The Black Death's spread along Silk Road routes (1346–1353 CE)

1. Silk Road connectivity links distant disease reservoirs

   Jan 1, 1346Labels: Silk Road, Caravanserai

   • UNESCO
   • HISTORY

2. Plague outbreak reported in Black Sea steppe zone

   Jan 1, 1346Labels: Black Sea, Italian merchant

   • Britannica
   • UNESCO

3. Siege of Kaffa ties warfare to trade movement

   Jan 1, 1346Labels: Kaffa, Golden Horde

   • Britannica
   • EID Wheelis

4. Genoese ships carry plague west from Kaffa

   Jan 1, 1347Labels: Genoese ships, Mediterranean shipping

   • Britannica
   • HISTORY

5. Plague reaches Constantinople via Black Sea shipping

   Jan 1, 1347Labels: Constantinople, Emperor John

   • Britannica
   • Sourcebook

6. Messina outbreak marks entry into western Mediterranean

   Oct 1, 1347Labels: Messina, Sicily

   • Britannica
   • Britannica

7. Genoa and Venice become major distribution nodes

   Jan 1, 1348Labels: Genoa, Venice

   • Britannica
   • Britannica

8. North Africa and western European coasts affected

   Jan 1, 1348Labels: North Africa, Western Europe

   • Britannica
   • UNESCO

9. Plague crosses the English Channel to southern England

   Aug 1, 1348Labels: Melcombe Regis, English Channel

   • Britannica

10. London experiences peak mortality in early 1349

    Feb 1, 1349Labels: London, Urban mortality

    • Britannica

11. Central and northern Europe drawn into the epidemic

    Jan 1, 1350Labels: Central Europe, Baltic region

    • Britannica

12. First Black Death wave subsides across Eurasian routes

    Jan 1, 1353Labels: First wave, Quarantine origins

    • UNESCO
    • Britannica