Black Death destroys Europe

Why do people seem to think the Black Death only killed Europeans? It killed lots of people in the Middle East and Central Asia as well. This is the major problem I had with the Years of Rice and Salt.

Any epidemic terrible enough to "destroy" Europe also destroys Egypt, Tunisia, and the Middle East. If we assume that the disease will penetrate into those parts of Europe which avoided it IOTL, then the same will happen in the Middle East including parts of Persia.

Once enough people die off that the institutions of civilization can no longer be supported by the agricultural surplus, then there is a societal collapse. Most of Western and Arab civilization Since nature abhors a vacuum, eventually those lands will be filled by migration from the East. Indians may move into eastern Persia. Turks into the Middle East. Mongols into Russia and Central Europe. Western Europe and western North Africa will probably demographically recover before their societies are completely overwhelmed, but except for perhaps Scandinavia and British Isles, their societies will be ruled by new elites coming from the east.
 
Why do people seem to think the Black Death only killed Europeans? It killed lots of people in the Middle East and Central Asia as well. This is the major problem I had with the Years of Rice and Salt....

How far would the plague spread? It may depend on the length of the incubation period. A long incubation period may spread it across much of Asia.
 
Hmm, several areas hit by the plague made it worse by killing cats and dogs who were eating the flea infested rodents, and also didn't clean up refuse which brought more flea infested rodents in. Also the Little Ice Age had hit at this time, wrecking agriculture and weakening people's immune systems in Europe.

Middle Eastern Areas didn't do this as cats are revered and public refuse was cleaned up and hospitals and baths were present, which limited the severity of the plague in their areas but still hit them bad in some parts. Only the Timurid Campaigns kept Constantinople from being overran.

Poland largely escaped the Plague.

Hmm... Lets say food distribution from Grain Reserves is mismanaged worse in several parts, making more people susceptible to plague and cats and dogs start getting on menus of starving people and even rats.

Lets also have more people become infected with Pneumonic Plague as well.

There are a few other variables that can change, but its hard to see how to just get to two/thirds even with them.
 
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