Dan returns from an unplanned hiatus to discuss one of history’s darker episodes: the depopulation of the Middle East in the 13th and 14th centuries. First Mongol hordes, then the Black Death ravage the region, eviscerating Islam’s Arabic cultural heartland. This one-two punch leaves an opening for a rising power: the Ottoman Empire. Dan’s appearance on The Salad Tossers (NSFW): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLPAKwpv7Jg SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q Subscribe on Google Music: https://bit.ly/30hUTRD Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo RSS feed: https://bit.ly/2R0Iosz Relevant History on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF The Salad Tossers Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/join/TheSaladTossers SubscribeStar: https://www.subscribestar.com/relevant-history Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4 Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan