Ролята на морските комуникации за разпространението на черната смърт във Византия и Византийския свят (1347-1453)
The role of maritime communications in the spread of the Black Death in Byzantium and the Byzantine world (1347-1453)

Summary/Abstract: The Black Death was one of the most significant factors in the history of Byzantium and the Byzantine world. In the period 1347–1453, the crumbling empire and some of its lost dominions were struck by at least 35 local plague epidemics. Most contemporaries testify that the pandemic inflicted severe demographic and socio-economic damage. This article aims to explore the role of maritime communications in the spread of the Black Death in Byzantium and the Byzantine world. The work is divided into five parts. The first part presents the modern epidemiology of the plague. Special attention is paid to the various mechanisms of disease transmission and their relationship to shipping. Next, the state of communications in the Black, Marmara and Aegean seas is outlined – the end of the Byzantine thalassocracy, the dominance of Venice and Genoa, the main military and trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean, etc. The study continues with a brief excursus on the movement of the Black Death from its primary focus in Central Asia to the Crimea. In the third part of the article, a number of examples are given to illustrate how the plague was regularly brought by ships to different points of Byzantium and the Byzantine world. Finally, the measures taken by the authorities to limit the spread of the contagion are traced. Among the latter are early warning attempts and the organization of quarantines. The analysis of historical sources leads to the conclusion that maritime communications played an essential role in the diffusion and spread of the Black Death in Byzantium and the Byzantine world.

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