Alzheimer Project

According to The Secret History of the Mongols (the oldest Mongolian-language literary work), Genghis Khan died in 1227. Some historians maintain that he fell off his horse, others that he died from pneumonia. The Galician-Volhynian Chronicle alleges he was killed by the Tanguts in battle. Later Mongol chronicles connect Genghis’ death with a Tangut princess taken as war booty. One chronicle from the early 17th century even relates that the princess hid a small pair of pliers inside her vagina, and hurt the Great Khan so badly that he died.