536 AD: How Did Humanity Survive The Worst Year In History?

The volcanic winter of 536 was the most severe and protracted episode of climatic cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years. Investigating through the lens of dendrochronology and historical accounts, this documentary explores how a mysterious dimming of the sun, blood-colored rain, and dust clouds plunged civilizations into two years of darkness, followed by famine, plague, and societal collapse. Through the groundbreaking research of historians like David Keys and scientist Mike Bailey, discover how tree rings from around the world offer crucial insights into this pivotal moment that forever altered the course of human history.
💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!
👉 bit.ly/3qTE0NR
📺 Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Matt Lewis, and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code ABSOLUTEHISTORY 👉 access.historyhit.com/
This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries please contact: [e-mail]
#AbsoluteHistory

[@kcbakeneko]

Should've changed the title. This is the discovery of what caused the worst year, not how it was survived.

[@SafetySpooon]

Yes,absolutely. I had known about Krakatoa; I wanted to hear the rest!

[@sherilynn1310]

Yes. I doubt they ordered freeze dried food from prepper sites and chlorine tabs to clean their water.

[@heikechilds2816]

The title is pure Clickbait and for that reason disappointing. The show itself is a great show about 536 AD, but the title sucks!

[@JoMadge]

@@SafetySpooon Was just thinking the same thing!

[@laq9477]

My Native American ancestors spoke of a time when living above ground was hostile. They had to learn to live underground until it was safe to return to the surface. They speak of being taught how to live underground by these people they refer to as the Ant People.

[@Gizathecat2]

I saw this one several years ago and I think an updated documentary is due. New technologies have come into play making studies of vulcanism more precise.

[@PorkChopAChunky]

Probably don't make any money. I don't think documentary junkies are a large population. The people want silly tic toc videos it seems.

[@bob456fk6]

1816AD is called "The year without a summer" because of a volcanic eruption, Mount Tambora. It wasn't as devastating as the 536AD event but it was pretty noticeable.

[@joycebrewer4150]

My grandmother remembered that year. Hard times.

[@TheFirstManticore]

You did not tell us how people survived.

[@bricksloth6920]

In the dark. They survived in the dark.

[@jandrews6254]

He said they went without agricultural foods, that they hunted and fished, (and very likely cannibalised - my add in due to other references). They survived. And here we are.

[@10_rds_Fire_For_Effect]

Flashlights and making sure they kept plenty of batteries handy as well as stock piling tinned food in case of a disaster.

[@ekaterinadzyubak197]

​@@jandrews6254correction - some survived. But in the grand scheme of things, that is enough.

[@klokangeorge4005]

​@@jandrews6254I likesyo answers

[@lewp5357]

Funny that this is right around the time St Kevin is reputed to have lived in a cave for 7 years at Glendalough Ireland. He is reputed to have lived from 498 to 618, some guestimation and mythmaking poetic license with those dates for sure but either way places his prime years around the time of this event. Could he and his wider family (early irish Saints were usually from wealthy clans and those would have previously been on the fertile plains of dublin/meath/kildare etc) have moved to the lakeside site in wicklow to ride out the event hunting & fishing? Could their success in doing so have led to the subsequent growth of the community around them? People would have said he'd made the right choice by moving his clan there and thus attributed it to God being on his side. One two skip a few and you have a monastic City spring up.

[@MVeans]

My impression has been that this event may have been caused by the creation of the strait between Java and Sumatra with the explosion of a 'grandfather' Krakatoa in the 530's AD. The most recent explosion in the late 19th century also brought on a dimming of the earth for a period yet not as bad as 1400 years ago.

[@EverettvonNordeck-gf2cw]

You can always tell how all in and manic a nerd is, by the disaster zone of a work space and research library! This man is all in... Passionate.

[@joemadda]

One geochemist I knew had about 80% of the office stacked 2' high with articles. That was a sight and site to behold.

[@catherineduncan6611]

OK, but how did people survive that time?

[@robroy5352]

even without the jab

[@eelihzuhbeth]

@@robroy5352 heeheee 😆

[@planetaryion]

They did such a good job keeping the science visually relevant and the information clear and logical throughout the documentary, thoroughly enjoyable and well done!

[@tammysims8716]

Thanks. Now I'll feel confident watching.

[@Yagetwhatyavoted4]

@@tammysims8716yeah, if you don’t want to know anything at all about what the title suggests. It barely touches on how or what they dealt with

[@marcgottlieb9579]

@@tammysims8716 They officially did what they were doing anyway..Concerning KZbin the content of the channel owner censor more than the KZbin Bot..This comment applies to the host of the channel being viewed at this moment..

[@brosephbroman7564]

Awesome timing. I just got off work and just heard about this year not too long ago. Time to relax and learn

[@Mrch33ky]

that's what she said! ha ha lol

[@brosephbroman7564]

@@Mrch33ky Hay'oooo! Lol

[@MooPotPie]

RIP, Mike Baillie (1944-2023).

[@jeanettereno4045]

I'm always happy when a person shares a complicated thing that they figure out and helps humanity to understand life and history in retrospect. May God bless his soul and keep him. May people learn from his.life. I remember counting tree rings as a child. His knowledge must have been shown to the adults in my life

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

I can imagine people thinking : ' Right, this is it.The end of time is upon us ! '

[@DemocratsRPedos]

I remember when this happened, man, it was dark and cold.

[@chezsnailez]

🐌 ~ our snaily ancestors merely tucked into our shells and estivated through the whole kerfuffle...

[@brianruddock2250]

Good video but once again a misleading title. 95% of it is about the modern-day investigation of what caused it. There’s barely anything about what actually happened, how societies dealt with the famines, what wars occurred etc.

[@dragonladyfink4685]

Dark ages... refers to lack of history.

[@stephanieyee9784]

Because little is known about those aspects. As per the video there are very few actual accounts of climatic changes during the time frame. Its possible that most societies had little or no writing in the 500s. Most writing and education was reserved for the elite ie religious institutions and royalty.

[@logical_evidence]

Changes history to suit the narrative. Sad world.

[@jsutin423]

It's all explained in the video. Very few people were taking notes in 500 AD. Try again pedant.

[@TheCoon1975]

​@@jsutin423The Romans were actually documenting quite a lot then.

[@binkwillans5138]

This same video gets released year after year by multiple channels for as long as I can remember.

[@angelbabies7]

That computer 🖥️ it's absolutely a 90's model. This guys gotta be in his 80's at least. Corey Chalmers is probably organizing a show at his house.

[@HighSpeedNoDrag]

When is the show?

[@angelbabies7]

@@HighSpeedNoDrag 😆

[@98Zai]

The 90's provided the best documentaries!

[@KymClarke-fe5qz]

Reading about Krakatoa in 1883, is mind blowing that it was on the site of the original blast of 537. The most recent volcano recorded is the Tongan Volcano in 2020. Once you read the effects from a massive volcanic explosion, the information becomes more relatable. The lack of sunlight, acid rain, flooding and the populations around the world thinking it would be judgement day! The hard part as noted is finding any recorded mention of the event. Can it happen again, oh yes it certainly can! Can't remember if he determined a month? Tree ring mapping, brilliant, wonder if they mapped the big Redwoods of the east coast of America? Ice cores are really becoming totally important as well, saw a special on the investigation of the poles swapping and also the Gulf Stream stopping! The really scary thing is, not understanding this rock we live on, and what makes it tick.

[@IntentionsOfAbsence]

That computer mapping tree rings is really amazing. Thank you. That's kinda like when the magnesium direction change is seen in crystals growth.

[@jerrycornelius5986]

I would have thought, if the volcano spewed enough ash to go around the world, there would be layers that could be dated on Java and Sumatra.

[@CIS101]

Even with 90s CGI the finale was very effective

[@johnnicholas1488]

Well done. Thank you.

[@paulmaggiar8274]

Although "The Worst Year In History" may be hyperbole to entice people to watch this video, I certainly would not want to have existed during that time.

[@chezsnailez]

Yeah, the Wi-Fi was really spotty back then. Only started improving in. 720BCE, fully recovering in 1080BCE...

[@tylern6420]

A video on the week long blizzard of 1977/1978 would be interesting

[@beckybugbee5696]

I was 3 years old. My mom took a picture of me in front of the snowbank on the side of the driveway after my dad plowed and shoveled a little path out of the house. There was at least 6 feet of snow.

[@dwilson6769]

Hmm That's when I was born.

[@SafetySpooon]

We got off of school - it was great! What else do you want to know?

[@derentius]

​@@dwilson6769dwilson the blizzardborn, first of their name, titles, titles you know how it goes

[@dwilson6769]

@@derentius 🤣🤣 I guess it could be worse. I mean, it does sound like lizardborn. But...hey. Jurassic Park was a huge hit.

[@lindafarnes486]

Like roaches. Humanity survives every thing.

[@allanshpeley4284]

But what about muh climate change? That's an existential threat that's going to kill us all.

[@10_rds_Fire_For_Effect]

The Taupo Super Volcano eruption of 235 AD (1,700 years ago) in New Zealand was the largest volcanic eruption on Earth in the last 5000 years (VEI-7 eruption). Much bigger than any eruption around 536 AD. How did the 536 AD event darken the world more than the Taupo event just 300 years earlier? The Taupo eruption spewed out far more material and must have had a much bigger impact on the World. Possibly because the 536 AD event only really affected the Northern Hemisphere, not the whole World, and the Taupo event was in the Southern Hemisphere.

[@nikolaribic7956]

Clearly, you weren't paying attention during the documentary. As was pointed out by the narrator, the eruption would have to have been along a band around the equator in order for the effects to have been global. This is due to something called the Coriolis effect which caused by the rotation of the Earth. Without getting into too many boring details, this would have led to the ash dust and, most importantly, sulfuric gases to be spread through the stratosphere towards either pole. Although the 235 ad eruption of taupo was larger, its location resulted in the effects being mostly local. Also, my guess is that, since at that time your shitty little island was uninhabited, there would be no written records to report on its effects.

[@tml721]

I'll always regret not going into volcanology, It fastinates me

[@tml721]

@@arturofuente4832 that's what I said

[@tml721]

@@arturofuente4832 BOO HOO!! and you are triggered?? See a shrink

[@elizabethroberts6215]

@@arturofuente4832………’Volcanology’ is correct in English language…………

[@arturofuente4832]

@@elizabethroberts6215 I stand corrected. Thanks.

[@sherilynn1310]

Me too. I majored in chemistry and took a few geology courses. I discovered too late that this subject was my greatest intellectual love. Well, I was never the sturdy kind of person who can hike up mountains carrying monitors, and hike back down carrying rock samples.

[@susanburrows5288]

good but old...copyright date 1999. I think I saw this when it was released on tv. Definitely needs an updated documentary, what was right here, what was incorrect or too amorphous for good data at the time but newer tech can get more results?

[@Chadswonderfulwalkingtours]

Watching from Mackinac Island Michigan

[@SkyBlue-qn8me]

What are the two things Mackinac Island is famous for making? Fudge and horse poop! 😄

[@Chadswonderfulwalkingtours]

@@SkyBlue-qn8me And my walking tour 😆

[@P-G-77]

Remember... we are only a guest on this planet... only a viewers in a great theater of Nature.

[@johneubank8543]

I'm not a guest. I'm a nasty parasite! Earth is not a hotel.

[@samwelltayrlor]

This intro is more scary than most horror movies these days

[@robertmastnak581]

Very interesting fakts...thx

[@JoanneJones]

This was well-done with the story and the presentation of research but evidence was presented at a conference in 2004 excluding Krakatoa from being the cause of 6th century weather, based on analysis of layers from drilling on the ocean floor surrounding Krakatoa. If there was an eruption at that time, it was not explosive enough to affect the entire world like it did in 1883. Doesn't mean it couldn't have been a volcano, but not Krakatoa. The splitting of Java from the Book of Kings was originally dated as 416AD but scientists have no support for the tale (geologic evidence points more to the land bridge between the islands being flooded at the end of the last Ice Age). I hope they keep searching for the evidence.

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

if its in the ocean floor, it probably got washed away by the waves.

[@polyoptika4382]

I hate the weird sound effects.

[@DebZaragoza]

So, because of this, the "dark ages" was born! Literally, because it went dark...

[@loril.mangold8160]

Yellow dust sounds like Sulpher, from a Huge Volcano

[@HighSpeedNoDrag]

Initially, Cracka Toke Ah came to mind Circa 1883 which has been traditionally referenced as a model for Nuclear Winters/Cold War Era.

[@wailingalen]

7.5k years?? How? They can't be THAT old?!

[@michaelharris8598]

You're right they don't live that long. But wood is surprisingly hardy and has been used in construction for thousands of years. Also in the right ecological conditions it can be almost perfectly preserved even longer. By finding and cataloging many thousands of samples from many sources. You can reliably construct such a timeline. Scientists aren't relying on one tree or even a dozen but hundreds or thousands collected over a wide area. Looked at not by one scientist or group but many that serve to further verify the findings.

[@allanshpeley4284]

@@michaelharris8598 "By finding and cataloging many thousands of samples from many sources. You can reliably construct such a timeline." This is one sentence, not two.

[@hookeaires6637]

Think in terms of thousands of history books from old to recent in a stack that overlap, covering the entire span of time.

[@denniscrane9753]

This was definitely Putins doing and he must be held accountable!

[@phlezktravels]

Fire!

[@dsilveiiira]

I'm so sorry but Mike Baillie is Uncle Colm from Derry Girls

[@danialeatherman8934]

Love that show

[@MrBonney1990]

Maybe this Tunguska event they’re discussing or something similar has something to do with the disappearance of the kingdom of Tartary…

[@iamsteverino65]

I must have been all the gas guzzling vehicles

[@CIS101]

Wow this is old. As of 28:34 that looks like Windows NT, but regardless it was plain to see from the start of the video. That young lab assistant must be 50+ years old by now.

[@durandalgmx7633]

Good vid, but it *in no way answers the question in the title*.

[@bobkarigan4512]

Our generation has had things much too easy.

[@wetcat833]

Worst year for who? According to me, 2023 absolutely sucked.

[@1ntwndrboy198]

This is the beginning of what is called the little ice age.

[@markcaputo8300]

❤ Still worth watching!😊

[@jandrews6254]

No mention of the latest large volcanic eruption on Samoa?

[@2012escapee1]

Wait till Yellowstone blows 😢

[@oskyys6853]

The good ol days

[@doornbosh]

I just watched the exact same on the Real History channel..

[@miyojewoltsnasonth2159]

20:53 I'd say we can't dismiss a comet/meteorite because the oceans cover 2/3 of the surface of the earth. And we've done very little mapping/exploration of the bottoms of most of those oceans. The lack of a massive tidal wave story doesn't necessarily rule this out if it hit off the coast of Antarctica directly south of the centre of the Pacific.

[@rcrawford42]

Coastlines would still show signs of the tidal waves depositing material WAY higher than normal.

[@sorciere...]

I found this very interesting BUT terribly disappointing that you did not say how we survived or how it changed history. Please don't click bait anymore

[@luiszuluaga6575]

Who doesn’t love academics? 🤷🏻‍♂️😀🎓📙

[@allanshpeley4284]

How could people from China have heard a 10 hz sound when human hearing doesn't go below 20 hz?

[@junestanich7888]

There should be a yellow layer all over the world at the same time to show those. It shows up with tsunamis so it should be there fit the dust deposits.

[@Mrch33ky]

In desperate need of professional sound editing.

[@iRushil]

I'm getting an ad literally every 5 minutes! Fuck this!

[@AdrianCarlisle]

They flipped the light switch 😋

[@emilkarpo]

10 minutes of information and 40 minutes of b-roll.

[@maryvigil5109]

Could it have been a super volcano?

[@sharonholdren7588]

Wasn't this produced several years ago? If so, why is it being presented as new?

[@johnpauljones9244]

This was wonderful, but time for the next history story, an update.

[@angelafoxmusic7265]

They reckon lake Taupo in NZ will blow again...

[@carolinegray7510]

Read "Catastrophe " by David Keys. Fascinating book filled with ALL the facts regarding what happened that year; ecologically, politically and religiously.

[@chadsensei-ue6jn]

They didn't. We're all just ghosts.

[@albertconstantine5432]

Humungous? Ginormous?

[@Steve-pp2lx]

You said it happened two years ago you meant 2000

[@julescaru8591]

Ok I’ve seen this before, it’s good but somewhat outdated, be nice to have an update or perhaps a commentary on the effects and outcomes of this event 💕

[@elizabethroberts6215]

……am currently reading book, ‘536AD The Worst Year Ever’ by Reece KIMBLE. It’s absolutely fascinating in its’ information. Talk about a ‘domino effect’. Heaven help us if another super volcano erupts…………

[@donjoaoresort8565]

The Earth needs a super volcano

[@thejourneyhome]

How old are these trees you're gathering data from? Wait, 7k years?

[@rcrawford42]

Not all of the trees are alive when their rings are counted. And they only have to go back 1500 years for this research.

[@SoberOKMoments]

So how exactly did humans survive this worst year in history? Interesting video. Not a great title for it.

[@ivandrago4852]

Thank you AH. Not sure it's the right niche but if anyone's very much into the Justinianeaen period I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's relative playlist. It deals with such deep changes. Keep up with the amazing work

[@normanriggs848]

Interesting, I really enjoyed the detective work. BUT! How did all our ancestor survive? That has to be a major part of the story. After all, we are here!!

[@rcrawford42]

They survived with great difficulty. Not only did crops suffer, but the cool weather unleashed the Black Death on Europe and the Middle East.

[@buds8423]

ad volume insane!!!

[@TwoBs]

That’s on whoever made the ad, not this channel (even though this video is of an old documentary where the volume is low, but still). The channel doesn’t pick and choose which ads KZbin will show you - that largely depends on your browsing habits gathered by Google to tailor/target stuff to what they think you’d want to see ... I don’t see ads, so …

[@craigswanson8026]

Atlantas, obviously. 🤔

[@beejwestner1056]

Wait, this documentary isnt new! Ive seen this before. Whats up with people just ripping off other people's video's and daying theyre new?

[@Gribbo9999]

I think Hit Hits bought the rights from Channel 4 UK.

[@lovepet4565]

We need this now

[@allon33]

The music is too much, too hard to watch. I'm a happy person and so I don't want to spend an hour listening to a lot of information about human failures without any real solutions. Well done, explaining how bad it is.

[@allanshpeley4284]

How are volcanoes human failures, happy person?

[@allon33]

@@allanshpeley4284 I am a happy person. You are just attacking me, without understand what I was talking about. You are full of hate, as there is no other reason for you to write anything here.

[@allon33]

@@allanshpeley4284 Volcanoes are not the problem, it is the guy making the video, Einstein.

[@rcrawford42]

Happy people do not instantly categorize criticism as "hate".

[@allon33]

@@rcrawford42 I never hate, you did. I'm happier than you. 😏

[@MrEricH5470]

That Scottish dude looks like Scottie

[@lindamwilliams-morris]

They just lived.

[@MmmmJuicy]

lol dude with books literally everywhere, so many that books are shoved in places books don't belong. That would be me if it weren't for the age of the internet we currently live in. I can store a literal library of books in a space smaller than a cig lighter.

[@matthewbolton4289]

A comet that broke up like the one that hit the entire west coast of usa. Debri fields all the way up to canada

[@zclassical]

The Worst is yet to come.

[@rba8094]

The video footage could of been from any part of the world, with many blacked out faces and short action clips that put you in a perspective of confusion. Don't understand why a real documentary would conceal identities of real explorers and not show full beginning to end action shots. Really seems like they are trying to convince rather than prove or really document.🤔

[@allanshpeley4284]

You lost me at "could of".

[@Istandby666]

There's so much more to this story. If you didn't make outlandish claims then waist people's time going through them. You could have done a better job. I like the history around 550. You covered less information in your time line than others have.

[@CrazyBear65]

Krakatoa... Crack a toe-a...

[@johannageisel5390]

Why is that lady in the thumbnail wearing 14th century clothing and not 6th century clothing?

[@zazzifizzle]

Not everyone can afford in season fashion dahling 😬

[@johnlord8337]

The biggest worst year in history is the 1620 BCE explosion of Thera/Santorini island, creating a Mediterranean tsunami that wiped out the majority of all western and central Mediterranean shorelines (saving Syria-Haran, Canaan, and Egypt. The refugess from Europe (the western Hebrews of ABRAHAM'S BLOODLINES - Ur of the Chaldees - Europe of the Celts), and the esatern Hebrews (Hyksos, Catal Huyuk), and the shoreline people (Sea Peoples), all moved out of the area into the Mideast, the Nile delta region, and others migrated further east into the Tigris-Euphrates valley (and even into India). The explosion overcast the skies, creating drought, crop failures, starvation, disease, and deaths.

[@deepdrag8131]

Looks like somebody forgot to take their cheery pills this morning!

[@brosephbroman7564]

BC*

[@johnlord8337]

@@brosephbroman7564 BCE stoopid ! And stay off the comment line.

[@johnlord8337]

@@deepdrag8131 you have mty permission to sit atop a volcano when it blows off

[@StudioHannah]

@@brosephbroman7564I personally still use the BC/AD convention because it’s what I grew up with and I’m a Christian and I kinda like the Christ-centereness of those Latin phrases, but OP is also correct; BCE/CE (Before the Common Era and Common Era) are a modern way of delineating the turn.

[@neo.12]

the architect from the matrix did that. 😀

[@user-ou6fz6jz9q]

First! Love ur vids!

[@shep6774]

This documentary is super old. If you’re going to reupload these, INCLUDE THE DATE OF PRODUCTION. Otherwise you are propagating out-dated information without that disclaimer. Get so frustrated when this is done with documentaries. These are supposed to help educate, not perpetuate misinformation like out-dated science not being labeled as such.

[@clintoncyrilvoss4287]

2022 was the worst year on record ,mass global chemical warfare and the demise of humanity

[@JoseMazola]

Does someone any information about the dim day that happened during the pandemic time cause nobody said anything about that day or what happened that day??

[@lindefort7390]

What?

[@zazzifizzle]

You probably had a bad trip man. We all had at least one episode 😅

[@danialeatherman8934]

Which day? I don’t remember anything about a dim day

[@allanshpeley4284]

@@danialeatherman8934 There was probably air pollution in his city that day which he assumed must have blanketed the world.

[@nickcarrico6272]

The worst year in history was when the human race was almost annihilated by the sun that scorched the planet. We were fortunate to have survived underground.

[@paperkay]

Okay, one guy in his attic saying it changed the course of history, despite all the dramatic music and montage of this video, hardly makes it so. First off, it wasn't paradise back then and a volcano going off is just another shitty Tuesday for an average antique fella. It's not like they never had a volcano erupting before or after. There were legends, cautionary tales and myths that probably tried to explain it and people didn't just fall down, baffled and starved because ONE year was bad. You think all the other years were plentiful? Try as you might to make it sound like nothing as horrid had ever happened before or after to folk way back when, no war, invasion, shitty overlord, blight, flood, draughts, etc ... ... I promise you, shit happened to them all the time and they were not weak about it.

[@JoseMazola]

someone hsa any information about the dim day that happens during the pandemia because nobody ssid anything,?

[@allanshpeley4284]

lol

[@richardlovato6301]

This was a cool stories those guys that were researching timber of all ages to cross cut a section and find that year through what would be the best accounts of weather but to find all those Cross sections in home buildings and then the cross referencing of everything was a crazy amount of work to get the base needed cool physics applied not theory nice to see reality in physics lately we live a believe in theory that's never been proven and that is a very sad fact