Livre - The Black death in the Middle East
B 5104
Description
Livre
Princeton university Press
Dols Michael W. 1942 - 1989
Presentation materielle : 1 vol. (XVII-390 p.)
Dimensions : 23 cm
“There is no other book on the Black Death in the Middle East that provides, as this one does, the facts in their totality, elucidating the medical, religious, social, demo- graphic, and economic aspects amply and authoritatively.” –S. D. Goitein, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton In the middle of the fourteenth century a devastating epidemic of plague, commonly known in European history as the "Black Death," swept over the Eurasian continent. This book, based principally on Arabic sources, establishes the means of transmission and the chronology of the plague pandemic’s advance through the Middle East. The prolonged reduction of population that began with the Black Death was of fundamental significance to the social and economic history of Egypt and Syria in the later Middle Ages. The epidemic’s spread suggests a remarkable destruction of human life in the fourteenth century, and a series of plague recurrences appreciably retarded population growth in the following century and a half, impoverishing Middle Eastern society. Social reactions illustrate the strength of traditional Muslim values and practices, social organization, and cohesiveness. The sudden demographic decline brought about long-term as well as immediate economic adjustments in land values, salaries, and commerce. Michael W. Dols is Assistant Professor of History at California State University, Hayward.
Preface, vii Abbreviations, xiii List of Maps, xvii I. Introduction, p. 3 II. Plague in the Middle East, p. 13 A. A History of Plague Before the Black Death, p. 13 B. The Transmission of the Black Death: Chronology and Geographical Distribution, p. 35 III. The Nature of Plague, p. 68 A. Modern Medical Pathology, p. 68 B. Medieval Observations of Plague, p. 74 IV. Medieval Muslim Interpretations of Plague, p. 84 A. Medical Interpretation, p. 84 1. Etiology, p. 84 2. Prevention, p. 98 3. Treatment, p. 105 B. Religious Interpretation, p. 109 C. Magical Beliefs and Practices, p. 121 V. The Demographic Effects of Plague in Egypt and Syria, p. 143 A. The Political and Social Context, p. 143 B. Rural Depopulation, p. 154 C. Urban Depopulation, p. 169 D. A Special Case: The Mamluk Army, p. 185 E. General Mortality of the Black Death, p. 193 1. Population History of the Middle East, p. 194 2. The Estimated Mortality of the Plague Epidemic of, p. 833/1429-1430, p. 204 3. Medieval and Modern Estimates of Mortality Caused by the Black Death, p. 212 F. Periodicity and Nature of Plague Recurrences, p. 223 G. Other Factors Limiting Population Growth, p. 231 VI. Urban Communal Behavior During the Black Death, p. 236 VII. The Economic Consequences of the Black Death, p. 255 A. Prices, p. 257 B. Labor, p. 268 C. Land, p. 271 D. Commerce, p. 277 VIII. Conclusions, p. 281 Appendices, p. 303 1. Recurrences of Plague in the Period Subsequent to the Black Death 750-922/1349-1517, p. 305 2. The Arabic Terminology for Plague, p. 315 3. The Arabic Manuscript Sources for the History of Plague from the Black Death to the Nineteenth Century, p. 320 Bibliography, p. 337 Index, p. 375
Bibliogr. p. 337-373. Index
