At a glance
- Era
- The Early Abbasid Caliphate
- Region
- Egypt & Nile · Levant & Iraq
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Summary
In 448 AH a severe famine and heavy plague struck Egypt. Iraq was full of strife, fear and plunder by the followers of Tughril Beg, by Bedouin, and by al-Basasiri 1.
Prices
Ibn al-Jawzi wrote in al-Shudhur: famine and plague fell on people, the air grew thin, flies multiplied, and hunger became so great that people ate carrion. A measure of greens seed reached seven dinars, and a quince or a pomegranate a dinar, and so did a cucumber. Famine and plague spread across all the lands 1.
The three thieves
A letter came from Egypt that three thieves had broken into a house, and in the morning they were found dead: one at the door of the house, the second at the top of the stairs, and the third on the bundle of clothes 1.
Connections
- Occurred at
- Misr (Egypt)· Baghdad
People and things also explored
The Nizamiyya Madrasa of Baghdad· Bayt al-Hikma — the House of Wisdom· The 'Adudi Bimaristan· al-Bimaristan al-Muqtadiri· Bimaristan al-Sayyida· Dar al-'Ilm of Baghdad (Sabur's library)· The Jami' al-Qati'a of Baghdad· The mosque of Qati'at Umm Ja'far
Sources
- Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 278
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The general famine and plague of 448”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/famine-iraq-egypt-448/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.