The Plague That Changed Everything
In 1346, the Mongol army besieging the Genoese trading post of Kaffa in Crimea catapulted plague-ridden corpses over the city walls. Whether or not this was the actual vector, within months the disease had reached the ships in Kaffa's harbor. Those ships carried it to Constantinople, Sicily, and the ports of the Mediterranean. What followed was the most lethal pandemic in recorded history: the Black Death, which killed an estimated 25 to 50 million people — roughly 30 to 60 percent of Europe's entire population.
This map visualizes the plague's terrifying speed of transmission. Starting from a single point in Crimea, you can watch the disease engulf the known world in just seven years.
From Crimea to Constantinople
The plague traveled along the trade routes that connected the Mongol Empire to the Mediterranean world. By June 1347, it had reached Constantinople — the crossroads of Europe and Asia — and the eastern Mediterranean. The great commercial networks that had brought prosperity to medieval Europe now became highways of death. Every ship that docked, every caravan that arrived, carried the potential for catastrophe.
The Mediterranean Engulfed
By October 1347, Genoese galleys had brought the plague to Sicily and southern Italy. The disease spread with terrifying speed through the densely populated Italian city-states. By January 1348, it had reached northern Italy, the great port of Marseille, and the coast of North Africa. The pattern was always the same: the plague arrived by sea, established itself in port cities, and then radiated outward along roads and rivers into the interior.
Across the Continent
Through 1348 and 1349, the plague swept through France, the Iberian Peninsula, England, the Holy Roman Empire, and Scandinavia. Some regions lost half their population in a matter of months. Entire villages were abandoned. The social fabric of medieval Europe was torn apart: labor shortages transformed the feudal economy, religious movements swung between desperate piety and nihilistic excess, and Jewish communities were scapegoated in horrific pogroms across central Europe.
By 1353, the first wave had reached Moscow, completing its sweep across the known world. But the Black Death was not a one-time event — it returned in waves throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, keeping population levels depressed for generations.
Spread Timeline
- 1346, June — Siege of Kaffa in Crimea; plague enters Golden Horde trade networks
- 1347, June — Constantinople and the eastern Mediterranean infected
- 1347, October — Genoese ships bring plague to Sicily and southern Italy
- 1348, January — Northern Italy, Marseille, and North Africa reached
- 1348, mid-year — France, Iberian Peninsula, and England engulfed
- 1349 — Holy Roman Empire, Scandinavia, and eastern Europe affected
- 1350–1351 — Plague reaches Scotland, Poland, and the Baltic
- 1353 — First wave reaches Moscow; initial pandemic subsides
Want to use this map in your own project? You can export it as an animated GIF for presentations and social media, or embed it as a fully interactive widget on your website using the embed code available on the map page.
Explore the full interactive map →Frequently asked questions
- Where did the Black Death enter Europe?
- The Black Death spread from Kaffa in Crimea, where a Mongol army besieged the Genoese trading post in 1346. Ships from Kaffa's harbor carried the plague to Constantinople, Sicily and the ports of the Mediterranean.
- How many people died in the Black Death?
- The Black Death killed an estimated 25 to 50 million people, roughly 30 to 60 percent of Europe's entire population.
- How fast did the Black Death spread across Europe?
- The Black Death crossed Europe in about seven years. It reached Constantinople by June 1347, Sicily in October 1347, northern Italy, Marseille and North Africa by January 1348, France, Iberia and England in 1348, and Moscow by 1353.
- How did the Black Death spread?
- The Black Death traveled along the trade routes that connected the Mongol Empire to the Mediterranean world. It usually arrived by sea, took hold in port cities and then spread outward along roads and rivers into the interior.
- What were the effects of the Black Death?
- Labor shortages after the Black Death transformed the feudal economy, and Jewish communities were scapegoated in pogroms across central Europe. The plague returned in waves through the 14th and 15th centuries, keeping population levels depressed for generations.
- Is there an animated map of the spread of the Black Death?
- Yes. Moving Polygons has an animated map of the Black Death that shows the plague spreading from Crimea in 1346 across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to Moscow in 1353. It is free to watch, and you can embed it on your website or export it as an animated GIF.
Text version of the map (timeline, layers and events): Markdown