Anthropological view of plague epidemics in the his­torical past

At many times in their history, humans have faced major epidemics. The “Black Death”, which broke out in the middle of the 14th century, is believed to be the deadliest one. The total number of the deceased population and the scale in many ways had a dramatic impact on the course of subsequent histo...

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Main Authors: T.F. Khaydarov, D.A. Dolbin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kazan Federal University 2021-12-01
Series:Ученые записки Казанского университета: Серия Гуманитарные науки
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Online Access:https://kpfu.ru/uz-eng-hum-2021-6-14.html
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author T.F. Khaydarov
D.A. Dolbin
author_facet T.F. Khaydarov
D.A. Dolbin
author_sort T.F. Khaydarov
collection DOAJ
description At many times in their history, humans have faced major epidemics. The “Black Death”, which broke out in the middle of the 14th century, is believed to be the deadliest one. The total number of the deceased population and the scale in many ways had a dramatic impact on the course of subsequent historical events. Until recently, the myths dating back to the Middle Ages have prevailed in scientific circles. They have remained unrevised despite the latest achievements in the research on the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis, the history of climate and medicine, and the extensive published data, making it of an interest to both reconsider certain established dogmas and reconstruct the algorithm of the course of major plague epidemics from the historical past using the results of the available paleogenetic, epidemiological, and climatological studies. This triggered our discussion on the nonlinear nature of the course of plague pandemics. The analysis of the historical sources showed that the scale and speed of the spread of plague epidemics in new territories directly depended on the degree of inclusion of cities and regions of the Afro-Eurasian space in the economic system of the Great Silk Road, the proximity to various epidemic centers of plague. The decisive influence of the anthropogenic factor on the duration and main directions of the spread of plague epidemics was revealed. The multivariate onset and course of pandemic plague waves were recognized. Therefore, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact place where the spread of the plague epidemics ended or to identify their consequences.
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series Ученые записки Казанского университета: Серия Гуманитарные науки
spelling doaj-art-29fd72406d8a47049312d41480ac15cf2025-08-20T01:47:22ZengKazan Federal UniversityУченые записки Казанского университета: Серия Гуманитарные науки2541-77382500-21712021-12-01163617920110.26907/2541-7738.2021.6.179-201Anthropological view of plague epidemics in the his­torical pastT.F. Khaydarov0D.A. Dolbin1Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008 RussiaKazan State Medical University, Kazan, 420012 RussiaAt many times in their history, humans have faced major epidemics. The “Black Death”, which broke out in the middle of the 14th century, is believed to be the deadliest one. The total number of the deceased population and the scale in many ways had a dramatic impact on the course of subsequent historical events. Until recently, the myths dating back to the Middle Ages have prevailed in scientific circles. They have remained unrevised despite the latest achievements in the research on the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis, the history of climate and medicine, and the extensive published data, making it of an interest to both reconsider certain established dogmas and reconstruct the algorithm of the course of major plague epidemics from the historical past using the results of the available paleogenetic, epidemiological, and climatological studies. This triggered our discussion on the nonlinear nature of the course of plague pandemics. The analysis of the historical sources showed that the scale and speed of the spread of plague epidemics in new territories directly depended on the degree of inclusion of cities and regions of the Afro-Eurasian space in the economic system of the Great Silk Road, the proximity to various epidemic centers of plague. The decisive influence of the anthropogenic factor on the duration and main directions of the spread of plague epidemics was revealed. The multivariate onset and course of pandemic plague waves were recognized. Therefore, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact place where the spread of the plague epidemics ended or to identify their consequences.https://kpfu.ru/uz-eng-hum-2021-6-14.htmlpaleogenetics of y. pestiszero plague pandemic“justinian’s plague”“black death”repeated plague outbreaks in 15th–18th centuries (second plague)
spellingShingle T.F. Khaydarov
D.A. Dolbin
Anthropological view of plague epidemics in the his­torical past
Ученые записки Казанского университета: Серия Гуманитарные науки
paleogenetics of y. pestis
zero plague pandemic
“justinian’s plague”
“black death”
repeated plague outbreaks in 15th–18th centuries (second plague)
title Anthropological view of plague epidemics in the his­torical past
title_full Anthropological view of plague epidemics in the his­torical past
title_fullStr Anthropological view of plague epidemics in the his­torical past
title_full_unstemmed Anthropological view of plague epidemics in the his­torical past
title_short Anthropological view of plague epidemics in the his­torical past
title_sort anthropological view of plague epidemics in the his torical past
topic paleogenetics of y. pestis
zero plague pandemic
“justinian’s plague”
“black death”
repeated plague outbreaks in 15th–18th centuries (second plague)
url https://kpfu.ru/uz-eng-hum-2021-6-14.html
work_keys_str_mv AT tfkhaydarov anthropologicalviewofplagueepidemicsinthehistoricalpast
AT dadolbin anthropologicalviewofplagueepidemicsinthehistoricalpast