The Black Death is now understood to have originated in Central Asia, specifically near Lake Issyk Kul in what is today Kyrgyzstan. Genetic and historical evidence points to a plague outbreak in this region in the late 1330s, about a decade before the pandemic reached Europe
. The bacterium Yersinia pestis , which causes the plague, was endemic in rodent populations there, and a sudden surge in deaths recorded in cemeteries around 1338-1339 supports this origin
. From Central Asia, the plague spread westward, entering Europe around 1347 via trade routes. It notably reached the Genoese trading port of Kaffa in Crimea during a siege by the Golden Horde army. The plague was then carried by fleas on black rats aboard Genoese ships into the Mediterranean Basin, spreading quickly through Europe, North Africa, and the Near East
. In summary, the Black Death started in Central Asia near modern Kyrgyzstan and spread to Europe through trade connections, initiating the devastating pandemic of 1346–1353.
