the black death in early ottoman territories - Bilkent University

Latin Catholics." Lowry 347 attributes these continuing efforts of repopulation in the
decade after the conquest of Constantinople to the plague outbreaks that decimated
the city's population. However, plague would continue to decimate the population
of the capital with every new outbreak. Halil İnalcık 348 estimated the population
of Istanbul in the late fifteenth century at approximately hundred thousand. The
turn of the century would again be marked by a major outbreak. As pointed out by
Lowry 349 Giovanni di Francesco Maringhi referred to twenty five thousand deaths
in the outbreak of 1501. The following year was probably as disastrous for a
Venetian letter mentions 800 deaths a day in March 1502. 350
Another terrible epidemic started in the winter of 1512 and lasted
throughout the summer of 1513. In September, the Venetian Baylo would report
that no less than sixty thousand people had died in one year in Istanbul 351 . Even
if we assume that the population lost because of the outbreaks at the turn of the
century had somehow been replaced, this means that more than half the population
of the city had perished. From Sanudo's diary, it can be understood that Selim
tried to apply the approach of his ancestor and ordered sürgün, that is to forcibly
move the population of conquered areas to Istanbul. A letter from the Baylo in
Istanbul 352 mentions that : "It is said that the Ruler sends 500 households of
families from Cairo here to Constantinople." Another letter, 353 from sier Dimitri
Columbardo , master of a vessel reports this same intention to have at least the
347
Lowry, Pushing the Stone Uphill, 124.
348
Halil İnalcık. "Istanbul," The Encyclopaedia of Islam. 2nd edition. IV: 224-248. Leiden: Brill.
1978, 238-239.
349
Lowry, Pushing the Stone Uphill, 125.
350
Sanudo, I diarii di Marino Sanuto, Vol. 4, Col. 242.
351
The Baylo furthermore describes how the outbreak had brought commerce to a complete
standstill, for many of the notables of the city had died too and furthermore the court, an important
customer of luxury goods, had fled the city. Sanudo, I diarii di Marino Sanuto, Vol.17 , Col. 159-
160.
352
Sanudo, I diarii di Marino Sanuto, Vol. 24, Col. 506.
353
Sanudo, I diarii di Marino Sanuto, Vol. 24, Col. 599.
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