The Legendary Sultan Saladin Was Likely Killed by Typhoid

Every year, doctors and historians gather at the Historical Clinicopathological Conference at the University of Maryland School of Medicine to try to figure out the cause of death, be it an ailment or battle wound, of a prominent historical figure. Over the weekend, the sleuths pored over the medical history of Saladin, the legendary sultan who battled Christian crusaders invading the Holy Land in the 12th century, reports Nicola Davis at The Guardian.

Saladin passed away in 1193 C.E. at the age of 56, not from battle wounds but from a mysterious illness. According to historical accounts, Saladin’s end came after a two-week series of sweating attacks of “bilious fever” with headaches. Conference organizers say he was weak, restless and lost his appetite. His doctors bled him and gave him enemas to no avail. Eventually he could not even sip water and began sweating profusely before falling into a coma and dying 14 days after the symptoms began. Diseases including viral encephalitis and tuberculosis were suggested in a 2010 paper by Philip Mackowiak of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who founded the conference 25 years ago.

“It’s difficult to work it out because there is essentially no information—there are no tests and the historical accounts are a little questionable, and there isn’t much anyhow,” Stephen Gluckman, the professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who conducted the investigation, tells Davis.