Black Death Affects the Hajj to Mecca

Name: Black Death Affects the Hajj to Mecca
Start: 1348
End: 1349

Type Event Region Arabian Peninsula Time 1348–1349

During the 1348 Hajj season, the Black Death reached Mecca with pilgrims and caravans from Syria, Egypt, and Yemen, causing a severe outbreak in the …

Timeline

1348Mecca · HejazPilgrims and caravans from Syria, Egypt, and Yemen brought the plague into Mecca; the holy city's population surged during the peak of the pilgrimage, creating conditions for the outbreak.
1348–1349Mecca and Mina · HejazA severe plague broke out in Mecca and the pilgrimage camps, killing large numbers of pilgrims and greatly reducing the scale of the 1348 Hajj; returning pilgrims carried the epidemic to Yemen, India, and elsewhere, making the pilgrimage network a channel of cross-regional transmission.

Sources

The Black Death in the Middle East — Michael W. Dols (1977)
The Black Death, 1346-1353: The Complete History — Ole J. Benedictow (2004)