Featured Medieval - Caffa and the Black Death

I'd agree that there was no germ theory at this point, but they were aware that the plague could have been spread by contact. If anything, this started Europe down the road of looking more closely at disease and examining it, rather than relying on the Ancient Greek explanation of the four humors. There was at least one man in France (whose name escapes me) who kept meticulous notes of symptoms and attempts at cures.

So, we're the Mongols the first to practice biological warfare? Possibly - although chucking bodies from a trebuchet wasn't necessarily new (King Stephen of England threatened to hurl a young William Marshall to his death when parleying with William's father - and that was in the early 12th century!)

 

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great write up FN!!!


interesting germ warfare discussion as well! i wonder if they thought that throwing the bodies over the wall would spread sickness (for whatever reason, sprits, bad smells)? if so, i think it would sort of count as germ warefare, even if they didn't have a clue what a germ was.

i've read about ancient/medieval people putting feces on their arrow tips, increasing infection...that would sort of count as well.

an aside: just putting your army together is a disease bonanza. i got this figure out of a book called man and wound in the ancient world, but from more modern times with some more reliable numbers.

union army US civil war death from enemy fire:110,065
same army loss to disease: 224,586

 

It is conjectured that was actually a fairly common occurrence then - even the Ottoman Turks used that weapon against the Byzantine Empire in 1453.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the Makedon Army had not tossed a few heads via catapult during the Siege of Tyre in 332 BCE just out of anger and frustration. Humans are pretty resourceful during war... Conscious germ warfare? no. Tick somebody off? Yeah!

 

Fascinating posts, great maps, historical views! Kinda makes you wonder why some find history boring. Here are two of my Mongol coins..
Mongol Dynasties/Ilkhans
AV Dinar AH 703 Irbil Mint 8.09g.
Uljaytu AH 703-16
Mongol Dynasties/Ilkhans
AV Dinar (undated/no mint) 5.46g.
Abu Sa'id 716-36

 

Fantastic right up on your coins.
It always feels good to feel smarter and more educated than I was when I woke up.

 

Thanks...I feel the same way. This forum has some very informed members, so glad I joined six months ago...

 

Awesome writeup.. the story and history behind the coin is what makes it so intriguing and valuable

 

Outstanding write up. In High School I was voted Mr. World History for my high school (5A Lubbock High Westerners/over 1,200 students)and my teacher was a Mrs. Blocker. The story you told was very well written and informative. Thank you for conjuring up some wonderful memories of my youth. Enjoy what remains of your day.

 

I was reminded recently of this excellent post by @FitzNigel from 2016 as I was researching this coin and reading a recent article on the spread of the plague. The author, Hanna Barker, looks to additional sources and challenges the story-line & timeline of Gabriele de’ Mussi. See: Hanna Barker, "Laying the Corpses to Rest: Grain, Embargoes, and Yersinia pestis in the Black Sea, 1346–48", Speculum, The journal of the Medieval Academy of America, Volume 96, Number 1, January 2021, University of Chicago Press.


Genoese Caffa, Filippo Maria Visconti (AD 1421-1435), AR Asper. 0.77g, 15mm.
Obv: DV_M.D.:CAF; the arms of Genoa in a beaded oval of four arches, three dots to side and below of portal.
Rev: Small Jujid tamga with 1 dot - tamga of the ruling Mongol Khan. Circular Arabic legend, السلطان العادل محمد خان (The Just Ruler, Muhammad Khan).

 

Yea, I think much of de Musis has been challenged in recent years. While I haven’t read Barker’s article, I know I have seen other papers which have lead me to change how I cover this material in my class (can’t think of specifics off the top of my head at the moment…).

nice looking Asper!

 

Great writeup, fascinating.

AncientNumis

 

Great writeup. I read this with great interest!

Here are three coins of Jani Beg. The third one shows the very rare countermark of Caffa on a Dirhem of Jani Beg.

Juchids. Jani Beq. with name Jalal-Ad-Din. Saray al Jadid. Dirham. 745AH

AD 1344


Juchids. Jani Beq. Saray al Jadid. Dirham. 743AH. Uyghur type

AD 1343





Jani Beg with Caffa countermark




I also have several copper puls from Caffa.