Research notes for Djinn, ch. 31: Plague

Bassa al-Khidr Shrine, al-Bassa, courtesy of Orest2000

Most people are familiar with the Black Death--the bubonic plague pandemic of 1347 that killed around 75 to 200 million people. Some are aware that there were other plague outbreaks, like the Plague of Justinian that began in 541 CE and the periodic plagues that drove notables like Shakespeare and Newton out of London in the 15- and 1600s.

Most people are not aware of just how common outbreaks of bubonic plague actually were. Here are some stats from Zwemer's Arabia: the Cradle of Islam, published in 1900: 

• "Busrah has seen better days, but also worse. In the middle of the eighteenth century it numbered upward of 150,000 inhabitants. 
  

  
  "In 1825, it had diminished to 60,000; the plague of 1831 reduced it further by nearly one-half, and after the plague of 1838, scarcely 12,000 inhabitants remained. 
  
  "In 1854, it is said to have had only 5,000 inhabitants. At present the place is growing yearly in population and importance in spite of misgovernment and ruinous taxation. ...
  
  "The present population of the city proper is given by Ottoman authorities at 18,000.
  
  "Many ruins all over the plains and in the surrounding gardens tell of its former extent and splendor. At present the native town looks sadly dilapidated, and tells the story of neglect and decay. ... 
  
  
  

  "This unhygienic condition is not improved by the Ashar Creek being at the same time the common sewer and the common water supply for over one-half of the population. The wealthy classes send out boats to bring water from the river, but all the poorer people use the creek. ... 

  
  "Bagdad like Busrah has suffered greatly by ravages of the plague at various times, but especially in 1830 when the plague was followed by a fearful inundation. In one night, when the river burst its banks 7,000 houses fell and 15,000 people perished."

An interesting aside:  

"The population of Bagdad is at present variously estimated at from 120,000 to 180,000. Nearly one-third are Jews while the Oriental Christians number about 5,000."

Of course, bubonic plague was not the only condition ravaging the unfortunate people of Arabia:

• "Now, alas, while all work is still confined to the coast, we have perhaps one of the most trying climates in the world. The intense heat of summer (often 110° Fahrenheit in the shade) is aggravated by the humidity of the atmosphere, and the dust raised by every wind. 
  
  "In the winter, from December to March, the winds in the northern part of the gulf and the Red Sea, are often cold and cutting and although the temperature is more suited at that time to Europeans and Americans, it appears to be less healthy for natives.
  
  "The so-called gulf-fever of the remittent type is very dangerous and convalescence is at times only possible by leaving the gulf. Cholera and smallpox are not uncommon. Ophthalmia is rife. Prickly heat in aggravated form, boils, and all the insect plagues of Egypt are a cause of suffering in their season."

And: 

• "There is a military hospital at Hofhoof with a surgeon and doctor, but at the time of my visit there was a dearth of medicines and an abominable lack of sanitation. Few soldiers submit to hospital treatment, preferring to desert or seek furlough elsewhere, and nothing is done for the Arab population. Before my coming cholera raged here as well as on the coast, and during my short visit smallpox was epidemic and carried off many, many children. ...
  
  "Cholera visited both stations and greatly interfered with the work; many people fled from Busrah, and at Bahrein the total number of deaths was over five thousand. Peter Zwemer kept lonely watch on the islands at that time; his only servant died of cholera and he himself could not get away as no ship would take passengers."

People in the 1800s (and earlier), before the invention of antibiotics, got sick and died at astonishingly high rates; infant mortality was generally north of 20%, often 40%. For comparison, Covid 19's 2020 and 2021 would have been amazingly healthy years by the standards of the mid-1800s. 

Aside from the two big, famous pandemics, the Plague of Justinian and the Black Death of 1347, there was actually third great bubonic plague pandemic which most people have never heard of that killed over 15 million people. It began in 1855 in China, and spread to India, the Middle East, Africa, and California, and was only declared officially over by the WHO in 1959. Today the plague bacterium, yersinia pestis, is endemic among American rodents like groundhogs because of the Third Pandemic. 

By the way, you can still catch bubonic plague from wildlife. Thankfully it can be treated if you realize quickly enough what ails you, but some people do still die of plague, either because they didn't realize what they had or they couldn't get/afford medicine because they live in a very poor country. 

The symptoms of plague are largely the symptoms of any nasty disease: fever, chills, aches, nausea, and fatigue. Bubonic plague of course also presents with large lumps--the "buboes." These are swollen lymph nodes that typically appear on the neck, armpits, and groin. Depending on the variety of plague, victims' skin may start to necrotize or their lungs disintegrate (Pneumatic plague is almost universally fatal).

Masjid an-Nabawi or The Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Arabia,
courtesy of Muhammad Mahdi Karim 

On a lighter note, a maqam or dargah is a kind of Islamic shrine, typically built over the tomb or cenotaph of a saint or prophet. (Other religions do this, too. Since Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have many of the same prophets, they sometimes share shrines, though often different adherents will claim different burial places.) 

These shrines can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, depending on the popularity of the saint and the local architectural vernacular. The most famous of  course is the Masjiid an-Nabawi, where the Propjet Muhammad is buried. Outside of the established pilgrimage spots, though, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not generally appreciate the veneration of random saints. (Since the Wahabis came to power post WWI they have destroyed various tombs and archaeological sites that do not fit within Wahabi-ist doctrines, such as "Eve's Tomb," destroyed in 1928 and covered in concrete in 1975.)

Maqam in Samaria, Northern Palestine (C. Wilson, 1881).

The architecture of the maqam where Nazeem takes refuge is based on the simple structures found in old pictures from the 18- or early 1900s. These may be more typical of the architecture of Palestine because that's where a lot of the documentation took place, but a simple building is easy to build and so not unreasonable in nearby areas.