But the Mongols also brought something less pleasant: the Black Death. Beginning in the Asian steppes, the home of the Mongols, the plague snaked its way through Europe, Iran, the Middle East, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. By the mid-fourteenth century, it had annihilated an incredible percentage of the global population. More than a third of Europe’s population was decimated by the plague. Yet, paradoxically, the plague in Europe resulted in conditions that would actually encourage the continent to rise anew.

But the Mongols also brought something less pleasant: the Black Death.

Beginning in the Asian steppes, the home of the Mongols, the plague snaked its way through Europe, Iran, the Middle East, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula.

By the mid-fourteenth century, it had annihilated an incredible percentage of the global population.

More than a third of Europe’s population was decimated by the plague. Yet, paradoxically, the plague in Europe resulted in conditions that would actually encourage the continent to rise anew.