Caffa 1346: Corpses Over the Wall and a Plague That Sailed to Europe

In 1346, Caffa, also written as Kaffa or Kafa in other records, was under siege by the Golden Horde. These are not three different cities. Caffa is the name used in Italian records and many English sources for a city in Crimea. The modern city is usually called Feodosia; Feodosiya and Feodosija are other transliterations of the same name. At the time, Caffa was a Genoese trading colony on the Black Sea.

During the outbreak, the besiegers are said to have used catapults to throw the bodies of plague victims into the city. The account comes from Gabriele de’ Mussi, a notary from Piacenza who wrote after the event. He said the Genoese fled by ship and carried the disease to Mediterranean ports. Within a year, plague was spreading through Europe and became known as the Black Death.