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Narrator: Power and greed lead to the theft

and eventual disappearance of Aztec gold...

James Ellis: They called it "La Noche Triste" -

The Night of Sorrows.

Montezuma was mortally wounded, some say by his own subjects,

and the Spaniards fled with stolen gold

worth an estimated $4 billion today.

Narrator: A mystery unravels after a piece of work

from one of the world's literary greats goes missing...

Anthea Nardi: No manuscript or publication has ever surfaced.

How could such an extraordinary work created by one

of history's greatest literary minds,

simply disappear?

Narrator: The location of a sacred chest,

said to hold the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments,

has puzzled historians for centuries.

James Ellis: To this day, the arc's fate remains

one of humanity's greatest mysteries.

If it survived the fires of conquest,

where could it be now?

♪ (show theme music) ♪

Narrator: The chain of history has many missing links.

Prominent people.

Priceless treasures.

Extraordinary artifacts.

Their locations still unknown.

Lost to the fog of time.

What happens when stories of the past...

become...

Vanished History?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: In 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.

Gold and 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.

Alison Leonard: When conquistador Hernán Cortés

entered Tenochtitlán in 1519,

he was impressed by the grandeur of it.

Emperor Montezuma II, greeted Cortés

with reverence and caution, believing perhaps

he was the long-awaited God Quetzalcoatl,

returning to fulfill Aztec destiny.

Adam Bunch: But of course, Cortés wasn't a god.

He was a conquistador, driven by Spain's

colonial desire for wealth

and his own hunger for conquest.

When Montezuma welcomed them with gifts as a gesture

of goodwill, including a disk of gold and another of silver,

it seems to have just added fuel to his greed.

Cortez wanted the riches of the Aztec Empire

for himself and for Spain.

Amma Agbedor: The Spaniards soon imposed their will,

straining relations with the Aztecs.

As tensions escalated,

Cortés took Emperor Montezuma hostage

in his own palace.

Then, during the Toxcatl festival,

a sacred time for the Aztecs,

Spanish soldiers massacred thousands of Aztec nobles,

sparking an uprising.

James Ellis: They called it "La Noche Triste",

The Night of Sorrows.

Montezuma was mortally wounded,

some say by his own subjects,

and the Spaniards fled with stolen gold

worth an estimated $4 billion today.

Attacked by Aztec warriors,

many were killed or drowned,

leaving only scattered fragments of gold

along the city's causeways.

In the chaos, the vast wealth of the Aztec empire vanished.

So where did Montezuma's gold go?

Narrator: Montezuma's treasure was more than gold and jewels.

It symbolized the heart of an empire.

The story began with the 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.

Alison Leonard: By the early 16th century,

the Aztecs commanded an empire spanning 500 city-states

and 5 to 6 million people.

At its height, Tenochtitlán was home to

at least 200,000 people,

making it the most densely populated city

Mesoamerica had ever seen.

Amma Agbedor: Tenochtitlan was a marvel of engineering,

an island city set in the middle of Lake Texcoco,

connected to the mainland by massive stone causeways

that rose from the water like bridges.

Its canals criss-crossed the city,

serving as roads for canoes carrying everything

from rare foods to luxury goods.

Narrator: At the heart of this vast, sophisticated empire

stood Montezuma II,

a ruler as formidable as the city he presided over.

But when Cortés arrived,

the Aztec Empire faced a challenge unlike any before.

Amma Agbedor: Cortés knew he was outnumbered,

so he forged alliances with indigenous groups

like the Tlaxcalans who resented Aztec dominance.

The Spanish exploited these existing rivalries,

turning local grievances into a force

that would bring down an empire.

James Ellis: The massacre during the Toxcatl festival

was the breaking point.

It wasn't just an act of violence,

it was a brutal desecration of Aztec tradition.

With Montezuma dead, the city erupted,

and the anger of a betrayed people turned Tenochtitlan

into a fierce battleground.

Alison Leonard: La Noche Triste marked a turning point

for the Spaniards.

The losses were staggering, and not just in lives,

but in the treasure they were after.

Narrator: Some believe the secrets of that night

still linger in Tenochtitlan's waters.

Adam Bunch: Some of those who believe in the legend

of Montezuma's lost treasure think it could be buried

beneath Tenochtitlan's ancient lakebed.

Some say the Spanish cast their gold into the water

around the causeways as they fled,

and that it may still be hidden

under what was once lake Texcoco.

Amma Agbedor: It's also possible that the Aztecs

may have hidden their wealth in 'water traps'.

These are deep underwater tunnels

leading to submerged chambers

where valuables could be stored.

The entrances were concealed, and only those with knowledge

of their location could access them.

James Ellis: Over the centuries, Lake Texcoco was drained,

and Mexico City was built on top of it.

The original lakebed now lies beneath layers

of sediment and urban development,

complicating any search for the treasure.

Narrator: In 1981, a significant clue emerged

when a construction worker discovered a large gold bar

at a park in Mexico City.

Alison Leonard: The bar weighed around 4 and a half pounds,

and was found along Cortes' escape route on La Noche Triste

It was later confirmed to date back to Montezuma's era.

Some believe it fell into a canal on that night,

suggesting that treasures may still lie beneath the city.

Adam Bunch: The city's infrastructure

layered over the ancient lakebed

makes it hard to excavate.

But even with advanced technology,

the extensive searches haven't found anything significant.

After decades of investigation,

it seems less likely than ever

that Montezuma's lost treasure lies beneath the city.

Narrator: As new worlds opened up,

the promise of wealth and power

may have carried Montezuma's treasure far from the empire,

where it would vanish just as mysteriously.

Amma Agbedor: Maybe the treasure was lost at sea,

far from the Mexican shores.

When the Spanish reclaimed Tenochtitlán in 1521,

they decimated the Aztec Empire,

taking over 240,000 lives,

and, some say, recovering the lost riches of Montezuma.

According to legend, parts of the treasure

were then packed onto ships

setting sail from Veracruz,

bound for Spain.

James Ellis: Much of this wealth was designated as a tribute

to King Charles V to fulfill the royal quinto,

the Crown's 20% share.

But one ship, reportedly weighed down with gold

from Montezuma's treasure,

is said to have encountered a violent storm,

sinking somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico,

or possibly further into the Atlantic.

Narrator: Some believe the treasure escaped

the coast entirely,

hidden in lands beyond the Spanish empire's grasp.

James Ellis: Legends speak of Aztec priests and warriors

who set out to safeguard their treasures,

by moving them out of Tenochtitlan.

According to this story, around 8,000 Aztec soldiers

traveled nearly 2,000 miles northward,

possibly into what is now Arizona,

New Mexico, and Utah.

Alison Leonard: In the early 16th century,

Spanish control barely extended beyond central Mexico

and key coastal regions,

so the remote lands of the American Southwest,

would have been ideal hiding places for the treasure.

The Aztecs may have retraced ancient migration paths

toward Aztlán, a lost homeland that,

according to Aztec lore, was somewhere in the north.

Adam Bunch: According to the popular myth,

they carried tons of gold, silver

and sacred religious objects with them,

everything they needed to reestablish their civilization.

Some people like to say the Aztecs hid the treasure

somewhere along that journey,

on a mountain on the edge of a desert,

and then killed each other,

so their spirits could protect it forever.

Narrator: The treasure's rumored path northward,

has led to tales of hidden maps, ancient symbols,

and fortune seekers determined

to uncover its secret location.

Amma Agbedor: One of the most intriguing stories

involves a prospector named Freddy Crystal,

who in the early 20th century, arrived in Kanab, Utah,

with what he claimed was an ancient map

pointing to Montezuma's treasure.

He was convinced that the symbols carved into the cliffs

around Johnson Canyon matched those on his map,

so he enlisted locals to help with his search.

James Ellis: Crystal spent years searching for the treasure

in the Utah desert,

and while his excavations uncovered tunnels and caverns,

some with artifacts and human remains,

he never found what he was looking for.

Narrator: Across the American Southwest,

other treasure hunters have followed these legends,

convinced the gold lies hidden in the vast, untamed landscape,

with each story adding new layers to the mystery.

Alison Leonard: In Three Lakes, Utah,

about six miles north of Kanab,

treasure hunter Brandt Child discovered a rock carving

he claimed was an Aztec symbol.

He believed an underwater tunnel in one of the lakes

led to a hidden chamber filled with Montezuma's lost gold.

Adam Bunch: There are stories of divers exploring the tunnel,

who came back talking about equipment failures,

getting disoriented, even ghostly visions,

or the feeling of being choked, which helped fuel rumors

the site was cursed, or guarded by spirits.

Amma Agbedor: In Arizona, local legends suggest

that Montezuma's treasure is hidden

in the Superstition Mountains,

a mysterious region

with ancient cliff dwellings and caves.

But decades of searching by treasure hunters,

hasn't turned up any trace of it.

So wherever it may be, the treasure is still out there,

waiting to be found.

Narrator: Montezuma's lost treasure

is more than gold and jewels;

it's a story woven into the fabric of history,

captivating those drawn to a world nearly erased,

an empire whose splendor

was matched only by its tragic fall.

James Ellis: Over centuries, the legend of Montezuma's treasure

has grown beyond its origins.

It's become a symbol of resistance,

a cultural touchstone

that speaks to the strength of the Aztec spirit,

even as their empire crumbled under Spanish conquest.

Alison Leonard: Perhaps the treasure's true value is not

in the gold and jewels, but in the lessons it offers,

a story of colonial greed and standing up to oppression,

and of a highly advanced society

that ultimately vanished at the hands of the Europeans.

Narrator: As long as there are those who seek it,

Montezuma's treasure endures,

a symbol of lost worlds,

a testament to defiance,

and a mystery that refuses to die.

♪♪

Narrator: Throughout history, few artifacts

have captured the human imagination

like the Ark of the Covenant,

a sacred chest said to hold the stone tablets

of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Crafted under divine instruction,

the Ark was revered as the most sacred object

in ancient Israel,

symbolizing God's covenant with His people.

James Ellis: Jewish tradition says that the Ark held

more than just the stone tablets.

It also contained Aaron's Rod,

a symbol of divine authority

that played a key role in God's plan

to lead the Israelites out of Egypt

and into the Promised Land,

and a golden jar of manna,

the mysterious food that sustained them in the desert.

Amma Agbedor: According to the Hebrew Bible,

the Ark was initially housed within a movable shrine

called the Tabernacle.

But when Solomon's Temple was completed in Jerusalem

in the 10th century BCE,

an inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies,

was created to enshrine the Ark.

Only the High Priest could enter it,

and only once a year,

on Yom Kippur.

James Ellis: For centuries, the Ark was the sacred centerpiece

of Israelite worship.

But after the Babylonian invasion in 587 BCE,

and the destruction of Solomon's Temple, it vanished.

To this day, the Ark's fate remains one of humanity's

greatest mysteries.

If it survived the fires of conquest,

where could it be now?

Narrator: The Ark's journey from the Exodus

to its enshrinement in Solomon's Temple is well-documented.

But during centuries of invasions and exiles,

it disappeared from historical records,

leaving only scattered clues to its fate.

Anthea Nardi: After the fall of Jerusalem

and the destruction of Solomon's Temple,

many people were exiled,

and countless treasures were taken,

but interestingly, the Babylonians' detailed records

make no mention of the Ark.

Also, the Hebrew scriptures go silent about it at this time,

which is odd given the Ark's importance.

James Ellis: However, it's been suggested that the Ark

may have been taken earlier,

perhaps during Egyptian Pharaoh Shishak's military campaign

against the Kingdom of Judah in 926 BCE,

one of the earliest recorded raids on Jerusalem's temple.

The Pharaoh reportedly seized many treasures,

including Solomon's gold shields.

Amma Agbedor: But in apocryphal texts

like the Second Book of Maccabees,

there's a story that the prophet Jeremiah,

hid the Ark in a cave on Mount Nebo,

on the Jordan River's East Bank,

intending for it to stay hidden,

until God brings His people back together.

Anthea Nardi: These historical gaps and enigmatic references

have fueled various theories about the Ark's fate,

and with every new clue, there are new questions,

keeping the quest for the Ark very much alive.

Narrator: Hidden in the depths of a cavern

near the Dead Sea's ancient waters,

a singular artifact surfaces,

breathing new life into the enduring search

for the Ark of the Covenant.

Anthea Nardi: Some believe that the Copper Scroll,

discovered in 1952 in a cave on the West Bank,

is an ancient treasure map that could lead directly

to the Ark of the Covenant.

This remarkable scroll lists 64 hidden locations

where immense treasures from the First Temple

are allegedly located.

James Ellis: The scroll mentions places like

'the cave of the old washer's chamber'

and 'in the salt pit under the steps.'

These descriptions are precise yet cryptic,

likely making sense only to those

with intimate knowledge of the locations.

Amma Agbedor: While the scroll is straightforward

in its listings,

the use of religious terms like "tithes"

and "priestly vestments" implies

that the treasures had a sacred origin.

It's a clue that priests or temple officials

could've put this together,

to keep their most valuable items safe

during times of crisis.

James Ellis: But here's the problem.

The Copper Scroll is dated between 25 AD and 100 AD,

making a true connection to the Ark unlikely.

Despite numerous searches over the decades,

none of the treasures listed have been found,

and the scroll makes no direct mention of the Ark.

Narrator: While the secrets of the Copper Scroll

remain elusive, another path emerges

from the annals of medieval history,

leading to a mysterious order of warrior monks

and their clandestine activities

beneath Jerusalem's sacred grounds.

Anthea Nardi: Some believe the Knights Templar,

a medieval Christian military order

founded in the 12th century,

may have uncovered the Ark.

The Templars were deeply connected to the Holy Land

during the Crusades, and for nearly 70 years,

they were stationed on the Temple Mount, the site

traditionally associated with Solomon's Temple.

James Ellis: The Templars weren't just warriors,

they were on a quest for divine knowledge.

During their time at the Temple Mount

they had unprecedented access to explore

the ancient tunnels and chambers

beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque,

which they believed held sacred relics.

Narrator: Located in Jerusalem's Old City,

the site known as the Temple Mount in Judaism,

and Al-Haram al-Sharif in Islam

is home to sacred landmarks like the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

It holds profound religious significance

for multiple faiths.

Anthea Nardi: Historical accounts suggest

the Templars discovered treasures like the Holy Grail,

sacred texts, and perhaps the Ark itself,

which might have contributed to their rapid rise in wealth

and immense influence across Europe.

Narrator: As the Templars rose to power,

a formidable force emerged in the East:

Saladin, the Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria,

who stunned the western world by crushing the crusader armies

at Hattin and seizing a decisive victory

that would change the course of history.

James Ellis: When Saladin recaptured Jerusalem in 1187,

the Templars had to retreat and

they likely took any treasures they'd found with them.

There's a good chance they transported

these sacred artifacts back to Europe,

hiding them in places like their Paris headquarters

or even Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland,

which is rumored to be modeled after Solomon's Temple.

Amma Agbedor: The Templars' connection to the Temple Mount

is well-documented,

but any link between them and the Ark is mostly speculation.

A lot of what we hear comes from myths

and romanticized stories that emerged much later.

Narrator: Though the Templars' secrets may be lost to time,

another tale leads to the misty Ethiopian highlands,

where a sacred sanctuary is said to guard a profound secret.

James Ellis: According to the Ethiopian epic 'Kebra Negast,

the Ark was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I,

the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

It is said to reside in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion

in Axum, guarded by a lineage of virgin monks

who dedicate their lives to its protection.

Amma Agbedor: The Kebra Negast is more than an epic;

it's a foundational text that solidified Ethiopia's

claim to the Ark and its royal lineage

tracing back to Solomon and Sheba.

This connection was so central to Ethiopian identity

that Emperor Haile Selassie even referenced it

in the country's modern constitutions.

James Ellis: For the faithful, the Ark's presence in Aksum,

or present-day Eritrea,

is at the heart of their heritage and national pride.

Every church in the country has its own symbolic replica

of the Ark, called a tabot, and every year,

during the Timkat festival,

the tabots are paraded through the streets in celebration.

Narrator: According to Ethiopian legend,

their country has been home to the Ark

for nearly 3,000 years.

Anthea Nardi: It was said to have been hidden

on Tana Kirkos Island in Lake Tana,

a place still home to a secluded community of monks,

before King Ezana brought it back to Aksum

in the 4th century, as he spread Christianity.

Today, the Ark is believed to reside in Axum,

in the Church of Mary of Zion.

It's located within the Mekdes, or Holy of Holies,

which is a chamber shrouded in secrecy

and accessible only by the guardian of the Ark.

James Ellis: During World War II, British scholar

and officer Edward Ullendorff claimed to have seen the Ark

inside the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.

However, he later admitted it was just a replica,

similar to those found in other Ethiopian churches.

Amma Agbedor: To this day, no outsider has verified

the Ark's presence in Axum,

and there's no evidence to confirm

the original Ark ever made it to Ethiopia.

Narrator: The Ark of the Covenant epitomizes humanity's

eternal fascination with the unknown,

serving as a powerful reminder that the most profound quests

are as much about the journey, as the destination.

James Ellis: The Ark is much more than just an object.

It represents humanity's search for the divine,

a powerful symbol of faith,

that still inspires and fascinates people today.

Narrator: Whether the Ark still exists may be less important

than the legacy it leaves behind.

It represents a covenant,

a profound relationship between God and humanity,

that endures in religious thought and practice.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: In the vibrant heart of Elizabethan London,

two titans of the stage came together.

William Shakespeare, a playwright

at the height of his creative power,

and John Fletcher, his destined successor,

crafted a play that reflected the ambition of their era:

The History of Cardenio.

Alison Leonard: Written around 1612 or 1613,

The History of Cardenio weaves turbulent tales of love,

betrayal, and reconciliation into a story inspired

by Cervantes' Don Quixote.

The play reflects a moment when Spanish art and culture

poured into England after peace with Spain.

Anthea Nardi: Shakespeare's ability to illuminate

the human condition, combined with Fletcher's

sharp, lively dialogue,

created a dynamic interplay that

softened the play's intensity while adding depth and nuance.

Together, their styles

transformed the Tale of Cervantes'

into a powerful drama that resonated with the audience.

Adam Bunch: It looks like the play was performed

at least twice during the 1612, 1613 season.

A researcher found a document,

the accounts of the Treasurer of the King's Chamber,

that lists payments for a play

called Cardano or Cardano,

which is probably just a short form for the history of Cardenio

It was put on by The King's Men,

the same acting company that we know Shakespeare worked with

for nearly his entire career.

Anthea Nardi: But after these performances,

the trail of Cardenio goes cold.

Over four centuries have passed,

and no manuscript or publication has ever surfaced.

How could such an extraordinary work,

created by one of history's greatest literary minds,

simply disappear?

Narrator: The survival of Shakespeare's works owes much

to the 1623 First Folio,

a monumental effort to preserve 36 plays.

But The History of Cardenio, along with other works,

was conspicuously absent.

Alison Leonard: The First Folio was compiled

by John Heminges and Henry Condell.

These were two actors who worked closely

with Shakespeare as members of the King's Men.

Published seven years after his death,

the First Folio preserved plays like Macbeth and The Tempest,

which had never been printed before.

Anthea Nardi: Heminges and Condell relied on a patchwork

of prompt books, manuscripts, and actor recollections.

These materials were usually incomplete or poorly preserved,

and many plays had already been lost

by the time they began their work.

By 1623, the manuscript for the History of Cardenio

may have already been lost or inaccessible.

Adam Bunch: We do have an exciting piece of evidence

from 1653.

That's when a publisher named Humphrey Mosley

registered the History of Cardenio

in the Stationers Register,

which was an English record of artistic works.

In it, he claims the play was written

by Shakespeare and Fletcher,

but he did also have a habit of claiming

Shakespeare wrote plays he didn't actually write.

So he could drum up more interest in them.

So there's still plenty of doubt.

And he never printed the play,

so it's not even clear if he had a complete manuscript.

Alison Leonard: Around 750 copies of the First Folio

were printed, and without it, 18 of Shakespeare's plays,

including As You Like It and Julius Caesar,

might have vanished forever.

It's important to remember that before 1623,

nearly half of his works existed only as quartos.

These were single-play booklets

made by folding large sheets of paper

into smaller sections,

and this was a fragile and impermanent format

that left many texts vulnerable to loss.

Narrator: Some believe the play's fate

was sealed by the fragile nature of the materials

that once brought it to life.

Alison Leonard: It's possible that The History of Cardenio

was lost because early printed plays were seen as disposable.

In the 17th century, acting companies like the King's Men

treated scripts as tools,

they were valuable for performances,

but once a play's run ended, scripts were often discarded.

Adam Bunch: Sometimes, even collectors didn't manage

to preserve the works they collected.

There was a bibliophile in the 1700s, John Warburton,

who managed to get 60 rare manuscripts,

including some performed by Shakespeare's acting company.

But he stored them in his kitchen,

where his cook ended up using them

as pie liners and fire starters.

So most of them were burned and we know one of them

was an unnamed play by Will Shakespeare.

Anthea Nardi: The English Civil War brought widespread

economic hardship.

It was a time when even paper was a precious commodity.

It was labor-intensive, expensive,

and made from scarce rags.

It was so valuable that laws like the 1680 Act of Parliament

even banned linen burials,

to save materials for paper production.

Alison Leonard: Damp, pests, and fire were constant threats

to fragile manuscripts and early printed texts.

By the time the First Folio was published in 1623,

The History of Cardenio may have already fallen victim

to these forces.

But given Shakespeare's rising reputation

by the mid-17th century,

its complete disappearance certainly raises questions.

Could neglect alone account for such a loss?

Narrator: Some stories never truly disappear.

They linger, hidden in plain sight,

waiting to be rediscovered.

Alison Leonard: Lost works like The History of Cardenio

might still be out there, hidden in uncatalogued archives

or private collections.

We've seen remarkable discoveries before,

like the 1594 Quarto of Titus Andronicus,

Shakespeare's first published play.

It resurfaced in 1904 when a postal clerk in Sweden

found it bound with 18th-century lottery ads.

Anthea Nardi: In 2016, a previously unknown First Folio

was discovered at Mount Stuart House in Scotland,

hidden away in the estate's library.

Remarkably, it had been in the home since at least 1896,

and once belonged to the influential

18th-century Shakespearean editor Isaac Reed.

The discovery was a shock to the literary world,

as only 230 copies were thought to exist at the time.

Adam Bunch: There are major libraries

like the Bibliotheque Nationale in Madrid

or the Vatican Library,

which has 53 miles of shelves,

that still have vast collections

that haven't been fully explored.

So there is a chance someone will find

the History of Cardenio someday.

A. Nardi: In 2014, a First Folio surfaced in a French library.

It was only identified when a librarian

recognized its watermark.

But there's a key difference.

The First Folio had multiple copies distributed widely,

increasing the chance of survival.

Cardenio, on the other hand,

might never have been printed at all.

Without the distribution and recognition

afforded to works like the Folio,

the chances of finding even a fragment of Cardenio

buried in some archive, grow increasingly slim.

Narrator: There are those who believe

Cardenio never truly disappeared.

Alison Leonard: It's possible that The History of Cardenio

lives on under a new name: Double Falsehood.

In 1727, playwright and editor Lewis Theobald

claimed his play was adapted

from three original manuscripts of Cardenio.

As the first recognized Shakespeare scholar,

Theobald's reputation certainly adds credibility to his claim,

especially since he presented his work during a time

of growing fascination with Shakespeare's legacy.

A. Nardi: Linguistic studies offer some support

for this theory.

Patterns in Double Falsehood align with Shakespeare

and Fletcher's known collaboration styles.

Acts 1 to 3 feature Shakespeare's hallmarks,

rich metaphors and emotional depth,

while Acts 4 and 5 reflect Fletcher's

lighter, conversational tone.

Narrator: But, as Double Falsehood gained attention,

skepticism surrounding Theobald's claims intensified.

Alison Leonard: How much of Shakespeare and Fletcher's

original work remains in Double Falsehood is unclear.

But parts of the play feel too intricate

to be entirely Theobald's creation.

The play's overall theme of morality and vivid use

of metaphor and trope, renowned soliloquies,

and the equally complex portrayal

of both male and female characters,

suggest a foundation far richer than his imagination.

Adam Bunch: Theobald probably revised the play

to suit the tastes of his time,

and those changes make it harder to figure out

what's original and what's not.

And since the edits blur the line between

adaptation and full-on invention,

they really raise a lot of questions about

the authenticity of the manuscripts

he claimed to have used as a sources.

Alison Leonard: If Double Falsehood is truly based

on Cardenio, the original manuscripts may have been lost

in the devastating Drury Lane Theatre fire of 1809,

which destroyed countless irreplaceable

theatrical records.

Though there's no concrete evidence the manuscripts

even survived until the fire,

the idea that they influenced Theobald's work

keeps Double Falsehood at the heart

of the mystery surrounding Cardenio.

Narrator: The mystery of The History of Cardenio,

reflects both the fragility of literary heritage

and humanity's unrelenting drive

to uncover the past.

Alison Leonard: The rediscovery of Cardenio

would be priceless, both culturally and financially.

In 2020, a First Folio fetched nearly $10 million at auction.

Beyond the monetary value,

Cardenio would give us profound insights

into Shakespeare's creative evolution and brilliant mind.

Anthea Nardi: Shakespeare's missing works remind us

how easily cultural treasures can disappear.

Without the foresight of Hemings and Condell,

plays like Macbeth and The Tempest,

which had never been printed before,

might have been lost as well.

So whether The History of Cardenio survives as fragments,

a hidden manuscript, or as Double Falsehood,

it symbolizes Shakespeare's enduring genius,

and the timeless allure of the unknown.

Narrator: Shakespeare once wrote, "The past is prologue."

The fate of The History of Cardenio reminds us

that even in loss, the past holds the power

to inspire discovery.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: In the late 13th century,

the great Mongolian Emperor Kublai Khan

wished to expand his already vast empire

by conquering Japan.

He sent hundreds of ships,

loaded with tens of thousands of warriors,

along with warhorses and a powerful new weapon

to ensure a decisive victory.

James Ellis: Mongolian warriors were renowned fighters.

Their longbows at the time could fire 100 yards farther

than any European bow,

and Mongolian warhorses were unmatched in their stamina.

Their armies were fierce, and feared.

Alison Leonard: The Mongolians had a policy of showing mercy

to those who surrendered willingly,

while ruthlessly murdering those who offered resistance.

It was a 'double incentive'

that often made their conquests go smoothly.

So the Khan sent envoys to Japan, to request they submit,

but the Japanese refused.

Anthea Nardi: That decided it; Kublai would show no mercy.

He sent an overwhelming force, hundreds of ships,

with over a hundred thousand armed fighters,

to decisively conquer and dominate Japan's defenses.

But the conquest didn't happen.

Japan is still Japan

and very few of Kublai's ships made it back home.

The rest of the ships,

and their men, had vanished.

The mystery has endured for hundreds of years,

and spawned legends.

So, what could have happened to Kublai Khan's lost ships?

Narrator: Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan,

was a skilled commander who planned his military campaigns

in masterful detail.

By 1271, he established the Yuan Dynasty,

comprising Mongolia, most of present-day China,

the Koreas, and other areas.

James Ellis: Many Mongols criticized Kublai

for his adoption of Chinese customs,

and cast doubt on his validity as a true Mongolian leader.

To them and maybe to himself,

Kublai had yet to prove himself.

Taking Japan would remedy that situation.

Alison Leonard: In 1274, Kublai formulated a plan

to smash Japan's defenses in one blow.

He sent about 900 warships,

with roughly 30,000 men, to land at Hakata Bay.

Though the Japanese resisted fiercely,

by the first nightfall, a third of them were dead,

and the rest of them couldn't expect to last another day.

But when dawn broke, the Mongol ships had vanished!

James Ellis: The story is that a massive typhoon

had come through in the night,

threatening the weakened Mongol ships,

so they returned home.

But there have been questions about how powerful

that storm may have been, or if it happened at all.

Japan gets a lot of typhoons,

but not at that time of year.

Alison Leonard: About 300 of the 900 ships

were never seen again.

Had they sunk or deserted?

Something had happened to them.

It was an inexplicable loss that Kublai had to come back from.

Narrator: The Khan sent more representatives to Japan,

to see if they'd changed their minds about giving in.

The Japanese decapitated the envoys,

and mounted their heads on sticks,

a grievous insult, forcing Kublai Khan to respond in kind.

James Ellis: He planned to send a fleet of 900 ships,

with 40,000 men, from Koryo,

present-day South Korea.

He would send another fleet from the Yangtze River delta,

consisting of 3,500 ships, and 140,000 men.

The two divisions would converge at Iki Island,

and then sail to Hakata Bay together,

to make their attack.

Alison Leonard: But Kublai wanted more ships than he had.

He ordered 600 built in a hurry, at the lower Yangtze River;

And the tree-lined hillsides along the coast

were stripped bare, to supply timber.

Even that didn't make enough ships.

And so hundreds of civilian vessels and crews from China's

vast inland canal network were conscripted into military duty.

This time, the Mongol forces were going

to obliterate Japan's resistance.

James Ellis: But that didn't happen.

The second attack on Japan also failed.

So what could have gone wrong?

Narrator: It's even been suggested

that the grand scale of Kublai Khan's invasion,

could have had something to do with the missing ships.

A. Leonard: The Khan wanted to send more warships than he had,

and more than he could have properly made in time.

The fleet he hastily cobbled together,

may not have been seaworthy, let alone fit for battle.

A. Nardi: In 1981, underwater remains of Mongol ships

were discovered not far from Iki Island.

Some of the fragmented shipwrecks had nails

clustered five or six in one place,

suggesting it was made of reused timber,

and sloppily constructed;

possibly by less-experienced shipwrights.

Too many nails in one spot

doesn't make a joint stronger; it weakens it.

James Ellis: Of the wrecks found, none of them had

V-shaped hulls, they were flat-bottomed.

That makes sense when you consider that many of them

were merchant vessels

conscripted from China's network of canals;

flat bottoms are perfect for that.

But they're not suited to ocean travel

and can break up in high waves.

Anthea Nardi: But all that evidence comes from ships

that sank in and around Hakata Bay.

Which means, they'd already survived

the most difficult part of the journey.

If they'd been that unseaworthy,

they wouldn't even have made it to Japan, but, they had.

So, unseaworthiness alone

is not a satisfactory answer to why

Kublai's immaculate plan failed,

not once, but twice.

Narrator: Out of necessity, Kublai Khan worked

this campaign out in meticulous detail,

because once set in motion,

the conflict would take place far away from where he was.

Alison Leonard: The Khan's plan was nearly flawless.

But the one flaw it may have had, was that

it depended on his commanders understanding it,

and carrying it out to the letter.

Poor communication and poor execution

may have caused everything to go sideways.

James Ellis: Think about it: Kublai Khan would have been

in his palace in Khanbalik, modern-day Beijing.

The two divisions he wanted to send

were supposed to leave from ports

that were each about 650 miles from where he was,

and a good 600 miles from one another.

The plan was for them to depart at the same time

and then rendezvous,

but it just didn't happen that way.

Anthea Nardi: The commander of one of the divisions

left early, and took up fighting the Japanese

on the small islands near Hakata Bay.

Meanwhile, the other division was delayed by several months.

So the two fleets didn't arrive at Hakata

anywhere near the same time.

Narrator: Sending information over great distances

was slow in the 13th century, but there may have been

other communication challenges as well.

James Ellis: One of those two divisions was made up

of mostly Chinese fighters;

the other comprised a mix of Mongolian and Korean soldiers.

So now you've got people with different first languages,

relaying complex instructions.

It would have been easy for things

to get lost in translation.

Alison Leonard: But even given the slip-ups in timing,

the Mongol forces had the numbers

and firepower to defeat Japan,

so it's still hard to comprehend how they could have failed.

Narrator: The fearsome reputation of Kublai's military,

sometimes helped them forego battle altogether.

Opponents might surrender under the mere threat of attack.

But here, their reputation may have worked against them.

Alison Leonard: The Japanese may have been prepared

and fought better than the Mongols expected.

And, seeing as they'd decapitated

the Khan's diplomatic envoys,

they knew there'd be no mercy if they were defeated.

That alone would have been a powerful motivator.

Anthea Nardi: Remains of a stone wall were discovered

at Hakata Bay, about 165 feet in from the beach.

Five to eight feet tall and wide,

and about 12.5 miles long.

Likely a defensive wall the Japanese started building

soon after the Mongols' first attempted invasion.

It would've provided a crucial defensive advantage

when the Mongol warriors landed.

Narrator: Beneath the bay, archaeologists have discovered

proof of the intensity of the battle.

Spherical ceramic shells filled with gunpowder,

some with iron shrapnel inside.

They're the oldest examples of exploding projectiles ever found

and were known to have been employed by the Mongols.

James Ellis: Contemporary accounts claim that

the Mongols were unable to breach Japan's defensive wall,

so they fell back to their ships

and tried catapulting ceramic bombs at it.

The effect was devastating to those

within range of the blasts,

but it wasn't enough to breach the defenses.

A. Nardi: The battle devolved into a temporary stalemate,

and the Mongols fell back to camp on Shika Island,

about five miles offshore, perhaps waiting

for the arrival of the second division.

Knowing that, as fiercely as the Japanese had been

defending themselves, when that second division arrived,

Japan would have no chance.

Alison Leonard: They managed a stalemate against 40,000 troops,

but what would happen when another 100,000 arrived?

Narrator: In 2014, scientists studying 2,000 years

of sedimentary deposits at a small coastal lake

less than a hundred miles south of Hakata Bay,

made a remarkable find.

Anthea Nardi: The lake is right on the coastline.

So in a big storm, like a typhoon, sediments

from the ocean can get blown into it and trapped there.

The sediments show that the two biggest,

most distinct marine-sourced deposits in 2,000 years

correspond to 1274 and 1281 CE,

precisely the years of Kublai Khan's

failed invasions of Japan.

James Ellis: The Mongol fleets that attacked the second time

were wiped out by a sudden, devastating typhoon

in the middle of the ferocious battle with the Japanese.

The storm was one of the worst in the region's history.

Alison Leonard: Computer modeling suggests waves

generated by a typhoon that powerful

would be between 13 and 20 feet high,

perfectly capable of wrecking Kublai Khan's ships.

James Ellis: It's said that of the soldiers that survived

the typhoon and the shipwrecks,

the Japanese forces beheaded between

20 and 30 thousand of them,

and enslaved about 12,000.

Narrator: The typhoons of 1274 and 1281 CE

are rare, documented cases of weather events

altering geopolitical outcomes.

Anthea Nardi: One might think that after

two failed attempts, two miraculous interventions,

Kublai Khan might have given up trying to conquer Japan.

But he didn't, he planned a third invasion!

However, other factors intervened,

and he never got the opportunity.

Japan did stay at the ready, though,

for a good 20 years.

Alison Leonard: The Japanese people started to refer

to the typhoons of 1274 and 1281 as "kamikaze",

which means, "divine wind"

and the legend took root, that the gods

had intervened to save Japan.

James Ellis: Six and a half centuries later,

the legend and the term, "kamikaze" were repurposed,

and used to compel young Japanese pilots

to fly their explosive-laden planes

into the decks of Allied ships.

Narrator: The area around Takashima,

where Kublai Khan's fleets vanished

and spawned an enduring mystery,

is now a renowned underwater archaeological site,

and less than one percent of it has been explored.

There's more we may learn about what exactly happened

all those centuries ago,

and the human costs on either side.

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