536 AD cover art

536 AD

The Worst Year to Be Alive in the History of Humankind

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

536 AD

By: Kamal Khalaf
Narrated by: Zack Zimbler
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

A Cataclysm That Plunged the World into Darkness—The Year Civilization Nearly Collapsed

The Deadliest Volcanic Eruption in History


In 536 AD, the sun dimmed, the sky turned a ghostly gray, and global temperatures plummeted. Crops withered, famine spread like wildfire, and entire civilizations were thrown into chaos. Historians and scientists now recognize this year as one of the most catastrophic climate events in human history—a volcanic winter that reshaped the world.

What You’ll Discover in This Book:

The Science Behind the Catastrophe – Explore groundbreaking research into volcanic winters, ice core evidence, and how a mysterious eruption altered the global climate.

Eyewitness Accounts from the Ancient World – Firsthand records from Byzantine historians, Chinese scribes, and Middle Eastern chronicles reveal the panic, despair, and resilience of those who lived through the darkness.

The Plague That Followed – How the weakened world fell victim to the Plague of Justinian, one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

The Fall of Empires & the Birth of New Powers – From the Byzantine struggles to the rise of feudal Europe and the foundations of the Islamic Caliphate.

Lessons for Today – What this ancient climate disaster teaches us about climate change, pandemics, and societal resilience in our modern world.

This compelling and deeply researched work is an essential listen. It’s a provocative journey through history and science that will challenge your understanding of the past and its impact on our future.

Combining historical narratives, scientific analysis, and dramatic storytelling, this book uncovers the forgotten disaster that shaped human history.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 Kamal Khalaf (P)2025 Kamal Khalaf
Ancient Civilization Environment Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science World Thought-Provoking
All stars
Most relevant
This book is a tedious listen.
The author makes good points but repeats these points again and again.
Look: I don’t need 347 repeats of the fact that knowledge about the 536 AD volcanic disaster is gained from ice cores, dendrochronology and sediment samples. I got it the first time!
-and that’s the style of this book.
The info gained from this could be boiled down to 30 pages. The rest is just repetition.

Repeat after repeat after…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.