Garnel IronheartOctober 27, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Does he mention how the Ottomans brought the Black Death to Europe a few centuries earlier?
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AI
The Black Death was brought to Europe primarily via Genoese merchant ships returning from the Black Sea in October 1347, which docked in Messina, Sicily.
How It Arrived
• The Origin: The bacterium responsible for the pandemic (Yersinia pestis) originated in Central or East Asia and traveled westward along the Silk Road and trade networks.
• The Siege of Caffa: During the Mongol siege of the Genoese trading outpost of Caffa in Crimea, the attacking Mongol forces under Janibeg famously catapulted plague-infected corpses over the city walls.
• The Vector: Flea-infested black rats and infected crew members boarded Genoese trading vessels fleeing Caffa and sailed into the Mediterranean.
Okay, so the Mongols, not the Ottomans. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteOddly the plague is still out there and rumours are that Russia is covering up an outbreak in Siberia. How very 2019 of them.