[Cerebrovascular stroke, the cause of the death of the caliph al-Hakam II].
al-Hakam II was the ninth sovereign in the Hispano-Omeyan dynasty and the second caliph of Spain under the Moors. In the night of the 1st of October 976 he died as the result of a disease that had afflicted him for two years old. Cerebrovascular stroke first manifested as hemiplegia. The disease that afflicted the caliph was called al-'illat alfalichiya, or alfeliche in Castilian Spanish, which means the disease of hemiplegia. The caliph was 61 years old and led a sedentary life and was therefore predisposed to suffer ischemic cerebrovascular events. Climate may have played a role in triggering the stroke. Several authors have found that the incidences of ischemic infarcts and intracranial hemorrhages increase during the winter months and on cold days, particularly in patients under 65. The chronicler of the al-Razi period tells us that heavy snow fell in and around Córdoba in 974 and that the following months saw rain and strong winds. We can deduce that caliph al-Hakam II died of a cerebrovascular event and that, based on the few data available, it is likely that the infarction was ischemic and of atherothrombotic origin. Caliph al-Hakam II moved his household from Madinat al-Zahra' to Alcázar de Córdoba as a result of the "recommendation of his doctors because the cold of the Sierra stirred up his humors". This interpretation is correct according to Arab medicine, which is following the line of the ancient Greeks regarding natural faculties, the elements and their corresponding humors.
Arjona-Castro
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Servico Andaluz de Salud, Córdoba.
Arjona
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D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000266:history*; D005197:Famous Persons; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D008514:Medicine, Arabic / Q000266:history; D013030:Spain; D009626:Terminology as Topic
Un accidente cerebrovascular, causa de la muerte del califa al-Hakam II.