Death & Rebirth

GILLES LE MUSIT / ROYAL LIBRARY OF BELGIUM / BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY
The Great Plague, or Black Death, swept from Central Asia to Europe, killing an estimated one-third of the population wherever it spread. It reached Tunis in 1348 when Ibn Khaldun was 17; its victims included his parents and several of his teachers. These losses, together with the ensuing social and economic chaos, deeply affected him.

Reading: 

1. Chapter 8, Section 5.

2. See below.
1300-1500


Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375)