Black Death, the catastrophic plague that invaded Europe from the East, cut short the new prosperity. Treatment varied from the magical to the scientific. In Cairo, the number of deaths was said to reach 21.000 a day. While the great empires were devastated, smaller ones flourished. Mali, in west Africa, became wealthy through trading gold and salt. In Central Asia, Timur, a Turk born near Samarqand, rose from sheep-stealer to conqueror and creator of a vast empire that gave the world some of its most spectacular Islamic architecture. Seaborne trade prospered, especially at the eastern end of the Indian Ocean. In East Java, the Kingdom of Majapahit thrived under the splendid rule of Hayan Wuruk. Europe also suffered other catastrophes - terrible famine and a mini ice age. Across Europe, there was a call for greater equality between people and their rulers.

Ben Kingsley
Narrator

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