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00:00Let's take gold.
00:02They call it La Noche Trieste, the Night of Sorrows.
00:05Montezuma was mortally wounded, some say by his own subject,
00:09and the Spaniards fled with stolen gold worth an estimated $4 billion today.
00:15A mystery unravels after a piece of work from one of the world's literary greats goes missing.
00:21No manuscript or publication has ever surfaced.
00:25How could such an extraordinary work, created by one of history's greatest literary minds, simply disappear?
00:34The location of a sacred chest set to hold the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments has puzzled historians for centuries.
00:42To this day, the Ark's fate remains one of humanity's greatest mysteries.
00:47If it survived the fires of conquest, where could it be now?
00:50The chain of history has many missing links.
00:57Prominent people, priceless treasures, extraordinary artifacts.
01:03Their locations still unknown, lost to the fog of time.
01:07What happens when stories of the past become vanished history?
01:16In 1520 CE, Tenochtitlan, the capital of the mighty Aztec Empire, erupted in violence as the city's people launched an all-out rebellion against unwelcome Spanish soldiers.
01:40Golden blood mingled in the waters of Lake Texcoco as the Spaniards fled, leaving behind a scene of devastation and an enduring mystery that would echo through centuries.
01:52When conquistador Hernán Cortes entered Tenochtitlan in 1519, he was impressed by the grandeur of it.
02:00Emperor Montezuma II greeted Cortes with reverence and caution, believing perhaps he was the long-awaited god, Quetzalcoatl, returning to fulfill Aztec destiny.
02:09But of course, Cortes wasn't a god.
02:13He was a conquistador driven by Spain's colonial desire for wealth and his own hunger for conquest.
02:21When Montezuma welcomed him with gifts as a gesture of goodwill, including a disc of gold and another of silver, it seems to have just added fuel to his greed.
02:31Cortes wanted the riches of the Aztec Empire for himself and for Spain.
02:36The Spaniards soon imposed their will, straining relations with the Aztecs.
02:43As tensions escalated, Cortes took Emperor Montezuma hostage in his own palace.
02:50Then, during the Toscaro Festival, a sacred time for the Aztecs, Spanish soldiers massacred thousands of Aztec nobles, sparking an uprising.
03:02They call it la noche triste, the night of sorrows.
03:07Montezuma was mortally wounded, some say by his own subjects, and the Spaniards fled with stolen gold worth an estimated $4 billion today.
03:17Attacked by Aztec warriors, many were killed or drowned, leaving only scattered fragments of gold along the city's causeways.
03:24In the chaos, the vast wealth of the Aztec Empire vanished.
03:29So where did Montezuma's gold go?
03:35Montezuma's treasure was more than gold and jewels.
03:38It symbolized the heart of an empire.
03:40The story began with a Spanish arrival in Tenochtitlan, a shimmering metropolis on Lake Texcoco, but would unravel into a tale of ambition, cultural collision, and the enduring enigma of a lost treasure.
03:55By the early 16th century, the Aztecs commanded an empire spanning 500 city-states and 5 to 6 million people.
04:03At its height, Tenochtitlan was home to at least 200,000 people, making it the most densely populated city Mesoamerica had ever seen.
04:11Tenochtitlan was a marvel of engineering.
04:14An island city set in the middle of Lake Texcoco, connected to the mainland by massive stone causeways that rose from the water like bridges.
04:24Its canals crisscrossed the city, serving as roads for canoes carrying everything from rare foods to luxury goods.
04:34At the heart of this vast, sophisticated empire stood Montezuma II, a ruler as formidable as the city he presided over.
04:43But when Cortez arrived, the Aztec Empire faced a challenge unlike any before.
04:49Cortez knew he was outnumbered, so he forged alliances with indigenous groups like the Tlaxcalans, who resented Aztec dominance.
05:01The Spanish exploited these existing rivalries, turning local grievances into a force that would bring down an empire.
05:10The massacre during the Tlaxcatl festival was the breaking point.
05:15It wasn't just an act of violence, it was a brutal desecration of Aztec tradition.
05:20With Montezuma dead, the city erupted, and the anger of a betrayed people turned Tenochtitlan into a fierce battleground.
05:29La Noche Trice marked a turning point for the Spaniards.
05:31The losses were staggering, and not just in lives, but in the treasure they were after.
05:35Some believe the secrets of that night still linger in Tenochtitlan's waters.
05:43Some of those who believe in the legend of Montezuma's lost treasure think it could be buried beneath Tenochtitlan's ancient lake bed.
05:52Some say the Spanish cast their gold into the water around the causeways as they fled,
05:58and that it may still be hidden under what was once Lake Texcoco.
06:02It's also possible that the Aztecs may have hidden their wealth in water traps.
06:09These are deep underwater tunnels leading to submerged chambers where valuables could be stored.
06:15The entrances were concealed, and only those with knowledge of their location could access them.
06:22Over the centuries, Lake Texcoco was drained, and Mexico City was built on top of it.
06:27The original lake bed now lies beneath layers of sediment and urban development, complicating any search for the treasure.
06:35In 1981, a significant clue emerged when a construction worker discovered a large gold bar at a park in Mexico City.
06:43The bar weighed around four and a half pounds and was found along Cortez's escape route on La Noche Trieste.
06:49It was later confirmed to date back to Montezuma's era.
06:53Some believe it fell into a canal on that night, suggesting that treasures may still lie beneath the city.
06:59The city's infrastructure, layered over the ancient lake bed, makes it hard to excavate.
07:05But even with advanced technology, the extensive searches haven't found anything significant.
07:11After decades of investigation, it seems less likely than ever that Montezuma's lost treasure lies beneath the city.
07:21As new worlds opened up, the promise of wealth and power may have carried Montezuma's treasure far from the empire,
07:29where it would vanish just as mysteriously.
07:31Maybe the treasure was lost at sea, far from the Mexican shores.
07:38When the Spanish reclaimed Tenochtitlan in 1521, they decimated the Aztec empire, taking over 240,000 lives,
07:49and, some say, recovering the lost riches of Montezuma.
07:53According to legend, parts of the treasure were then packed onto ships, setting sail from Veracruz, bound for Spain.
08:04Much of this wealth was designated as a tribute to King Charles V to fulfill the royal quinto, the crown's 20% share.
08:11But one ship, reportedly weighed down with gold from Montezuma's treasure, is said to have encountered a violent storm,
08:18sinking somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, or possibly further into the Atlantic.
08:24Some believe the treasure escaped the coast entirely, hidden in lands beyond the Spanish empire's grasp.
08:30Legends speak of Aztec priests and warriors who set out to safeguard their treasures by moving them out of Tenochtitlan.
08:40According to this story, around 8,000 Aztec soldiers traveled nearly 2,000 miles northward,
08:46possibly into what is now Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
08:50In the early 16th century, Spanish control barely extended beyond central Mexico and key coastal regions,
08:57so the remote lands of the American southwest would have been ideal hiding places for the treasure.
09:02The Aztecs may have retraced ancient migration paths toward Azplan,
09:06a lost homeland that, according to Aztec lore, was somewhere in the north.
09:11According to the popular myth, they carried tons of gold, silver, and sacred religious objects with them.
09:19Everything they needed to re-establish their civilization.
09:23Some people like to say the Aztecs hid the treasure somewhere along that journey,
09:28on a mountain on the edge of a desert,
09:30and then killed each other so their spirits could protect it forever.
09:36The treasure's rumored path northward has led to tales of hidden maps,
09:41ancient symbols, and fortune seekers determined to uncover its secret location.
09:46One of the most intriguing stories involves a prospector named Freddy Crystal,
09:53who in the early 20th century arrived in Kenob, Utah,
09:57with what he claimed was an ancient map pointing to Montezuma's treasure.
10:04He was convinced that the symbols carved into the cliffs around Johnson Canyon
10:10matched those on his map, so he enlisted locals to help with his search.
10:19Crystal spent years searching for the treasure in the Utah desert,
10:23and while his excavations uncovered tunnels and caverns,
10:27some with artifacts and human remains,
10:29he never found what he was looking for.
10:32Across the American Southwest, other treasure hunters have followed these legends,
10:38convinced the gold lies hidden in the vast, untamed landscape,
10:41with each story adding new layers to the mystery.
10:46In Three Lakes, Utah, about six miles north of Kenob,
10:49treasure hunter Brantchild discovered a rock carving he claimed was an Aztec symbol.
10:53He believed an underwater tunnel in one of the lakes
10:56led to a hidden chamber filled with Montezuma's lost gold.
10:58There are stories of divers exploring the tunnel
11:03who came back talking about equipment failures, getting disoriented,
11:07even ghostly visions or the feeling of being choked,
11:10which helped fuel rumors the site was cursed or guarded by spirits.
11:15In Arizona, local legends suggest that Montezuma's treasure
11:20is hidden in the Superstition Mountains,
11:23a mysterious region with ancient cliff dwellings and caves.
11:27But decades of searching by treasure hunters hasn't turned up any trace of it.
11:33So wherever it may be, the treasure is still out there waiting to be found.
11:40Montezuma's lost treasure is more than gold and jewels.
11:44It's a story woven into the fabric of history,
11:47captivating those drawn to a world nearly erased,
11:51an empire whose splendor was matched only by its tragic fall.
11:55Over centuries, the legend of Montezuma's treasure has grown beyond its origins.
12:02It's become a symbol of resistance, a cultural touchstone
12:05that speaks to the strength of the Aztec spirit,
12:08even as their empire crumbled under Spanish conquest.
12:12Perhaps the treasure's true value is not in the gold and jewels,
12:19but in the lesson it offers.
12:21A story of colonial greed and standing up to oppression,
12:24and of a highly advanced society that ultimately vanished at the hands of the Europeans.
12:28As long as there are those who seek it,
12:34Montezuma's treasure endures,
12:36a symbol of lost worlds,
12:39a testament to defiance,
12:41and a mystery that refuses to die.
12:43Throughout history, few artifacts have captured the human imagination,
12:58like the Ark of the Covenant,
13:00a sacred chest said to hold the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments
13:03given to Moses on Mount Sinai.
13:07Crafted under divine instruction,
13:08the Ark was revered as the most sacred object in ancient Israel,
13:14symbolizing God's covenant with his people.
13:19Jewish tradition says that the Ark held more than just the stone tablets.
13:23It also contained Aaron's rod,
13:25a symbol of divine authority that played a key role in God's plan
13:29to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.
13:33And a golden jar of manna,
13:34the mysterious food that sustained them in the desert.
13:37According to the Hebrew Bible,
13:40the Ark was initially housed within a movable shrine called the Tabernacle.
13:45But when Solomon's Temple was completed in Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE,
13:50an inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies,
13:53was created to enshrine the Ark.
13:56Only the high priest could enter it,
13:58and only once a year on Yom Kippur.
14:02For centuries, the Ark was the sacred centerpiece of Israelite worship.
14:06But after the Babylonian invasion in 587 BCE
14:10and the destruction of Solomon's Temple, it vanished.
14:15To this day, the Ark's fate remains one of humanity's greatest mysteries.
14:20If it survived the fires of conquest, where could it be now?
14:24The Ark's journey from the Exodus to its enshrinement in Solomon's Temple is well documented.
14:34But during centuries of invasions and exiles,
14:37it disappeared from historical records,
14:40leaving only scattered clues to its fate.
14:42After the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple,
14:50many people were exiled and countless treasures were taken.
14:54But interestingly, the Babylonians' detailed records make no mention of the Ark.
14:58Also, the Hebrew scriptures go silent about it at this time,
15:02which is odd, given the Ark's importance.
15:05However, it's been suggested that the Ark may have been taken earlier,
15:09perhaps during Egyptian pharaoh Shishak's military campaign
15:12against the kingdom of Judah in 926 BCE,
15:16one of the earliest recorded raids on Jerusalem's Temple.
15:20The pharaoh reportedly seized many treasures,
15:24including Solomon's gold shields.
15:26But in apocryphal texts like the second book of Maccabees,
15:30there is a story that the prophet Jeremiah hit the Ark
15:34in a cave on Mount Nebo on the Jordan River's east bank,
15:39intending for it to stay hidden until God brings his people back together.
15:46These historical gaps and enigmatic references
15:49have fueled various theories about the Ark's fate.
15:53And with every new clue, there are new questions,
15:55keeping the quest for the Ark very much alive.
16:00Hidden in the depths of a cavern near the Dead Sea's ancient waters,
16:05a singular artifact surfaces,
16:07breathing new life into the enduring search for the Ark of the Covenant.
16:11Some believe that the Copper Scroll, discovered in 1952 in a cave on the West Bank,
16:17is an ancient treasure map that could lead directly to the Ark of the Covenant.
16:22This remarkable scroll lists 64 hidden locations
16:25where immense treasures from the first temple are allegedly located.
16:29The scroll mentions places like the cave of the old washer's chamber and in the salt pit under the steps.
16:37These descriptions are precise, yet cryptic,
16:40likely making sense only to those with intimate knowledge of the locations.
16:44While the scroll is straightforward in its listings,
16:47the use of religious terms like tithes and priestly vestments implies that the treasures had a sacred origin.
16:54It's a clue that priests or temple officials could have put this together to keep their most valuable items safe during times of crisis.
17:05But here's the problem.
17:07The Copper Scroll is dated between 25 AD and 100 AD,
17:11making a true connection to the Ark unlikely.
17:14Despite numerous searches over the decades, none of the treasures listed have been found,
17:20and the scroll makes no direct mention of the Ark.
17:25While the secrets of the Copper Scroll remain elusive,
17:29another path emerges from the annals of medieval history,
17:33leading to a mysterious order of warrior monks and their clandestine activities beneath Jerusalem's sacred grounds.
17:40Some believe the Knights Templar,
17:44a medieval Christian military order founded in the 12th century,
17:48may have uncovered the Ark.
17:50The Templars were deeply connected to the Holy Land during the Crusades,
17:54and for nearly 70 years they were stationed on the Temple Mount,
17:57the site traditionally associated with Solomon's Temple.
18:01The Templars weren't just warriors.
18:03They were on a quest for divine knowledge.
18:06During their time at the Temple Mount,
18:08they had unprecedented access to explore the ancient tunnels and chambers
18:12beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque,
18:14which they believe held sacred relics.
18:20Located in Jerusalem's Old City,
18:22the site known as the Temple Mount in Judaism
18:25and Al-Haram al-Sharif in Islam
18:28is home to sacred landmarks like the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
18:31It holds profound religious significance for multiple faiths.
18:35Historical accounts suggest the Templars
18:39discovered treasures like the Holy Grail,
18:42sacred texts,
18:43and perhaps the Ark itself,
18:45which might have contributed to the rapid rise in wealth
18:48and immense influence across Europe.
18:50As the Templars rose to power,
18:53a formidable force emerged in the east,
18:56Saladin,
18:57the Muslim sultan of Egypt and Syria,
19:00who stunned the Western world
19:01by crushing the Crusader armies at Hattin
19:04and seizing a decisive victory
19:06that would change the course of history.
19:09When Saladin recaptured Jerusalem in 1187,
19:13the Templars had to retreat,
19:14and they likely took any treasures they'd found with them.
19:17There's a good chance they transported these sacred artifacts back to Europe,
19:21hiding them in places like their Paris headquarters
19:24or even Roslyn Chapel in Scotland,
19:27which is rumored to be modeled after Solomon's temple.
19:33The Templars' connection to the Temple Mount is well documented,
19:37but any link between them and the Ark is mostly speculation.
19:41A lot of what we hear comes from myths and romanticized stories
19:45that emerged much later.
19:49Though the Templar secrets may be lost to time,
19:52another tale leads to the misty Ethiopian highlands,
19:56where a sacred sanctuary is set to guard a profound secret.
20:00According to the Ethiopian epic Kebran Agast,
20:04the Ark was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I,
20:08the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
20:11It is said to reside in the church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum,
20:16guarded by a lineage of virgin monks
20:18who dedicate their lives to its protection.
20:22The Kebran Agast is more than an epic.
20:24It's a foundational text that solidified Ethiopia's claim to the Ark
20:29and its royal lineage tracing back to Solomon and Sheba.
20:33This connection was so central to Ethiopia's identity
20:37that Emperor Haile Selassie even referenced it
20:40in the country's modern constitutions.
20:43For the faithful, the Ark's presence in Aksum,
20:46or present-day Eritrea,
20:48is at the heart of their heritage and national pride.
20:50Every church in the country has its own symbolic replica of the Ark,
20:56called a tabat.
20:57And every year, during the Timcat Festival,
21:00the tabats are paraded through the streets in celebration.
21:06According to Ethiopian legend,
21:08their country has been home to the Ark for nearly 3,000 years.
21:13It was said to have been hidden on Tana Kircos Island in Lake Tana,
21:17a place still home to a secluded community of monks,
21:20before King Azana brought it back to Aksum in the 4th century
21:24as he spread Christianity.
21:26Today, the Ark is believed to reside in Aksum,
21:29in the Church of Mary of Zion.
21:31It's located within the Makdas, or Holy of Holies,
21:34which is a chamber shrouded in secrecy
21:36and accessible only by the Guardian of the Ark.
21:39During World War II, British scholar and officer Edward Ullendorf
21:43claimed to have seen the Ark inside the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.
21:47However, he later admitted it was just a replica,
21:51similar to those found in other Ethiopian churches.
21:57To this day, no outsider has verified the Ark's presence in Aksum,
22:02and there's no evidence to confirm the original Ark
22:05ever made it to Ethiopia.
22:07The Ark of the Covenant epitomizes humanity's eternal fascination with the unknown,
22:13serving as a powerful reminder that the most powerful quests
22:17are as much about the journey as the destination.
22:21The Ark is much more than just an object.
22:24It represents humanity's search for the divine,
22:27a powerful symbol of faith that still inspires and fascinates people today.
22:33Whether the Ark still exists may be less important than the legacy it leaves behind.
22:40It represents a covenant,
22:41a profound relationship between God and humanity
22:44that endures in religious thought and practice.
22:48In the vibrant heart of Elizabethan London,
22:59two titans of the stage came together.
23:02William Shakespeare, a playwright at the height of his creative power,
23:07and John Fletcher, his destined successor,
23:10crafted a play that reflected the ambition of their era,
23:13the history of Cardinio.
23:15Written around 1612 or 1613,
23:19the history of Cardinio waves turbulent tales of love,
23:22betrayal, and reconciliation
23:23into a story inspired by Cervantes' Don Quixote.
23:27The play reflects a moment when Spanish art and culture
23:29poured into England after peace with Spain.
23:32Shakespeare's ability to illuminate the human condition,
23:36combined with Fletcher's sharp, lively dialogue,
23:39created a dynamic interplay that softened the play's intensity
23:42while adding depth and nuance.
23:44Together, their styles transform the tale of Cervantes
23:48into a powerful drama that resonated with the audience.
23:52It looks like the play was performed at least twice
23:55during the 1612-1613 season.
23:59A researcher found a document,
24:01the accounts of the treasurer of the king's chamber,
24:04that lists payments for a play called Cardena, or Cardeno,
24:09which is probably just a short form for the history of Cardenio.
24:13And it was put on by the king's men,
24:16the same acting company that we know Shakespeare worked with
24:20for nearly his entire career.
24:22But after these performances, the trail of Cardenio goes cold.
24:28Over four centuries have passed,
24:30and no manuscript or publication has ever surfaced.
24:34How could such an extraordinary work,
24:36created by one of history's greatest literary minds,
24:39simply disappear?
24:42The survival of Shakespeare's work owes much to the 1623 First Folio,
24:48a monumental effort to preserve 36 plays.
24:51But the history of Cardenio, along with other works,
24:55was conspicuously absent.
24:57The First Folio was compiled by John Hemmings and Henry Condell.
25:02These were two actors who worked closely with Shakespeare
25:04as members of the king's men.
25:06Published seven years after his death,
25:08the First Folio preserved plays like Macbeth and The Tempest,
25:11which had never been printed before.
25:14Hemmings and Condell relied on a patchwork of prompt books,
25:18manuscripts, and actor recollections.
25:20These materials were usually incomplete or poorly preserved,
25:24and many plays had already been lost
25:26by the time they began their work.
25:28By 1623, the manuscript for the history of Cardenio
25:31may have already been lost or inaccessible.
25:35We do have an exciting piece of evidence from 1653.
25:40That's when a publisher named Humphrey Mosley
25:42registered the history of Cardenio in the Stationer's Register,
25:47which was an English record of artistic works.
25:51In it, he claims the play was written by Shakespeare and Fletcher,
25:55but he did also have a habit of claiming Shakespeare wrote plays
25:59he didn't actually write, so he could drum up more interest in them.
26:03So there's still plenty of doubt.
26:06And he never printed the play,
26:07so it's not even clear if he had a complete manuscript.
26:10Around 750 copies of the first folio were printed,
26:15and without it, 18 of Shakespeare's plays,
26:17including As You Like It and Julius Caesar,
26:19might have vanished forever.
26:21It's important to remember that before 1623,
26:24nearly half of his works existed only as quartos.
26:27These were single-play booklets made by folding large sheets of paper
26:30into smaller sections,
26:31and this was a fragile and impermanent format
26:33that left many texts vulnerable to loss.
26:35Some believe the play's fate
26:39was sealed by the fragile nature of the materials
26:42that once brought it to life.
26:45It's possible that the history of Cardenio was lost
26:47because early printed plays were seen as disposable.
26:50In the 17th century,
26:52acting companies like the King's Men treated scripts as tools.
26:55They were valuable for performances,
26:56but once a play's run ended, scripts were often discarded.
26:59Sometimes, even collectors didn't manage
27:02to preserve the works they collected.
27:05There was a bibliophile in the 1700s,
27:08John Warburton,
27:09who managed to get 60 rare manuscripts,
27:12including some performed by Shakespeare's acting company.
27:16But he stored them in his kitchen,
27:18where his cook ended up using them
27:21as pie liners and fire starters,
27:24so most of them were burned.
27:26And we know one of them was an unnamed play
27:29by Will Shakespeare.
27:32The English Civil War brought widespread economic hardship.
27:36It was a time when even paper was a precious commodity.
27:39It was labor-intensive, expensive,
27:42and made from scarce rags.
27:44It was so valuable that laws like the 1680 Act of Parliament
27:48even banned linen burials
27:50to save materials for paper production.
27:52Damp, pests, and fire were constant threats
27:56to fragile manuscripts and early printed texts.
27:59By the time the first folio was published in 1623,
28:02the history of Cardinio
28:03may have already fallen victim to these forces.
28:06But given Shakespeare's rising reputation
28:08by the mid-17th century,
28:10its complete disappearance certainly raises questions.
28:13Could neglect alone account for such a loss?
28:15Some stories never truly disappear.
28:19They linger, hidden in plain sight,
28:22waiting to be rediscovered.
28:24Lost works like the history of Cardinio
28:26might still be out there,
28:28hidden in uncatalogued archives or private collections.
28:31We've seen remarkable discoveries before,
28:33like the 1594 Quarto of Titus Andronicus,
28:36Shakespeare's first published play.
28:38It resurfaced in 1904,
28:40when a postal clerk in Sweden
28:41found it bound with 18th-century lottery ads.
28:44In 2016, a previously unknown first folio
28:48was discovered at Mount Stewart House in Scotland,
28:51hidden away in the estate's library.
28:54Remarkably, it had been in the home
28:56since at least 1896
28:57and once belonged to the influential
29:0018th-century Shakespearean editor Isaac Reed.
29:03The discovery was a shock to the literary world,
29:06as only 230 copies were thought to exist at the time.
29:09There are major libraries,
29:12like the Bibliothèque Nationale in Madrid
29:14or the Vatican Library,
29:16which has 53 miles of shelves
29:19that still have vast collections
29:21that haven't been fully explored.
29:24So there is a chance someone
29:26will find the history of Cardinio someday.
29:28In 2014, a first folio surfaced in a French library.
29:35It was only identified
29:36when a librarian recognized its watermark.
29:39But there's a key difference.
29:41The first folio had multiple copies distributed widely,
29:45increasing the chance of survival.
29:48Cardinio, on the other hand,
29:49might never have been printed at all.
29:52Without the distribution and recognition
29:54afforded to works like the folio,
29:56the chances of finding even a fragment of Cardinio
30:00buried in some archive grow increasingly slum.
30:06There are those who believe
30:08Cardinio never truly disappeared.
30:11It's possible that the history of Cardinio
30:13lives on under a new name,
30:16Double Falsehood.
30:17In 1727, playwright and editor Louis Theobald
30:20claimed his play was adapted
30:21from three original manuscripts of Cardinio.
30:24As the first recognized Shakespeare scholar,
30:27Theobald's reputation
30:27certainly adds credibility to his claim,
30:30especially since he presented his work
30:31during a time of growing fascination
30:33with Shakespeare's legacy.
30:35Linguistic studies offer some support for this theory.
30:39Patterns in Double Falsehood
30:40align with Shakespeare and Fletcher's
30:42known collaboration styles.
30:44Act I to III feature Shakespeare's hallmarks,
30:47rich metaphors, and emotional depth,
30:49while acts IV and V reflect Fletcher's
30:52lighter conversational tone.
30:55But as Double Falsehood gained attention,
30:59skepticism surrounding Theobald's claims
31:01intensified.
31:04How much of Shakespeare and Fletcher's original work
31:06remains in Double Falsehood is unclear,
31:09but parts of the play feel too intricate
31:11to be entirely Theobald's creation.
31:13The play's overall theme of morality
31:15and vivid use of metaphor and trope,
31:17renowned soliloquies,
31:18and the equally complex portrayal
31:20of both male and female characters
31:22suggest a foundation far richer
31:24than his imagination.
31:26Theobald probably revised the play
31:28to suit the tastes of his time,
31:30and those changes make it harder
31:32to figure out what's original and what's not.
31:35And since the edits blur the line
31:36between adaptation and full-on invention,
31:40they really raise a lot of questions
31:41about the authenticity of the manuscripts
31:43he claimed to have used as his sources.
31:48If Double Falsehood is truly based on Cardinio,
31:51the original manuscripts may have been lost
31:53in the devastating Drury Lane Theatre Fire of 1809,
31:56which destroyed countless irreplaceable theatrical records.
32:00Though there's no concrete evidence
32:01the manuscripts even survived until the fire,
32:04the idea that they influenced Theobald's work
32:06keeps Double Falsehood at the heart
32:08of the mystery surrounding Cardinio.
32:09The mystery of the history of Cardinio
32:12reflects both the fragility of literary heritage
32:15and humanity's unrelenting drive
32:18to uncover the past.
32:22The rediscovery of Cardinio would be priceless,
32:25both culturally and financially.
32:28In 2020, a first folio fetched
32:30nearly $10 million at auction.
32:32Beyond the monetary value,
32:33Cardinio would give us profound insights
32:35into Shakespeare's creative evolution
32:37and brilliant mind.
32:40Shakespeare's missing works remind us
32:42how easily cultural treasures can disappear.
32:45Without the foresight of Hemmings and Condal,
32:47plays like Macbeth and The Tempest,
32:49which had never been printed before,
32:51might have been lost as well.
32:53So whether the history of Cardinio survives as fragments,
32:56a hidden manuscript,
32:58or as Double Falsehood,
33:00it symbolizes Shakespeare's enduring genius
33:02and the timeless allure of the unknown.
33:06Shakespeare once wrote,
33:07the past is prologue.
33:10The fate of the history of Cardinio
33:12reminds us that even in loss,
33:14the past holds the power to inspire discovery.
33:18In the late 13th century,
33:29the great Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan
33:32wished to expand his already vast empire
33:35by conquering Japan.
33:37He sent hundreds of ships
33:38loaded with tens of thousands of warriors,
33:41along with warhorses
33:42and a powerful new weapon
33:44to ensure a decisive victory.
33:48Mongolian warriors were renowned fighters.
33:51Their longbows at the time
33:52could fire 100 yards further
33:54than any European bow,
33:56and Mongolian warhorses
33:58were unmatched in their stamina.
34:00Their armies were fierce and feared.
34:03The Mongolians had a policy
34:04of showing mercy to those
34:05who surrendered willingly,
34:07while ruthlessly murdering
34:08those who offered resistance.
34:10It was a double incentive
34:11that often made their conquests go smoothly.
34:13So the Khan sent envoys to Japan
34:15to request they submit,
34:16but the Japanese refused.
34:18That decided it.
34:20Kublai would show no mercy.
34:22He sent an overwhelming force,
34:24hundreds of ships,
34:25with over 100,000 armed fighters
34:27to decisively conquer
34:29and dominate Japan's defenses.
34:30But the conquest didn't happen.
34:33Japan is still Japan,
34:35and very few of Kublai's ships
34:36made it back home.
34:38The rest of the ships
34:39and their men had vanished.
34:42The mystery has endured
34:43for hundreds of years
34:45and spawned legends.
34:46So what could have happened
34:48to Kublai Khan's lost ships?
34:54Kublai Khan,
34:55the grandson of Genghis Khan,
34:57was a skilled commander
34:58who planned his military campaigns
35:00in masterful detail.
35:03By 1271,
35:05he established the Yuan dynasty
35:07comprising Mongolia,
35:09most of present-day China,
35:11the Koreas,
35:12and other areas.
35:15Many Mongols criticized Kublai
35:17for his adoption of Chinese customs
35:19and cast doubt on his validity
35:21as a true Mongolian leader.
35:24To them,
35:25and maybe to himself,
35:26Kublai had yet to prove himself.
35:28Taking Japan would remedy that situation.
35:31In 1274,
35:34Kublai formulated a plan
35:35to smash Japan's defenses
35:37in one blow.
35:38He sent about 900 warships
35:40with roughly 30,000 men
35:41to land at Hakata Bay.
35:43Though the Japanese resisted fiercely,
35:45by the first nightfall,
35:45a third of them were dead,
35:47and the rest of them
35:47couldn't expect to last another day.
35:49But when dawn broke,
35:50the Mongol ships had vanished.
35:52The story is that a massive typhoon
35:55had come through in the night,
35:57threatening the weakened Mongolian ships,
35:59so they returned home.
36:00But there have been questions
36:02about how powerful
36:03that storm may have been,
36:04or if it happened at all.
36:06Japan gets a lot of typhoons,
36:08but not at that time of year.
36:13About 300 of the 900 ships
36:15were never seen again.
36:16Had they sunk?
36:17Or deserted?
36:19Something had happened to them.
36:21It was an inexplicable loss
36:22that Kublai had to come back from.
36:25The Khan sent more representatives
36:27to Japan
36:28to see if they'd changed their minds
36:30about giving in.
36:32The Japanese decapitated the envoys
36:34and mounted their heads on stakes,
36:36a grievous insult,
36:38forcing Kublai Khan
36:39to respond in kind.
36:42He planned to send a fleet
36:44of 900 ships
36:45with 40,000 men from Gorilla,
36:47present-day South Korea.
36:49He would send another fleet
36:50from the Yangshi River Delta,
36:53consisting of 3,500 ships
36:55and 140,000 men.
36:58The two divisions would converge
36:59at Iki Island
37:00and then sail to Hakata Bay together
37:03to make their attack.
37:05But Kublai wanted more ships
37:06than he had.
37:07He ordered 600 built in a hurry
37:09at the Lower Yangtze River,
37:10and the treeline hillsides
37:11along the coast
37:12were stripped bare
37:13to supply timber.
37:14Even that didn't make enough ships.
37:16And so hundreds of civilian vessels
37:18and crews from China's
37:19vast inland canal networks
37:20were conscripted
37:21into military duty.
37:22This time,
37:23the Mongol forces
37:23were going to obliterate
37:24Japan's resistance.
37:26But that didn't happen.
37:27The second attack on Japan
37:29also failed.
37:30So what could have gone wrong?
37:33It's even been suggested
37:34that the grand scale
37:36of Kublai Khan's invasion
37:37could have had something
37:38to do with the missing ships.
37:41The Khan wanted to send
37:42more warships than he had
37:44and more than he could
37:45have properly made in time.
37:47The fleet he hastily
37:48cobbled together
37:48may not have been seaworthy,
37:50let alone fit for battle.
37:52In 1981,
37:53underwater remains
37:54of Mongol ships
37:55were discovered
37:56not far from Iki Island.
37:58Some of the fragmented shipwrecks
37:59had nails clustered
38:01five or six in one place,
38:03suggesting it was made
38:04of reused timber
38:05and sloppily constructed,
38:07possibly by less experienced
38:09shipwrights.
38:10Too many nails in one spot
38:12doesn't make a joint stronger,
38:13it weakens it.
38:15Of the wrecks found,
38:16none of them had
38:17V-shaped hulls.
38:19They were flat-bottomed.
38:20That makes sense
38:21when you consider
38:22that many of them
38:23were merchant vessels
38:24conscripted from
38:25China's network of canals.
38:27Flat-bottoms
38:28are perfect for that,
38:29but they're not suited
38:30to ocean travel
38:31and can break up
38:32in high waves.
38:34But all that evidence
38:35comes from ships
38:36that sank in and around
38:38Hakata Bay,
38:39which means
38:40they'd already survived
38:41the most difficult part
38:42of the journey.
38:43If they'd been
38:44that unseaworthy,
38:45they wouldn't even
38:46have made it to Japan.
38:47But they had,
38:49so unseaworthiness alone
38:51is not a satisfactory answer
38:52to why Kublai's
38:54immaculate plan failed.
38:56Not once,
38:57but twice.
38:58Out of necessity,
39:00Kublai Khan worked
39:01this campaign out
39:02in meticulous detail.
39:04Because once set in motion,
39:06the conflict would take place
39:07far away
39:08from where he was.
39:10The Khan's plan
39:11was nearly flawless,
39:12but the one flaw
39:13it may have had
39:14was that it depended
39:15on his commander's
39:16understanding it
39:17and carrying it out
39:17to the letter.
39:19Poor communication
39:19and poor execution
39:20may have caused
39:21everything to go sideways.
39:23Think about it.
39:24Kublai Khan
39:25would have been
39:25in his palace
39:26in Khanbalik,
39:28modern-day Beijing.
39:29the two divisions
39:30he wanted to send
39:31were supposed to leave
39:32from ports
39:32that were each
39:33about 650 miles
39:35from where he was
39:36and a good 600 miles
39:37from one another.
39:39The plan was for them
39:40to depart
39:40at the same time
39:41and then rendezvous,
39:43but it just didn't happen
39:44that way.
39:48The commander
39:49of one of the divisions
39:50left early
39:50and took up fighting
39:51the Japanese
39:52on the small islands
39:53near Hakata Bay.
39:54Meanwhile,
39:55the other division
39:56was delayed
39:57by several months,
39:58so the two fleets
39:59didn't arrive at Hakata
40:01anywhere near the same time.
40:04Sending information
40:05over great distances
40:06was slow
40:07in the 13th century,
40:08but there may have been
40:09other communication
40:10challenges as well.
40:14One of those two divisions
40:16was made up
40:17mostly of Chinese fighters.
40:18The other comprised
40:20a mix of Mongolian
40:21and Korean soldiers.
40:22So now you've got people
40:24with different first languages
40:25relaying complex instructions.
40:28It would have been easy
40:29for things to get lost
40:30in translation.
40:32But even given
40:33the slip-ups in timing,
40:34the Mongol forces
40:35had the numbers
40:35and firepower
40:36to defeat Japan,
40:37so it's still hard
40:38to comprehend
40:39how they could have failed.
40:40The fearsome reputation
40:42of Kublai's military
40:43sometimes helped them
40:44forgo battle altogether.
40:46Opponents might surrender
40:48under the mere threat
40:49of attack,
40:50but here,
40:51their reputation
40:52may have worked
40:53against them.
40:55The Japanese
40:56may have been prepared
40:56and fought better
40:57than the Mongols expected,
40:58and seeing as they
40:59decapitated the Khan's
41:00diplomatic envoys,
41:01they knew there'd be
41:02no mercy
41:02if they were defeated.
41:04That alone would have been
41:05a powerful motivator.
41:09Remains of a stone wall
41:10were discovered
41:11at Hakata Bay,
41:12about 165 feet
41:14in from the beach,
41:15five to eight feet
41:16tall and wide,
41:17and about 12 and a half
41:19miles long.
41:20Likely a defensive wall
41:21the Japanese started building
41:22soon after the Mongols
41:24first attempted invasion.
41:26It would have provided
41:27a crucial defensive advantage
41:29when the Mongol warriors
41:30landed.
41:32Beneath the bay,
41:33archaeologists have discovered
41:35proof of the intensity
41:36of the battle,
41:37spherical ceramic shells
41:39filled with gunpowder,
41:41some with iron shrapnel
41:42inside.
41:43They're the oldest examples
41:45of exploding projectiles
41:46ever found
41:47and were known
41:48to have been employed
41:49by the Mongols.
41:53Contemporary accounts
41:54claim that the Mongols
41:55were unable to breach
41:56Japan's defensive wall,
41:58so they fell back
41:59to their ships
42:00and tried catapulting
42:01ceramic bombs at it.
42:03The effect was devastating
42:04to those within range
42:05of the blasts,
42:06but it wasn't enough
42:07to breach the defenses.
42:10The battle devolved
42:11into a temporary stalemate,
42:13and the Mongols
42:13fell back to camp
42:14on Sheik Island.
42:15About five miles offshore,
42:17perhaps waiting for the arrival
42:19of the second division.
42:21Knowing that,
42:22as fiercely as the Japanese
42:23had been defending themselves,
42:25when that second division arrived,
42:27Japan would have no chance.
42:30They managed a stalemate
42:31against 40,000 troops,
42:33but what would happen
42:34when another 100,000 arrived?
42:36In 2014,
42:38scientists studying
42:392,000 years
42:40of sedimentary deposits
42:41at a small coastal lake
42:43less than 100 miles south
42:45of Akata Bay
42:46made a remarkable find.
42:50The lake is right
42:51on the coastline,
42:52so in a big storm,
42:53like a typhoon,
42:54sediments from the ocean
42:55can get blown into it
42:56and trapped there.
42:58The sediments show
42:58that the two biggest,
43:00most distinct marine source
43:01deposits in 2,000 years
43:03correspond to 1274
43:05and 1281 CE,
43:08precisely the years
43:09of Kublai Khan's
43:10failed invasions of Japan.
43:12The Mongol fleets
43:13that attacked the second time
43:15were wiped out
43:15by a sudden,
43:17devastating typhoon
43:18in the middle
43:18of the ferocious battle
43:20with the Japanese.
43:21The storm was one of the worst
43:23in the region's history.
43:26Computer modeling suggests
43:27waves generated
43:28by a typhoon that powerful
43:29would be between 13
43:31and 20 feet high,
43:32perfectly capable
43:33of wrecking Kublai Khan's ships.
43:34It's said that of the soldiers
43:37that survived the typhoon
43:38and the shipwrecks,
43:40the Japanese forces
43:41beheaded between 20
43:42and 30,000 of them
43:44and enslaved about 12,000.
43:47The typhoons of 1274
43:49and 1281 CE
43:51are rare documented cases
43:53of weather events
43:54altering geopolitical outcomes.
43:57One might think
43:59that after two failed attempts,
44:01two miraculous interventions,
44:03Kublai Khan might have given
44:04up trying to conquer Japan.
44:07But he didn't.
44:08He planned a third invasion.
44:10However, other factors intervened
44:12and he never got the opportunity.
44:14Japan did stay at the ready, though,
44:16for a good 20 years.
44:18The Japanese people
44:19started to refer to the typhoons
44:21of 1274 and 1281
44:22as kamikaze,
44:24which means divine wind.
44:26And a legend took root
44:27that the gods had intervened
44:28to save Japan.
44:30Six and a half centuries later,
44:32the legend and the term kamikaze
44:34were repurposed
44:35and used to compel
44:36young Japanese pilots
44:38to fly their explosive-laden planes
44:40into the decks
44:41of allied ships.
44:42The area around Takashima
44:44where Kublai Khan's fleets vanished
44:47and spawned an enduring mystery
44:48is now a renowned
44:50underwater archaeological site
44:52and less than 1% of it
44:54has been explored.
44:56There's more we may learn
44:57about what exactly happened
44:59all those centuries ago
45:00and the human costs
45:02on either side.
45:04at least one day.
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