00:00Did you know a fake letter from a king who never existed changed the entire
00:03course of world history? In 1165, a mysterious document began circulating
00:09across Europe. It claimed to be from Prester John, a powerful Christian king
00:13ruling a paradise empire somewhere beyond the Muslim world. His kingdom had
00:18rivers of gold, fountains of youth, and armies that could crush any enemy. The
00:22letter was a forgery. Nobody knows who wrote it, but European rulers believed
00:26every word. For 300 years, pope sent ambassadors searching for him. Crusaders
00:32dreamed of linking up with his armies to destroy Islam from both sides. Portugal
00:36redirected its entire naval program trying to reach him by sea. That search
00:40pushed explorers further and further, around Africa, toward India, eventually to
00:45the Americas. The myth even landed on Ethiopia, which suddenly found itself
00:49receiving European missionaries and diplomats convinced they had finally
00:53found his kingdom. One invented letter rewrote the map of the world. No king, no
00:58kingdom. Just a lie that built an empire of consequences.
