In other words, climate change may have damaged Elusa to the point where it was unable to protect itself against other dangers. That meant the Muslim troops were attacking a fading outpost of a waning empire, not a strong city with a robust infrastructure. The city’s eventual fate serves as a stark reminder that even the most powerful civilizations are not without flaws.
This notion is fascinating because it demonstrates the ancient world’s intricacy. Elusa was far further south than the areas that experienced the Late Antique Little Ice Age’s truly frigid winters, although it did trade with those northern European kingdoms. It merely demonstrates how the Byzantine Empire followed in the footsteps of Rome in linking diverse parts of the world.
