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Black Death Strikes Egypt

Type Event Region North Africa Time 1348–1349

In 1348 the Black Death entered Egypt via Mediterranean trade routes, first breaking out in Alexandria and then sweeping Cairo and the Nile Delta;…

Timeline

  1. 1348Alexandria · EgyptThe plague arrived at Egypt's largest port, Alexandria, via Mediterranean trade routes; mass deaths first appeared in the port district and merchant quarters, becoming the starting point of the spread in the Nile Delta.
  2. 1348–1349Cairo · EgyptThe epidemic spread upstream along the Nile to Cairo; al-Maqrizi recorded over a thousand deaths daily in the city; agricultural labor shortages and market stagnation left the Mamluk regime facing fiscal and military manpower crises.

Sources