Caffa (modern-day Feodosia) was a thriving port city on the Crimean Peninsula, established by Genoese merchants in 1266 by a purchase agreement with the Khan of the Golden Horde.

The Mongols, under the leadership of the Golden Horde, sought to control this lucrative trading post, which was vital for the flow of goods such as spices, silk, and precious metals.

The city's population included Genoese, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Muslims, making it a vibrant center of cultural exchange.

He arrested the Italian residents of Sarai (the Mongol capital), and besieged Caffa, which the Genoese resisted for a year, but in 1308 set fire to their city and abandoned it.

The Genoese had initially secured their trading rights through treaties with the Mongols, but tensions arose due to competing interests and the volatile political landscape of the region.

The city's fortifications were continuously reinforced, and the defenders maintained a disciplined schedule of repairs and patrols to ensure their resilience against the relentless Mongol siege.

The exact origins of the plague in the Mongol camp are unclear, but it is believed to have been brought by infected rodents and fleas that thrived in the unsanitary conditions of the encampment.

It is now believed that the Black Death spread to Europe in grain shipments that were restarted after the wartime embargoes between Venetian, Genoan, and Golden Horde merchants had been lifted.

[10] The Italians blockaded Mongol ports, forcing Jani Beg to negotiate for peace, and they were allowed to reestablish their colony in Tana in 1347.

[4] Facing the dire situation of a plague-ravaged army and a fortified city, Jani Beg resorted to a desperate and unprecedented tactic: biological warfare.

The Genoese, despite the devastation, managed to reestablish their trading networks, though they faced increased competition from other emerging powers such as the Ottoman Empire.

The long-term effects of the Black Death reshaped European demographics, economies, and societies, leading to labor shortages that ultimately contributed to the end of feudalism.