Malaria and Rome A History of Malaria in Ancient Italy [Hardcover]

Malaria and Romeis the first comprehensive book on the history of malaria in Roman Italy. Aimed at an interdisciplinary readership, it explores the evolution and ecology of malaria, its medical and demographic effects on human populations in antiquity, its social and economic effects, the human responses to it, and the human interpretations of it.

1. Introduction
2. Types of malaria
3. Evolution and prehistory of malaria
4. The ecology of malaria in Italy
5. The demography of malaria
6. The Pontine Marshes
7. Tuscany
8. The city of Rome
9. The Roman Campagna
10. Apulia
11. Geographical contrasts and demographic variation

An important book with serious claims to make about the nature of the disease environments of Roman Italy, with wider implications for our understanding of Mediterranean history. --American Historical Review

Bringing together ancient literary and archaeological evidence, comparative historical material on malaria, and the latest scientific research on the disease and its ecology, Sallares shows that [the malarial strain]P. Falciparumcan be traced far back into Greek and Italian history.... The demographic impact of this expanding pattern of disease is Sallares's main concern, and he provides a broad overview and a series of local studies to demonstrate it. --Times Literary Supplement

Robert Sallaresis Research Fellow in Biomolecular Sciences, UMIST.