Genghis Khan's death (AD 1227): An unsolvable riddle or simply a pandemic disease?

Wenpeng You; Francesco M Galassi; Elena Varotto; Maciej Henneberg

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2020.12.089

Genghis Khan's death (AD 1227): An unsolvable riddle or simply a pandemic disease?

Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Mar:104:347-348. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.12.089. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

Authors

Wenpeng You¹, Francesco M Galassi², Elena Varotto³, Maciej Henneberg⁴

Affiliations

¹ Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Unit, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia; FAPAB Research Center, Avola, Sicily, Italy. Electronic address: wenpeng.you@adelaide.edu.au.
² FAPAB Research Center, Avola, Sicily, Italy; Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. Electronic address: francescom.galassi@flinders.edu.au.
³ FAPAB Research Center, Avola, Sicily, Italy; Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia; Department of Humanities (DISUM), University of Catania, Catania, Sicily, Italy.
⁴ Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Unit, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia; FAPAB Research Center, Avola, Sicily, Italy; Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.

PMID: 33444749
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.12.089

Abstract

The article examines Genghis Khan's death from the historico-medical perspective. Although several etiologies have been proposed over the years, most of these at a closer look appear to be later inventions by historians. A reassessment of the available evidence suggests instead bubonic plague as the most likely clinical scenario. Genghis Khan's death is also a reflection on the impact of pandemic diseases on leadership in ancient times as well as nowadays.

Keywords: Genghis Khan; History of medicine; Infectious diseases; Military medicine; Paleopathology; Pandemic; Plague.

Publication types

Historical Article

MeSH terms

Cause of Death
China
Famous Persons*
History, Medieval
Humans
Pandemics / history*
Plague / history*

Personal name as subject

None Genghis Khan