Ian D. answered • 01/30/21
NREMT, ASVAB, and Neurodiverse-aware Tutor
If we look at this from the lens of the Mediterranean world, the black death was a pandemic that significantly ripped at the fabric of many of the societies that were integrated in sea and land faring trade, from Egypt to Gaul. We know that the Byzantine Empire was fairly stable in terms of its ability to maintain its population in Constantinople (up to 1,000,000 people). The Empire clearly had a stable enough food market to ensure this. We should note that unlike today, food production could be very cyclical, and subject more harshly to famine, raiding, or other natural disasters.
"Health" was a relative term. There was limited understanding of the biology of the human body, so addressing complex medical needs was nil. Injuries, such as femur fractures, that can be easy addressed today, could have been lethal back then. Infection was another major complication of any disease process that was much more likely to be lethal than it is today.
From a historical perspective, the Black Death decimated much of the known world. Some estimates state at as many as 50% of some populations died as a result. The poor understanding of the plague's transmission/vector, general medicine, and the cyclic nature of resources, contributed to this. Constantinople was estimated to have 70,000 residents at the height of this pandemic. The timing of the plague (500s AD until the 800s, and then into the 1300s and later), significantly shaped many events, such as the contraction of Byzantium in the wake of the Rise of Islam, along with more fractile nature of European city-states, attempting to isolate the disease from entering their realms.
