the black death in early ottoman territories - Bilkent University

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Fourteenth-Century Byzantine Sources When the second plague pandemic first appeared in Byzantine territory, the emperor John Cantacuzenos 101 and the long-serving Byzantine statesman Demetrius Cydones recorded the devastation in their writings. Cydones, especially, would reflect the psychological impact of the epidemic in his letters. 102 During his long life 103 , he would be the witness of other outbreaks, which are mentioned in his voluminous correspondance. In the exchange of letters between him and the emperor Manuel II Paleologos, the topic of plague is also discussed. The important Byzantine scholar and opponent of the Hesychast movement, Nicephoras Gregoras, is yet another source for the first outbreak of 1347/48. The Byzantine authors extensively described the first Black Death outbreak in their writings and later outbreaks also appear in their letters. Their information correlates well with the dates recorded for outbreaks in the eastern Mediterranean in the Byzantine Short Chronicles 104 and the Regestes of the Venetian Senate pertaining to Romania. 105 Fifteenth-Century Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Greek sources Lowry claimed that the later Greek sources were more rigorous than the Ottoman ones in mentioning plague, enumerating nine outbreaks between 1403 101 John Cantacuzenos. The History of John Cantacuzenos (Book IV): Text, Translation, Commentary. Unpublished PhD thesis by Timothy S. Miller. Washington, D.C. 1975. 102 Two publications of his oeuvre were used: Kydones, Demetrios, 1982. Briefe.Erster Teil, Zweiter Halbband (91 Briefe). translated by Franz Tinnefeld. Demetrios Cydonès. Correspondance. vol. II Raymond-J. Loenertz, ed. Città del Vaticano: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, 1960. 103 The exact dates of his birth and death are not known. 104 Peter Schreiner. Die byzantinischen Kleinchroniken (Chronica Byzantina Breviora). Vol XII/2. 1977, pp. 271, 290-292, 308, 311, 423, 337, 344, & 361 as quoted by Lowry, Pushing the Stone Uphill, 98. 105 Thiriet, P. 1958. Régestes des délibérations du Sénat de Venise concernant la Romanie. Tomes premier: 1329-1399. They will be discussed in the section 'latin sources'. 29
and 1460. 106 However, of these, all but two took place outside the borders of Ottoman territory. 107 Of these two, one is dated 1403, the period of great turmoil and fraternal strive between Bayezid's offspring and the Ottoman chroniclers can be forgiven for concentrating on the important political events of that time. Again, a broad spectrum of sources was consulted to verify the presence or absence of plague. The History of Mehmed the Conqueror by Kritovoulos. 108 Kritovoulos, who successfully served under Mehmed II, was a member of a prominent Byzantine family who had received an appropriate education. This classical erudition reflects in his description of the plague outbreak in Istanbul, which clearly bears the influence of Thucydides' account of the epidemic (of uncertain nature) that ravaged Athens in the 5th century BC. 109 This should not be surprising in view of the fact that a similar influence on the plague description of the 1347-48 outbreak by the emperor Cantacuzenos has been demonstrated. 110 Like Thucydides and Cantacuzenos 111 , Kritovoulos starts by explaining where the disease came from. 112 Then he proceeds to the effects it had on the population. Here again, the example of the classical author is obvious. 113 Kritovoulos' clinical description bears 106 Lowry, Pushing the Stone Uphill, 104 -105 107 Earlier Byzantine sources were likewise totally mute when outbreaks in Ottoman territory were concerned, as will be observed later. 108 Kritovoulos. 1954. History of Mehmed the Conqueror. translated by Charles T. Riggs. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. The subject of plague in the work of Kritovoulos was discussed extensively in Lowry's article, Pushing the Stone Uphill. 109 Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War. translated by Steven Lattimore. Indianapolis: Cambridge, 1998, 97-101. 110 H. Hunger. 1976. "Thukidides bei Johannes Cantacuzenos. Beobachtungen zur Mimesis." Jahrbuch der österreichischen Byzantinistik 25, 1997, 181-193 and A. Vasiliev. History of the Byzantine Empire.324-1453. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press 1952, 626. 111 John Cantacuzenos. The History of John Cantacuzenos (Book IV): Text, Translation, Commentary. Unpublished PhD thesis by Timothy S. Miller. Washington, D.C., 1975. 112 In fact, Vasiliev also observes that "Kritoboulos, unsuccessfully imitating Thucydides, composed a eulogistic history of Muhammed II, in the years from 1451 to 1467." History of the Byzantine Empire.324-1453. page 693. 113 Thucydides: ...since even relatives, overcome by the prevailing misery, finally grew tired of the lamentations of the dying. 30
Page 1 and 2: THE BLACK DEATH IN EARLY OTTOMAN TE
Page 3 and 4: ÖZET KARA ÖLÜM VE ERKEN OSMANLIL
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........
Page 7 and 8: subject is evident, plague has been
Page 9 and 10: also consulted. In view of this cla
Page 11 and 12: CHAPTER II A BIOLOGICAL AND HISTORI
Page 13 and 14: continents. 15 However, because of
Page 15 and 16: not. 22 Wendy Orent postulates that
Page 17 and 18: the disease. 31 During this outbrea
Page 19 and 20: common during winter, whereas the b
Page 21 and 22: CHAPTER III HISTORICAL SOURCES AND
Page 23 and 24: which will be critically examined i
Page 25 and 26: contested by Zeynep Korkmaz on the
Page 27 and 28: Ahmedi's Gazavâtname. 64 He lived
Page 29 and 30: The tarih was written as a way to p
Page 31 and 32: 'Hakk-teâlâ gayûr bir pâdişâh
Page 33: Ottoman ruler and his conquests, bu
Page 37 and 38: He was captured after Constantinopl
Page 39 and 40: Latin sources The first category of
Page 41 and 42: elatives and friends ensured him of
Page 43 and 44: period of one or more seasons, name
Page 45 and 46: Bir hastalık ki halk arasında sar
Page 47 and 48: CHAPTER IV THE OUTBREAK AND THE DIF
Page 49 and 50: that had happened in these lands, s
Page 51 and 52: "What can we not all say about flie
Page 53 and 54: of Pera in 1453, was to become of g
Page 55 and 56: as Karesi, Saruhan, Aydın, Menteş
Page 57 and 58: A possible explanation is that no w
Page 59 and 60: Crete. 209 That the Brachea Chronik
Page 61 and 62: Yusuf's insistence to become a Chri
Page 63 and 64: earthquake that destroyed much of I
Page 65 and 66: of two carboni and a jandusa al sca
Page 67 and 68: CHAPTER V THE RESPONSE TO PLAGUE 5.
Page 69 and 70: Cydones obviously did not appreciat
Page 71 and 72: mention that "... Bursa şehrinde b
Page 73 and 74: Ve dahi ol yılda Bursa'da tâ'un-
Page 75 and 76: travels also allowed him to become
Page 77 and 78: plague on several other occasions,
Page 79 and 80: epidemics, or was at the very least
Page 81 and 82: 5.2. Religious response In times of
Page 83 and 84: in Europe as a response to the epid
Page 85 and 86:
the Orthodox believers and many of
Page 87 and 88:
Hak te'âlâ'nun fazlı yitişüp k
Page 89 and 90:
were implemented at one time or ano
Page 91 and 92:
Islamic religious terms, a more pro
Page 93 and 94:
in heaven's name not to touch the c
Page 95 and 96:
"Ve dahi ol yılda Bursa'da tâ'un-
Page 97 and 98:
quite a few of its regular visitors
Page 99 and 100:
notables of Cairo transferred. Whil
Page 101 and 102:
his people and the Genoese for thei
Page 103 and 104:
death toll to 160 000 or about 1300
Page 105 and 106:
suffered great losses through famin
Page 107 and 108:
In the above example, the Venetians
Page 109 and 110:
while later his brother. They were
Page 111 and 112:
prices did occur four years before
Page 113 and 114:
asis or had indeed any policy at al
Page 115 and 116:
Bertrandon de la Brocquière fulfil
Page 117 and 118:
as to whether the Ottomans systemat
Page 119 and 120:
present as well in the period under
Page 121 and 122:
surprising as both European and Ott
Page 123 and 124:
Primary Sources unpublished Ottoman
Page 125 and 126:
-----.Les Regestes des Actes du Pat
Page 127 and 128:
Tafur, Pero. 1926. Pero Tafur: Trav
Page 129 and 130:
Research Centre for Islamic History
Page 131 and 132:
Columbia University Press, 2004. Sc
Page 133 and 134:
APPENDIX I ENTRIES FROM THE DIARY O
Page 135 and 136:
Da Sybinicho, fo leto una lettera,
Page 137 and 138:
morto do fioli da peste, pur Idio l
Page 139 and 140:
61. vol. 28, col. 232 Da Constantin
Page 141 and 142:
incolorò, dove la saltò la peste,
Page 143 and 144:
E venuto nova il magnifico Perì Ba
Page 145 and 146:
Idem, by two slaves who escaped fro
Page 147 and 148:
MDX, APRILE (April 1510) 27. vol. 1
Page 149 and 150:
There is an enormous plague outbrea
Page 151 and 152:
... that there, in Constantinople,
Page 153 and 154:
Paragraph over the statement (made)
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a carbuncle, which is a sort of gia
Page 157:
From Constantinople, from sir Piero
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