Changes

In India, the Delhi Sultanate collapsed soon after the plague, suggesting the uproar from the plague may have catalyzed this collapse. In Russia, the Golden Horde of the Mongols diminished in power, although it did rise briefly again in the late 1300s. In effect, it also allowed a long-term weakening that eventually allowed Russian-based dynasties to arise that eventually led to the succession of the Romanov dynasty to rule Russia.<ref>For more on the rulers of India and Russia after the Black Death, see: Benedictow, Ole Jørgen. 2006. <i>The Black Death: 1346 - 1353 ; the Complete History.</i> Repr. in paperback. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, pg. 51.</ref>

The Black Death also fundamentally changed to society. In an outgrowth of the bubonic plague, people began openly challenging religious authorities. Some Europeans began questioning the Catholic Church. It is not an accident that the Reformation began after the outbreak of these plagues in the 16th century (Figure 2). Other key social changes included an increased understanding of quarantine and its importance in medicine. This now began to be a common practice after the rise of the Black Death plague. Genetic diversity may have also diminished in parts of Asia and Europe, where it could have helped surviving populations develop better immunity (through genetic adaptation).<ref>For more on population changes after the Black Death, see: Meneely, Philip. 2017. Genetics: Genes, Genomes, and Evolution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press., pg. 172.</ref>