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Your city is ours!
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Constantinople.
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Either I conquer you...
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or you conquer me.
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Come... my son.
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Father?
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Constantinople.
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Why didn't you believe in me?
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- They betrayed you.- My son.
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...believe in me?
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- This is madness!- No!
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- Constantinople...- Mehmed!
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Am I to take Constantinople?
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No!
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Constantinople.
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Every empire has a beginning
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forged of blood, steel,fortune and conquest.
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In 1453, Roman Emperor Constantine XI
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and Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II
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wage an epic battle for Constantinople.
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Twenty-three armies have triedto take the legendary city.
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All have failed.
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Out of the carnage,one ruler will emerge victorious
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and change the course of historyfor the next 300 years.
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For one empire to rise,another must fall.
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Constantinople is a city...
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just destined to be
the center of the world.
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It's the hinge: Asia, Europe,
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Black Sea, the Mediterranean,
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the Balkan world, Italian city-states...
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It's like there's a butterfly,
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and Constantinople is the body
of the butterfly.
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Constantinople is a concept.
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It's more than just a strategic place.
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It represents layers of empire,
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it represents layers of civilizations
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that have been embedded in it.
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In the Mediterranean,
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the largest city
has always been Constantinople.
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This was always cited
as the Promised Land.
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Whoever holds Constantinople,
he will be the ruler of the world.
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In 1451,
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Constantinople's protector and ruleris Emperor Constantine XI.
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There were few people more autocratic
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and absolutist
than Eastern Roman emperors.
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They literally stood halfway to heaven,
between God and man,
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they were God's sword-arm on Earth.
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Constantine XI, he's very brave,
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and the principle for which he willsacrifice literally everything else
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is the preservation of Constantinople.
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Twenty-three enemy armies
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have tried to takethe legendary walled city and failed.
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The biggest threat to the Romans'1100-year reign
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are their longtime foes, the Ottomans.
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Former Anatolian warlords and nomads
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who've built a burgeoning empire
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reaching all the wayto Eastern Europe...
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The death of Ottoman Sultan Murad IIin 1451
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unleashes a chain of events
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that will soon bring the Ottomansand Romans
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to the brink of war.
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Two hundred miles away,Sultan Murad's son, Mehmed II,
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has been serving as governor of Manisa
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in the Aegean Province.
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The Crown Prince has been livingin semi-exile for several years
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after a falling outwith his father's court.
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Prince!
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I'm rotting out here in the provinces.
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My prince--
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By the time Alexander the Great was
my age, he'd conquered all of this land.
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My prince.
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Yes, Zaganos Pasha. What is it?
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Your father.
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There are some whispers
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that the grand vizier and the others
in the sultan's court
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are discussing plans
for a successor.
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Of course they are.
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Deceitful scum.
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They'd want nothing more
than for me to disappear.
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Ready the horses.
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We must leave for the capital.
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Mehmed sets out for Adrianople
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to claim the throne,
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uncertain whether he'll be namedSultan of the Ottoman Empire
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or have to take the throne by force.
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In the Ottoman throne,
any member of the dynasty
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has an equal right to the throne.
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There is no established
line of succession.
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They had to fight it out,
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or be the one
who could establish leadership.
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It was survival of the fittest.
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Mehmed is metby his father's grand vizier,
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Candarli Halil Pasha,
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the sultan's right hand.
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The grand vizier
is the prime minister of the empire.
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When there is a new sultan
inheriting his father's grand vizier,
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there's always a clash,
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and that grand vizier
has to be controlled.
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If you lose that game,
you become a puppet sultan.
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Halil Pasha...
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it's been a couple years
since I last saw you.
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I wish...
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it was under better circumstances.
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Grand Vizier.
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My sultan.
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After livingin his father's shadow for years,
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expectations for the 19-year-old rulerare crushing.
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You have grown since I last saw you.
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Father?
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I've asked too much of you.
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The throne will be yours, my son,when you are ready.
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Don't test me, boy!
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He's a very young guy.
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People didn't know
was he up to the job?
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Maybe he wasn't gonna be able
to follow his father,
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who was a good warrior.
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I promised you your time would come.
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Mother Mara.
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Mehmed's stepmother,Mara Brankovic,
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is among his closest allies
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in a capital anxious to seehow the young sultan will rule.
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Do you know what Alexander the Great
said when he took the throne?
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"In the end, when it's over...
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all that matters is what you have done."
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It's yours.
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When he does come to the throne,
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he realizes that he's got a signal
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that he's everything
that his father wished him to be.
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So, what would this kid do?
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He says,
"I need a crowning achievement..."
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...and what will that be?
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Take Constantinople.
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The dream of everybody!
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They will try and shame you
as the boy they remembered, Sultan.
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Yes, they will try.
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Mehmed's court is divided
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between the young advisorshe brings from Manisa,
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led by Zaganos Pasha,
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and his father's older vizierswho harbor doubts about his leadership.
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Those doubts extend beyond the capitalto the Ottoman's many enemies.
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00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:10,350
A rival Turkish warlordtests the 19-year-old sultan,
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raiding Ottoman lands in Anatolia.
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Mehmed and his armycrush the rebellion.
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The gravest threat to Mehmed's rulecomes in late 1451
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from the Ottoman's old enemy,the Romans.
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Hasan Pasha,
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what news from Constantinople?
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What do our spies say?
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The Romans have...
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sent a request.
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What sort of request?
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They've threatened
to release your Uncle Orhan
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if we don't triple our payments
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for his continued safety and upkeep.
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Prince Orhan represents this long
Byzantine tradition of diplomacy.
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Prince Orhan has a claimto Mehmed's throne,
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but the Romans keep him safely tucked awayinside Constantinople
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in exchange for a yearly paymentfrom the Ottomans.
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Prince Orhan is an interesting case.
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He was kept a prisoner.
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The Romans wanted to use him
against the Ottomans.
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When Mehmed comes to the throne,
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he's only 19 years old,
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no one really knows, uh...
what kind of a ruler he would be,
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so Constantine tries to...
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uh, tries to threaten him.
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It was always a threat that
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"If you do something aggressive,
we can send Orhan back
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with a little money,
a little support,
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and maybe overthrow your throne."
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The Romans offset
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their weakness
in terms of military strength,
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land, and power,
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in their ability to stir up civil war
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within the Ottoman Empire.
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The question becomes:
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"What do you doin a situation like this?"
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This is one of the rare moments
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where Constantine
badly miscalculates.
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This turns out to be
a pretty bad mistake.
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I will build my fort right here.
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Sultan, this is not diplomacy.
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It's an act of war.
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We will control the Bosphorus
and every ship that travels through it.
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00:14:21,986 --> 00:14:23,856
In response to the Roman threat,
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Mehmed reveals his planfor Rumeli Hisari,
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literally translated:
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"Fortress in the land of the Romans."
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Strategically located on the European sideof the Bosphorus Strait,
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the fort cuts off all suppliesand military aid
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from Roman allies in the Black Sea.
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The fortress is ominously nicknamed"The Throat Cutter."
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Sultan, I urge you to reconsider.
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Building a fort on the Roman side
will provoke them--
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Anything inside the walls
of Constantinople
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belongs to the Romans.
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Anything outside those walls
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belongs to me.
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Candarli didn't like the idea
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because he said, "Look, Your Majesty,"
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he said,
"Europeans could unite against us.
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00:15:09,658 --> 00:15:12,078
The pope could send an army
against us.
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And while trying to get Constantinople,
we might lose everything."
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And Mehmed said, "Piss off."
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Yeah...
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The Throat Cutter is completedin an astonishing four-and-a-half months,
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bringing the Ottomans and Romansa step closer to war.
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Emperor Constantine sends emissariesto Mehmed's court
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to protest construction of the fort.
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Some emissary would say,
"This is Roman land.
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Your father at least had the grace
to ask permission
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before he did something like this."
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He sends them away,
he won't even hear them.
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So Constantine sends back
more messengers,
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this time loaded down with gifts,
and say,
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"Can we at least be assured
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00:15:53,827 --> 00:15:56,287
that this does not herald
an attack on Constantinople?"
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Mehmed decapitates the advisors
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and let's Constantinedraw his own conclusion.
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This cannot go unanswered!
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We must teach the child a lesson!
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Then he will taste the Roman slap.
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00:16:45,004 --> 00:16:46,764
And who will deliver that slap, pray tell?
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You?
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Mehmed is a menace,
but force is not the answer.
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00:16:54,430 --> 00:16:58,180
We must avoid confrontation
until Catholic help arrives from Europe.
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00:16:58,726 --> 00:17:01,516
If the Catholics are our only hope,
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00:17:02,187 --> 00:17:03,397
we are doomed.
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00:17:05,774 --> 00:17:07,994
The right-hand man of Constantine
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was Loukas Notaras.
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00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:12,910
He held the position of grand duke,
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which was the equivalent
of the Ottoman vizier
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or a prime minister.
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00:17:17,870 --> 00:17:19,910
I'd rather see a sultan's turban
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than a cardinal's cap
inside these walls.
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00:17:23,834 --> 00:17:25,794
Constantinople is the center
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of Orthodox Christianity.
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Like most of the cityand the emperor's court,
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Notaras is Greekand Orthodox Christian,
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00:17:33,093 --> 00:17:36,013
and distruststhe European Catholic Church,
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a schism dating back four centuries.
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Faced with the Ottoman threat,
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the city desperately needs soldiersand ships from the pope.
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We are all brothers
in the eyes of God.
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At this moment,
we have emissaries sent to the Vatican
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00:17:59,995 --> 00:18:03,495
and all the courts of Europe
securing aid for our defense.
247
00:18:04,208 --> 00:18:07,458
Already, there are generous troops
bound for the city--
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00:18:08,128 --> 00:18:09,248
the first of many.
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00:18:10,339 --> 00:18:11,839
With God's Grace,
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00:18:11,924 --> 00:18:14,514
the pope will be sending troops
in the coming weeks.
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- Long live the emperor.
- Long live the emperor!
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00:18:17,638 --> 00:18:20,968
Notaras is the wealthiest manin Constantinople,
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with business interests rangingfrom Anatolia to Italy.
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No one has more to losein a war with the Ottomans.
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Send this to our Turkish friend.
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You slippery Greek goat fucker.
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00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:17,530
Halil Pasha.
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00:19:28,125 --> 00:19:30,455
Candarli Halil was the grand vizier
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00:19:30,544 --> 00:19:32,714
and an experienced older statesman.
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Also known as Halil the Greek...
261
00:19:35,215 --> 00:19:39,295
because he didn't really want Mehmed
to conquer Constantinople,
262
00:19:39,386 --> 00:19:41,136
he didn't think
it was a useful thing to do.
263
00:19:41,221 --> 00:19:44,731
Or maybe he'd been bribed by the Greeks
to kind of divert Mehmed.
264
00:19:45,684 --> 00:19:47,854
I'm glad you could make it, Pasha.
265
00:19:52,191 --> 00:19:53,861
Though by the look on your face,
266
00:19:53,942 --> 00:19:56,362
it's not with good tidings.
267
00:19:58,739 --> 00:20:00,369
The sultan won't be swayed.
268
00:20:05,204 --> 00:20:07,504
A war is bad for all of us.
269
00:20:08,665 --> 00:20:10,875
And your interests in the city.
270
00:20:12,669 --> 00:20:14,589
Peace is much more profitable.
271
00:20:17,799 --> 00:20:19,969
He is arrogant, young,
272
00:20:20,052 --> 00:20:22,182
convinced he'll conquer the West,
273
00:20:22,763 --> 00:20:24,853
just as Alexander conquered the East.
274
00:20:29,311 --> 00:20:31,521
Loukas was probably
275
00:20:31,605 --> 00:20:34,935
the richest man in all of the Balkans.
276
00:20:35,025 --> 00:20:37,395
He tried to play every side.
277
00:20:39,947 --> 00:20:43,237
There's more talk of the emperor
releasing Prince Orhan.
278
00:20:46,828 --> 00:20:50,078
-The emperor is willing to arm him.
-With a wine flask?
279
00:20:56,964 --> 00:21:00,684
Tell your sultan the emperor prefers
peace with the Ottomans.
280
00:21:00,759 --> 00:21:02,219
I'll make sure of this.
281
00:21:02,886 --> 00:21:05,886
And we can come to terms
to avoid a war.
282
00:21:10,978 --> 00:21:11,898
But...
283
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:14,900
if the sultan is...
284
00:21:15,732 --> 00:21:18,072
hell-bent on taking the city...
285
00:21:19,653 --> 00:21:22,453
I hate to think of you dying by his side
286
00:21:22,531 --> 00:21:25,161
in a war that could have
easily been avoided.
287
00:21:30,163 --> 00:21:32,333
And if it goes the other way,
288
00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:36,590
I'll have a front row seat
for your beheading...
289
00:21:37,629 --> 00:21:39,209
my old friend.
290
00:22:01,528 --> 00:22:03,608
I should have his head for this.
291
00:22:04,323 --> 00:22:05,913
Deceitful dog!
292
00:22:06,366 --> 00:22:08,196
Mehmed, patience.
293
00:22:08,285 --> 00:22:11,535
A commodity of which
I have precious little at the moment.
294
00:22:20,464 --> 00:22:22,974
It's wiser to keep him close for now.
295
00:22:23,342 --> 00:22:27,852
Think about the importance
of continuity for a new sultan
296
00:22:27,929 --> 00:22:29,429
who's relatively untested.
297
00:22:29,514 --> 00:22:33,064
To come in and start firing people
and executing them as soon as you get in,
298
00:22:33,143 --> 00:22:34,853
that's not gonna make you many friends.
299
00:22:34,936 --> 00:22:37,306
So in some ways
it's a tactical decision.
300
00:22:37,397 --> 00:22:40,817
You use him for as long as he's useful,
and if he proves useful, great.
301
00:22:40,901 --> 00:22:42,901
If he doesn't, get rid of him eventually.
302
00:22:43,737 --> 00:22:46,197
Perhaps you can use
his carelessness...
303
00:22:47,282 --> 00:22:48,832
to your advantage.
304
00:23:14,851 --> 00:23:16,441
Where is your master?
305
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:17,980
Halil Pasha!
306
00:23:21,316 --> 00:23:22,646
Zaganos Pasha...
307
00:23:24,111 --> 00:23:25,781
what is the meaning of this?
308
00:23:25,862 --> 00:23:29,162
The sultan requests your presence
at the palace.
309
00:23:30,992 --> 00:23:33,752
-Now?
-At once, Halil Pasha.
310
00:23:42,045 --> 00:23:44,125
Give me a moment to dress.
311
00:23:44,214 --> 00:23:45,424
Sure.
312
00:24:09,531 --> 00:24:10,741
Sultan.
313
00:24:10,824 --> 00:24:12,334
We brought Halil Pasha.
314
00:24:14,911 --> 00:24:16,081
My sultan.
315
00:24:20,375 --> 00:24:22,085
May I please speak?
316
00:24:39,311 --> 00:24:40,561
What is this?
317
00:24:42,522 --> 00:24:43,652
It's...
318
00:24:49,154 --> 00:24:50,954
It's customary to bring gifts
319
00:24:51,031 --> 00:24:53,581
when summoned by the sultan
in the middle of the night.
320
00:24:55,785 --> 00:24:57,745
I don't need your gold, Pasha.
321
00:24:58,205 --> 00:25:00,205
I need your ear. Get up.
322
00:25:02,584 --> 00:25:03,504
Get up.
323
00:25:09,341 --> 00:25:12,301
I just woke from a dream.
324
00:25:15,931 --> 00:25:17,601
I saw my father,
325
00:25:18,934 --> 00:25:20,274
my ancestors,
326
00:25:20,977 --> 00:25:22,187
Osman.
327
00:25:24,189 --> 00:25:25,859
They showed me the road ahead.
328
00:25:30,445 --> 00:25:32,735
It led me to Constantinople.
329
00:25:34,407 --> 00:25:37,327
The gates of the city flew open.
330
00:25:38,203 --> 00:25:40,753
I walked straight to Hagia Sophia...
331
00:25:42,707 --> 00:25:46,837
and there I saw the Red Apple itself.
332
00:25:48,672 --> 00:25:50,132
It was given to me.
333
00:25:52,717 --> 00:25:54,547
You understand, Pasha...
334
00:25:56,304 --> 00:26:00,024
Allah has sent me a vision.
335
00:26:01,101 --> 00:26:04,981
He has commanded me
to take Constantinople.
336
00:26:06,481 --> 00:26:09,691
I have no choice but to obey his wish.
337
00:26:12,654 --> 00:26:16,534
There's a prophecy that Constantinople's
the Red Apple, and a warrior will come,
338
00:26:16,616 --> 00:26:19,826
he will take this center
of Christian orthodoxy
339
00:26:19,911 --> 00:26:22,911
and wrest it from the Christians
340
00:26:22,998 --> 00:26:25,328
and bring it home
to the Islamic world.
341
00:26:26,084 --> 00:26:29,004
In my vision, you, too,
were by my side, Pasha.
342
00:26:29,713 --> 00:26:32,923
Devoted teacher, my loyal servant,
343
00:26:33,008 --> 00:26:35,258
commander of my fearsome army,
344
00:26:35,343 --> 00:26:37,853
and utterly committed to our destiny.
345
00:26:40,890 --> 00:26:42,640
I am all those things.
346
00:26:43,268 --> 00:26:45,808
Then I have your support
in this endeavor?
347
00:26:50,692 --> 00:26:55,162
Mehmed played it very, very wisely.
348
00:26:55,238 --> 00:26:57,738
He was able to put him at ease,
349
00:26:58,533 --> 00:26:59,953
so he was able to use him.
350
00:27:00,035 --> 00:27:03,615
As grand vizier,Candarli Halil Pasha
351
00:27:03,705 --> 00:27:07,035
is the second most powerful manin the Ottoman Empire.
352
00:27:07,125 --> 00:27:09,835
The young sultan must havehis full support
353
00:27:09,919 --> 00:27:12,259
for an attack on Constantinople.
354
00:27:14,174 --> 00:27:16,304
I knew I could rely upon you, Pasha.
355
00:27:18,595 --> 00:27:19,755
Sleep well.
356
00:27:38,365 --> 00:27:40,155
The Ottoman war machine
357
00:27:40,241 --> 00:27:42,081
shifts into high gear.
358
00:27:43,370 --> 00:27:47,620
Within six months,Mehmed assembles an army of 80,000
359
00:27:47,707 --> 00:27:49,827
ready to march on Constantinople.
360
00:27:53,338 --> 00:27:55,588
Mehmed's troops quickly captureand destroy
361
00:27:55,674 --> 00:27:59,684
the few remaining Roman outpostsoutside of Constantinople,
362
00:27:59,761 --> 00:28:02,311
further isolating the emperor.
363
00:28:03,098 --> 00:28:05,978
The biggest additionto the Ottoman war machine
364
00:28:06,559 --> 00:28:08,189
is yet to come.
365
00:28:19,739 --> 00:28:22,409
Your reputation precedes you, Orban.
366
00:28:22,492 --> 00:28:24,452
I've heard much about your big guns.
367
00:28:24,536 --> 00:28:27,496
Yes, Sultan. And "guns..."
368
00:28:27,580 --> 00:28:29,790
...doesn't do my latest offerings justice.
369
00:28:35,422 --> 00:28:37,512
You see, you need huge balls
370
00:28:37,590 --> 00:28:40,220
to take down the Theodosian Walls
of Constantinople.
371
00:28:41,219 --> 00:28:44,139
I know them
and I know their weak spots.
372
00:28:45,265 --> 00:28:47,305
Father, it's in here.
373
00:28:50,061 --> 00:28:50,981
Father.
374
00:28:52,897 --> 00:28:55,357
Forgive me, my lord. May I?
375
00:29:10,957 --> 00:29:11,957
This...
376
00:29:12,834 --> 00:29:14,294
this is my new cannon.
377
00:29:14,919 --> 00:29:16,299
It's eight meters long.
378
00:29:16,921 --> 00:29:18,421
The largest ever designed.
379
00:29:19,090 --> 00:29:20,590
And I call it Basilica.
380
00:29:21,926 --> 00:29:24,006
-You can build this?
-Yes.
381
00:29:24,763 --> 00:29:26,013
Yes, Sultan.
382
00:29:26,473 --> 00:29:30,023
She fires a cannon ball
two-and-a-half meters in diameter.
383
00:29:30,101 --> 00:29:33,441
This gun would blast
through the walls of Babylon.
384
00:29:34,439 --> 00:29:37,689
Although I know you have no quarrels
with the Babylonians.
385
00:29:38,902 --> 00:29:40,612
- You're a Hungarian?
- Yes.
386
00:29:40,695 --> 00:29:42,235
-And a Christian?
-Yes.
387
00:29:42,322 --> 00:29:44,912
Why aren't you offering these inventions
to Constantine?
388
00:29:47,494 --> 00:29:49,834
There is a price for my knowledge.
389
00:29:50,330 --> 00:29:52,330
The emperor was unable to pay.
390
00:29:52,957 --> 00:29:54,327
And, of course,
391
00:29:54,417 --> 00:29:56,457
you are the true ruler of these lands.
392
00:29:58,296 --> 00:29:59,586
Who is this young man?
393
00:29:59,672 --> 00:30:02,802
Uh, Jacob.
My son and my apprentice.
394
00:30:03,343 --> 00:30:06,223
The only one who knows these guns
as well as me.
395
00:30:06,846 --> 00:30:10,176
One day he will make a cannon
even bigger than Basilica.
396
00:30:13,061 --> 00:30:15,061
So then, what's your asking price?
397
00:30:15,146 --> 00:30:17,566
Uh, 10,000 ducats.
398
00:30:19,651 --> 00:30:21,951
You got pretty big balls yourself,
my friend.
399
00:30:22,862 --> 00:30:24,282
Firearms on the battlefield
400
00:30:24,364 --> 00:30:26,914
have been around for a few decades
by this point.
401
00:30:27,534 --> 00:30:29,624
But cannons of this size were something
402
00:30:29,702 --> 00:30:32,502
that was completely outof most people's imagination.
403
00:30:33,373 --> 00:30:36,543
And so Orban goes
to a number of people around the world
404
00:30:36,626 --> 00:30:38,996
offering his services as a cannon maker.
405
00:30:42,590 --> 00:30:46,050
If this gun can bring down
the walls of Constantinople,
406
00:30:46,135 --> 00:30:49,095
as you claim,
I'll pay you four times that.
407
00:30:50,431 --> 00:30:53,731
My only condition is they must be ready
and on the battlefield in three months.
408
00:31:11,578 --> 00:31:15,748
The vision of building a weapon
like that is remarkable,
409
00:31:15,832 --> 00:31:20,042
not least because early firearms
were prone to explode.
410
00:31:20,128 --> 00:31:21,918
So if you think about what it is,
411
00:31:22,005 --> 00:31:25,085
it's a big metal tube
that you shove a load of gunpowder into,
412
00:31:25,174 --> 00:31:27,514
and then light on fire
to put a projectile out.
413
00:31:27,594 --> 00:31:32,104
That's as likely to blow up in your face
as it is to blow up the enemy.
414
00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,770
This huge, huge thing,
415
00:31:37,854 --> 00:31:40,774
the biggest cannon
that's ever been made up to that point,
416
00:31:40,857 --> 00:31:42,937
and when they fire it, you know,
417
00:31:43,026 --> 00:31:45,356
animals collapse in the fields and,
you know,
418
00:31:45,445 --> 00:31:47,905
women give birth suddenly,
and it's just kind of like
419
00:31:47,989 --> 00:31:49,699
no one's heard anything like this before,
420
00:31:49,782 --> 00:31:51,492
and the ball flies for a mile,
421
00:31:51,576 --> 00:31:53,696
and, you know, it is an astonishing thing.
422
00:31:53,786 --> 00:31:56,456
Mehmed's super-gun is revolutionary.
423
00:32:01,628 --> 00:32:04,958
But Constantine has a secret weaponof his own...
424
00:32:06,049 --> 00:32:10,929
Genoese soldier of fortune,Giovanni Giustiniani Longo.
425
00:32:25,234 --> 00:32:28,324
He's a gallant,
kind of a swashbuckling figure,
426
00:32:28,404 --> 00:32:30,664
and he's well known as
427
00:32:30,740 --> 00:32:32,740
an expert in defending walled cities.
428
00:32:34,994 --> 00:32:36,624
He was a pirate...
429
00:32:36,704 --> 00:32:41,044
...and he was particularly
attacking ships from Egypt,
430
00:32:41,125 --> 00:32:43,665
up to the point
that the Genoese government
431
00:32:43,753 --> 00:32:45,883
had brought charges against him.
432
00:32:45,964 --> 00:32:49,054
And he ran away so he wouldn't be tried.
433
00:32:51,469 --> 00:32:55,099
He offered his services to the emperor.
434
00:32:56,891 --> 00:33:00,941
The chronicles say that the emperor
promised him the island of Lemnos.
435
00:33:13,199 --> 00:33:17,199
Lord Giustiniani,
you and your men are a welcome sight.
436
00:33:25,753 --> 00:33:26,923
So...
437
00:33:30,091 --> 00:33:33,761
you have studied our, uh, situation.
438
00:33:34,887 --> 00:33:36,927
Yes. I have.
439
00:33:38,474 --> 00:33:39,644
What do you think?
440
00:33:41,310 --> 00:33:43,270
By my calculations,
441
00:33:43,354 --> 00:33:46,114
you have just under 7,000 soldiers.
442
00:33:46,190 --> 00:33:47,780
It is certainly not ideal,
443
00:33:48,151 --> 00:33:49,821
but I have faith
that with your allegiance--
444
00:33:49,902 --> 00:33:50,992
Allegiance?
445
00:33:51,070 --> 00:33:52,070
Your...
446
00:33:53,906 --> 00:33:56,366
with your faithful support, we, uh,
447
00:33:56,451 --> 00:33:57,871
will defeat the Ottomans.
448
00:34:02,957 --> 00:34:04,917
I would decree you
head of the land forces.
449
00:34:06,419 --> 00:34:09,879
There are 14 miles of walls
to defend, Emperor.
450
00:34:11,132 --> 00:34:12,222
Yes.
451
00:34:12,592 --> 00:34:16,302
But, uh, I've sent envoys
to every ally in Europe.
452
00:34:17,013 --> 00:34:18,853
Reinforcements from the pope
453
00:34:18,931 --> 00:34:21,181
hopefully should be arriving
any day now.
454
00:34:21,601 --> 00:34:23,231
We will be in better shape then.
455
00:34:27,482 --> 00:34:28,442
Forgive me...
456
00:34:30,526 --> 00:34:32,396
but in my line of work,
457
00:34:33,112 --> 00:34:34,992
hope will get you killed.
458
00:34:38,493 --> 00:34:40,333
If you are to have my trust,
459
00:34:41,079 --> 00:34:44,669
paid or otherwise,
then I must have yours...
460
00:34:47,502 --> 00:34:48,922
Emperor.
461
00:34:50,838 --> 00:34:52,218
Lord Giustiniani...
462
00:34:58,721 --> 00:35:00,971
the fate of the city is in your hands.
463
00:35:06,854 --> 00:35:08,404
Take heart, my lord.
464
00:35:09,398 --> 00:35:11,608
The Ottomans don't like long sieges.
465
00:35:12,110 --> 00:35:15,030
And we have those big, beautiful walls.
466
00:35:32,755 --> 00:35:35,505
My lord, it's as you suspected.
467
00:35:35,591 --> 00:35:38,391
The emperor put the Genoan
in charge of the defenses.
468
00:35:52,108 --> 00:35:54,688
In March of 1453,
469
00:35:54,777 --> 00:35:58,737
the Ottomans set out on the 148-mile march
470
00:35:58,823 --> 00:36:00,493
to Constantinople.
471
00:36:03,953 --> 00:36:07,213
The Ottoman army was a dynamic,
472
00:36:07,290 --> 00:36:08,460
growing entity.
473
00:36:09,500 --> 00:36:11,750
They had a unity of command
474
00:36:11,836 --> 00:36:14,506
which the Europeans didn't have.
475
00:36:14,589 --> 00:36:18,259
When these crusader armies
attacked the Ottomans,
476
00:36:18,342 --> 00:36:21,222
they hardly ever listened
to their supreme commander.
477
00:36:21,304 --> 00:36:24,434
You know, every unit did
whatever they wanted to do.
478
00:36:24,515 --> 00:36:26,225
They were running after the most glory.
479
00:36:26,309 --> 00:36:28,939
But the Ottoman army had
a central command.
480
00:36:29,020 --> 00:36:32,400
Really, there was nobody in the Balkans
who could stop them.
481
00:36:33,941 --> 00:36:36,901
The most feared warriorsin Mehmed's army
482
00:36:36,986 --> 00:36:38,526
are the Janissaries.
483
00:36:39,488 --> 00:36:41,908
Former Christian slavestaken as children,
484
00:36:41,991 --> 00:36:43,581
converted to Islam,
485
00:36:43,659 --> 00:36:47,079
and trained to bethe sultan's elite special forces.
486
00:36:47,163 --> 00:36:48,463
In the 1300s,
487
00:36:48,539 --> 00:36:50,919
these captives become this standing army
488
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:53,630
that never disbands, they're always there,
489
00:36:53,711 --> 00:36:55,341
they're always ready to fight.
490
00:36:55,421 --> 00:36:59,471
That's the first standing army in Europe.
This has never happened before.
491
00:36:59,550 --> 00:37:02,600
They become the backbone
of this empire.
492
00:37:05,014 --> 00:37:06,684
The Ottoman army arrives
493
00:37:06,766 --> 00:37:09,596
on the outskirts of Constantinopleat Easter,
494
00:37:09,685 --> 00:37:12,185
the holiest day in the Christian world.
495
00:37:47,306 --> 00:37:49,676
And then you look out across these walls
496
00:37:49,767 --> 00:37:52,937
and you see what must have been
an incredible sight.
497
00:37:59,652 --> 00:38:02,532
There hadn't really been
a professional army wandering around
498
00:38:02,613 --> 00:38:03,743
since the time of the Romans,
499
00:38:03,823 --> 00:38:07,543
so these guys must have been
particularly terrifying to look at.
500
00:38:08,077 --> 00:38:11,827
I can't even imagine
what Constantine must have felt.
501
00:38:13,416 --> 00:38:15,376
I was hoping this day would never come.
502
00:38:19,338 --> 00:38:21,968
This day was always going to come,
Emperor.
503
00:38:23,634 --> 00:38:25,434
It's what we do tomorrow
504
00:38:26,512 --> 00:38:27,892
that will be important.
505
00:38:34,562 --> 00:38:36,812
Mehmed walks the battlefield
506
00:38:36,897 --> 00:38:39,857
where 23 armies, including his father's,
507
00:38:39,942 --> 00:38:43,032
have tried to take the city and failed.
508
00:38:44,071 --> 00:38:46,821
His own destiny remains unknown.
509
00:38:47,950 --> 00:38:51,080
There's a particular hadith
that becomes popular.
510
00:38:51,162 --> 00:38:54,042
A hadith is a saying
of the Prophet Muhammad,
511
00:38:54,123 --> 00:38:57,753
and it says...
512
00:38:57,835 --> 00:39:00,085
"Surely you, the Islamic nation,
513
00:39:00,171 --> 00:39:02,381
will conquer Constantinople."
514
00:39:05,051 --> 00:39:07,761
"And how wonderful
will its commander be,
515
00:39:07,845 --> 00:39:09,925
the commander of that nation."
516
00:39:13,017 --> 00:39:15,597
"And how amazing,
how wonderful will the army be,
517
00:39:15,686 --> 00:39:16,846
the army of that nation."
518
00:39:16,937 --> 00:39:19,017
This particular setting,
519
00:39:19,106 --> 00:39:21,066
that there will one day be
a great commander
520
00:39:21,150 --> 00:39:22,860
who will conquer Constantinople,
521
00:39:22,943 --> 00:39:25,743
starts to become important for Mehmed.
522
00:39:32,036 --> 00:39:34,156
...the Father, the Son, and the Holy...
523
00:39:37,666 --> 00:39:40,496
We are going to need
more than that, Father.
524
00:39:50,346 --> 00:39:51,176
Lady?
525
00:39:55,893 --> 00:39:58,733
You are George Sphrantzes' daughter.
526
00:39:59,271 --> 00:40:01,021
My name is Therma, sir...
527
00:40:01,649 --> 00:40:03,149
should you wish to use it.
528
00:40:07,696 --> 00:40:10,776
I have never seen so many people
in one place.
529
00:40:12,493 --> 00:40:15,793
The sultan appears
determined to make a fight of it.
530
00:40:16,914 --> 00:40:19,674
But they must get
through these walls first.
531
00:40:22,169 --> 00:40:23,879
A lot of people will die.
532
00:40:24,422 --> 00:40:26,382
I have no intention of dying.
533
00:40:34,890 --> 00:40:38,480
On April 6th, Mehmed sendsa final offer of truce
534
00:40:38,561 --> 00:40:40,441
to Emperor Constantine.
535
00:40:40,521 --> 00:40:44,151
So, the siege is governed
by different cultural norms,
536
00:40:44,233 --> 00:40:47,033
and some of those cultural norms
are specific to Islam.
537
00:40:47,111 --> 00:40:50,201
There's several rules of war
set down in the Quran,
538
00:40:50,281 --> 00:40:54,031
um... that dictate the way
that we should treat such people.
539
00:40:54,118 --> 00:40:57,038
So we give them the opportunity
to change their minds,
540
00:40:57,121 --> 00:40:59,921
that we give them the opportunity
to negotiate a new treaty,
541
00:40:59,999 --> 00:41:02,379
we give them the chance
to extricate themselves
542
00:41:02,460 --> 00:41:04,880
from the potential bloodletting ahead.
543
00:41:05,463 --> 00:41:08,633
"Our lord, the merciful Sultan Mehmed,
544
00:41:08,716 --> 00:41:11,546
will spare the citizens of the city,
545
00:41:12,470 --> 00:41:14,310
harming neither their families
546
00:41:15,014 --> 00:41:17,314
nor their belongings,
547
00:41:18,184 --> 00:41:21,354
if you voluntarily surrender.
548
00:41:22,188 --> 00:41:24,228
The people of Constantinople
549
00:41:25,274 --> 00:41:27,364
may keep their possessions;
550
00:41:27,443 --> 00:41:28,783
there will be no looting.
551
00:41:29,862 --> 00:41:30,912
In return,
552
00:41:30,988 --> 00:41:34,198
you will open the gates of the city
553
00:41:34,783 --> 00:41:37,753
and kiss the hands of our sultan."
554
00:41:39,371 --> 00:41:43,421
"Sultan Mehmed will the one ruler
of the Romans."
555
00:41:53,552 --> 00:41:57,682
We'll soon find out if the emperor
loves his city enough to die for it.
556
00:42:00,267 --> 00:42:02,517
They rejected the offer, Sultan.
557
00:42:05,523 --> 00:42:07,983
Prepare the cannons.
558
00:42:15,491 --> 00:42:17,451
Get ready, boys!
559
00:42:42,434 --> 00:42:45,734
- Prepare the cannons!
- Prepare the cannons!
560
00:42:48,357 --> 00:42:50,187
Ready!
561
00:42:56,282 --> 00:42:57,412
Fire!
43845
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