Journey through time and explore the most catastrophic decisions that shaped history around 1000 years ago. From epic military blunders to civilization-ending mistakes, we'll dive into the moments that changed the course of human events forever.
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00:00We burn them to ashes and then burn the ashes. That's our official motto.
00:04You don't like books then?
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most monumental blunders from times gone by.
00:12You fool!
00:15The Sack of Constantinople.
00:17I was able to trace his lineage. Nick, his ancestors go back to the Crusades.
00:22If I'm right, one of his relatives on his father's side was a knight
00:25that fought for the Knights Templar in the Sack of Constantinople.
00:29The Fourth Crusade was sold to Christian commoners as an effort to reclaim Jerusalem
00:33from Muslim control. However, a mix of financial desperation, political maneuvering, and greed
00:39led to a dramatic detour. In 1204, Crusaders, deeply indebted to Venice, turned their swords
00:45against Constantinople, the greatest Christian city of the East. Over three days, the Crusaders
00:50looted its treasures, burned churches, and even defiled the Hagia Sophia. The Byzantine Empire,
00:55already weakened by internal struggles, never fully recovered. The sacking permanently
01:00fractured relations between Eastern and Western Christendom, and the empire's fragmentation left
01:04it vulnerable to the Ottoman conquest in 1453. Some historians argue that this single event
01:10altered global history, shifting power westward while dividing Christian kingdoms.
01:15By now, everyone was really into the Crusades, so they started holding them regularly,
01:20fighting back and forth to see which side would win Jerusalem this year.
01:24King Darius III's Flight at the Battle of Issus
01:35In 333 BCE, King Darius III of Persia had one job—stop Alexander the Great at Issus.
01:43With a far larger army, Darius seemed poised for victory. His troops applied pressure,
01:48threatening to overwhelm the Macedonian flank. But then, Alexander gambled everything on a
01:53bold charge straight at Darius. As the Macedonian cavalry smashed through Persian lines, Darius
01:59panicked. The so-called King of Kings ditched his men, abandoned his family, and fled. Seeing
02:05their leader bolt, his army collapsed into chaos. This blunder shattered Persian morale and marked
02:10a turning point in Alexander's conquest. Alexander kept Darius's mother, wife, and daughters as
02:16honored guests. Darius tried again to defeat Alexander at Galgamella, and once again fled.
02:21He would go on to be deposed and murdered in a coup.
02:24The commander of the Greek force is named Mr. Cleese?
02:28Yes, he is an Athenian general. He's rumored to have loosed the arrow
02:32that felled the great King Darius himself.
02:34The Varian Disaster
02:36Quintilius Varus, an old friend from Rome.
02:39Ah, the name is not unfamiliar. You honor us with your presence.
02:42The honor is mine to fall upon such warm hospitality.
02:46In 9 CE, Rome thought it had Germania under control. That illusion was fully dispelled
02:51when Publius Quintilius Varus marched three legions into a nightmare of blood and steel.
02:56A Germanic ally, Arminius, had informed Varus of a supposed rebellion,
03:00and recommended that Varus lead his legions through the dense Teutoburg forest.
03:04Arminius was Roman-educated, and had even served in the army. But in secret,
03:09he was plotting against them. With Arminius at their head, Germanic tribes ambushed Varus' forces.
03:14Unable to form proper battle lines, they were slaughtered.
03:17Varus, realizing the catastrophe, fell on his own sword, as did many of his commanders.
03:23Rome lost between 15 and 20,000 men, and any hopes of conquering Germania.
03:28The whole army of Quintilius Varus was massacred in the Teutoburg forest.
03:33Nothing stands between the German tribes and our provinces in Gaul.
03:36The Children's Crusade
03:38All wishy-washy here is too moral to throw a beanbag.
03:43In 1212, one of history's most tragic and misguided religious movements took shape.
03:55The so-called Children's Crusade saw thousands of young people and peasants in Europe
03:59march toward the Mediterranean, convinced that they were chosen by God to reclaim the Holy Land.
04:05Some chroniclers claim that they literally expected the sea to part for them.
04:09Their leaders were both shepherds, Stephen of Croix in France and Nicholas of Cologne in Germany.
04:14Those who didn't die from starvation or exposure before reaching port were
04:18reportedly tricked by merchants and sold into slavery in North Africa, or disappeared from
04:23history. The movement remains a blend of legend and reality, symbolizing medieval faith and folly.
04:39The Arrogance of Inalchuk
04:52The lesson to learn from the tragic arrogance of Inalchuk is to never pick an unnecessary fight.
04:57In 1218, Genghis Khan sent a peaceful trade caravan to the Khwarazmian Empire. Inalchuk,
05:02the governor of Otrar, accused them of being spies and executed them.
05:06When Genghis Khan sent envoys demanding an apology,
05:09the Khwarazmian Shah escalated the insult by killing one and humiliating the other two.
05:13The Mongol response was swift and apocalyptic. Khan unleashed his full fury, erasing the
05:28Khwarazmian Empire from the map. Inalchuk watched his empire burn around him before
05:32being dragged before the Great Khan. Legend says molten silver was poured into his eyes and ears,
05:38a grisly execution for one of history's greatest fools.
05:53Mayan Overexploitation
06:03The mighty Maya were not just masters of astronomy and architecture.
06:15Like modern civilizations, they were also experts in self-sabotage. To sustain their
06:20booming population, they cleared vast forests for farming, fuel, and temples. But deforestation
06:26intensified droughts, reducing rainfall and leading to failed crops and famine.
06:30Around 750 to 950 CE, the region was hit by some of the worst droughts in 2,000 years,
06:36compounding social and political turmoil. By the time the rain finally returned,
06:41many once-great Maya cities were abandoned, left as eerie ruins swallowed by the jungle.
06:46We should all learn from their mistakes and try not to continue building societies at
06:50odds with Mother Nature.
07:02The Tang Dynasty Trusted the Wrong General
07:05And I think you're forgetting that there are written documents of meat between bread being
07:09eaten in China during the Tang Dynasty. Know what? I'll go with you. And then maybe we just go home.
07:15The Tang Dynasty was riding high in the 8th century,
07:18until they made the fatal mistake of trusting the wrong man.
07:22An Lushan, a Sogdian Turkic general, rose through the Tang ranks. He used his military
07:27prowess and charm to manipulate Emperor Xuanzong. An Lushan was showered with titles,
07:32riches, and power. He was granted command of the vast army meant to protect China.
07:36Instead, in 755, he turned that army against the Tang Dynasty.
07:41The subsequent An Lushan Rebellion was one of the bloodiest civil wars in human history.
07:45The rebellion lasted for eight years, taking the lives of millions and shattering the dynasty's
07:51golden age. The Tang never fully recovered, limping along for another century before
07:55collapsing completely.
08:06Emperor Qi Shi Huang's Book Burnings
08:11In 213 BCE, China's first emperor, Qi Shi Huang, believed that in order to truly unify China,
08:23he must unify Chinese thought. To accomplish this, the emperor ordered the burning of books
08:28from all rival philosophies and histories. This act of censorship led to the destruction
08:32of many works deemed subversive.
08:41Only texts on topics like medicine, agriculture, and divination were spared,
08:45but the emperor's paranoia wasn't sated by Book Burnings. In 212 BCE, he allegedly ordered
08:51the execution of Confucian scholars, though the exact details remain debated among historians.
08:56The loss of countless Confucian and historical texts set Chinese intellectual progress back
09:02for generations. Later dynasties were forced to attempt to reconstruct all the knowledge
09:06that had been erased by flame.
09:11Do you have no interest?
09:13Then why do some people still read them, although it's so dangerous?
09:18Precisely because it is forbidden.
09:20Julius Caesar Crossed the Rubicon
09:22I'm going to cross the Rubicon.
09:28Will anyone be coming with me?
09:32With the Senate opposing his bid for a second consulship, Julius Caesar made a decision
09:36that shattered the Roman Republic. He led his army across the Rubicon River in a flagrant act
09:41of war against the Senate. The phrase crossing the Rubicon now symbolizes a point of no return,
09:47and for good reason.
09:48So were I to attempt to leave this cage, you would seal your fate as irrevocably as the
09:54tyrant crossing the Rubicon.
09:56Caesar's march on Rome ignited a civil war that ended with him being declared
10:00dictator for life, a title that lasted only until his infamous assassination.
10:05While he never proclaimed himself emperor, his actions paved the way for Rome's transition
10:09from a republic to an empire under his heir Augustus.
10:12The fall of the Roman Republic still echoes through history,
10:16a reminder of how one man's ambition can reshape an entire civilization.
10:20So you see the tyrant is dead, the Republic is restored, and you are alone.
10:29Would you like some honey water?
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10:47The Library of Alexandria's Destruction
10:50If I could travel back into time, this is the place I would visit.
10:56The Library of Alexandria at its height 2,000 years ago.
11:00The Library of Alexandria, once the crown jewel of ancient knowledge,
11:04met its demise through a series of unfortunate events.
11:07The first may have taken place in 48 BCE during Julius Caesar's siege of Alexandria.
11:12A fire meant to destroy enemy ships spread to parts of the city,
11:16possibly damaging storage facilities associated with the library.
11:19I'll know more after I've delved into the secret archives of the Antiquarian Library in Alexandria.
11:26Alexandria? Oh, you mean that delightful suburb of Washington, D.C.?
11:30No, Commissioner. Alexandria, Egypt.
11:32Later, between 270 and 275 CE, the city faced invasions and counterattacks that may have
11:38inflicted further harm on remaining collections. Yet another blow came in 391 CE when Christians
11:43destroyed the Serapion, a temple that may have still housed some texts.
11:48While the exact timeline of the Great Library's demise remains debated,
11:52these successive incidents likely eroded the repository of scrolls,
11:56resulting in an irreplaceable loss of ancient knowledge.
11:59But why have I brought you across 2,000 years to the Library of Alexandria?
12:05Because this was when and where we humans first collected, seriously and systematically,
12:13the knowledge of the world.
12:15Did we miss any of the world's greatest fools from around 1,000 years ago?
12:18Let us know in the comments below.
12:20I've made a huge mistake.