The Origin of the Plague
The plague is believed to be originated from Central Asia. Scientists assume that the cause of the infested flea migration was caused due to rat fleas hating the smell of horses. This caused the rat fleas to migrate away from the nomadic people through the trade system called the Silk Road.
The first known victims are believed to have been residents of Issyk Kul which apparently had a big rise in mortality rate in c.1338-1339. In 1343, it had already reached Kaffa, a port of the Black Sea, in the Crimea. During a battle there, the Golden Army of the khan called Yannibeg was obliterated due to the outbreak of the plague while fighting against the colony there. He eventually ordered dead bodies to be catapulted into the city. This action did not, however, cause the infection to spread as the bacterium could not be passed from human to human. The theory is that infested rats must have infiltrated the gates of Kaffa and the fleas infected the people. With the infiltration of the rats in Kaffa, Europe was doomed to suffer the plague.
The plague is believed to be originated from Central Asia. Scientists assume that the cause of the infested flea migration was caused due to rat fleas hating the smell of horses. This caused the rat fleas to migrate away from the nomadic people through the trade system called the Silk Road.
The first known victims are believed to have been residents of Issyk Kul which apparently had a big rise in mortality rate in c.1338-1339. In 1343, it had already reached Kaffa, a port of the Black Sea, in the Crimea. During a battle there, the Golden Army of the khan called Yannibeg was obliterated due to the outbreak of the plague while fighting against the colony there. He eventually ordered dead bodies to be catapulted into the city. This action did not, however, cause the infection to spread as the bacterium could not be passed from human to human. The theory is that infested rats must have infiltrated the gates of Kaffa and the fleas infected the people. With the infiltration of the rats in Kaffa, Europe was doomed to suffer the plague.
The Issue with Fleas
Tiny creatures we thought tortured our favorite pets caused the population of Eurasia drop drastically. Fleas carried a type of bacterium Yersinia pestis. This bacterium could be found in the system of either fleas or rats. Fleas infected people and animals by biting them and exposing the hosts to the Yersinia pestis. The Problem with the Surprisingly Abundant Rats
These little rodents resided in most buildings in the Medieval Era. This caused some terrible things to happen because the rats were a part of the problem. Rats were the place of residence for the type of fleas that contained the bacterium Yersinia pestis. |