Plague in Early Islamic History

Author(s): Michael W. Dols

Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 94, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1974), pp.
371-383
Published by: American Oriental Society
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/600071
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 PLAGUE IN EARLY ISLAMIC HISTORY

MICHAEL W. DOLS

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA

The appearance of epidelmics in early Islamic history may be attributed in part to the
cyclical recurrences of plague in the Middle East following the Plague of Justinian, begin-
ning in A.D. 541. Based primarily on the Arabic plague treatises written after the Black
Death (the second plague pandemic in the mid-fourteenth century), the history of the
plague epidemics through the Umaiyad Period has been reconstructed. These epidemics
provoked medical and religio-legal explanations and prescriptions, which have strongly in-
fluenced the attitudes and behavior of the Muslim community toward the disease. Besides
the deaths of important men by plague, it is suggested that the endemic nature of plague
during the early Islamic Empire may have significantly retarded population growth and
debilitated Muslim society in Syria and Iraq during the Umaiyad Period.

THERE HAVE BEEN THREE MAJOR PLAGUE PAN- recognized, but only recently has attention been
DEMICS in recorded history which were followed drawn to the Plague of Justinian as a crucial
by cyclical recurrences: the Plague of Justinian phenomenon of the early Middle Ages.3 The de-
(from the mid-sixth century), the Black Death mographic history of the early Middle Ages is
(from the mid-fourteenth century), and the Bom-
bay Plague (from the end of the nineteenth cen- Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East,
tury). Although it is impossible to measure ab- ed., by M. A. Cook (London, 1970), part 3, pp. 93-128.
solutely the subsequent mortalities, the world- Jean Marchika announced an exhaustive study of plague
wide depopulations were enormous and directly from the Black Death to modern times in his introduction
affected social and economic life. All three pan- (p. 10) to La Peste en Afrique Septentrionale (Algiers,
demics, with remarkable and unfortunate tenac- 1927). This thesis was to form only a part of the larger
ity, vitally affected Middle Eastern society.1 work; the author's proposed study cannot be located.
The historical significance of the Black Death2 3 The best introduction to the problem is Biraben and
and that of the Bombay Plague have been fully Le Goff, pp. 1484-1510, which attempts to outline the
tentative chronology and geographical distribution of the
1 This study was undertaken in the course of a detailedpandemic in Europe and the Middle East. Dr. Biraben
investigation of the history of the Black Death in the
has promised a more detailed study of plague in Byzan-
Middle East. I am grateful to Dr. Abraham Udovitch tium and the Orient (p. 1485, note 1). Professor Josiah
(Princeton University) and Dr. Jacqueline Sublet (In- C. Russell has also investigated the Plague of Justinian
stitut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes, Paris) for within the scope of his pioneering work on medieval
their generous advice and encouragement. demographic history; however, there is need for caution
2 The recent work on the Black Death in Europe (withagainst many of the author's hazardous assertions. At
special emphasis on England) by Philip Ziegler (The least for Middle Eastern demography, many statements
Black Death, London, 1969) surveys the history of the
are not based on primary sources for the period but rely
pandemic and includes a convenient guide to the extensiveheavily on very questionable comparisons with the Black
bibliography. With regard to the Black Death in the
Death and its effects on European population. ("That
Orient, there is no thorough study devoted to the pan-Earlier Plague," pp. 174-184; see also "Late Ancient
demic in the Far East. For the Black Death in the Middle
and Medieval Population," Transactions of the American
East, see the following as well as the works cited below:
Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, n.s., vol. 48, part 3
Gaston Wiet, "La Grande Peste Noire en Syrie et en
(1958); "The Population of Medieval Egypt," Journal of
l~gypte," itudes d'Orientalisme dedides i la Memoire de
the American Research Center in Egypt, vol. 5 (1966),
LUvi-Provencal, vol. 1 (Paris, 1962), pp. 367-384; Robert
pp. 69-82; "Recent Advances in Mediaeval Demography,"
Lopez, H. Miskimin and A. Udovitch, "England to Egypt,Speculum, vol. 40 (1965), pp. 84-101; and Population
1350-1500: Long-Term Trends and Long-Distance Trade," in Europe 500-1500, London, 1969).

371

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372 Journal of the American Oriental Society 94.3 (1974)

still unclear and makes it difficult to place the Islam. The appearance of Mohammed and the
pandemic within its proper context; specifically, development of the Caliphate may possibly be
disagreement exists about the pattern of Mediter- classed as an accident, but conditions were ideal
ranean population before the Plague of Justinian for them."7
took place.4 Nonetheless, there is little doubt that In the face of these all-embracing hypotheses
the period following the first pandemic (the latter about the Plague of Justinian, it is extremely
half of the sixth century and the seventh century) beneficial, if not imperative, to establish the his-
marks the lowest level of Mediterranean popula- tory of the pandemic in the Middle East with the
tion since the rise of the Roman Empire.5 The aid of the Arabic sources and to consider its impact
Plague of Justinian must be considered an im- on early Islamic civilization.
portant factor of this demographic decline.
Despite the slight investigation of demographic *
* *

data, there has been dramatic speculation that

the Plague of Justinian and its recurrent epidemicsAccording to the Byzantine histor
were tantamount to the solvent of classical Med- a great plague spread throughout
iterranean civilization and contributed directly to ranean world during the reign o
the formation of new political, social, and eco- Justinian (527-565). Procopius states that the
nomic patterns characteristic of the European plague began in 541 at Pelusium, an Egyptian
Middle Ages. According to such speculation, port at the point where the eastern effluent (the
political power gradually shifted to the peoples Pelusic channel) of the Nile used to debouche into
of northern Europe, who were relatively unaf- the Mediterranean.8 From Pelusium the pandemic
fected by the plague epidemics, while conversely moved in one direction to Alexandria and the rest
plague greatly weakened the Byzantine Empire.6of Egypt and in the other to Palestine.9 Evagrius
Justinian's plan for re-establishing the Roman Scholasticus describes a plague epidemic which ap-
Empire was wrecked and its diminished armies peared in Antioch, his home, in 542 and remarks
were unable to defend the frontiers. Hence, there that it had originated in Ethiopia.l0
was the successful resurgence of barbarian in- Evagrius may have been imitating the account
vasions, such as the Slavic migrations into the by Thucydides, who placed the origin of the
Balkans and Greece, the Lombardic invasion into "Athenian Plague" in Ethiopia. The precise origin
Italy, and the Berber incursions into Byzantine of the Plague of Justinian is uncertain, but it is
North Africa. Professor Josiah Russell argues very probable that it began in an endemic focus
that plague gave an advantage to the semi- of plague in central or eastern Africa. As for the
nomadic and nomadic peoples adjacent to the Arabic sources, the early medical compendium
Empire who suffered a lower mortality due to (235/850) of 'All ibn Rabban at-Tabari places
unfavorable etiological conditions for plague. the origin of plagues in the Sudan.1l From the
"Their lesser losses in time of plague made the sixteenth century we know that plague epidemics
Arabs, and other tribesmen potentially dangeroushave customarily spread from east Africa through
to the Empire even before their unification in the Sudan by the caravan traffic to Egypt and
North Africa. In an interesting discussion of the
4 See the conflicting views in Russell (Population in
symptoms of plague in the fourteenth century,
Europe, pp. 20-21 and "That Earlier Plague," pp. 175-178)
and Biraben and Le Goff, p. 1499. 7 "That Earlier Plague," p. 182.
5 Russell estimates that the initial plague epidemic of 8 Procopius, History of the Wars, ed. and trans. by
541-544 reduced the European-Mediterranean populationH. B. Dewing, vol. 1 (New York, 1914), book 2, chap. 22
by 20-25 percent and that there was a total decline of (pp. 450-455). See also V. Seibel, Die Grosse Pest zur
about 50-60 per cent from the preplague population in theZeit Justinians I (Dilingen, 1857); Biraben and Le Goff,
period 541-700 ("That Earlier Plague," p. 180). p. 1492.
6 "That Earlier Plague," pp. 181-184. Russell suggests, 9 Procopius, History of the Wars, pp. 450-453.
without any evidence, that the Persian Empire ex- 10 The Ecclesiastical History, book 4, section 29, ed.
perienced comparable damage to its population and mili- by J. Bidez and L. Parmentier (London, 1898), pp. 177-
tary strength and was consequently unable to prevent 179.

the Arab conquest of its territory. See also Biraben and 11 Firdausu l-Hikmat or Paradise of Wisdom (Berlin,
Le Goff, pp. 1499, 1508. 1928), p. 330.

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 DOLS: Plague in Early Islamic History 373

the Arabic writer Ibn Abi Hajalah quotes the which is the Issyk Kul region, where we have the
earliest evidence of the Black Death. Theophylact
distinguished thirteenth century Egyptian physi-
cian Ibn an-Nafis, who had identified the buboes states that at this time: "The Turks boast about
with plague infection in his influential commentarytwo very important things: they say that in this
on Ibn Sina's famous medical work, al-Qanun fi region they have never seen since the most ancient
t-tibb.l2 In this commentary Ibn an-Nafis men- times the occurrence of any contagious disease
tions that he was told that plague often occurred and that earthquakes are rare."17
in Ethiopia, where it was called jaghalah.l3 It Wherever the Plague of Justinian may have
appears, therefore, that plague was endemic to originated, the narrative of Procopius is important
Ethiopia during the Middle Ages and that Ethiopia because it is the first unequivocal description of
may have served initially as the center of trans- a bubonic plague epidemic.18 Procopius observed
mission from other parts of Africa to the Mediter-the distinct symptoms of plague as well as the
ranean littoral by trade.14 There is no indication ravages of the disease in Constantinople. Plague
in the historical accounts, either oriental or oc- had probably reached the Byzantine capital in
cidental, that the disease originated in central the spring of 542 or possibly as early as the au-
Asia as it did in the two later pandemics.15 Un- tumn of 541. The pandemic engulfed the lands and
accountably, Russell and others have assumed an peoples of the known world: the Byzantine Empire
Asiatic source for the Plague of Justinian.'6 On and the rest of Europe, Persia and the barbarian
the contrary, the Byzantine historian Theophylact hinterland.19 Asia Minor and Egypt particularly
Simocattes, who continued the history of Proco- were reported to have suffered severely.20
pius for the reign of Emperor Maurice (582-602), The Plague of Justinian recurred in discernable
mentions an embassy of the western Turks to the cycles of about nine to twelve years according to
emperor in 598. As a part of his description of the occidental sources.21 Most of the plague
these people, Theophylact describes Mogholistan, treatises written by Arabic authors after the Black
Death include a history of these earlier plague
12 Ei2: "Ibn an-Nafis" (Meyerhof-Schacht). recurrences. The short histories begin with the
13 Quoted in Kitdb at-tibb, fols. 145a-145b. Ibn Abi Old Testament "plagues" and include the enu-
.Hajalah states that this account was related to Ibn an- meration of plague epidemics, which should be
Nafis by Shams ad-Din al-Marfif, who lived in Ethiopia.
Also, the same was related by Qubt ad-Din ash-Shirazi 17 Quoted in Idouard Chavannes, Documents sur les
in his commentary on the Qanin; he was reported to Tou-kiue (Turcs) Occidentaux (Paris, 1942), p. 248.
have heard the account from Ibn an-Nafis along with the 18 A controversy exists over the determination of true
symptoms of plague. See GAL, vol. 2, pp. 211-212. plague epidemics before the Plague of Justinian, such as
14 Sticker, vol. 1, pp. 25-26; see also Major Greenwood,
the Biblical "plague" of the Philistines (1 Samuel v and
Epidemics and Crowd-Diseases (London, 1935), p. 290; vi), the "Athenian Plague" described by Thucydides, and
Wu Lien-teh, "The Original Home of Plague," Far- the fragmentary evidence of bubonic plague in North
Eastern Association of Tropical Medicine: Transactions Africa and the Levant recorded by Rufus of Ephesus,
of the Fifth Biennial Congress, Singapore, 1923, ed. by which was preserved by Oribasius. For a summary of
A. L. Hoops and J. W. Scharff (London, 1924), pp. 288- the literature on this topic, see: L. Fabian Hirst, The
291. The Andalusian author Ibn Khatimah, the writer Conquest of Plague (Oxford, 1953), pp. 6-10; Pollitzer,
of an important plague treatise on the Black Death, Plague (Geneva, 1954), pp. 11-13; George Sarton, An
states that he had heard reports that the Black Death Introduction to the History of Science (Baltimore, 1927-
had originated in Ethiopia as well as in the Crimea 1948), vol. 3, part 2, p. 1650; Sticker, vol. 1, pp. 17-23.
(Tahsil al-gharad al-qdsid fi tafSil al-marad al-wdfid, 19 Procopius, History of the Wars, vol. 1, book 2, chap.
Escurial MS no. 1785, fol. 57b). However, there is definite- 22 (pp. 450-473). Other western sources mention the dis-
ly no evidence for an Ethiopian origin of the Back Deathsemination of plague in the Orient (see "That Earlier
in the contemporary Egyptian sources, which would Plague," p. 179, note 37).
have been best informed.
20 "That Earlier Plague," p. 180; Russell, "Recent
15 Sticker, vol. 2, p. 87. The thorough investigation of
Advances in Mediaeval Demography," pp. 98-101; and
Chinese sources for plague epidemics in the sixth-seventh
"The Population of Medieval Egypt," p. 71.
centuries would be highly desirable. 21 Biraben and Le Goff, p. 1493; Sticker, vol. 1, pp. 24-
16 Russell, Medieval Regions and Their Cities (Blooming-
41. Cf. the periodicity suggested by Russell, "That Ear-
ton, 1972), pp. 227-229. lier Plague," p. 179.

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 374 Journal of the American Oriental Society 94.3 (1974)

considered as evidence for the reappearances of not distinguish between epidemic diseases. He
the Plague of Justinian in the Middle East.22 was greatly hampered in the determination of
The first full enumeration of epidemics, in- plague epidemics specifically by his ignorance of
cluding plague, was written by Ibn Abi Hajalah the biological nature of plague, which was not
in 764/1362.23 Earlier, a Qasidah fi t-ta'un by discovered until the late nineteenth century.
Baha' ad-Din as-Subki (d. 756/1355), the chief Furthermore, his erroneous belief in plague as a
judge of Damascus during the Black Death, localist miasma strongly influenced his inter-
mentions very briefly the plagues in early Islam.24 pretation of the causes of plague in the Middle
Similarly, Ibn al-Wardi, who witnessed the Black East. However, the chronology of von Kremer
Death in Aleppo in 749/1349, refers briefly to the when emended would suggest the possible incidents
early plagues in his Risalat an-naba' 'an al-waba'.25 of plague recurrences. A close examination of
The lengthy historical account of Ibn Abi Hajalah the historical descriptions of these epidemics and
was incorporated with modifications into the their terminology may lead to a satisfactory ac-
epilogue of Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani's (d. 852/1449) count of plague and other epidemic diseases during
important plague treatise, perhaps the most com- the entire medieval period.
prehensive and best known such treatise in the The early Muslim enumeration and discussion
later Middle Ages.26 These two historical sum-
of plague epidemics is to be found largely in the
maries of plague epidemics in early Islam were hadith literature and can be reconstructed from
condensed by as-Suyiiti (d. 910/1505) in his Md their citation in the plague treatises posterior to
rawdhu l-wd'uin fi akhbar af-tafun.27 As-Suyui the Black Death.30 From the late medieval mate-
supplements this account with historical data rial it is clear that the earliest and most important
from other chroniclers, which add little to the history of plague epidemics and their related
information found in the early histories. The hadiths was composed by al-Mada'ini (d. 225/840
compendium of as-Suyuti forms the basis of Alfred or 231/845),31 who was an important Arab historian
von Kremer's important study of epidemics in an and a major source for the History of at-Tabari.
extensive introduction to his edition of the text.28 Al-Mada'ini's work on plagues appears to be lost
Unfortunately, all later historians, including along with most of his other compositions. Yet,
Sticker, Russell, Biraben and Le Goff, have relied the majority of the later writers take their history
heavily on this stu(ly of von Kremer and the of the early plagues in Islam from al-Mada'ini,
chronology in his Culturgeschichte des Orients for his work was incorporated into the writings of
unter den Chali/en.29 Von Kremer limited himself Ibn Abi d-Dunya (d. 281/894).32 The latter's
to a very small number of primary sources, mainly
Kitdb al-i'tibdr33 is the primary source for the
the work of as-Suyiiti, which was a highly plague
ab- treatise writers after the Black Death.34
breviated account, and more seriously he did Ibn Hajar also cites Ibn Abi d-Dunya's Kitdb
af-tawd'in as the basis for a number of hadiths
22 See the tentative chronology of plague epidemics inrelated to plague.35 Another important source
Biraben and Le Goff, pp. 1493, 1497. The authors of hadiths was the great Sunni polygraph, Ibn
terminate the plague recurrences in the West in 767; a
question remains whether this was the last plague epi-
demic before the Black Death in the mid-fourteenth 30 The majority of the important hadiths relating to
century. plague, which are cited in the plague treatises of the later
23 Dafe an-niqmah, fols 59b-76b. Middle Ages, are to be found in the canonical collections.
24 Dar al-Kutub al-lMisriyah MS no. 102 majadmi'm,
See A. J. Wensinck, Concordance et Indices de la Tradition
fol 198a. Musulmane, vol 22 (Leiden, 1955), pp. 3-4.
25 Manajm'at al-jawd'ib, ed. by F. ash-Shidyaq (Istan- 31 EI1: "al-Mada'ini" (C. Brockelmann).
bul, A.H. 1300), p. 186; see my "Ibn al-Wardi's Risalat 32 EI2: "Ibn Abi d-Dunya" (A. Dietrich).
an-naba' 'an al-waba', A Translation of a Major Source 33 GAL, Supplement, vol. 1, p. 248, no. 41. I have
for the History of the Black Death in the Middle East," been unable to locate an extant copy of this work.
which will appear in the Festschrift for George C. Miles. 34 See as-Suyiuti, pp. 149-152.
26 Badll, fols. 120b-131b. 35 Badhl, fols. 86a, 120b-123b. The Kitdb at-fawid'in
27 as-Suyuti, pp. 144-156. is listed in The Fihrist of al-Nadim, trans. by Bayard
28 von Kremer, pp. 69-143. Dodge (New York, 1970), vol. 1, p. 185; however, I have
29 Vienna, 1877, vol. 2, pp. 490-492. also been unable to locate an extant copy of this treatise.

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 DOLS: Plague in Early Islamic History 375

Qutaybah (d. 276/889),36 who discusses the dif-

there were plague epidemics in the Mediterranean
ficulties arising from these hadiths in his Kitab region at the same time.43
ta'wil mukhtalif al-hadith.37 In his Kitib ma'arif However, the later plague literature produced
Ibn Qutaybah gives the history of plagues in by the Muslim authors never mentions this impor-
early Islam.38 All three early authors are quoted tant event. None of the commentators ever discus-
in the treatises of Ibn Abi Hajalah and Ibn Hajar. ses this surah in relation to a clearly determined
The result of the compilation of these early ac- instance of plague. In addition, the description of
counts of plague by the Muslim writers after the the destruction of the Ethiopian army is unlike any
Black Death is a fairly uniform chronology of description of a plague epidemic which I have en-
plague epidemics in early Islamic history. countered in the Arabic sources. While some com-
The determination of the first historical oc- mentators may have accepted the literal truth of the
currence of plague in Islam raises a difficult destruction
prob- of the Abyssinian army, Muslim schol-
lem: Does the sirat al-fil (the "Chapter of the ars have also suggested that the expedition was
Elephant")39 refer to an epidemic of plague ? Theafflicted by small-pox.44 The early biographer of
surah relates the attack against Mecca by Abra- the Prophet, Ibn Ishaq, reported that this was
hah,40 the Christian viceroy in the Yemen of thethe first appearance of measles and small-pox
king of Ethiopia, and the destruction of his army: among the Arabs.45 The possibility of a small-pox
Hast thou not seen how thy Lord did with the fellowsepidemic is given additional weight by the fact
of the elephant? that the plague epidemics which struck Europe
Did He not put their scheme awry? in the late sixth century coincided with violent
-He sent upon them birds in flocks, which pelted them epidemics of small-pox. It appears that the first
with stones of baked clay, and made them like serious epidemic of small-pox attacked most of
green blades eaten down.41 continental Europe about the year 570.46 Yet
we cannot be certain that the pestilence was small-
An elephant is said to have accompanied Abrahah's pox, for the historical evidence is obviously am-
expedition, but the interpretation of the birds' biguous and the vesicular form of plague may sim-
pelting the army with stones of "baked clay" ulate small-pox; the pustules contain plague bacil-
(abibil sijjil) is problematic. The date of the li and this form of plague is highly fatal.47
expedition is known as "the Year of the Elephant," The later chroniclers quote al-Mada'ini that
which is commonly identified with the date of the the number of the great and famous plagues in
Prophet's birth, A.D. 570. Such a date and location Islam were five (before the Black Death, which
for a plague outbreak are entirely possible because was considered the sixth).48 The Muslim historians
plague is considered to have originally come from
Ethiopia and may, therefore, have been carried which was considered to be plague by the medieval Mus-
to Arabia by the Ethiopian army.42 Furthermore, lim chroniclers (as-Suyuti, p. 155), occurred in 552/1157
in the Hijaz and Yemen. The endemism of Asir probably
36 El2: "Ibn Kutayba" (G. Lecomte). resulted from its position on the caravan route of western
37 Cairo, A.H. 1326, pp. 125-126; French trans. by G. Arabia and its exposure to the pilgrimage traffic to Mecca.
Lecomte, Le Traite des Divergences dll Hadith d'Ibn Thus, this otherwise remote area was connected with the
Quztayba (Damascus, 1962), p. 116. major foci of plague (Wu Lien-teh, "The Original Ho,le
38 Cairo, 1960, ed. by Saroite Okacha, pp. 601-602. of Plague," pp. 291, 296).)
39 Qur'an, cv.
43 Biraben and Le Goff, p. 1495.
10 El2: "Abraha" (A. F. L. Beeston). 44 M. Muhammad 'AlI, ed., The Holy Qur'ldn (Lahore.
1 Richard Bell, trans., The Qur'dn (Edinburgh, 1939), 1963), pp. 1209-1210.
vol. 2, p. 678.
45 Ibn Hisham, Sirat an-nabi (Cairo, 1963), vol. 1, p. 35.
42 W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Mecca (Ox- 46 Biraben and Le Goff, p. 1493.
ford, 1939), p. 14: "In any case the expedition came to 47 Pollitzer, Plague, p. 427; Hirst, The Conquest of
nothing as the Abyssinian army was destroyed, apparently Plague, p. 30.
by plague." (Western Arabia, especially the high plateau 48 See as-Suyiti, p. 144; Badhl, fol. 120b. Ibn Abi
of Asir, has long been considered an endemic focus of HIajalah also draws his information from al-M.adi'ini and
plague. This isolated focus may have been established others but does not follow the same five plagues; lie in-
during the recurrences of plague following the Plague discriminately lists thirty "plagues" from early Islam
of Justinian. The earliest precise report of an epidemic to 749/1349 (Daf' an-niqmah, fols. 59b-76h1).

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376 Journal of the American Oriental Society 94.3 (1974)

cite the "plague of Shirawayh" as the first plague suggestion that the plague reappeared soon after
epidemic in the Muslim era. This plague occurred its initial outbreak accounts for the two dates.
in 6/627-628 at Ctesiphon (Mada'in).49 The name Accordingly, Sayf ibn 'Umar related that the
is derived from Siroes (Kobad II), who succeeded plague of 'Amwas occurred twice; it struck in
Chosroes II in A.D. 628 as the Sassanian king of Muharram and Safar, disappeared, and returned
Persia.50 Siroes himself died of plague in A.D. 629.51 again, and "many people died in it to the advan-
Comparing this epidemic to others, as-Suyuiti tage of the enemy [the Byzantines]."57 The his-
quotes Ibn 'Asakir's history of Damascus about torical accounts of the plague of 'Amwas state
a "plague of Yezdigird,"52 which must refer tothat a about 25,000 Muslim soldiers died and that
later appearance of plague during the reign of theplague spread to the rest of Syria as well as to
last Sassanian king, Yezdigird III (A.D. 634-642). Iraq and Egypt. The plague epidemic had been
Parenthetically, the Chinese chronicles indirectlypreceded by a severe famine in Syria-Palestine
attest to the presence of rats-the essential ve- which may have predisposed the population to
hicle of plague-in Persia at this exact time: "In the disease. Famine is often associated with the
the twelfth year tcheng-koan [A.D. 638], he [Yezdi-appearance of plague epidemics, and this may be
gird III] sent his ambassador Mo-se-pan to render
due to lowered human resistance and the attrac-
homage to the court [of China] and to bring trib- tion of food reserves in human settlements which
ute; he offered also a houo-jou-tch'e [a livingbring the plague-infected rats into closer contact
rodent], having the form of a rat. It was frankly with men.
a green color and was nine inches long, and it The Caliph 'Umar summoned Abu 'Ubaydah,
knew how to catch rats in their holes."53 Ibnthe military commander in Syria, from 'Amwas
Qutaybah does not mention the plague of to Yezdi-
Medina in order to prevent his death from the
gird but merely says that there was a long period
plague epidemic in 18/639. Knowing Abfu 'Ubay-
between the plague of Shirawayh and the Syrian
plague.54 The "plague of Yezdigird" may fi at-ta'rikh (Cairo, n.d.), vol. 1, pp. 78-79; Ibn 'Asakir,
simply
be another name for the important plague epi-madinat Dimashq (Damascus, 1951-1963), vol. 1,
Ta'rikh
demic in Syria. pp. 554-555; and El2: "'Amwas" (J. Sourdel-Thomine)
The plague in Syria is known as the "plague of bibliographical references. As for the dating,
for further
Ibn Hajar (Badhl, fol. 62a) reports both A.H. 17 and 18
'Amwas (or 'Amawas)"55 because it severely struck
the Arab army at 'Amwas, ancient Emmaus, inepidemic but prefers A.H. 17; Leone Caetani places
for the
the plague of 'Amwas in A.H. 18 (Annali dell' Islian,
17/638 or 18/639.56 It is probable that as-Suyiut's
vol. 4 (Milan, 1911), pp. 4-6). Biraben and Le Goff refer
49 as-Suyfit, p. 144; Daf' an-niqmah, fol. 61b; and contemporary plague epidemics in the West
to nearly
Badhl, fol. 120b. (p. 1497).
50 Kitab al-maearif, p. 601, 1. 5: "taiufn Shirawayh ibn 57 as-Suyfti, p. 145. Whether in A.II. 17 or 18, this
Kisra bil-'eIrq." would have been in the months of January and February
51 At this time there is a brief mention in the Chinese
and would suggest the probability of highly infectious
sources of a "plague" in Hami (Camul), an important pneumonic plague, which occurs primarily in winter.
city on the famous Silk Route. The epidemic is recorded Another possible reference to pneumonic plague, in ad-
in Stanislas Julien, "Documents Historiques sur les Tou-dition to bubonic plague, is made in Belyaev's study of
kioue (turcs), Extraits du Pien-i-tien, et traduits du the Arab conquests: "In 668 the Arabs reached the
Chinois," Journal Asiatiqule, series 6, vol. 4 (1864), p. 231.Asian shore of the Bosphorous for the first time, but
52 as-Suyuti, p. 144. the cold winter, their lack of warm clothing or provisions,
53 Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-kiue (Turcs) Oc-the plague and dysentery soon decinmated their camp."
cidentaux, pp. 171-172, 313. (A. E. Belyaev, Arabs, Islam and the Arab Caliphate
54 Kitab al-ma'arif, p. 201. (New York, 1969), p. 160). Again, plague appears to
55 See the discussion of the name and etymology of have affected Maslamah's important siege of Constanti-
"Amwas" in Badhl, fols. 61b-62b. nople in 98/717 (von Kremer, p. 113). C. S. Bartsocas
56 at-Tabari, Cairo ed., vol. 3, p. 613, vol. 4, pp. 57-
cites Byzantine sources for plague recurrences in 716-
65, 96-97, 101, de Goeje ed., series 1, vol. 5, pp. 2412,717 as well as for A.D. 695, 775, 1031, and 1056 ("Two
2511-2521, 2570-2572, 2578; see Muir, pp. 164-167, based Fourteenth Century Greek Descriptions of the 'Black
almost exclusively on the account of at-Tabari. See also Death'," Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied
as-Suyfuti, p. 144; Ibn Kathir, al-Biddyah wan-nihayah Sciences, vol. 21, no. 4 (1966), p. 394).

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 DOLS: Plague in Early Islamic History 377

dah well, the Caliph concealed his purpose and munity when they confronted this disease: (1)
ordered him to return on an urgent matter. Abuiplague was a mercy and a martyrdom from God
'Ubaydah realized the Caliph's intention and re- for the faithful Muslim and a punishment for the
fused, preferring to stay with his army in Syria.58infidel; (2) a Muslim should neither enter nor flee
Therefore, the Caliph 'Umar set out himself to a plague-stricken land; and (3) there was no con-
Syria and came to Sargh where he met Abu tagion of plague, because disease came directly
'Ubaydah. 'Umar called a council of the muha- from God.61 These three religio-legal tenets pro-
jirrn and the ansar, and they disagreed about what voked sustained controversy due to the reap-
was to be done with regard to the plague epidemic. pearances of plague epidemics. As during the
The advice of the leaders of the tribe of Quraish, plague of 'Amwas, disagreement with the prin-
to depart from the region of the epidemic, was ciples was caused by the difficulty of accepting
accepted by 'Umar. Referring to the prohibition the horrible disease as a blessing and a martyrdom,
of the Prophet against a Muslim's either entering the natural propensity to flee, and the empirical
or fleeing a plague-stricken land, Abil 'Ubaydah observations of contagion. Moreover, it would be
protested that they were fleeing the decree of unreasonable to assume that these tenets totally
God. Not wishing to disagree with his military describe the Muslim response to the disease at
leader, 'Umar wisely replied with a parable: this time or during the later Middle Ages, but
"Suppose that you come to a valley where one they do set the framework for normative com-
side is green with pasture and the other is bare munal behavior.62
and barren; whichever side you let loose your With regard to the first principle, some men
camels, it would be the will of God. But you wouldmotivated perhaps by natural human anxiety and
choose the side that was green."59 According to native Christian and Jewish attitudes considered
another version of this point of view in favor of the epidemic as a warning or punishment by God.
flight, they would be "fleeing from the decree In this manner, the plague epidemic was believed
of God to the decree of God"--thereby establishing to be a divine punishment for the moral laxity
a precedent for fleeing a plague epidemic.60 The of the Muslims. For example, it was said that this
Caliph argued that in removing the people to plague a occurred in Syria because the Muslims
naturally more healthy region he was making no there drank wine, which Islam prohibits; therefore,
attempt to flee the command of God. 'Umar by the order of Caliph 'Umar, Abui 'Ubaydah had
commanded Abf 'Ubaydah to take the army the offenders lashed.63 Nonetheless, the belief in
out of the infected area while the Caliph felt plague as a mercy and a martyrdom is contained
justified in returning to lMelina. in the speech of Abu 'Ubaydah to the army at
These events surrounding tle plague of 'Amwas 'Amwas and in the council held by the Caliph at
are significant because they demonstrate con- Sargh.64 The same belief is expressed in a poetic
temporary Muslim attitudes and directly affected description of the plague of 'Amw5s from Ibn
later religio-legal interpretations of plague. Three
'As5kir's history of Damascus:
principles which were derived from the teaching
How many brave horsemen and how many beautiful,
of the Prophet influenced the early Muslim conm-
chaste women were killed in the valley of 'Amwas.
They had encountered the Lord, but He was not unjust
58 For the contents of the letters between Abu 'Ubay-
to them.
dah and 'Umar, see at-Tabari, Cairo ed., vol. 4, p. 61,
de Goeje ed., vol. 5, pp. 2517-2518; Badhl, fols. 67b- 61 See Jacqueline Sublet, "La Peste prise aux rets de
72a, 79a-81b; see also Muir, pp. 164-167. la jurisprudence: le traite d'Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani sur
59 Badhl, fols. 63a-77b; Muir, p. 166, note 1. There isla peste," Studia Islamica, vol. 33 (Paris, 1971), pp. 141-
considerable contradiction and ambiguity in the hadith149.
literature concerning the issue of flight from plague 62 This topic is the subject of my article, "The Compara-
epidemics. The contradictions between these traditions tive Communal Responses to the Black Death in Muslim
are clearly presented in Ibn Qutaybah's early discussionand Christian Societies," which will appear in Viator,
of contagion and plague; see his Kitab ta'wil mukhtalif no. 5 (1974).
al-hadith, pp. 123-126 (French translation by Lecomte, 63 as-Suyuti, p. 145, quotes at-Tabari, Cairo ed., vol. 4,
Le Traile des Divergences du IHadith d'lbn Qutayba, pp. 96-97, de Goeje ed., vol. 5, pp. 2571-2572.
pp. 114-116 with a useful introduction, pp. xix-xxv). 64 Ibn 'Asakir, at-Ta'rikh al-kabir (Damascus, A.1.
60 Badhl, fols. 71a-71b; Muir, p. 164. 1332), vol. 1, pp. 176-178.

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378 Journal of the American Oriental Society 94.3 (1974)

When they died, they were among the non-aggrieved have assumed leadership. It was left to 'Amr ibn
people in Paradise. al-'As, shortly to be the conqueror of Egypt,
to lead the people to safety.67 Thus, among the
We endure the plague as the Lord knows, and we were
consoled in the hour of death.65 companions of the Prophet who died of plague at
this time were Abi 'Ubaydah, Yazid ibn Abi
There is an obvious incompatibility between the
SufySn, Mu'adh and his son.68 Because of their
beliefs in plague as a divine reward and a divine
deaths, 'Umar appointed Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Suf-
punishment. Within this spectrum of beliefs there
yan as commander in Syria and thereby afforded
was also the belief that plague was a natural
the occasion for the foundation of Umaiyad
calamity which an unknowable God had decreed.
power.69
This belief is also found concerning the second
According to the historian at-Tabari, 'Umar
principle. Whether one fled or remained in a
gathered his advisers together in Medina after
plague-stricken region, God had already decreed
his return from Syria and informed them of his
one's death. This is the substance of the argument
desire to travel through the newly conquered lands
of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari regarding plague.66 When
of Syria-Palestine and Iraq. The Caliph wished
some friends came to see him in Kufah, he asked
to settle the serious problems arising from the
them not to stay, because someone in his home
havoc caused by the high plague mortality and
was ill with plague, and advised them to go out to
the open spaces and gardens. He states the pop- to calm the people's fears of renewed Byzantine
attack. He asked for advice about where to
ular belief that whoever leaves a plague-stricken
land believed that if he stayed he would die, and journey and resolved finally to confine his visit
whoever stayed and was afflicted would think only to Syria-Palestine. In the autumn of 18/639
that if he had left he would not have been stricken. 'Umar visited the chief Muslim settlements, giving
Implicit in this story is not only the common instructions for the disposal of the estates of those
practice of fleeing the disease but the recognitionwho had died in the plague epidemic and deciding
of contagion despite the fact that the Prophet haddoubtful claims. He then returned to Medina.70
denied the pre-Islamic belief in contagion. The It appears that plague struck next in Kuffah in
pragmatic intention of the prohibition against 49/669. Mu'awiyah's governor of the city, al-
flight may have initially been to prevent the Mughirah ibn Shu'bah,71 is reported to have fled
spread of contagious diseases. Theologically, the from this epidemic. When the epidemic had
denial of contagion was, at least, consistent with subsided, he returned only to die of plague in
the belief that God sent his mercy and martyrdom 50/670.72 Plague reappeared il Kuifah in Ramadan
in the form of plague, which was not considered 53/August-September 673.73 According to the
to be communicable, to a specially favored com-
Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (d. ca. 817),
munity. In any case, a Muslim was not to be
there was a great famine and pestilence in Syria
blamed for fleeing, according to Abu Mius, for
God had already determined each man's fate.
Abu Mius supported his argument for flight by67 at-Tabari, Cairo ed., vol. 4, p. 62, de Goeje ed.,
citing the decision of 'Umar during the plague vol. 5, p. 2519.
of 'Amwas when Abi Musai was with Abu 'Ubay- 68 Other prominent MNuslims who died of plague included:
dah in Syria. Shurahbil ibn Hasanah, al-Fadl ibn al-'AbbBs, Abu
Following the Caliph's orders, Abf 'Ubaydah Malik al-Ashaarl, al-Harith ibn Hisham, Abu Jandal,
brought the army and its followers to the high- Suhayl ibn 'Amr (at-Tabarl, Cairo ed., vol. 4, p. 60, de
lands of the Hauran, but at al-Jabiyah he died of Goeje, ed., vol. 5, p. 2516; as-Suyfti, p. 145).
plague. Mu'adh ibn Jabal was appointed to suc- 69 at-Tabari, Cairo ed., vol. 4, p. 62, de Goeje ed., vol.
ceed Abfi 'Ubaydah, but he died almost imme- 5, p. 2520.
diately along with his son, who was supposed to 70 Ibid., Cairo ed., vol 4, pp. 58-59, 64-65, de Goeje
ed., vol. 5, pp. 2514-2515, 2521-2522.
65 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 175. The early plagues served as a71 Wellhausen, pp. 112-118.
theme of Arabic poetry; see for example the poem of 72 as-Suyiuti, p. 146; Ibn Kathir, al-Biddyah, vol. 8,
Abi Dhu'ayb al-Hudhall translated by Omar S. Pound,pp. 32-33.
Arabic and Persian Poems (New York, 1970), p. 35. 73 as-Suyuiti, p. 147-148; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah, vol. 8,
66 Ibn Kathir, al-Biddyah, vol. 7, p. 78. p. 62.

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 DOLS: Plague in Early Islamic Historl 379

to this epidemic in Egypt, as-Suyfiti mentions a

in 676, which is not reported in the Arabic sources.74
Plague is also reported in Egypt in 66/686.75 plague epidemic in Syria in 79/69880 while Ibn
Besides the plagues of Shirawayh and 'Amwas, Hajar records plague in Kuifah in 80/699.81
the third major plague was the "plague of al- The fourth plague, named the "plague of the
Jairif" or the "Violent Plague" because it swept
Maidens (al-Fatayat)," struck Basrah in 87/706.
through Basrah like a flood about the years 69- It was called this because most of those who died
70/688-689. In Shawwal 69/March-April 689 the were young women, according to Ibn Hajar's
plague epidemic was so severe that in three suc- explanation.82 Many of the inhabitants of Basrah
cessive days 70,000, 71,000, and then 73,000 died fled from the city during this plague, as they did
in the city; most men died on the morning of the during other epidemics.83 The fifth plague was
fourth day after being infected. There was con- the "plague of the Notables (al-Ashraf)" in 19/716-
siderable difficulty in burying the dead; and to 717 in Iraq and Syria.84 The plague epidemic was
prevent looting and the entrance of predatory compared to the oppression of al-Hajjaj, the fa-
animals it was apparently the practice to lock up mous Umaiyad governor of Iraq. In Syria the
the houses where all the inhabitants had died.76 crown prince, Ayyub ibn Sulaiman ibn 'Abd al-
There is confusion of dates and places forMalik, this died in this epidemic. At the time the
plague epidemic. The confusion may again be epidemic was raging in Syria, a merchant brought
due to its repeated appearance in a number of his cargo of musk, an important ingredient of
adjacent regions within a short period.77 Epi- perfumes, to Damascus from Khurasan. When
demics of plague also took place in Syria and the merchant came to the home of the caliph's
among the bedouin tribes and possibly spread to son, Ayyub, he entered it and noticed that the
Egypt, for Ibn Kathir states that during an epi- house was whitewashed and the servants wore
demic at this time the governor 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn yellow clothes and gold jewelry. When he was
Marwan (65-85/685-704) fled to ash-Sharqiyah admitted to another house, he saw that its walls
province for safety.78 The governor again fled and ceilings were green and the servants were all
the capital, Fustat, during an epidemic which dressed in green with emerald jewelry. The mer-
probably occurred in 80/699.79 Possibly related chant was probably observing superstitious at-
teiimpts at plague protection, which are also found
74 Chronographia, vol. 108 of I'atrologia (;raeca (Paris, during the plague epidemics following the Black
1861), pp. 731-734. Death.85 The merchant came before Ayyfib with
75 as-Suyuti, p. 150, quotes Ibn Hajar, Badhl, fol. 121a. his merchandise, and those who were with Ayyfib
76 as-Suyfil, p. 149. seized the musk from between his hands. The
77 Ibid., pp. 148-150; Ibn Kathir, al-Biddyah, vol. 8, seizure indicates the strong demand for perfumes,
p. 312; Badhl, fols. 62a, 121a; Daf' an-niqmah, fol. 62b. which were customarily used during an epidemic
The possible dates are 64/683-684 and 69-70/688-689; to fumigate the pestilential air. When the mer-
most of the commentators prefer the latter. (For a sum- chant returned after eleven days he found the
mary of the dating from the early chronicles, see von house of Ayyfb boarded up and was told that
lKremer, pp. 108-109, and J. I). Tholozan, Histoire de everyone in the house had died of plague.86
la Pesfe Bliboniqlie en Mesopotamie ol determinlation de Ayyfub's father, the Caliph Sulaiman, had fled
son origine, de sa manrche, dii c!ycle de ses apparitions et from the plague epidemic only to die at Dabiq
de la cause de son extinction spontanee (Paris, 1874), p. 6.)
The dates 76/695-96 and 80/698-99 are also given by Egypt, Egyptian University, Faculty of Medicine, Pub-
as-Suyuiti but these must refer to later epidemics (see lication no. 3 (Cairo, 1932), p. 8).
below). 80 as-Suyuti, p. 150.
78 Ibn Kathir, al-Biddyah, vol. 8, p. 313. 81 Badhl, fol. 62a.
79 Badhl, fol. 121a; Ibn Hajar also gives the years 82 Ibid., fols. 62a, 121a; Daf' an-niqmah, fol. 63a.
84/703 and 86/705 for plague epidemics in Egypt. J. L. 83 as-Suyuti, p. 150.
Teall, "The Grain Supply of the Byzantine Empire, 84 Ibid., pp. 150-152; Badhl, fol. 121a; Kitdb al-ma'arif,
330-1025," Dumbarton Oaks Papers, vol. 13 (1959), p. 601.
pp. 100-101, notes plague epidemics in Egypt in A.D. 85 There is a similar report of a man who whitewashed
698 and 746-747. A. W. Wakil has asserted, without his furniture and dyed his muslin yellow during the plague
documentation, that there were plagues in Egypt in epidemic of 761/1359-60 (Dafc an-niqmah, fol. 84b).
A.D. 622, 686, 719 (The Third Pandemic of Plague in 86 as-Suyuti, pp. 151-152.

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380 Journal of the American Oriental Society 94.3 (1974)

(north of Aleppo) on 19 Safar 99/1 October 717.87 although other informants claim that he was
It is possible that the Caliph also died of plague, murdered by his wife when he refused to proclaim
in as much as Makhlad, son of Yazid ibn al-Mu- her son heir to the throne.95 Plague struck others
hallab, died of plague in Dabiq in 100/718.88 Theamong the governing elite, such as Ziyad ibn Abi
plague epidemic which took place in Syria and Sufyan, who died in Kffah in Ramadan 52/August
Iraq in the year 100/718-719 was called the 673.96 For this reason, when the plague season
"plague of 'Adi ibn Artah."89 This epidemic came
wasduring the summer, the Umaiyad caliphs
presumably quite severe in Basrah, when 'Adi left the cities for their desert palaces and "dwelt
ibn
Artah (d. 102/720) was governor of the city, and close to the bedouins. IIisham [105-125/724-743]
was consequently nanled after him.90 The Caliph, lived among them at ar-Rusafah."97 Moreover, the
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, was warned by his Arab commanders would remove their troops from
advisers to be careful of food lest he be poisoned, their garrisons to the mountains or the desert until
to have a bodyguard in case of rebellion, and to an epidemic ceased.98
withdraw before the plague epidemic-remilnding The chroniclers report that plague lightened
him of the former caliphs and how they went out with the advent of the Abbasid regime.99 For
to their desert retreats for safety. 'Umar answeredexample, Tha'alibi (d. 429/1038) wrote about Syria
them by saying: "Where are the caliphs now?" and plague:
When the advisers continued to warn him, he It is said that the two Id's are characteristic of Syria:
replied: "By God, if you know I fear one day othersubmissiveness (fd.ah) and plague (tadfun) ... Syria
than the Day of Judgment, then do not comfort has always been notorious for its plagues, and the
my fears."91 chronicles all devote considerable space to them.100
In the chronicles there are other indications of .Many of these pestilences have spread from Iraq and
t)lague epi(lemics during the later Umaiyad Peri- elsewhere, although plague has never broken out in the
od. Plague occurred in Syria in 107/725-726 and two Holy Cities. 'When the Abbasids came to power,
115/733-734; Syria and Iraq in 116/734-735 (where there were no more plagues till the reign of al-Muqtadir
it was particularly severe in Wfisit); the "plague [295-320/908-932.]101
of the Crow" in 127/744-745 in Basrah; and the There is a famous anecdote about an 'Abbasid
'plague of Salm ibn Qutaybah"92 in Rajab through
commander who came to Damascus, the former
Shaww1l 131/February through June 749 in
13asrah.93 capital of the Umaiyads, to make speeches on
behalf of the new dynasty. 'Ihe amir told the
The Umaiyad dynasty was literally plagued by
Damascenes that they should praise God, who
this disease. We know that the Syrianl population
had raised plague from them since the 'Abbasids
suffered from recurrent epidemics and famines.
had come to power. One courageous man in the
Mu'wviyah II died from plague in 64/683, only
crowd stood up and replied: "God is more just
a few months after his reign began.94 Also it is
than to give you power over us and the plague
reported that the Caliph Marwan died of plagueat the same time !"10

87 Ihn Khlallikan, Wafoaqat al-aydn (Beirut, 1968), vol. 2, **$

pp. 420-427.
88 Ibn Khallikan's Blioraphical Dictionary, trans.95byBelyaev, Arabs, Islam and the Arab Caliphate, p. 167.
96 See note 73 above.
Baron MacGuckin de Slaine (Beirut, 1970), vol. 4, pp. 173-
174. 97 Badhl, fols. 62a, 121b, and as-Suyiti, p. 153. Rusi-
89 Badhl, fol. 121a; Kitb al-ma'arif, p. 601. fah had earlier been "a Roman settlement on the border

90 XWellhausen, pp. 269, 313, 318: Ibn Khallikaic's of the Syrian desert not far from Raqqa, which he [Hi-
Biographical Dictionary, vol. 4, pp. 192, 196. slhlm] had restored and which, even as Khalifa, he prefer-
91 as-Suyfti, p. 152. red as a place of residence, because he thought Damascus
92 Salim ibn Qutaybah al-Bahili was the Umaiyad unhealthy." (Wellhausen, pp. 325-326).
governor of Basrah at the time of this epidemic. 98 von Kremer, CLlturgeschichte, vol. 2, p. 493.
93 as-Suyiti, pp. 152-153; Daf' an-niqmah, fols. 63b- 99 as-Suyiti, p. 153.
64a; Badhl, fols. 121a-121b; Kitab al-ma'arif, pp. 601-602. 100 E.g., Ibn 'Asakir, at-Ta'rikh al-kabir, vol. 1, p. 76.
94 CAll ibn Husain al-Mas'udi, Les Prairies d'Or, ed. 101 C. E. Bosworth, The Latdeif al-ma'arif of Tha'dlibi
and trans. by C. B. de 5Meynard (Paris, 1869), vol. 5, (Edinburgh, 1968), p. 119.
p. 170. 102 Badhl, fol. 121b; as-Suyutl, p. 153.

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 DOLS: Plague in Early Islamic History 381

Without entering into the documentation for demics in the heartland of the Islamic Empire
recurrent plage epidemics in the 'Abbasid Period, struck the Arab conquerors as it had their Byzan-
enough has been said perhaps to establish the tine and Sassanian predecessors. The recurrences
existence of plague outbreaks in early Islamic of plague may have thus continuously retarded
history.103 Furthermore, it is altogether reason- natural population growth and served as a major
able to interpret these epidemics as an integral factor in debilitating Umaiyad strength. The con-
part of the continued recurrences in the Mediter- stant infusion of Arab population into the formerly
ranean world following the plague pandemic ofSassanian region of the Empire during the Umai-
the mid-sixth century. Specifically, there is a yad Period and its apparent exemption from
cyclical pattern to the reappearances, excepting plague epidemics (outside of Iraq) would suggest
a long span of time (approximately thirty years) an unbalanced growth of population in the Empire
following the plague of 'Amwas for which we have which was reflected in the predominance of the
no reports of plague in the Middle East. Sub- eastern Caliphate and the emergence of the 'Ab-
sequently, plague was more active in Syria-Pa- basid regime.
lestine and Iraq than in Egypt and Persia; the Furthermore, the reappearances of plague con-
relative frequency may of course be deceptive sistently followed the commercial routes in the
because of the lack of information in the chron- Middle East and the Mediterranean littoral,
icles for the provinces. In any case, Syria-Pales- promiscuously carrying the disease by trade from
tine experienced plague epidemics about every ten one urban center to another.105 Although the
years from 69/688-689 to 127/744-745, while the direction of plague transmission differed in the
epidemics in the garrison cities of Kifah and two pandemics-from East Africa in the first
Basrah were more frequent.104 The periodicity of case and from Central Asia in the second-the
cycles from the Arabic sources concurs generallyepidemic outbreaks trace the principal commer-
with the conclusions drawn by Professors Biraben cial routes of the period and attest to significant
and Le Goff about the cyclical pattern of epidemicstrade throughout the Mediterranean world.106
after the Plague of Justinian. With regard to early Islamic civilization in
Thus, the first plague pandemic serves as a general, the plague recurrences naturally evoked
model for studying the second, the Black Death a medical interest in the disease which resulted
in the middle of the fourteenth century. Due to in the investigation and discussion of pre-Islam
the cyclical nature of plague, the repeated epi- medical works, especially the writings of Hip-
pocrates and Galen,107 as well as in personal ob-
103 For epidemics from the Umjaiyad Period to the servation.108 In this manner, the massive trans-
Black Death in the mid-fourteenthl century, where plague
epidemics have yet to be clearly distinguished, see: 105 See the interesting essay on this historical phenom-
von Kremer, pp. 110-135, and his Culturgeschichte, vol.enon
2, by Andrd Siegfried, Germs and Ideas: Routes of
pp. 490-492; Louis Hautecoeur and Gaston Wiet, Les Epidemics and Ideologies (London, 1965).
106 For the Plague of Justinian, see Biraben and Le
3Iosquees dii Caire (Paris, 1932), vol. 1, pp. 81-82; nldouard
Bloch, La Peste en Tunisie (Aperci Hlistorique et Ppi- Goff, pp. 1493, 1499; and for the Black Death, A. N.
(lemiologiqlue), Faculty of Medicine (Paris, 1929), pp.Poliak, 1-3; "Le Caractere colonial de l'ntat mamelouk dans
J.-I.-G. Guyon, Ilistoire Chronologique des Epidemies ses rapports avec le Horde d'Or," Revute des ltudes Is-
du Nord de l'Ajriqule (Algiers, 1855), pp. 112-175; Sticker, lamique (Paris, 1935), pp. 231-248.
vol. 1, pp. 24-77; Tholozan, Histoire de la Peste Bubonique 107 See Fuat Sezgin, Geschichte des Arabischen Schrift-
en .1edsopotamie, pp. 6-7, an(d his Histoire de la Peste tuims, vol. 3: Medizin-Pharmazie-Zoologie-Tierheilkunde
Bubonique en Perse on determination de son origine, de bis ca. 430 H. (Leiden, 1970), pp. 23-47, 68-140.
sa marche, tdu cycle de ses apparitions et de la cause de 108 For example, 'All ibn Rabban aS-Tabarl's early
son extinction spontanee (Paris, 1874), pp. 10-12; and Imedical compendium, Firdauisu l-Hikmat or Paradise
C.-A. Julien, Iistory of North Africa (New York, 1970), of Wisdom (pp. 328-331), includes a discussion of plagues
pp. 56, 59, 121. (tawd'in) and relevant quotations from Hippocrates'
104 Within a reasonable margin of error in interpretingEpidemics I and III (see Max Meyerhof, "'Ali at-Tabari's
the imprecise historical accounts and allowing for failure
'Paradise of Wisdom', One of the Oldest Arabic Com-
to record small local epidemics, the calculations are based
pendiums of Medicine," Isis, vol. 16 (1931), pp. 31, 51,
on the data collected in the preceding summary of epi- and Manfred Ullmann, Die Mledizin im Islam (Leiden,
demics from Arabic sources. 1970), pp. 119-122, 244). A history of Arabic medical

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382 Journal of the American Oriental Society 94.3 (1974)

lation of classical medical works into Arabic in Finally, a doubt remains whether all of the
early Islam should be considered as part of the epidemics which have been enumerated were
endeavor to understand the nature of recurrent actually plague. The precise symptoms of plague
disease and not as a purely academic exercise. are not fully described in the early period as they
In addition, the epidemics stimulated Muslim are for the Black Death and its reappearances in
religious scholars to reach an acceptable inter- the later Midle Ages. However, the application
pretation of the meaning of this periodic scourge.of exact Arabic terminology and appropriate
It was natural for them to turn to earlier examplesmedical and legal prescriptions for plague, which
of epidemics for instruction. Their interpretationsimplies an awareness of plague as distinct from
of plague drew upon the Old and New Testaments,other diseases, and the comparable pattern of
the Qur'an, the sunnah of the Prophet, the tra- plague epidemics elsewhere in the Mediterranean
ditions of his companions and followers, the clas- littoral suggest the strong probability of endemic
sical and medieval physicians, and native custom. plague outbreaks. In any case, even if the epi-
On these bases, as it has been shown, were struc- demics include other infectious diseases, the im-
tured religio-legal principles which established a pact on population is similar. The prevalence of
system of theological beliefs and outlined a nor- epidemic diseases properly poses the important
mative scheme of behavior in the face of calamity question of the demographic history of early Is-
characteristic of traditional Muslim law. What is lamic society and the social and economic conse-
remarkable is that the early plagues came at a quences of a proposed population decline.'11
formative, eclectic period in Muslim legal scholar- ABBREVIATIONS
ship-at a time when the nature of plague could
be considered and incorporated within the hadith Badhl Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Badhl al-
literature.109 These traditions influenced the think- ma' n fi fadl at-tdc'n, Dar al-
ing of the early Muslim community and continued Kutub al-Misriyah MIS no. 2353
to be operative in Mluslim religious life until the tasawwuf.
twentieth century. The formal collection of these Biraben and Le Goff Biraben, J.-N., and J. Le Goff,
hadiths relating to plague and other epidemic "La Peste dans le Haute Moyen
diseases was undertaken at least as early as the Age," Annales. Iconomies, Socie-
ninth century. In this manner, the juristic litera- tes, Civilisations, vol. 24, part 6
ture and medical commentaries furnished the later (Paris, 1969), pp. 1484-1510.
Daf' an-niqmah
medieval writers not only with religio-legal prece- Ibn Abi Hajalah, Daf an-niqmah
dents, which set limits to intellectual discussion fi s-saldt Cald nabi ar-rahmdn,
and to communal behavior, but also with an Escurial MIS no. 1772, fols la-87b.
El1
etiological explanation of plague, methods of The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 4
p)revention and treatment, and a precise Arabic vols., Leiden-London, 1913-1934.
terminology.110 El2 The Encyclopaedia of Islam, new
ed., Leiden-London, 1960-.
knowledge of plague will be given in mly introduction to (AL Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der
the translation of 'All ibn Ridw-n's Daf/ maddrr al- Arabischen Litteratiir, 2 vols.,
abddn bi-ard M,isr (see 'llmann, Die 1Iedizin im Islam, 2nd ed. (Leiden, 1945-1949); Sup-
pp. 159, 246). plement, 3 vols., (Leiden, 1937-
109 See Sublet, "La I'este prise aux'rets de la juris- 1942).
prudence," pp. 141-149. See also Ernst Seidel, "Die Kitdb al-ma'crifIbn Qutaybah, Kitdb al-ma'drif
Lehre von der Kontagion bei den Arabern," Archiv (Cairo, 1960), ed. by Saroite O-
fiir Gesclhichte der Medizin, ed. by Karl Sudhoff, vol. 6 kacha.
(Leipzig, 1913), pp. 83-84. Kitdb at-libb Ibn Abi Hajalah, Kitdb at-tibb
110 David Neustadt (Ayalon), "The Plague and Its al-masnin fi dafC at-tfdciun, Dar
Effects on the Mamliuk Army," Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society (London, 1946), p. 67, note 2, and my ad- 1l In contrast to the recovery in European-Mediter-
ditions to plague terminology (for the Black Death andranean population during the period A.D. 650 to 750 from
its recurrences) in "Ibn al-Wardi's Risdlat an-naba' 'an its previous low level, Russell has proposed the gradual
al-waba', A Translation of a Major Source for the Historyand steady decline of population in the Islamic world
of the Black Death in the Middle East."
(Population in Europe 500-1500, pp. 20-22).

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 DOLS: Plague in Early Islamic History 383

al-Kutub al-Misriyah MS no. 102 1 (Vienna, 1880), pp. 144-156.

majcmi'm, fols. 141a-146a. at-Tabari at-Tabari, Ta'rikh, Cairo ed.,
Muir Muir, William, The Caliphate: Its 1960-1969; de Goeje ed., Leiden,
Rise, Decline and Fall (Beirut, 1879-1901.

1963). "That Earlier Plague" Russell, Josiah C., "That Earlier

Sticker Sticker, Georg, Abhandlungen aus Plague," Demography, vol. 5,
der Seuchengeschichte und Seuchen- part 1 (1968), pp. 174-184.
lehre, 2 vols., (Geissen, 1908- von KreIner Von Kremer, Alfred, "Ueber die
1910). grossen Seuchen des Orients nach
as-Suyfti as-Suyuiti, Md rawdhu l-wd'l1 fi arabischen Quellen," Sitzungsbe-
akhbar at-td'un, ed. by Alfred richte der Kaiserlichen Akademie

von Kremer, "Ueber die grossen der Wissenschaf ten (Philosophisch-

Seuchen des Orients nach arabi- Historische Classe), vol. 96, book
schen Quellen," Sitzungsberichte 1 (Vienna), pp. 69-156.
der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wellhausen Wellhausen, J., The Arab King-
Wissenschaften (Philosophisch- dom and Its Fall (Beirut, 1963).
Historische Classe), vol. 96, book

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