From the Plague of Shiruyeh to the Qajar Cholera: When Death Swept Through Iran

Infectious diseases in Iranian history have not been merely medical and health events; they have repeatedly affected population structure, the economy, social relations and even the fate of governments.

According to Ambassador Arjan, from the plague that reached Mian-Rodan in the last years of the Sassanid dynasty and took the name of one of the kings of that dynasty, to the deadly epidemics of plague and cholera in the Safavid and Qajar periods, the history of Iran is full of stories in which massive deaths, forced migration, closure of markets, disruption of agriculture and trade, and the inability of governments to contain the crisis have transformed people's lives.

Rereading this history, however, requires attention to a fundamental distinction: in historical sources, words such as "plague," "plague," "pestilence," and "disease" were not always used in their modern medical sense. Before the microbial agents of diseases were identified, many reporters named diseases based on their appearance, severity of mortality, or medical beliefs of their time. Therefore, any epidemic that is called "cholera" or "plague" in ancient sources is not necessarily recognizable by today's standards. This issue, along with the lack of regular population statistics, makes it difficult to assess the number of victims.

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Despite these limitations, putting together historical reports, travelogues, medical research, and social history studies shows that infectious diseases in Iran, especially in periods when war, insecurity, famine, and weak health infrastructure were associated with each other, became a crisis beyond the health field; A crisis that sometimes undermines the power of governments and sometimes reveals the necessity of administrative and medical reforms.

Plague Illness on the eve of the fall of the Sassanids

One of the earliest recorded examples of a plague epidemic in Iranian history is the disease known as Shirviyeh, or Qabad II, of the Sassanid king. This epidemic occurred in the years 627 and 628 AD, in the last years of the Sassanid Empire, especially in Tisophon and the western regions of Iran. Islamic historical sources have mentioned this event as the "Plague of Shirwayh" or the "Plague of Yazdgerdi" (Dr. Ismail Mohtalkari (20 March 2018). "Climate changes and its role in Sasanian history". Amardad News and Culture Monthly (424): 6.) and in some narratives it is stated that Shirwayh himself also died of this disease in 629 AD; However, the exact details of his illness and the cause of his death cannot be proven with the certainty of today's medicine.

This epidemic occurred during a period when the Sassanid government was facing a political and succession crisis after long and costly wars with the Byzantine Empire. The wars of Khosrow Parviz's era, the capture of parts of Byzantine territory and then the counter-attacks of Heraclius, had exhausted the financial and human resources of the two empires. In such a situation, the outbreak of a deadly disease could put additional pressure on a society that was already damaged by war, population displacement, and economic turmoil. (Azizi, Mohammad Hossein. "The History of Infectious Diseases in Iran". Journal of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1384)

However, attributing the collapse of the Sassanid Empire to the plague alone is an oversimplification of history. The fall of this government in the following decades was the result of a series of factors, including wars of attrition, court disputes, rapid changes in the kingdom, the weakness of the central government, and the conquests of the Muslim army. The plague should be considered as one of the possible factors aggravating this crisis, not an independent and sufficient cause for the end of an empire.

In order to understand the place of Shirovia plague, it should be placed in the context of a larger epidemic that had spread in large parts of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East a few decades before; A pandemic named after Justinian, the Eastern Roman Emperor.

Plague of Justinian; The first major plague epidemic in the late ancient world

The plague of Justinian was reported in 541 AD in the eastern Mediterranean and in the following years it reached large parts of the Byzantine Empire and neighboring regions. This disease, caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria, was one of the first major plague epidemics in recorded history. New genetic studies have also confirmed the presence of this bacterium in human remains associated with the epidemic period. However, the exact extent of casualties and the extent of its impact on the total world population is still a matter of debate among researchers.

Procopius, a contemporary historian of Justinian, reported an outbreak of disease in Constantinople and a sharp increase in mortality. According to his narration, the number of victims increased so much at the height of the crisis that the usual burial of the bodies became difficult. He also spoke about the disruption in daily life and the economic consequences of the disease. The very large figures in some accounts, including the claim of ten thousand deaths per day in Constantinople, should be read with caution; Because the population and mortality registration system at that time did not provide the possibility of accurate verification of these numbers.

This epidemic coincided with the wars between Iran and Byzantium. Military conflicts, the movement of troops, the connection of ports and trade routes and the movement of goods could play a role in the transmission of disease between regions. However, more evidence is needed to determine the exact contribution of the plague in halting or diverting Sasanian and Byzantine campaigns. What is clearer is that both powers faced the threat of widespread diseases in a period of war and geopolitical competition.

The reports related to Justinian Plague and Shiroviyeh Plague together show that historical Iran was not on the sidelines of infectious disease developments. The location of this land between the Middle Rivers, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Indian subcontinent and the Mediterranean trade routes made it a part of the extensive network of people and goods movement; A network that, as much as it helped economic prosperity and cultural communication, also increased the possibility of disease transmission.

trade routes; Path of transmission of disease and crisis

In pre-modern times, political borders could not simply prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Caravans, merchant ships, pilgrims, soldiers, and emigrants traveled along routes that connected large cities and economic centers. In the meantime, the Silk Road and the maritime routes of the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea had a special place.

In an important part of its history, Iran was on the road of communication between East and West. Cities such as Tabriz, Qazvin, Isfahan, Shiraz, Hamadan and Rasht were important political or economic centers in different periods and their connection with other regions could help the transmission of diseases. In the southern ports, maritime communication with India and the subcontinent was important, and in the north and northwest, communication with the Caucasus, Anatolia, and Russian lands was considered one of the important communication routes.

Of course, the route of transmission of each epidemic should be examined separately. For example, in the case of the plague, infected rats and fleas carrying bacteria were involved in disease transmission; While cholera is mainly transmitted through water and food contaminated with its causative bacteria. Therefore, a general description of "disease introduction through trade" without considering the transmission mechanism of each disease is not sufficient for historical analysis.

The main problem in pre-modern Iran was not only the introduction of disease; Weak health networks, lack of safe drinking water in many areas, population density in cities, lack of medical facilities and the difficulty of sanitary burial of corpses could aggravate the consequences of the epidemic. When the disease reached a city, families sought refuge in other villages or cities to escape the disease, and as a result, they sometimes unintentionally transferred the disease to new areas.

On the other hand, the closing of the markets, the reduction of the labor force, the abandonment of agricultural lands and the disruption of the transportation routes spread the economic crisis. Therefore, epidemics cannot be measured only by the number of victims; In many cases, they also affected the structure of social and economic life.

black plague; A disaster beyond Iran's borders

In the middle of the 14th century, the Black Death swept through large parts of Asia, Europe, and North Africa. This epidemic, which is usually traced from 1346 AD onwards in the history of Europe and the Middle East, was one of the deadliest population crises in history. However, the estimate of the number of its victims is different in different regions, and there is no integrated reliable statistics about Iran's exact share of global casualties.

In Iran, according to historical reports, the plague reached different cities and regions in different periods. However, a distinction must be made between the evidence related to the outbreak of the disease in Iran and general claims about the death of one-third of the country's population. In the absence of regular censuses and comparable population data, such figures reflect historical estimates rather than statistics that can be verified by today's standards.

One of the problems of research about the Black Plague in Iran is the scattering of reports and the difference in the language of the sources. Some historians have spoken of "general plague" or "great death" without recording the symptoms of the disease in detail. In such cases, it is difficult to definitively distinguish plague from cholera or other infectious diseases. However, historical sources and new studies about the history of plague in Iran indicate the occurrence of multiple waves of the disease in the middle centuries and later periods.

Epidemics in this period also intersected with wars and political disturbances. The Mongol invasion and its consequences, power conflicts, population displacement and disruption of production and trade in some areas created conditions that made communities more vulnerable to disease.

Of course, this does not mean that every demographic crisis or every military failure should be attributed to the plague; Rather, war, famine, and disease often exacerbated each other as related crises.

In reports related to Iran's social history, even animal diseases have sometimes been considered effective in the fate of wars. For example, losses of horses due to disease have been mentioned in some medieval campaigns. Such reports remind us that in the pre-modern economy and militarism, the health of animals could also play a role in the movement of troops, supply of provisions and the outcome of battles. However, regarding specific examples, a distinction must be made between historians' narratives and historical proof of cause and effect.

Iranian plague 1772 to 1773; Pandemic in the territory of Iran

One of the most important plague epidemics in the history of Iran is the wave of disease in 1772 and 1773, which is referred to as "Iranian Plague" or "Persian Plague" in some new sources. This epidemic occurred in the last decades of Zandiyeh's rule and in a period when parts of the Persian Gulf region and Mian Riveran were facing political and economic turmoil.

According to historical accounts collected in new research, the disease appeared in Baghdad in the winter of 1772 and then spread to other regions. Basra was one of the main centers of death; Some sources have estimated the number of victims in this city to be more than 250 thousand people. The disease reached the southern regions of Iran and Bushehr port from the communication routes of the region and spread along the Persian Gulf. There are also reports of the disease reaching Bahrain and Mumbai. In some estimates, the total number of victims of this wave in the vast territory of the region is about two million people; But this figure cannot be considered as a definitive and independently verified statistic of Iran's casualties.

The importance of this epidemic was not only in its geographical extent. Reports on quarantine measures in ports and some cities in the region indicate an attempt to limit traffic and prevent disease transmission. Although these measures were very different from today's quarantine and public health system, the principle of limiting contacts and taking care of entry and exit routes gradually became part of the response of governments and business communities to infectious crises.

In the analysis of this event, attention should also be paid to the status of the Persian Gulf's ports and trade network. The connection with India and other trading centers boosted the coastal economy, but during the epidemic period it could become a factor for the rapid spread of pollution. Closing or restricting exchanges, on the other hand, threatened the livelihood of merchants, sailors, porters and artisans. In this way, dealing with the disease has always been accompanied by a difficult problem: how to limit the dangerous traffic without completely shutting down the economic life of the cities?

This question was also important for Iran in the following centuries; Especially when cholera entered the country through sea and land borders and the weakness of health facilities increased the dimensions of the crisis.

Qajar; The era of recurrence of deadly diseases

If we want to judge the frequency of historical reports of infectious diseases in Iran, the Qajar period is one of the most important periods. During this period, more reports of cholera and plague outbreaks, the government's response, people fleeing the cities, and the disease's impact on daily life have become available. Part of this information is recorded in official historiography, part in foreign travelogues, and another part in doctors' writings and administrative reports.

However, the abundance of resources does not mean that their quality is the same. Travel writers have sometimes judged based on limited observations or local hearsay, and some figures have been quoted from previous sources. Therefore, statistics related to deaths in cities such as Rasht, Tehran, Tabriz and Shiraz should be checked according to the time of writing and the type of source.

In the early 19th century, Iran was gradually exposed to large waves of cholera that spread from India and neighboring regions to the Middle East and Europe. Medical history studies consider 1821 as one of the important points of the beginning of these waves in Iran; The disease entered from Bushehr and then reached Kazeroon, Shiraz, Isfahan and central areas. In the next wave, in 1829, the disease reached Iran from Afghanistan and the northern regions, and then spread to the Caucasus and Russia.