Alaska's Okmok volcano fingered after Caesar's murder

Cold, famine and unrest in ancient Rome and Egypt came after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. New research suggests that the megaeruption of an Alaskan volcano may be to blame. An inexplicable cooling event in the Mediterranean region during this crux in the history of Western civilization came from volcanic ash from the remote Okmok volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Island Chain. According to the ice core tests, the volcano experienced a two-year megaeruption that began in early 43 BCE, one that filled Earth's atmosphere with enough smoke and ash to significantly impact climate.

The researchers' extensive analysis of climate during this ancient era demonstrates that the years after the Okmok eruption were some of the coldest in the northern hemisphere over the past 2,500 years. The researchers' climate models indicate that temperatures were roughly seven degrees Celsius below normal during the summer and autumn after the eruption in 43 BCE.

The eruption is regarded as one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the past 2,500 years.