The Black Death, also known as Black Plague, is one of world’s worst pandemics. The disease entered European lands in around 1343 through Crimea, passing the Silk Route and beginning from Central Asia. One of the main causes is believed to be rat fleas hosted by black rats, of which trade ships used to be replete back then. Between the years 1346–53, plague had claimed around 200 million lives, i.e., nearly 60 percent of Europe’s population. In the 14th century alone, the disease had decimated the European population from 400 to some 350 million.
Plague continued to haunt Europe recurrently, until it was completely eradicated during the 19th century.
