Did a planet wide catastrophe occur in the Middle of the Dark Ages

Some translated observational reports of that era (from Rome and other places in europe as well as in Syria):

• ""There was a sign from the Sun, the likes of which had never been seen or reported before. The Sun became dark, and its darkness lasted for about 18 months. Each day, it shown for about four hours and still this light was only a feeble shadow. Everyone declared that the Sun would never recover its full light again."

• "during this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness ... and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear."

• "The sun became dim ... for nearly the whole year ... so that the fruits were killed at an unseasonable time."

• the sun became dark and its darkness lasted for eighteen months. Each day it shone for about four hours, and still this light was only a feeble shadow ... the fruits did not ripen and the wine tasted like sour grapes."

• The sun ... seems to have lost its wonted light, and appears of a bluish colour this is signficant . We marvel to see no shadows of our bodies at noon, to feel the mighty vigour of the sun's heat wasted into feebleness, and the phenomena which accompany an eclipse prolonged through almost a whole year. We have had ... a summer without heat ... the crops have been chilled by north winds ... the rain is denied ..."

So a consistent set of observations and writing suggest a prolonged period within little sunshine Nuclear Winter?

Can modern science say anything about this:

Recent studies of tree ring growth in very old growth forests in Europe reveal that in the mid 530s there was a sudden decline in the rate of tree growth which lasted about 15 years.

There is strong evidence of bubonic plague originating in the year 535 from rodents in East Africa and then spreading far beyond that geographic boundary.

Tracers of sulfate ions are found in ice cores from Greenland and Antartica at this time. Sulfate ions occur from sulfuric acid produced by large volcanic eruptions.

Chinese documents of the time described a huge. rumbling roar that seemed to "emanate from the south, southwest.

Anecdotal stories surving from indonesia speak of "a furious shaking of the earth, total darkness, thunder and lightning" ( which could be just a large earthquake and " large areas of land sank below sea level" ( this could have created the channel between Java and Sumatra.

So, what happened in 535 AD?

Three possibilities:

• nothing happened at all and the evidence is just circumstantial

• The earth was struck by a comet this is very unlikely to have produced the observed sulfur deposits at the poles

• Krakatoa had a gigantic ash eruption.
  

  

  For a mostly ash eruption, there is little lava that actually flows. Generally ash eruptions are the result of explosive disintegration of most of the mountain, leaving behind a large caldera and sunken land in some cases.

  As an equatorial volcano, a huge ash eruption would deposit ash in the atmosphere in both hemishperes.

  
  
  In the case of the Pinatubo eruption in 1992, which is relatively small scale, there is good evidence for a global temperature drop that mitigated global warming slightly.
  
  
  
  

  
  Explosive volcanoes are not uncommon on the Earth

  

  

  Laki 1783: In Iceland 20-25% of the population of Iceland died from either famine or fluorine poisoning.

  Around 80% of sheep, 50% of cattle and 50% of horses died because of dental and skeletal fluorosis from the 8 million tons of hydrogen fluoride that were released.

  An estimated 120 mio. tons of sulfur dioxide were emitted: approximately equivalent to three times the total annual European industrial output in 2006, and also equivalent to a Mount Pinatubo-1991 eruption every three days.[6] This outpouring of sulfur dioxide during unusual weather conditions caused a thick haze to spread across western Europe, resulting in many thousands of deaths throughout 1783 and the winter of 1784. The sun was described as "blood coloured".

  Kuwae 1452 A submarine eruption

  

  Simulation Results:

  

  So these things do happen which makes the 535 AD Event PLAUSIBLE Other events:

  Roman Emperor Maurice wrote about the invading Mongol Hordes (also known as the Avars), in the late sixth century,

  They are treacherous, foul, untrustworthy and possessed by an insatiable desire for riches. These scoundrels are very experienced in military matters and prefer to prevail over their enemies not so much by force as by deceit, surprise attacks and the cutting of supply line"

  Tree-ring analysis and historical evidence from Siberia to the north of Mongolia, and from China to the south, suggest that the region was hit particularly badly by drought.

  Originating in far-off Mongolia, the Avars had been forced to migrate westwards by the self-same climatic catastrophe which had scattered plague across the continents. Horses do not survive drought well forced migration.

  Finally, this Catastrophe may have also killed off the greatest ancient civilization of the Americas the spectacular pyramid-building empire of Teotihuacan, the Place of the Gods in the Mexican language Nahuatl. Recent redating of the collapse of the Teotihuacano civilization shows that occurred around 550 AD.

  See also:

  Historical Catastrophes Maybe

  The Offical List of Large Eruptions

  Its possible that the 535 event was really the 540 +/100 AD eruption of Mt. Rabaul in New Guinea. This particular volcano is know for ash eruptions and is still active. Its most recent significant eruption was in October of 2006.