Diversity of Medical Practice in Mamluk Egypt During the Second Pandemic

Beginning in 1347, Mamluk Egypt was decimated by the Black Death. This disaster was only the beginning of the second pandemic, which would recur in the region for another five centuries. As cities such as Cairo were witnessing staggering mortality rates, rural communities were being depopulated to the point of unviability, leading to mass migration towards urban centers. This stark change to the status quo proved to be difficult for the Mamluk system of government, weakening the regime up to the Ottoman conquest in 1517. The Black Death and its recurrences ravaged the Egyptian countryside, causing instability in the Mamluk government, which enabled understandings of medicine previously considered taboo.