The Siege of Caffa was a siege of the Genoese port town of

Caffa uk, Феодосія, Теодосія crh, Kefe , official_name = () , settlement_type= , image_skyline = THEODOSIA 01.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Genoese fortress of Caffa , image_shield = Fe ...

by a large Crimean Tatar army under the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

, led by their Khan

Jani Beg Jani Beg ( fa, , tt-Latn, Canibäk), also known as Djanibek Khan, was a Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357, succeeding his father Öz Beg Khan. Reign With the support of his mother Taydula Khatun, Jani Beg made himself khan after el ...

. The Mongol army threw the bodies of Mongol warriors who had died of

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

over the walls of the besieged city, which is considered as one of the earliest examples of

Biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Bio ...

. On the basis of

Gabriel de Mussis Gabriel de Mussis (''ca.'' 1280 – ''ca.'' 1356) — in Italian, Gabriele de' Mussi — was a notary from Piacenza, Italy, who gave a vivid account of the start of the Black Death in the Black Sea city of Kaffa and its spread to Sicily and Piac ...

' writings, the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

is widely believed to have reached Europe from the Crimea as the result of the biological warfare attacks during the siege. However, modern scholars mostly disagree with the long-standing belief that the events at Kaffa contributed to the spread of plague beyond the city and into

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Background

was established by Geneose traders in 1266 by a purchase agreement with the Khan of the

. Relations between the Geneose and the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

were strained. The khan of the

Toqta Tokhta (Toqta, Toktu, Tokhtai, Tochtu or Tokhtogha) (died ) was a khan of the Golden Horde, son of Mengu-Timur and great-grandson of Batu Khan. His name "Tokhtokh" means "hold/holding" in the Mongolian language. Early reign under Nogai In 1 ...

, was piqued at the Italian trade in Turkic slaves who were sold as soldiers to the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...

. He arrested the Italian residents of Sarai (the Mongol capital), and besieged Caffa, which the Genoese resisted for a year, but in 1308 set fire to their city and abandoned it. Relations between the Italians and the Golden Horde remained tense until

’s death in 1312. Toqtai’s successor,

Özbeg Khan Sultan Giyas al-Din Mohammed Öz Beg ( tt-Arab, , translit=Giyasuddin Möxämmät Üzbäk Xan), better known as Uzbeg, Uzbek or Ozbeg (1282–1341), was the longest-reigning khan of the Golden Horde (1313–1341), under whose rule the state rea ...

, mended relations with the Geneose, which allowed Caffa to become a thriving city once again by the 1340s. However, the ascension of

's son

to the throne changed the political scene once more. The conversion of the

Khans to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, led to them prosecuting

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Siege

The Mongols under

besieged Caffa in 1343 and the Venetian territory of

Tana Tana may refer to: Places Africa * Lake Tana, a lake in Ethiopia (and a source of the Nile River) * Tana Qirqos, an island in the eastern part of Lake Tana in Ethiopia, near the mouth of the Gumara River * Tana River County, a county of Coast P ...

, the cause of which was a brawl between Italians and Muslims in

. The siege of Caffa lasted until February 1344, when it was lifted after an Italian relief force killed 15,000 Mongol troops and destroyed their siege machines.

renewed the siege in 1345, and cut off any supplies to the city, leading to miserable conditions within Caffa. However, a serious epidemic of

Bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

devastated his forces, giving hope to the Italians, and he was forced to lift the siege in 1347. Before retreating though, in a final act of sabotage,

used catapults to launch the

Plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

-infested corpses of his dead soldiers over the fortified walls of Caffa. The Italians quickly dumped these bodies back into the sea, but the damage was done. In an attempt to escape the Plague epidemic, four Genoese ships thought to be safe from the disease, sailed out from Caffa. These ships are believed to have brought the Plague deep into

. The siege and despair of the city's citizens as the disease spread is vividly described by the Italian

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

. The Italians blockaded Mongol ports, forcing

to negotiate for peace, and they were allowed to reestablish their colony in

in 1347.

References

{{reflist Biological warfare Conflicts in 1345 Sieges involving the Mongol Empire Sieges involving the Republic of Venice Military history of the Republic of Genoa