the black death in early ottoman territories - Bilkent University

Yusuf's insistence to become a Christian, he was baptized and received the name
of Demetrius shortly before he died of plague. 219 That Demetrius also was the
name of a saint, who was venerated for his miraculous curing of the plague 220 , is
surely more than just coincidence.
A 15th century example of how dire conditions prepared the field for
plague in the sphere of influence of the Ottomans is given by the siege of Patras by
the despot Lord Constantine in the spring of 1429. The Byzantine chronicler
Sphrantzes who took part in the siege as the despot's trusted servant was taken
prisoner, brought to Patras and locked up. The conditions of his imprisonment
provide a ready explanation for the way the disease could spread. Sphrantzes
(1980: 37) described that :
I was thrown into the dark tower of a house, full of ants, weevils, and mice,
as it was located in front of the grain storage. 221
After Sphrantzes was freed, his master sent him as an ambassador to Murad.
Although other sources mention plague in Anatolia at that time, he does not make
any mention of an outbreak. In 1430, the Ottomans took Thessalonica from the
Venetians by war and the despot Constantine took possession of the tower of
Patras, as its defenders had suffered greatly by hunger and hardship. 222 Quite
predictably, Sphrantzes reports for 1431 that : "the plague claimed numerous
victims at Patras." In this case, it seems quite likely that the Ottoman army brought
the disease with them from Anatolia, where it had raged in the years 1428/29. The
219
Doukas writes that knowing how much this matter was objectable to the Ottomans, the emperor
Manual had previously rejected his wish to be baptised.
220
Stathakopoulos (2004: 324)
221
Sphrantzes, The Fall of the Byzantine Empire: A Chronicle by George Sphrantzes, 1401-1477,
46.
222
Sphrantzes, The Fall of the Byzantine Empire: A Chronicle by George Sphrantzes, 1401-1477,
45.
56