When the Empire Fell

In early 536, a massive volcanic eruption (likely in Iceland or North America) spewed enormous quantities of ash and gas into the stratosphere. A dark veil settled over large parts of the Northern Hemisphere. The Byzantine historian Procopius witnessed the phenomenon from the Mediterranean region, noting that the sun shone with a dim light, "almost as during a solar eclipse." This veil obscured the sun for 18 months and had disastrous consequences for the empire: