Central Asia source of Black Death pandemic, researchers say
Syriac inscriptions on ancient tombstones in cemeteries in modern-day Kyrgyzstan hinted to a trading community devastated by the plague, leading to a multi-disciplinary international study.
Plague inscription from the Chu-Valley region in Kyrgyzstan. The inscription is translated as follows: “In the Year 1649 [= 1338 CE], and it was the Year of the tiger, in Turkic Bars. This is the tomb of the believer Sanmaq. [He] died of pestilence”.(photo credit: A.S. Leybin, August 1886)ByJUDITH SUDILOVSKYUpdated:
![Plague inscription from the Chu-Valley region in Kyrgyzstan. The inscription is translated as follows: “In the Year 1649 [= 1338 CE], and it was the Year of the tiger, in Turkic Bars. This is the tomb of the believer Sanmaq. [He] died of pestilence”.](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_720,w_1280/508067 "Plague inscription from the Chu-Valley region in Kyrgyzstan. The inscription is translated as follows: “In the Year 1649 [= 1338 CE], and it was the Year of the tiger, in Turkic Bars. This is the tomb of the believer Sanmaq. [He] died of pestilence”.")