Is Syrakousai ever NOT wracked with plague?

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As Carthage, I captured Syracuse right off the bat, laying siege to the city within the first two turns and capturing it perhaps a year and a half later. Since then, however, the city's population has (seemingly) plummeted, owing entirely to the fact that since its capture, the city has been hit by no less than four plagues--and it's only 265 BC. I don't believe the city has managed to go more than three turns without plague yet.

Has anybody had a similar experience with Syracuse, or can anybody comment on this phenomenon? I know it's in a prime area for it, but this is ridiculous.

Well the Black Death of medieval Europe came from Africa, with rats. So there's a good chance you brought it to Sicily from Carthaginian homeland. Or there would be the chance if the RTW aengine allowed that, which it doesn't *sigh*. So you should just check if you have a lot of squalor in the city