mediterranean and went down in history as the
"Justinian Plague"
, named after the then Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian. Because the plague struck already weakened and malnourished societies, it's estimated that it killed 35-55% of the population.
Emperor Justinian (482-565) in Council - by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant 1886
All these developments help us understand historical transitions. The fall of the Roman Empire and the transition in the early Middle Ages may have been significantly accelerated by the volcanic eruptions, the climate crisis and the subsequent plague.
Natural Events and Human History
Thus, not only political and social turmoil led to the gradual decline of a world power, but also climatic conditions. This catastrophe also explains why societies were so weakened at that time that little social and economic development can be observed in the 6th century.
Economic growth in Europe barely recovered until around 640 – more than 100 years after the initial eruption. A comparable slump did not occur again until almost 1,000 years later.
The
"Black Death"
– the bubonic plague – caused a similar catastrophe 1346-1353.
https://web.de/magazine/wissen/geschichte/536-schlimmste-jahr-menschheitsgeschichte-41322796
October 16, 2025
https://historymedieval.com/the-worst-year-in-history-to-be-alive/
February 11, 2023
This will hardly console the Ukrainians.
And I'll eat Bratwurst now.
Eyjafjallajökull Eliza Geirsdottir Newman
- the Old North twilight of the gods.
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HollyJollyHanukka — 5 months ago(October 16, 2025 10:42 PM)
I had read about this. It’s fascinating how human beings made it at all. If not for the transition from hunter/ gatherers to agrarians, the keeping and rearing of game as a food source, we probably wouldn’t have made it at all after an event you cite.
If you can’t say something nice, say something clever but devastating. -
TaraDeS — 5 months ago(October 16, 2025 11:35 PM)
HollyJollyHanukka October 17, 2025 12:42 AM
Member since December 15, 2024
I had read about this. It’s fascinating how human beings made it at all. If not for the transition from hunter/ gatherers to agrarians, the keeping and rearing of game as a food source, we probably wouldn’t have made it at all after an event you cite.
Yah, a historian once summed it up beautifully:
You just have to imagine everything our ancestors endured to get you here today.
And this isn't about the usual heroic stories, because as we all know, heroes rarely grow old.
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HollyJollyHanukka — 5 months ago(October 17, 2025 01:55 PM)
If we had not formed settlements, become agrarian and raised our own livestock, we would not have made it through these extreme events. Once we went from hunter-gatherer to settlements, populations boomed and lifespans increased.
If you can’t say something nice, say something clever but devastating. -
TaraDeS — 5 months ago(October 29, 2025 09:52 AM)
HollyJollyHanukka October 17, 2025 03:55 PM
Member since December 15, 2024
If we had not formed settlements, become agrarian and raised our own livestock, we would not have made it through these extreme events. Once we went from hunter-gatherer to settlements, populations boomed and lifespans increased.
Just re-reading the whole thread and need to object.
From the article in my OP:
The effects of these eruptions can also be seen in tree rings discovered by archaeologists from this period. They show significantly reduced growth — a clear sign of extreme climatic conditions. For societies that relied largely on agriculture and livestock farming, this was a catastrophe. Communities that lived predominantly as
hunter-gatherers, proved to be significantly more resilient
, as a study of tribes from Estonia has shown. -
TaraDeS — 5 months ago(October 17, 2025 04:18 AM)
Steve Lake October 17, 2025 03:42 AM
Member since February 19, 2018
It's 536 for John Bolton right now
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you, Stevey?
https://www.filmboards.com/t/Als-Hitler-das-rosa-Kaninchen-stahl/Like-a-Noose-around-your-own-Neck-
-3595034/ -
Steve Lake — 5 months ago(October 17, 2025 04:42 AM)
Sorry Tara I'm just not reading that. Even though I wuv you a bunch.
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I would rather talk about the series called Red Alert that depicts the brutal attack made by Hamas on Israeli Civilians.
The only poster who had his account banned 4 times without ever breaking any rules each of those times. -
TaraDeS — 5 months ago(October 17, 2025 04:48 AM)
Steve Lake October 17, 2025 06:42 AM
Member since February 19, 2018
Sorry Tara I'm just not reading that. Even though I wuv you a bunch.
I would rather talk about the series called Red Alert that depicts the brutal attack made by Hamas on Israeli Civilians.
Yah, it's too much for you.
Go ahead, Stevey!
This is the right thread for you
to express your true thoughts after your antisemitic statements.
https://www.filmboards.com/t/World-War-III/Israel-
-Iran-Update%3A-Gaza-3576067/
OP TaraDeS (me) -
TaraDeS — 5 months ago(October 17, 2025 06:22 AM)
Steve Lake October 17, 2025 08:13 AM
Member since February 19, 2018
Come here. (love10)
Thanks for the love10, Stevey.
You should only do that in the right situation.
Unless you want to sing soprano in your choir.
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TaraDeS — 5 months ago(October 17, 2025 06:44 AM)
Steve Lake October 17, 2025 08:27 AM
Member since February 19, 2018
Ur a dude? Is that what ur saying?
Or that you would kick me in the nuts if I tried to hug you
I've no idea why you thought that I could be a man; a man would break your nose.
A kick in the eggs
is a popular female defense tactic.
As said, depends on the situation…Schatzi.
Worst Year in History