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, possibly bubonic plague, that occurred in 639 AD (18 AH) in the town of Emmaus (Amwas) in Palestine. The town had been re-founded as Nicopolis in 221 AD by the Roman Emperor Elagabalus, 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 a Christian basilica from the 3rd century, another basilica from the 6th century and a 12th century Crusader church.

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This plague epidemic is famous in Muslim sources because of the death of many prominent companions of the Messenger Muhammad. 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, the Plague of Justinian.

References

Plague in Early Islamic History, Michael W. Dols, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 94, No. 3 (Jul-Sep, 1974), pp. 371-383