All language subtitles for East to West 6of7 The Rise of the Ottomans

(ORIENTAL MUSIC)

This is the untold story

of the making of the modern world.

A fresh perspective,

charting the spread of civilization
across the globe.

From the dawn of mankind

and the first cities and empires

to the belief in one god.

(Calls for prayer)

We follow the flow of civilization

from the Middle East.

An extraordinary place
that has been a vital link

between the continents of Asia,
Africa and Europe for millennia.

An economic, scientific
and cultural centre of the world.

This is an epic journey
of discovery...

from the East to the West.

Conquest Day - commemorated
throughout Turkey every year.

It recreates a historic event
in 1453 -

the Ottoman conquest
of Constantinople.

At its heart is a heroic figure -
the Ottoman sultan.

This is the moment
he earned his name:

Mehmet the Conqueror.

The arrival of the Ottomans

marked the end of a millennium
of Christian Byzantine rule

and the beginning
of a new world order.

When Mehmet came in here he knew he
had achieved his ultimate ambition.

He had smashed the Byzantine Empire.

This dynamic new dynasty,
would rapidly evolve

into a sophisticated
Renaissance superpower -

that would inspire both fear
and fascination in the West.

The Ottomans would create models
tor state, trade and culture.

HEATH LOWRY: Even today
you get a feeling

for the permanency of this dynasty,

that ruled half the known world
for more than half a millennium.

This is the story of the rise
of the Ottoman Empire.

600 years ago the Islamic world
was fractured -

the Mongols had stormed
across from central Asia

creating a new order.

Gone were the old sultanates.

Anatolia, modern day Turkey,
was a patchwork of beyliks -

small states run
by different family regimes.

But one of these had greater
ambitions.

Ruled by a dynasty that would found

one of the largest and longest
lasting Empires in history -

the Ottomans.

Settled on the north-western slopes
of Mount Uludag,

is the first capital
of the Ottoman state -

Bursa.

In the 14th century,

the Ottoman beylik was rapidly
expanding within Anatolia,

but they wanted more.

Tucked away in Bursa today
is a special place

that marks
where the Ottoman story began.

This tomb belongs to the founder
of the Ottoman Empire -

the man who gave
his name to the dynasty -

Osman.

HEATH LOWRY:
The tomb of Osman Ghazi -

no more fitting place
to begin talking about the Ottomans

than the tomb of the founder

of what was to become
a 600-year dynasty, Osman.

We don't know much
about Osman's life.

He remains a mysterious figure.

Myth has it
that he was a shepherd,

who was also a very successful
military leader.

He was obviously charismatic because
people were attracted to his banner,

but between the years of 1302
and his death in 1324,

he laid the foundations tor what was
to become the Ottoman state.

The Ottomans captured Bursa
from the Byzantines in 1326.

Osman's tomb was built on the site
of a church complex,

the centre of the old Byzantine city
the Ottomans had conquered.

These sarcophagi are ceremonial
markers,

commemorating the resting
place of Osman and his family.

We know that his son, Orhan,
buried him here

in probably one of the most
prominent spots of Bursa,

the first city that
the Ottomans took.

Next to him are buried a number
of his family members.

All around the interior of the tomb,
are buried

I think about 15
of his family members.

For 600 years this became a central
point of pilgrimage

as people came here to pay homage
to the founder of the dynasty.

There's no way that
today one can get the entire feeling

of what this tomb was once like

because there should be probably 5O
or 7O people praying with candles,

but even today you get a feeling

for the permanency of this dynasty.

We may not know much
about Osman's rule,

but we do know he reputedly had
a famous dream.

A dream that has become
the foundation myth

of the Ottoman Empire.

He's spending the night

in the village home
of a sheikh named Edebali

and he has this dream

about this giant tree growing out
of his navel

and Edebali, who is a holy man,

explains to him that
that tree is his lineage

what's going to happen
in the future

and that he might be well
advised to marry Edebali's daughter

who would help that foundation myth
become reality.

Osman married Sheikh Edebali's
daughter

and sowed the seeds
of the Ottoman dynasty.

Ottoman power passed down
from generation to generation -

creating a strong
and lasting lineage.

By the 14th century, the Ottomans
were dominating Anatolia.

And they built permanent foundations
here in Bursa.

It's really hard
to over-stress the importance of Bursa.

This is where the Ottoman Empire
really begins,

and it remained an extremely
important centre of Ottoman history.

This is literally
where it all began.

Ulu Mosque was the central point

in this quintessential
early Ottoman city.

The skyline oi Bursa today is adorned
with minarets and domes,

evidence of the Ottomans' talent
for city building.

Here you really have
the heart of an Ottoman city.

This is probably
the best surviving example.

You have the central Friday mosque,
whose minaret I am standing atop,

surrounded by all of the buildings
that are key to really understanding

what an Ottoman city was all about.

This particular mosque
is built in 1399

and a series of structures
were built around it,

to provide among other things,

income for its upkeep
and maintenance.

And they included primarily
a series of huge hans -

central market places,
sometimes called kervansarays,

one of which is here the Koza Han.

And it is one of a series
of six similar hans

that are built around the perimeter
of this mosque.

And then in the centre, now full
of trees, it would have been open

and merchants would actually bring
their camel caravans of goods

into a particular han.

In the case of this one
it was used for the silk trade,

Bursa was a hub of commerce
with goods coming from the east

as far as Yemen,
spices coming overland.

Silk coming from Syria and Iran,
Persia

and it is really no exaggeration
to say

that the city was built on silk.

So even as they were constantly
moving westward,

the Ottomans were also very
interested in

and spent a lot of time and effort,
developing trade and congress.

Its strategic location on the westernmost
end of the famous Silk Route,

made Bursa one of the most important
trading posts in Anatolia.

The Ottomans used the revenue
from trade to build in style.

Bursa rapidly expanded
until the new Ottoman city

spread miles beyond
the old Byzantine city walls.

In Bursa,

the legacy of the Ottoman
Turks is carved in its buildings.

The message that these
buildings give to me,

is one of permanence -

it is as it the Ottomans were saying
to the peoples they conquered

by the creation of these newly built
environments

“Oh by the way, we're here to stay."

They didn't have the need to live
behind walled cities,

they didn't feel the need.

So when I look at this panorama,
it all spells permanence.

The Ottomans transformed Bursa

into a staging post
for a new world empire.

The Ottoman advance was rapid.

Ravaged by centuries of isolation,
plague and war,

the Byzantine capital,
was surrounded by Ottoman forces.

Control of this strategic location
was essential.

As a bridge into the Balkans,

it would unify Ottoman territory
in both Europe and Asia

and give the new Ottoman state
international status.

The huge Christian metropolis,

known then simply as “The City",

had been founded
a thousand years earlier

by the Roman Emperor Constantine.

It controlled the straits
where Asia and Europe meet.

It had seen far greater days -
but was still a daunting prize.

The dream of a great Ottoman empire,

would be realised by one
extraordinary man,

the direct descendant of Osman -

Sultan Mehmet ll.

In 1453 Mehmet was just 21 years old.

His entire life had been
a preparation for this moment.

Over 100 specially built Ottoman
warships lay at anchor

in the Marmara Sea...
and waited.

On land, Mehmet mustered
a 100,000-strong force

led by his own household troops -
the Janissaries.

Armourers and engineers wheeled
enormous cannon

and siege machines
into position.

Their target -
the walls of Constantinople.

Inside the walls,

the Byzantines were
a meagre force,

reliant on the strength
of their city's defences.

These walls are absolutely
wonderful.

Down this way you can see them

dropping down
towards the Golden Horn.

Up this way, you can see
the magnificent land walls.

They stride away into the distance

and they look like they could
protect Constantinople almost tor ever...

But there's a catch,

the higher ground that
you can see behind the modern road.

That is the Achilles' heel,

a place where the Ottomans
could put their cannon...

And a bit of elevation
would allow them

to really pick on this section
of the walls.

This was the weakest part
of the city's defences.

That meant that Christian defenders
had to base their best troops here.

I think it's hard to imagine
what it's like to be somewhere

for 40-odd days with guns smashing
the place to bits day after day,

night after night.

A series of night attacks so
that the Christians couldn't rest,

drums, cymbals,

a real sort of psychological
onslaught on the place.

The Christian defenders could try
and repair the damage,

Every so often they would put
barrels of earth there...

wood, rubble blocking the gaps.

But ultimately you can repair things
so many times

but there is an end point.

Final onslaught comes,

the Christians defend the walls
bravely time after time.

The Genoese commander,

their great talismanic figure
is wounded in the arm.

This is a disaster
because he goes to seek help,

it's misinterpreted,
they think he's running away,

and this causes the whole stretch
of defenders

along this wall to lose heart.

That really is the turning point.

The Ottomans get
a great hold on the wall,

the dam is burst
and they plunge into the city.

Triumphant, Mehmet the Conqueror
was now Sultan

of a new Ottoman Empire.

To set the seal on his victory,

Mehmet headed straight
to the spiritual heart

of the old Byzantine city.

To claim an ancient Christian
throne...

"the Hagia Sophia,

meaning the Church of Holy Wisdom.

This was the largest cathedral
in the world

for nearly 1000 years.

When he walked in here
Mehmet must have known

that he'd achieved
his ultimate, ultimate ambition.

He'd smashed the Byzantine Empire.

This place was the spiritual
heartland of Byzantium

it's the place where emperors
were crowned and now it was his.

Years of struggle were over.
He had triumphed.

After the conquest,
Mehmet's troops looted the city,

starting to strip the Hagia Sophia
of its precious icons and relics.

It must have been complete chaos

when Mehmet came in here
just after the conquest.

The place would have been a wreck.

Yet it was still this wonderful,
wonderful structure.

He saw a man hacking up the floor
and said “What are you doing?"

The man said
“I'm doing it for the faith".

Mehmet was furious and he said

“I told you to keep
the structure of the place intact.

“I want this building for myself
for the Ottomans and for Islam."

Mehmet had no intention of destroying
the Hagia Sophia,

he planned to adapt it.

As a symbol of the arrival
of the Ottomans,

he converted the Hagia Sophia
into an Ottoman mosque.

Mehmet changed
the Hagia Sophia

by stamping an Islamic identity
on it.

It had been
a Christian power station

and now he really needed to erase
that as much as he possibly could.

Mehmet installed a minbar,

from which the Imam
would deliver sermons.

And in the apse where the Christian
altar used to stand,

he built a mihrab,
pointing towards Mecca.

Walking through the Hagia Sophia's
corridors today

is like walking back in time.

The worn flagstones and dense
brickwork date back over 1500 years.

Today there are still visible remains
of Hagia Sophia's lustrous mosaics,

an unmistakable symbol
of its Christian origins.

But, representational imagery such as
this was forbidden in Islamic law -

and all the mosaics were whitewashed.

In laying claim
to this magnificent structure -

Mehmet could assert the power
and authority oi the Ottomans

over Byzantine civilization.

The Hagia Sophia's four minarets
were added

over the course of Ottoman rule.

Today they stand as a reminder
of the moment

the Ottomans took control
and created a great new city.

Buondelmonti's map from 1422
is the only surviving map

that shows Byzantine Constantinople
before the Ottoman conquest.

The small details in this map,

compiled by geographer Piri Reis
7O years after the conquest,

reveals a transition.

Mehmet radically altered the city
with the symbols of Ottoman Islam.

He gave orders to his pashas
to build baths, mosques and madrasas.

From this moment on,

“The City”
became known as Istanbul.

But the Ottomans were not going
to stop here.

As well a making the mark of Islam
in this ancient city,

Mehmet had a vision
of a great empire

and one way to drive empire building,
was commerce.

To promote economic growth,

Mehmet maintained
Byzantine trading links

and encouraged the international
traders of Renaissance Europe

to return to business as usual.

It is early morning
at the Grand Bazaar,

the largest and oldest market
of its kind in the world.

Shopkeepers prepare for business.

And at the centre lies a clue
to its Ottoman beginnings.

Based around the original
Byzantine trading street,

Mehmet founded
the Old Bedesten in 1461.

Its labyrinthine vaults
and domed ceilings,

made it a fortress for trade.

The Bedesten is a strongly walled,
steel-doored,

square, central marketplace

where valuable items,
silks, jewels, gold, are marketed.

The idea is that at night it becomes
a veritable bank if you will,

but it's also a bank where during
the day business is carried out.

These doors have opened every day
for almost 600 years.

Over the life of the empire,

the covered bazaar expanded
to its current size,

today the biggest market
in the world, with 5000 shops.

These well-worn streets see a quarter
of a million visitors every day.

And today's Turkish traders
still sell many of the same goods

that drew travellers and merchants

from all over the world
into the Ottoman marketplace.

Today, no matter where we go
in the world

we're surrounded by malls

and that mall in a way
is an extension of this concept

of the covered bazaar.

Just as the Ottoman bazaar and the population of
Istanbul begin a phase of exponential growth,

Mehmet's empire enters
its fastest-growing phase.

The Ottomans move eastward,

taking over Turkic beyliks

and the last areas of Byzantine
resistance leading

to their complete domination
of Anatolia.

And they also move north

taking Serbia, Greece, Romania
and the Ukraine.

As the Ottoman empire grew
in size and power,

it spread its control
further over Europe.

But this flourishing empire was
closely regulated and administered

from a central point - Istanbul.

So to consolidate
his new-found power,

Mehmet began building
a new Ottoman palace -

it was named Topkapi.

And he chose
an extremely important location -

the site was the ancient
acropolis of Byzantium.

Set upon the highest ground
in the city,

Topkapi Palace is shaded from
the bustle of the city by woodland,

extending all the way down
to the Bosporus shore.

The basic layout
of this new royal residence

was established in Mehmet's time.

Over centuries of Ottoman rule,

the Topkapi complex became the byword
for opulence,

as later sultans enhanced

its elaborate, ornate chambers
and pavilions.

Topkapi Palace is the expression
of Mehmet's desire

to create a centralised empire

which would equal
its European counterparts -

even rival the legacy
of the Roman Empire.

After taking Constantinople,

this is where Mehmet pulled
his new empire together.

He was a military hero
conquering new land.

This gives him enormous prestige
and clout.

I mean, now the Ottoman Empire
is a global empire

in a sense of the globe
in that period

and he could make
great claims as to who he was.

I, Mehmet, son of Murad,
son of Mehmet,

Ruler of the Black Sea
and the Mediterranean Sea,

Romalia and Anatolia,

Ruler of this, that,
that and that

and they got to add more conquests.

They saw themselves as commanders
of many old empires and regions.

I think we could say
he was a 360-degree sultan

in a sense that the world around him
needed to pay attention to him.

In Western eyes,
Mehmet was the terror of the world.

But as well as being a successful
military leader,

Mehmet was also a ruler
of the Renaissance,

primed to negotiate the Eastern
and Western cultural horizons

of his new empire.

At Topkapi Palace he created a
sophisticated machine for government.

He gathered the most highly skilled
people in the empire

and brought them to the palace
to form a new Ottoman elite.

This is where the sultan lived.

It's very quiet right now
as you look around,

looks very pastoral, but you have
to imagine it full of people,

quiet, disciplined,
walking in the prescribed way

but rather full of people.

Who were those people?

They were the sultan's
personal servants

but perhaps more importantly,

this third courtyard was
something like a royal academy

for training the sultan's officers.

These officers were the Sultan's
personal servants and advisors.

But, they were not the traditional
Muslim advisors of his forefathers.

They were a Christian-born
intelligentsia.

Selected from within
the Ottoman territories,

these Christian servants or kuls,

were converted to Islam
and trained the Ottoman way.

The ones who did very well
would be chosen

for the Sultan's own private room.

The best would acquire titles like,
the Sultan's Linen Bearer,

the Sultan's Stirrup Holder

and these titles were very important
political titles,

but they are service titles.

This was an Ottoman meritocracy.

Being trained to serve in Mehmet's
palace chambers could lead

all the way to the top
of the Ottoman political hierarchy.

This is where Mehmet pulled the
bureaucracy of his empire together -

here he ran his centralised state.

The Ottoman bureaucracy would meet
at the Imperial Council.

This is really the seat
of Ottoman Government.

Here is where the major decisions
are taken by the Sultanate,

were discussed
and decided.

They discussed military policy,
foreign affairs.

They were also responsible
for the smooth running of the empire

which meant that they were
constantly having information

coming in from the provinces

and responding to questions from
their officials.

So there was
quite a flow of information.

Over 400 years ago, the Head of the
Chancery, the leading judges

and the ministers of the treasury
would have gathered in this room.

Led by the sultan's most powerful
official - his Grand Vizier.

Here, Sultan Mehmet ll issued the
first Ottoman Imperial Law Code.

Delegates, princes and diplomats
from the West and the East

were received
in this room by the Ottoman elite.

And, most remarkably,

even the lowliest Ottoman subject
had the right

to pass through the palace gates
for an audience with the sultan.

Ordinary people had the right
to come to Istanbul

and submit a petition
to the sultan.

In fact, there's a story

that has to do with the existence
of this window up here.

The story is about
Mehmet the Conqueror,

who would sit with his council

deliberating affairs
and making decisions.

This alleged peasant comes in

and he's got his petition
and he says

“Which one of you is the Sultan?"

Which of course insulted the Sultan.

So the story goes that the Sultan
gradually withdrew himself

from council deliberations.

But he had this room constructed
up here.

There's a small room
behind this grill.

And the Sultan would sometimes come,
sometimes not come.

The Council would never know
when he was going to be there.

The point being
that he was always scrutinising

the correctness
of their deliberations.

But this was not only a regime

that gave men a chance to prosper
inside Topkapi.

Inside the palace was another,
private, training ground...

exclusively for women.

The harem.

The women in the harem,
at all stages,

were recruited like the men

who were serving the Sultan
as Janissaries,

as famous pashas.

They all are Christian in origin.

They may come in
as prisoners of war.

They may come in on the slave market

or they may come in as gifts.

They're being taught
cultural skills,

how to converse politely,

some of them are expert musicians,
poets. They perform.

So it is a place
where women are being trained

for service to the dynasty.

Traditionally, the image
of the Ottoman harem

is one of pleasure,
and seduction.

But, as the Harem expanded
within Topkapi Palace,

it brought women
into the heart of government.

Originally from places like Bulgaria,
Georgia, and Macedonia,

the women of the harem
had converted to Islam.

And through bearing the sultan's son,

some harem women were responsible
for the political training

of successors
to the Ottoman sultanate.

Others became part of the Ottoman
political arena

by marrying the male trainees
in the palace.

What they often did was to marry
a graduate,

if you want to say,
of the female harem, so to speak,

to the male side
of the palace training.

And in that way it was clever
of the dynasty -

they had a kind
of a satellite household.

Woman is from the palace,
man is from the palace.

Mehmet's circle drew together
the culture of East and West.

In his court, he kept Persian poets,

Arab and Greek astronomers,

Italian scholars and artists.

This acceptance of diversity
extended far beyond the palace.

The Ottoman heartland acted
as a bridge between Europe and Asia.

Many of the people the Ottomans
had conquered, were non Muslim.

Although sharia was the law
of the land,

the Ottoman system didn't
impose Islamic culture

upon the empire's Christian, Jewish
and other minority communities.

Instead, Mehmet codified a system

that would enable him
to successfully manage

one of the largest empires on Earth.

It was called the Millet system.

It organised Ottoman subjects
together by faith -

into different
millets or nations .

At the Ottoman State Archives,

there is detailed evidence
on how the system worked in practice.

This is one of the largest archives
in the world.

Its millions of documents reveal
how Mehmet's administration

recorded information about
every person in their territories

in exact detail.

And there's one particular case
that highlights the differences

between the European West
and the Ottomans.

In 1492,

the Sephardic Jews were being
expelled from the Iberian peninsula.

The majority of them found a refuge
in the Ottoman Empire.

These meticulous documents

list the names
of the thousands of people

that settled in Ottoman cities.

This shows how waves
of Jewish refugees

integrated into the empire.

Under the Millet System,
minority communities

had comparative social
and religious freedom -

so long as they kept to the rules
and paid their taxes.

The Millet System didn't give
the empire's non-Muslim community

complete equality,

but it allowed the Ottomans to
maintain a stable and peaceful empire

in which trade could flourish.

In ports like Bursa,
trade was the lifeline of the city.

And in great fortified marketplaces
or hans, like Koza Han,

500 years ago
there were thriving communities

of Jews, Christians,
Greeks and Armenians.

We see that
there were Muslim merchants

but they were often in business
with Jewish merchants.

They were often in business
with former Byzantines, er...

so one certainly doesn't get the...

the feeling
in any way

that trade and commerce
in any way

was limited by one's religion
or anything like that.

With its mix of central regulation

and comparative religious
and social freedom,

the Ottoman system allowed trade
to develop within the empire.

But, it also attracted merchants
from outside the empire.

In Renaissance Europe
there was a growing demand

for exotic Ottoman products.

In tact, Italian city states
like Venice -

were entirely dependent on trade
in Ottoman dominions.

They relied on the Ottomans
for luxuries like spices,

leather and textiles.

This Turkish connection was so vital

that even today its legacy
can be seen here in Venice.

Known as the Fondaco dei Turchi,

this grand building served as home,
warehouse, and market

for all the Turkish traders,
living in Venice.

A constant flow of merchants
carried goods between Venice

and port cities like Bursa.

The Italians brought wool,

which they marketed in hans
just like this.

And with the profits from the sale
of that they bought raw silk,

which in turn they exported
back to Italy.

We have records from an Italian
merchant, Francesco de Meringi,

who relates how he sold
and made 1%, 1.5% on the sales.

So I mean it was er, clearly
a very complex market economy,

even at the beginning
of the 15th century.

It was this trade
with places like Venice

that built Bursa into a great city

and fuelled the expansion
of the empire.

The Ottoman dynasty cast its shade
further and further around the world.

Their unrivalled military strength,

economic riches
and territorial expanse

made Sultan Suleyman ll

one of the world's
most powerful rulers.

In the 16th century,

the empire expanded
across three continents.

The Ottomans controlled
much of western Asia,

north Africa
and south-eastern Europe.

Because their principles
and practices

were not tied to any one territory,

the Ottomans were able
to conquer and control

a huge and complex empire.

We see case after case where,

when the Ottomans decided
to move against a territory,

that initially
they proffer an offer:

surrender - and everything
will stay the same.

And one of the things
that they followed very carefully

is a policy
that we call istimalet,

good will, good treatment.

So when the Ottomans come
they bring a kind of Pax Ottomanica,

a kind of Ottoman peace...

That kind of good treatment
must have been a major factor

in how the system
was readily accepted.

And that of course is an important
part I think of their success.

But while Suleyman could claim
that peace reigned within his empire,

he brought war to those lands
that refused his rule.

From Mecca in the east,
to Rome in the west.

Suleyman's ambition was to unite
the world under his sovereignty.

Now, he pushed westward.

Virtually invincible,

the Ottoman elite troops,
the Janisseries,

were the vanguard
of the largest army in Europe.

At the Battle of the Mohacs in 1526,

victorious Sultan Suleyman
forged new frontiers, into Hungary.

Three years later,

the 300,000-strong
Ottoman war machine

pushed their way
to the gates of Vienna.

Shockwaves ran
throughout Christian Europe.

Total Ottoman domination
seemed imminent.

The dynasty that had risen
in Anatolia

had spread its influence
far across the world.

The empire had begun
with a tiny independent kingdom

just over 200 years earlier.

But from this simple start
it had found a formula for success.

By using conquest, trade

and promoting the most talented
people it could muster,

it now stood
on the brink of world power.

Subtitles © SBS Australia 2013