Epidemic diseases in Rumeli during the Crimean War (1853-1856)

The Crimean War (1853-1856) was as a purely European war between the Napoleonic Wars and the First World War and was the only war in which the Ottoman Empire defeated Russia with the help of its allies in the 19th.century. This war, which includes many firsts such as war correspondent and usage of anesthesia; took place in a very wide geography from Rumelia and Caucasus lands of the Ottoman Empire to the Crimean Peninsula, from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean and has been described by some historians as the rehearsal of the First World War. The most crowded and intense battles in the war took place first in the Rumelian lands, and then in the Crimean Peninsula as of September 1854. The city of Silistra and the strong Ottoman resistance there played a critical role in the Ottoman Empire's victory in the Rumelian battles. The city of Varna, on the other hand, played a key role as it was the action base of the allied armies before the Crimean landing and afterwards the treatment center for the soldiers. Specifically, the intense military activities and battles on both fronts greatly affected the Rumelian lands. When the war started, the cholera epidemic, which continued in the world and especially in the Mediterranean geography, increased its influence in Rumelia as a result of the activities of the allied and enemy armies. After the start of the Crimean War, the Ottoman Empire had to regulate the supply activities of the allied armies on the one hand, fight the Russian armies in Rumeli and Caucasus on the one hand and cope with the cholera epidemic on the other. Key Words: Crimean War, Rumeli, Varna, Silistre, epidemic disease, cholera