The Black Death in early Ottoman territories : 1347-1550

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the possible impact of the Black Death on the early Ottoman society. Firstly, a temporal and spatial analysis of the outbreaks was established using contemporary Ottoman, Byzantine and Latin sources. In view of the territorial expansion of the Ottoman state in the period studied, information on the adjacent territories was included. The response towards plague was then evaluated taking into account the information obtained on the frequency and geographical distribution of the disease and contrasted with certain previous theories on the impact of plague on Ottoman society. The study reveals that the high frequency of plague outbreaks identified by this study can be linked to a behavior of overall acceptance and to specific actions of an administrative and religious nature.