ANASTASIA BOHON

Abstract

The word ‘plague’ is derived from the Latin word for epidemic but has grown to refer specifically to the Yersinia pestis bacteria and the destruction that it caused throughout history.  The worst outbreak of the plague happened in the middle of the 14th century and there is detailed documentation concerning the progression and effects of the disease throughout Europe as well as on a global scale. However, there is little research available concerning how the plague affected the development of the Middle East. It’s not unknown that the plague continues to reemerge multiple times across history which would lead one to believe that some more information would be readily available. The plague in Europe so thoroughly reorganized the social structure and construction of the cities that one would assume that the trend would be the same for Middle Eastern cities. This essay seeks to analyze the possibilities of potential research into one of the main Middle Eastern cities that was at the crossroads of the East and the West along the oceanic, sea-based, land, and silk road trade routes - the city of Aleppo. Aleppo has a long history in the present-day northern Syria as having connections to major cities of Constantinople (Istanbul), Damascus, Alexandria, Gaza, Baghdad, Trebizond, and so forth.  However, despite these connections and intellectual reputation, there is little known about how the devastating disease reorganized the city and social structures.