I believe the ironic nature of his death was that he said he would choose his successor and it would not go by inheritance then he died without naming a successor. The story goes he said "I leave all to..." and then died. Only one source says this it may not be true but the other parts are. Other than that he died at age 52 of gangrene as a result of a blocked bladder on which they operated. There was only a 10% chance of surviving the operation and he did not. AJRG