Original subtitles

sub by AHMAD JOHN

Shaken Aimanov Kazakhfilm Studio

Alem Creative Association

A film by Ardak Amirkulov

THE FALL OF OTRAR

The early 13th century was a fateful time for the people of Asia and Europe.

The great Muhammad Shah of Khorezm, who ruled over Central Asia,

Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan, parts of Kazakhstan and more,

was about to declare war on Baghdad.

While trying to gain absolute power over the Muslim world,

he failed to see the true threat lurking in the Mongolian steppes.

After seven years of service in Genghis Khan's army,

Unzhu, a Kipchak scout, has returned to Khorezm...

I shall speak only in Kairkhan's presence.

Only if the Great Aldiyar agrees.

PART ONE: THE SCOUT

Don't move.

Come in, come in. And remember...

Today, you're a guest here.

When it gets cooler, birds will flock here.

Flies and mosquitoes breed and get fat.

The birds eat the flies first,

and then...

People here moan and cry a lot the first few days

and they beg for water.

Here is the water.

Why don't you ask me what their sin is, Unzhu?

What is their sin?

This old man knows the Quran by heart,

but he was a stubborn man.

Some of them told lies. One of them like you, Kipchak.

He told stories, just like you.

Has Kairkhan been here?

There's a time for everything.

Nobody forbade me to look at his face. I am a guest here, after all.

Now drink all the water from that barrel and retrieve my helmet.

Snap out of it.

The Great Aldiyar hasn't doubted your word yet.

Maybe God created you for the purpose of saving your country.

If your soul suffers, I will help you to die easily.

Remember that we are merely dust in Allah's fingers.

And our fate is predetermined, dear man.

You are right, Uakil.

But there's the dust that comes from shit...

and then there's dust from stone.

I can do little for him.

He can do even less for me.

I was foolish to come here of my own will.

They did the same.

Except for this old fool.

What was that for?

What are you doing, you blind rat?

You're an old bald-headed mouse!

Farewell, brother!

Whatever tribe you were from... I have no idea.

URGENCH, CAPITAL OF KHOREZM

It would be better if Kairkhan were present.

MUHAMMAD SHAH'S PALACE

How are the machines made from logs

if the Mongols have no wood?

How can they make these cannons?

True, Great One, they don't have forests.

The Mongols take what they need at the point of a cruel sword.

And if they'd seen these drawings,

they'd have broken my back.

The Chinese invented these machines

to breach the city walls of their own brothers.

If a Chinese worker makes a machine that hurls rocks badly,

they use him as a rock.

If one person runs away, ten soldiers get executed.

If ten men flee, a hundred heads roll.

You, Kipchak, were at the head of a hundred Mongol warriors, weren't you?

No.

I was at the head of a thousand! But among my men were many Chinese,

Merkits

and warriors from other nations.

Even Muslims!

Unzhu Khan...

He speaks to Mongolians in Mongolian, he speaks to the Chinese in Chinese.

With us, he talks like a true Muslim.

The Chinese man is here.

Before he attacks,

Genghis Khan sends out merchants.

The merchants make models of the enemy's city

out of clay and sand.

There are many merchants like this in your city.

They have golden tokens

with beasts engraved on them.

Any Mongol will lead such a merchant to the great Genghis Khan.

I've seen it.

I know it.

Our Chinese interpreter.

Explain the meaning of this drawing in the Chinese language to me.

Come on.

There are three units...

One of them fires arrows and runs away,

deceiving the pursuer,

two others attack from the side and slaughter the pursuers.

Oh, Great Aldiyar!

This man speaks a language I do not understand.

I speak over forty dialects from my land,

but perhaps this man speaks the language of the mountain people.

You, Chinese, come to your senses!

Genghis Khan is now eating the livers of your people!

Your land is now a resort for Mongol dogs!

How did he command Chinese soldiers without knowing their language?

The Kipchaks refuse to march on Baghdad, but that's not enough for you!

I hold the universe in my hands!

Why should I care about some savage like Genghis!

Why did you come here? Tell me.

I will tell you.

I came here to find out

what's going on in my land under your leadership.

Lies!

Who sent you here?

My mother?

My son, Jelaladin?

Answer!

I said, answer me!

Answer!

You'll tell me everything in the execution tower,

when flies start eating your eyes!

Start from the beginning, No tricks, no lies, tell me everything!

I've told you everything, Aldiyar, everything I saw!

Even how they break warriors' backs!

They pour molten silver on rulers' faces.

They force their own mothers to whine like dogs,

- and chain them at Genghis Khan's door! - You're a traitor!

They'll throw you gnawed bones!

Who sent you here?

I've told you everything! Everything!

This is a lie! A trap set for me!

Nothing but Kairkhan's tricks.

He seeks power and is holding secret talks with Baghdad.

He wants me to turn my sword against some unknown Mongols.

I'll come to see you in three days and you'll talk then,

while I remain silent.

If you're telling the truth, Allah will forgive me.

You'd be the first speck of dust

in the storm that will bury the entire world.

Life is a crooked wheel that leaves a crooked trail...

Khan,

Allah had gifted me this day.

First, he took it away, and then he gave it back.

He thought of me specifically

and chased the flies away with snow.

But my eyes are swollen.

Tell me what you see, khan!

How did you know that I'm a khan, you sinner?

How did you know that I'm a sinner?

Maybe I'm God beneath these clothes.

Your eyes are not swollen, they're all rheumy.

A man can see with his soul.

But is it worth seeing then?

There's only one good thing in the world, and that's snow.

Allah created life on Earth,

but then people began devouring one another, and death came to us.

But death horrifies the living.

So he invented torture

for the chosen ones like me,

so they may call out for death.

You too will realize it,

when the flies return.

My death will be different, for a different purpose.

You stupid Kipchak!

You can only draw the bow-string,

the arrow's flight is guided by Allah.

Hangman!

Take Kairkhan.

I'll cut off your arm!

You won't be able to remove your pants in the harem without a eunuch's help!

Great Aldiyar! I'll become a martyr for Allah.

You won't hide my death from the Kipchaks.

They won't stay loyal to you!

I do not believe my people will lie!

The last one hanging in the Merry Tower

will still utter the truth before he dies.

We outnumber the Mongols by three to one!

Take your sword, summon the people and glory will be yours!

Kairkhan is a nobleman.

You can't hand him over to a hangman.

The Great Aldiyar was joking with my nephew.

Hangman, you will remain in favor in the harem,

but if you had come one step closer to my nephew,

you'd have risked something more important than a finger!

O Almighty Creator,

please enlighten Aldiyar's mind.

May the patience of God's servant in the Merry Tower never run out.

Receive his soul.

I cannot die! Sergeant, sergeant!

Call Uakil! Call Uakil!

Uakil will come after the evening prayer,

or he may not come at all.

Stop whistling,

you'll wake up the flies!

The future is not as you see it.

We're all doomed.

What are you doing up there, khan?

Come down to earth, we will talk.

Neither place is great to talk, neither here nor there.

You're all dirty, khan.

Clean yourself up.

If there's no water for a shower, look for something to satisfy your hunger.

Life is a dangerous winding path

But it sometimes leads to a straight road

Call the soldiers.

I'll take the khan with me.

I'm not allowed to let him go.

Then you'd better pray.

Can you fight like that, Kipchak?

I can do better.

Put on your boots. It's a disgrace to go barefoot.

Bring out a new guard,

string up someone from the dungeon in the khan's place.

Wait!

Take this old man.

He knows a lot, he may be useful to you.

Hey, old man, what were you babbling about?

It seems that Allah looked well on me.

Man's thought is momentary,

Allah's thought is infinite.

Kneel down!

Do you understand who saved you?

Come closer.

My eyesight is poor, I cannot see from a distance.

But I can hear well enough.

Why are you wheezing?

I was afraid of telling lies when the flies came for me.

So I tried to cut my throat with a rope.

When your son didn't believe me,

and Kairkhan forgot all about me.

I wanted to die.

Oh, Kairkhan, Kairkhan...

He hasn't seen you after your seven-year absence?

No, mistress!

You must pronounce my full name when addressing me.

If you don't know it, then listen and repeat after the child.

Terken Khatun, Ruler of the Universe,

Mother of the Great Shah Aldiyar, Queen of all Women of the Earth.

Say it!

Kairkhan, the governor of Otrar, sent me to join the Mongols

seven years ago.

I've been loyal to him, to your son, and to you.

When he sent me there, Kairkhan said:

"Who needs this life in a world without the Kipchaks?"

So I went from being a slave to commanding a thousand men.

I've mastered languages and learned their art of fighting.

I've learned the tricks of their scouts,

and the way the whispers in our house reach their ears.

Did the Baghdad Caliph's men speak to you?

I've never been to Baghdad.

You don't have to see Holy Baghdad to tell someone about it.

You have been to China and even learned their language.

Has that helped you much in life?

Don't you think Jelaladin the Turkmen will defend the Kipchak steppe as well?

There will be no need to defend it.

March our armies against the accursed Genghis Khan

in the yet uncaptured Chinese cities,

and cut him off from his own camps.

If Genghis Khan turns his army this way,

he will do more than lead the short-legged Mongols here.

You said your eyes do not see well...

so trust my eyes.

They will saturate the earth with human fat.

I've seen it, I know.

First, you will rest a while and find some joy.

Then you will come back

and confess to my son that you were in Baghdad,

not China.

Tell him you want to see my grandson, the venerable Jelaladin,

on the throne in Baghdad.

Say you recognize some of his men from Baghdad.

They will be shown to you soon.

You'll be pardoned,

and you'll take command of a thousand men in Khorezm.

Farewell, Kipchak.

Farewell, mistress.

The Chinese put little lenses in front of their eyes,

so they can see better.

What nonsense!

I'm the only one who has the right to talk about my eyes.

Kairkhan promised you an easy death

if you persist.

You can tell him a different story now

and make your own promises.

Life's more interesting when viewed from a higher hill.

But you all live in the flat steppe.

Are you a foreigner?

The God I knew in childhood reminds me something of you.

What makes me a foreigner?

That God from childhood invented hammering nails into his own hands.

Kairkhan, who sent you to the Mongols is here in his palace, not in Otrar.

You could easily list him among those you saw in Baghdad.

He didn't do anything to save you.

Very well. I will do so.

The mistress is interested in you.

She may promote you.

I can send you a woman from Egypt who is taller than you, if you want.

Better a Chinese girl with small feet.

How will you explain what you want?

That Chinese man swore you don't know their language.

He may have already fled to the mountains.

Don't stay up too late.

The mistress loves to peep, she is partial to young bodies.

Your clothes will be returned in the morning.

THE MERCHANT'S HOUSE

What's this, merchant?

It's a Chinese machine...

for making holes in walls.

The Chinese are gentle people, and so are their walls.

They can't breach your walls.

They say you are all merchants who serve Genghis Khan for cheap goods.

You sculpt our Muslim lands from sand and rock

to show to Genghis Khan.

I've heard you have golden tokens

which make any Mongol serve you.

Now his soldiers will be digging everywhere.

You know what they will look for.

You may look me in the eyes, merchant.

They are not the eyes of Allah,

nor the eyes of Genghis Khan,

the yellow-eared bastard you sold your soul to.

So let your sons

be guests in the Merry Tower.

Let me go, let me go! Daddy! Daddy!

Your Highness, Genghis Khan once wore shackles around his neck.

How can a faithful Muslim serve an ex-slave?

I've never been to Baghdad,

but I've heard the rumors!

The Ruler of Baghdad and the Kipchak khans are your enemies.

Everyone, lie down and don't move!

If you raise your heads, you'll have them cut off!

Search everywhere. Look up there!

You two, go upstairs!

Look in that corner!

Perhaps high up in the mountains...

I warned you I'm a better fighter.

May your soul forgive me.

I followed the will of Allah.

Am I Allah's arrow?

Yes, you are Allah's arrow.

Don't press that plank, Chinese man.

I've cut the rope to the alarm.

Remember?

I once visited your homeland.

Unfortunately, your Hindu saw me in the lantern light.

Now his soul's probably off beyond the high mountains.

I wonder where your soul would fly to.

So, I can't speak Chinese, eh?

And no one except the mountain dwellers can understand me?

Isn't that what you said?

And you, poor wretch, will die in ignorance of what I said.

That hurts, I'm dying!

My family's name is in the casket!

Read it when I'm gone!

Your Allah shall reward you for this deed!

Your kin would never understand me,

our languages are different.

I didn't thrust the sword in deep.

It will take a while for you to die.

You'll have time to think about your homeland.

A very important thing to do.

I believe Allah chose me to be His arrow.

Just for a while, of course.

Are you Allah's arrow?

Yes, you are Allah's arrow.

Who are you?

I'm Allah's arrow!

I'll punish you, my tongue,

for singing and shouting in Mongolian.

Could it be, when we slit the Mongols' throats,

that I will shed tears and sing for them?

Lie still, young khan, and I'll do you no harm.

I'm here, Unzhu.

Greetings, Kairkhan.

We were expecting you yesterday.

So was the young khan.

Yes, that's right, he's your wet-nurse's son.

Let go of the boy. What does it matter if he dies?

You're so cunning,

you nearly outwitted yourself.

I should have told them I've never been to the Mongols' land,

that I went to Baghdad instead, with Jelaladin and you too.

Then you, not me, would be piercing your royal navel.

You handed me over to the hangman.

I've brought you my payment.

Here!

Give me the torch!

Want some watermelon wine?

You remember what it tastes like, right?

- Where are you taking me? - To your children.

Everybody, face the wall!

You're prospering, merchant. You owe me a gift.

This way, merchant.

We didn't touch the children.

They were only watching.

We asked your scribe...

if you had been to Baghdad.

He said yes. So did the children.

Everybody says so, lucky for you.

And lucky for you, they could describe it.

You may take your sons with you.

They'll recover and be extremely obedient.

Merchant,

the Great Aldiyar is pleased with you and rewards you with...

his bracelet. These khans were bought by Baghdad, as you said.

Hey, merchant!

You can have a ride home for ten coins.

And for thirty coins you might find

some nearly decent clothes for your children there.

The Kipchak and Turkmen khans who refuse to go to Baghdad

will be sent to the Merry Tower.

I sent a messenger to Jelaladin,

but his palace is heavily guarded.

Not even a mouse could get in.

You imagined yourself as an arrow from Allah.

You are not an arrow, but dirt on the tail of your Genghis Khan's horse!

- You like Genghis Khan, do you? - Yes, I do!

He never betrays those who serve him!

Maybe you're right! But this is what you were supposed to do:

You should have shouted out the truth to the Great One's face

and then died on the stake!

The truth spoken by a martyr

would have had an effect!

I sent five men, three of them returned,

but none of you, you hear me, you bastard, none of you did that

when you faced death!

You all betrayed me!

My poor people have no martyrs!

That's true.

Show your people, khan.

- Become one! - Become what?

A martyr!

It's so simple, Kairkhan.

Stand up and shout out the truth to the Great Council!

And I swear by my mother, whom I don't remember,

that I will shout the same from the stake!

But you wear golden shoes

and possess a noble name, Kairkhan.

You can't sacrifice any of that.

You raised me in your own home.

But now I spit on you!

That's what I've lived for these last few days.

Call your henchmen.

The Great One will reward you for bringing me in.

No, I'll do it myself,

Kairkhan,

I'm like a dog that bit its master.

I'm tired.

When the strong offend the weak,

it is merely an injustice.

But when the weak offend the strong,

it's not only an injustice, it's a disgrace as well.

You killed the Great Aldiyar's servants.

You heard what you were not supposed to hear.

There are a thousand roads in this life,

you'd better choose the one that takes you furthest away.

They say there's a place near the Khorezm Sea

where people can alter their faces.

I will sleep well tonight.

You can't talk to yourself all the time.

Don't banish me, Kairkhan. Don't!

Put these on. It's a disgrace to go barefoot.

Kairkhan doesn't want you here,

nor in Otrar, "Allah's Arrow."

Here, take this torch.

This is how it was when Allah created the world.

But He created it without this.

Perhaps this is the Khorezm Sea,

where people alter their faces?

Do you remember me, old man?

You were closer to God on the stake.

So I ordered them to take you down.

Did I do the right thing?

The Kipchak, Allah's arrow!

Do you have much work to do in this world?

Oh, no!

I'm nowhere near your level.

Allah put me in His quiver,

and has kept me there so far.

But I have plenty of money.

I could buy you a donkey

and we could go somewhere.

You could tell me things I don't know,

and I'd think about my future.

We could even go on a pilgrimage

Let's go!

Sometimes it seems to me that I've lived forever.

Thoughts can be put into one's head if there's room inside.

But your head's bursting with your own thoughts.

If you want, I can tell you

about an incorrect interpretation of the Quran.

What do you say?

GENGHIS KHAN'S HEADQUARTERS

Did your fat ruler tell you about me?

I told him your troops are a wisp of smoke compared to his fire.

This is what he gave me.

It would be difficult to shake the world with such a thin arm.

The Shah wore this bracelet when he was a little boy.

Why are there two rows of pebbles around this city?

This is Otrar.

The capital of the Kipchak land.

It's very rich and beautiful,

with a high wall and a strong army.

But Muhammad has declared war on Baghdad.

We'll keep catching the fish of knowledge from these trade rivers.

He who mounts his horse in haste

may fall from it.

Let the caravans with our goods travel every road,

including the one to Otrar.

Our warriors will pose as servants and drivers.

Kairkhan may know it, but only we will know the inner secrets.

You'll choose the goods for the Muslims, merchant.

You come from that city, don't you?

Yes, Great Khan, I am from Urgench.

You've traveled far and wide.

Have you ever come across people who live forever?

No, Great Khan.

And you've never heard of such people?

There's much talk about them.

But I myself have seen people who lived 200 years and more.

When you find them,

bring them to me, or find out where they live.

Your sons may stay here awhile.

We'll give each one several wives.

You're the second greatest one after my own God.

I realized that long ago.

But the boys need mosques.

God is everywhere,

so one can pray to Him everywhere.

But the fact that I'm talking to you, merchant,

doesn't mean that I asked for your advice.

Great Khan, what about my sons?

Your sons are here, merchant!

Excuse me, khan.

A Mongol caravan is heading towards Otrar.

I came to convey this message.

He won!

But Mongols are never slaves or drivers.

They can only be warriors,

nothing else.

Let something good grow here.

Khan, khan!

If the Khan doesn't know the town,

I'll show him around!

For just one copper coin!

Hold the reins.

Hey, Khan, are you going to buy this house?

Maybe.

I think I've owned it once before.

Don't listen to that slave's ranting.

I won't drive you out of this house.

Don't be afraid of me.

Why should I? I'm not.

It's just that my husband died in the holy war for Baghdad.

He's a Mongol spy! He came here with the caravan.

Don't go near that horse!

I've been a guard here for twenty years.

What kind of guard would I be if I didn't recognize you?

This is all you're worth now.

- I told you he's a Mongol spy! - Quiet!

I'll come back tonight,

and sleep in the doorway.

You have poor eyesight, my child.

I'll take you to see the Chinese doctor.

He attaches little crystals to the eyes to make the patient see better.

Read this!

"Lighting a little match is wiser than cursing the darkness."

Well, what do you say to that?

There's so much wisdom in it, that one can't help but wonder...

where the countries and people

that gave birth to these sages disappeared to.

It is a thought, a thought.

You took part in the march on Baghdad, didn't you?

Yes, as a plain Kipchak warrior, by your grace.

- How come you're still alive? - What do you care?

I learned a thing or two from the Mongols.

Just tell me.

- Have you found it? - No.

Keep searching.

They say it was freezing cold on the mountain passes.

Is that frostbite on your face?

Yes.

I'm just a tiny rock in a landslide of errors.

You're lying!

You burned your face even before the march.

You guide merchants, drink liquor and sleep like a tramp.

You came with the caravan like a dog following a tiger.

Stay away from your house!

All right. I'll leave today.

I've found it!

Read it to me.

Read it then, read it.

All right, my dear. Close the book.

Go home.

These books are filled with wisdom.

Losing them would mean losing everything.

Tell me...

where would we keep them if we wanted to protect them

from both fire and time?

I would say, put them in clay chests

and cover them with our Otrar bricks.

Porcelain is also strong,

but there are a few people able to make it in our time.

I'll sleep at home, Kairkhan.

As you wish.

But a spy serves both sides with equal zeal.

That's why you're no longer a warrior. You're merely Unzhu.

The Mongols are measuring the wall.

Well, Unzhu. Nothing to say?

They don't need to measure the walls.

There's a man from the eighth unit in the caravan.

He's experienced in crops, wells, the grazing of horses.

And there are other men, experienced soldiers,

who know how many ropes to stretch from one tower to the next.

And the Chinese know where to breach walls.

There must be Muslims in the city

who were granted tokens...

which guarantee them their lives for certain services.

Yes, Kairkhan, for certain services.

If you kill them now,

we'll be the first to stand in the way of Genghis Khan.

You keep singing the same old song, with no beginning,

but the same ending: our deaths.

They'll find it hard to breach the walls,

but for them "hard" just means "long".

Summer heat affects warriors' stomachs.

A horseman is not supposed to sit on his haunches.

That's the only fear they have.

Forgive me, Kairkhan, I presume they've discussed

how to make a tunnel and drain the canals.

- Because without clean water... - It's us who will sit on our haunches.

Is Khan Arslan of the Merkits still alive?

Did you have a friend there like me?

There is no one like you in the world.

Unzhu was not lying, this gold object was inside some flatbread.

You spent all your life in fear, merchant,

so now you have no fear left in you.

But Allah will give it back to you in full measure.

They say a Mongol messenger learns his message by heart,

and sings it to his Great Khan like a song.

You too will sing to Genghis Khan about my people,

our high walls, our chain armor and swords.

Be on your way! You will sing that song

in every Kipchak city, merchant!

The envoys of the Great Khan,

ruler of the Mongols.

The ruler of the world sends his greetings,

and he demands a ransom for the destroyed caravan,

and Kairkhan's head.

They are Muslim...

but serve the infidels.

Hangman, they're all yours!

Put out that man's eyes,

and let the other two have Genghis Khan's tribute instead of beards.

You can't kill envoys!

You'll get your war!

The Great Shah offers you this sword, Kairkhan.

It was used to cut off the head of Genghis Khan's envoy.

He has appointed Karajik Khan co-governor of Otrar,

his wisdom will complement your bravery.

The Great Shah isn't rushing you,

yet he hopes you'll be on your way home by dawn.

Your son will stay here in Urgench.

Be ready to set off.

Prepare for departure!

Those who are not ready by sunrise will be punished!

The Great One stayed up all night.

Allah helped him reach a decision.

The troops will not leave their cities,

and the commanders will remain in the Merry Tower.

Our lands are plentiful, the Great One said,

and Genghis Khan will grow weaker with every city he besieges.

Whirlwinds never last long.

Allah may save my people,

or hurl us to the bottom of the deep well...

which we call "time."

You'll stay here, in Urgench.

Mount your horses!

Light the signal torches!

Split up into two groups!

To Termez, Sauran, and Otrar!

Raze the villages along the way!

They did what we have done many times.

At night they stole up to the ambush,

where your fifth brigade was lying in wait,

and when the Merkits turned back...

luring in the Kipchaks,

your fifth brigade

had already been slaughtered.

They did what we have done many times.

At night, they stole up to the ambush

where your fifth brigade was lying in wait,

and when the Merkits turned back...

The Great Khan wants to see you!

Great Khan! They did what we have done many times

At night they stole up to the ambush,

where your fifth brigade was lying in wait and when the Merkits turned back,

luring in the Kipchaks, your fifth brigade had already been slaughtered.

It's not possible to kill a whole brigade.

Those deserting the field of battle shall meet eternity

without entering the camp.

This one is not afraid of sharing good news.

Let him shout happily to me

that the mosquito flying from the river to their city

will only fly over my warriors.

A duel between a Kipchak and a Mongol!

Kairkhan, don't let him fight!

You grab my boot a little too often! I'll have them gift it to you!

Kairkhan, you think you're a warrior in Genghis Khan's eyes? You are his prey!

Hey, Kipchak! Did you say goodbye to your wife?

You're so scary, I'm trembling!

You have no wife, by the looks of it!

So say goodbye to your horse instead!

Stay where you are!

Kipchaks, your warrior's dead! Who's next?

Write!

Then you'll have to leave,

otherwise, I'll curse you!

All the dead Kipchaks will rise from their graves,

and curse you.

Write boldly and in large letters,

since what you will be writing

will defy the passage of time...

if Allah so wills it.

Finish it like this:

"This took place in the year of the Dragon,

and we Kipchaks are saying farewell to one another.

My people have come to the end of everything,

and no new beginning is expected soon."

Now go!

Do everything I told you!

So they can't hear?

- But I heard it! - Listen!

An ear is nothing but a hole.

Lie down!

Take your hat off!

Sound enters through the body.

Even the deaf can sing and play.

Quiet!

Dig some defensive passages!

Prepare oil and flames!

Soon the Great One will send us a relief force!

And you, play your sybyz.

It's the convoy of captured warriors.

The assault begins at dawn.

What is it, old man?

I'm wondering, Khan.

It's been my life-long dream not to be a slave.

You promised to set me free,

but not by letting me go home...

by being killed by a Mongol instead.

On the other hand, you are far away from home

and your kinfolk are not in danger.

Is it good that I've no one to think about?

I don't want to die for anyone.

Not even for you, khan! Forgive me!

All my life, I've hated your orchards.

In summer, they turn yellow,

and now they're destroyed.

Your city's like an old woman with wizened breasts.

Am I supposed to die for that? No.

It's not my life,

it's someone else's life.

I can tell by your shoulders you've never worn wooden blocks.

That means you've never tried to escape.

- Give me an arrow. - What for?

Just give it to me.

I've seen your back.

It's smooth.

That means you've never raised your hand against your master.

That's why...

you'll never understand me, old man.

Kairkhan!

It's a ruse! They'll drive captives in front of them.

The real warriors will go through the tunnel.

We're Kipchaks, brothers!

Drive them back!

You're so big, yet your hands are shaking.

You never stop joking.

Khumar!

Get ready!

Khumar, your ass blocked half the world, and we didn't get to see anything.

I'll slice you into pieces.

Unzhu! Unzhu Khan!

Let's get out of here. I beg you!

Bring the fire. Bring the fire here!

We've set fire to the ferret's muzzle. Now let's see his tail smoking.

- Hey, how do my teeth look? - What?

Have I lost any?

It stretched far.

It's raining! Let's go!

Move along!

Unzhu Khan, Khumar Khodja, come in!

My greetings, Arslan Khan.

Don't worry, just listen, let the horse go.

They may have already recognized you.

Yes, it's me,

Commander Unzhu.

How are you? Do you want me to massage your back?

You used to like that.

You look rather disheveled, Unzhu.

But I hold no resentment against you.

Sit down and have some meat.

Sit down and talk!

How are your wife and your herds?

Has your son grown up?

Why is this noble commander dressed as a plain warrior?

I guess...

the Great Khan is angry that his commander failed to capture Otrar.

I've missed you.

I thought you had been strangled by the Chinese.

And that cost them a city.

Not as big as Otrar, though.

Where's the armor I gave you?

And where are half your people, Arslan Khan?

Don't you have nightmares about your kin being killed by the Mongols?

Hey, Commander!

You killed his Merkits, didn't you?

But our cities were ready to fight you.

Your cities are no more, Unzhu Khan!

I tore this piece of cloth

from a big banner in the central mosque in Bukhara.

Our dogs are running loose in Samarkand and Urgench!

And your fat Shah is tied to the Great Khan's tent

by the part of his body he made his harem so happy with!

Seize them!

Mistakes, so many mistakes!

It's not the same fabric.

It looks very much like it, though.

The Mongols are very cunning.

I've never liked you, Unzhu,

because I've always felt guilty towards you.

That's the way it was.

Now things will be different.

But just think...

If a stinking Merkit brought me this cloth from Bukhara,

which remains undefeated,

why couldn't a similar cloth

have been brought to the Great One from Otrar?

So he won't send the 50,000 troops I'm expecting?

Tonight we'll send these Mongols in from the north side.

There will be a lot of people and fire there.

When the guests leave, nobody pays attention to servants and dogs.

You and Khumar will disguise yourselves as Mongols.

If you make it through,

light a fire on the black hill at dawn.

Here's a letter, Unzhu. Take it to the Great One.

It's not from me, it's from Karajik.

The Great One doesn't like me.

I am not the best messenger, Kairkhan.

Silence!

Now go!

Allah's made the mosque collapse!

Allah's turned away from us! Allah's wrath!

He destroyed the fifth fortress and they captured it from inside.

Let go of me!

Cut out the tongues of those who dare to say or whisper

what the collapse of the mosque means!

Allah's wrath!

Allah can't side with the infidels!

On your knees!

Allah can't side with the infidels, the defilers of Islam.

Allah is with us!

Let them announce that at every prayer time for seven days!

Cut out the tongues of those who dare to even whisper

that the fall of the mosque is a sign of Allah's wrath.

Here is confirmation for the people.

The hangmen will have extra work to do!

I didn't say anything! As Allah is my witness.

What if we say the mosque collapsed because of the tunnel dug by the infidels?

Hey, Mongol, we've got to hurry!

What's wrong with my eyes? Or is it my head?

It's your head!

Where's the dome of the old mosque?

I've heard the Persians hand out rewards

on every occasion, even for minor deeds.

Nobody does that here.

That's not fair, my friend, Unzhu.

Get going, you bastard!

O Allah, save me from trouble.

I feel no guilt before the people.

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful.

He is Allah, the one.

Allah is self-sufficient, He neither begets, nor is He begotten.

And there is no one comparable to Him.

Sleeping watchmen can't hear their commander arrive,

nor their own death coming.

Kneel before the Great Karajik Khan!

The Mongols are entering through the main gates!

Quiet!

If they hear, they'll cut out our tongues! You, run to the city gates!

Be quiet!

- They'll kill you, Mommy! - Don't make a sound!

Take this and be like a stallion!

Attention!

Move aside!

Fire!

Step aside!

Fire!

Why are you all just lying there?

Close your eyes. Don't open them.

Don't look at me!

What's your name?

Oh, so it's you, you scoundrel.

Go on, lie there.

And you're lying here too.

I'll be back soon. I'll be back.

Why have you stopped singing? Come on, sing!

Which of you can confirm...

that this man is Kairkhan, the governor of Otrar?

We can all confirm that! All Kipchaks,

and this boy is his son!

He is a great warrior,

and if we hadn't helped the Great Khan...

You talk like a bargainer.

The Great Khan's plans are so grand,

that the hook-nosed man

can neither help him nor stand in his way.

A man who betrayed us once

must not be seen by a Mongol warrior.

It sets a bad example.

And since Mongol warriors are taking their places throughout this land,

this means that you and your men

have no place on this Earth!

Take them!

Father!

Father! Father!

Want some meat?

You're thinking the same thing everybody thinks.

When I was born, a dreadful wind blew up,

and the sky turned yellow.

That's how my eyes got their color.

But people didn't realize that I was the wind of wrath.

You know...

they tortured me for a long time,

while my eyes became more and more yellow.

I can see much farther than other people.

But I hear almost the same things that other people hear.

So I'm "yellow-eyed", not "yellow-eared".

So that was another mistake you made.

When you slaughtered my caravan,

and returned only the merchant with a wet bottom,

the yellow color of my eyes became a little more intense.

You know who I put to the sword, don't you?

And I have turned your armies to mud many times.

Want some meat?

You don't want it.

Look at them,

they're old scholars.

The wind can only blow away trash.

Only trash.

They are from the same nation,

yet they each ask me to skin the other alive.

Because one claims God said one thing,

and the other disagrees.

And all this while my horses enter their God's house.

I still haven't decided whether I'll let their nation survive,

while each of them promises to prolong my life

if I wipe the other one out.

So why do you believe I am wrong to trample on this land

in order to build something different?

My Chinese advisor has told me a lot about the great conquerors.

They made whole nations disappear,

but people still know and tell the story of these lords

in a thousand details.

Some details are good

and some are not.

But there is no lord like me among them.

I should be concerned about the things people will say about me

a thousand years from now.

Of course, you are just another detail, nothing more.

But I wouldn't like...

the stories of your city to be given too much significance.

And laughter is the only way to prevent that.

Why aren't you eating?

You're smart, you guessed my trick.

I wanted to chain you up near my tent

and make you beg for food.

But you are bound to figure your way out.

That's why I will chain up your royal aunt.

As for you, I will send you to your ancestors.

We will pour molten silver over your face.

Of course, it will romanticize your merits.

But my slaughtered military units and my victory are a different matter.

One day, we will be judged...

by those who consider me just.

Am I right, Chinese man?

Please, don't kill my son!

What difference does one boy make in this vast world?

If I spare the sons of fathers like you,

they'll slaughter my grandsons.

Hey, Chinese man, don't skimp on silver with him.

Lower him down.

It's ready.

I saved this girl for you from the horde.

I used this token that someone handed me,

as the Mongols were opening the gates.

It's been a great help to me.

How will you reward me, khan?

I can set you free.

You're a big liar, Unzhu Khan.

Where's the Chinese doctor you promised?

What have you been doing these last two years?

Killing people.

We started many times and in many different ways.

But the ending was always the same.

In fact, everything could have been different.

Very different.

Everything is different in my destiny too.

When I was this child's age,

nobody would have thought I'd be a slave my whole life.

Who would've thought that the Conqueror of the world, Aldiyar,

would die a beggar?

And that the mistress of all women...

would be chained up,

and happy when somebody threw her a bone?

Look what has become of my holy city.

Who would have thought that the great Kairkhan,

who expected me to become a martyr,

would end up a martyr himself.

You know...

our Otrar held out longer than any other city.

So I have heard.