Black Death Reaches Constantinople

Name: Black Death Reaches Constantinople
Start: 1347
End: 1348

Type Event Region Southeastern Europe Time 1347–1348

In autumn 1347 the Black Death reached Byzantine Constantinople from Caffa, Crimea, via Genoese ships, becoming the key node for the plague's entry i…

Timeline

1347Port of Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireGenoese merchant ships from Caffa in Crimea brought plague to Constantinople; the epidemic first broke out among the port district and merchant communities, becoming a hub link in the transmission chain of the eastern Mediterranean.
1347–1348Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireThe plague quickly spread across the whole city; Kantakouzenos recorded the mass deaths of relatives and subjects; the sharp population decline weakened Byzantine defenses and finances, and the plague continued to spread via land and sea routes to the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor.

Sources

The Black Death, 1346-1353: The Complete History — Ole J. Benedictow (2004)
History — John VI Kantakouzenos