In what year did Genghis Khan die?

Genghis Khan died in 1227, during the Mongol conquest of Western Xia in northern China.

Born Temüjin, he united many Mongol and steppe tribes before being proclaimed Genghis Khan at a 1206 kurultai. He then built an empire stretching across much of Central Asia and northern China. His final campaign targeted Western Xia, a kingdom that had resisted Mongol power and diplomatic pressure.

Genghis became seriously ill after reportedly falling from his horse while hunting during the campaign. He died in August 1227 while the siege of the Western Xia capital, Zhongxing, was underway. Historical sources disagree about the exact day—18 or 25 August—and the precise cause of death remains uncertain.

The Mongols concealed his death so the campaign would not falter. Zhongxing surrendered soon afterward, and Western Xia was destroyed. Genghis was succeeded after a regency by his son Ögedei Khan, chosen at a kurultai in 1229. A common mix-up is confusing 1227, Genghis's death year, with 1206, the year he became khan.