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→Historical Impact
==Historical Impact==
The immediate consequences of the plague is it severely limited Byzantine expansion across southern Europe, ending Justinian's dream of reuniting the Roman Empire. It also strained the empire's resources as it had to face renewed threats from the Sasanian Empire, all the while Justinian insisted in financing major building projects and imposing taxes on his devastated population. While the Byzantine Empire ultimately recovered, they did come close to completely collapsing to the Sasanian Empire by the late 6th century and early 7th century. In northern Europe, the plague likely spread to the British Isles and Scandinavia. Initially these regions were isolated and relatively protected from the plague's spread, but slowly it had spread across the region probably by the 540s CE. Northern Europe would not recover until about the 9th century in terms of its population.
==Later Occurrences==