Three Episodes That Occur In The Late Medieval Eurasian World

Three episodes that occurred in the late medieval Eurasian world – the Crusades, the Mongols and the Black Death -- disrupted the country and society and changed the world forever. The Crusades that were the wars against religion of the Christians, Judaism and Islam, were fought to try to change people's religion to their cause. The Mongols were Barbarians who moved across Eurasia, conquering lands, bringing death, and bulldozing anything that stood in their way as they invaded. The Black Death disease devastated the people and the economy as it spread relentlessly across the land. Yet, out of the events that occurred in the late medieval Eurasian world, the Black Death caused the greatest disruption in the late medieval Eurasian world and

The Mongols moved across Eurasia, and conquered many nations; they ultimately became the biggest empire in the world (Worlds, 378). The Mongols were considered barbarians who moved across their nation's five thousand miles of the highway (Worlds, 385). This highway stretched through Eurasia, Hungary and Manchuria, and allowed travel throughout Eurasia (Worlds, 385). The Mongols’ invasion strategy began with sending out scouts who reported to the forward line of the army (Worlds, 405). The Mongols then formed tight formations with their men and horses and were a very organized army (Worlds, 405). When the Mongols first arrived at the territories they wanted to invade, the other empires thought the Mongols were weakened due to their long travel; however, they soon learned the Mongols were strong in both number and in fighting skills. The number of empires that the Mongols were planning to invade were described as “more fire than are stars,” and put fear into those they came to invade (Worlds, 405). The Mongols’ armies were a force that was able to destroy the other armies and conquer new land across Eurasia. The Mongols took their victims’ valuables and land as they violently destroyed their enemies. Any survivors fled to neighboring lands and abandoned their country (Worlds, 409). The Mongol Tartars would massacre the people as they invaded, even the children (Worlds, 408). The Mongols

The Black Death did not just cause death; it caused panic and destroyed the economy, the family structure, and so much more. The Black Death traveled as an invisible invader across waters. In 1346, travelers reported millions of deaths across China, central Asia and the Middle East (Worlds, 418). Just like the travelers who carried it, the disease moved with them “by fleas to city rats and other animals, including humans” as it spread (Worlds, 418). The Black Death killed so many people in some cities that more than half the population fell victim to this epidemic (Worlds, 418). Overall, 70 percent of the people died from the Black Death and 20 out of 24 doctors died from this deadly disease in Venice (Worlds, 429). At the time, people did not know how it was spread or if they were infected until it was too late. People died as soon as they showed the symptoms of the Black Death which included swelling in the “armpit or groin caused by coagulating humours and followed by putrid fever” (Worlds, 423). There were many theories about how this disease was started. One theory was the plague was a “Punishment signifying God’s righteous anger at our iniquitous way of life” that brought the deadly pestilent (Worlds, 434). Another theory was that it started in 1346 due to the biological warfare at the siege of Caffa. The siege in which the Mongols army started hurling plague-infected cadavers