The Black Death in the Middle East

I. Introduction - II. Plague in the Middle East

A. A History of Plague Before the Black Death

B. The Transmission of the Black Death: Chronology and Geographic Distribution

III. The Nature of Plague

A. Modern Medical Pathology

B. Medieval Observations of Plague

IV. Medieval Muslim Interpretations of Plague

A. Medical Interpretations

1. Etiology

2. Prevention

3. Treatment

B. Religious Interpretation

C. Magical Beliefs and Practices

V. The Demographic Effects of Plague in Egypt and Syria

A. The Political and Social Context

B. Rural Depopulation

C. Urban Depopulation

D. A Special Case: The Mamluk Army

E. General Mortality of the Black Death

1. Population History of the Middle East

2. The estimated Mortality of the Plague Epidemic of 833/1429-1430

3. Medieval and Modern Estimates of Mortality Caused by the Black Death

F. Periodicity and Nature of Plague Recurrences

G. Other Factors Limiting Population Growth

VI. Urban Communal Behavior During the Black Death

VII. The Economic Consequences of the Black Death

A. Prices

B. Labor

C. Land

D. Commerce

VIII. Conclusions

Appendices

1. Recurrences of Plague in the Period Subsequent to the Black Death, 750-922/1349-1517

2. The Arabic Terminology for Plague

3. The Arabic Manuscript Sources for the History of Plague from the Black Death to the Nneteenth Century.