Black Death Dbq

The Black Death was a horrendous epidemic that brought religious groups together despite their differences with its destruction during the Middle Ages. The Black Death was a plague that infected a large amount of the population and caused massive deaths throughout it. The epidemic’s horrifying effects left some people in a state of misery, while it empowered others to look for the afterlife. By looking at this event in a religious lens, we can see the different effects it specifically had on the Christians and the Muslims during this period. Even though this terrible event bonded the Christians and the Muslims together under a common cause, both groups were affected differently by it on the whole. Ultimately, though the Muslims and the …show more content…
As a result of the plague “ the people… assembled in the Great mosque until it was filled to overflowing… they all went out together carrying Korans in their hands… the entire population of the city (Damascus) joined… The Jews went out with their book of law and the Christians with the gospel,... (all) of them in tears… imploring the favor of God through His Books and His Prophets”(Bettuta 9). As shown, in spite of their differences the Christians and the Muslims were united by the plague and bonded together. They all removed their boundaries and the epidemic made them more tolerating. Moreover, although the Muslims and the Christians had different opinions about the cause of the plague itself, (the Christians believed it was a punishment from God while the Muslims believed it was a blessing from God) they both believed it was caused by the divine. Even though they had different views about why God caused the epidemic, they both believed that God caused it. The Christians and the Muslims both believed in the same God, and so they united together, forgetting their differences. Their unification shows that these two different groups were united by the epidemic in spite of their