Changes

For the next two hundred years, historical documents suggest the bubonic plague reoccurred. The re-occurrence of the plague suggest it never went away. The spread of the plague to port cities, likely on rats, meant trade was not only diminished but the plague may have stayed with European populations throughout the Medieval Period. Nevertheless, the rate of death did go down and most outbreaks were limited to small areas within Europe. The Middle East recovered relatively quickly and many cities were thriving again in the 7th century. The last major occurrence of this plague was around 750, which again affected some port areas of the Mediterranean. However, the population may have become more fit to deal with this plague by then, resulting in likely fewer deaths. The eastern Mediterranean would not be significantly affected by pestilence until the Black Death in the 14th century. <ref>For more on the plague's occurrences, see: Hays, J.N., 2005. <i>Epidemics and pandemics: their impacts on human history</i>. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, Calif, pg. 23.</ref>