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Where is the prince?
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In his chambers, Sultana Mara.
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- [footsteps approaching]
- [Mara] Mehmed.
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I'm so sorry.
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No need.
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Your mother will always be a part of you.
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I hardly knew her.
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I can't even remember her face.
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It does me no good to live in the past.
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[Mara] Let me show you something.
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Come.
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The Ancients believed the blood moon
was a portent of great change.
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Remember this blood moon, Mehmed.
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One day, it will return
when you need it most.
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When all seems lost.
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[cannon fire in distance]
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[narrator] In late April,
the Romans attempt a desperate gambit,
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ambushing the Ottoman fleet
moored in the Golden Horn.
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They are met with a wall of cannon fire.
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Turning the attackers into the attacked.
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Governor, do you believe in prophecies?
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I believe in the word of God.
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Many years ago, my ancestor,
Osman, had a dream.
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A great tree rose from the ground.
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From its roots
sprang four mountain ranges,
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then four rivers.
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And around those rivers,
beautiful shimmering cities arose.
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The great tree's leaves
turned to gleaming swords.
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Suddenly, a mighty wind blew
and the swords all pointed to one city...
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Constantinople.
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Our swords are now pointed
at Constantinople.
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The emperor will soon feel
how deeply they cut.
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[cannon fire in distance]
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[narrator] 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 tried
to 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 history
for the next 300 years.
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For one empire to rise...
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another must fall.
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[indistinct talking]
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The Genoese in Galata warned the Turks
that this attack is coming.
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And it blows up in the Byzantine faces,
because it not only fails completely,
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but it cost them the lives of 200 men
that they can't afford to lose.
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It's this moment
where now both sides realize
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that no quarter will be asked,
and no quarter will be given.
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Surrender is no longer even an option.
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You're in this to the end.
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You either die or you triumph,
and there is no other alternative.
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[screaming, panicking]
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[narrator] Word of the defenders'
failed ambush and their grisly fate
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sends tremors throughout Constantinople.
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Ahh!
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[sobbing]
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[panting]
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[Giustiniani] That lying bastard,
Lomellini, betrayed us.
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He will pay for this.
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I told you we couldn't trust
these Catholic mercenaries.
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You dare to speak of trust?
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Why don't you share with us
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the purpose of the nightly adventures
outside the walls?
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[shouting] Tread carefully, Genoa!
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Lords!
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It's you who should watch your step.
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You viper.
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Stop it!
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You argue like children
while our empire fights for its life!
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If you keep this nonsense up,
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we might as well surrender to the Turks!
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[bell tolling in distance]
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The sultan has bested us
at nearly every turn,
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and we are running out of time.
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And so are they.
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Every day, they're camped out there
is a brick thrown onto the sultan's back.
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Help will come for us.
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There are rumors reported daily
of a fleet...
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Rumors encouraged by our own spies.
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Based on truth.
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- Venice has pledged to send help.
- Then where is it?
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They will come, and the walls will hold...
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as they always have.
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Keep our lookouts alert.
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Send out a search party for the fleet.
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Constantine is very conscious
of the weight of history, so to speak.
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He may rule over the remains
of an empire.
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But he is the only one
who can legitimately claim
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to be the Roman emperor.
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[sighs] Leave me be.
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[Brownworth] With a political lineage
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that stretches
all the way back to Augustus.
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He was very conscious of duty,
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and he was very much
of the old school in that manner.
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[door shuts]
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[Roger Crowley] Constantinople
had been around for so long,
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that it was surrounded by prophecies.
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One was that the city would be founded,
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uh, by an emperor
whose name was Constantine,
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whose mother was called Helena,
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and that it would be lost under an emperor
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with the same name,
and the same mother.
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And unfortunately, Constantine XI
fitted the bill in this respect.
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I will not be the Constantine
who lost the City of God.
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[narrator] The fate
of the 1,100-year-old empire
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and its ruler,
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will be written in the coming weeks.
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[thunder rumbling]
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With the battle mired in a stalemate,
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both sides dig in...
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and old scores are settled.
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TRAITOR
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[thunder rumbling]
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The siege enters its second month.
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The Ottoman camp is beset
by a sense of despair.
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The fighting reaches a new level
of brutality.
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[screaming]
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Over the ensuing weeks, Mehmed's forces
attempt numerous assaults on the city.
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Only to be repulsed
by the severely damaged,
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but still standing walls,
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and the defending forces
led by Giustiniani.
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[thunder rumbling]
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[Dr. Michael Talbot] There's no guarantee
that the siege is gonna be successful.
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There's several points where the Ottomans
almost give up and go away.
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I mean, just the logistics
of organizing an army in the 15th century.
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The amount of food that you need take
from your peasantry to support the army.
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The amount of the state's wealth
that you need to invest in arms and pay.
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Let alone, the potential loss of life.
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You know, populations in the 15th century
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are much, much smaller
than ours are today.
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Every death is multiplied, if you like.
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That's one less person to go home
and till the fields.
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That's one less person to pay taxes.
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That's one less family
that's gonna exist.
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So it's a huge gamble.
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[Crowley] Within the walls
at the same time,
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the defenders are getting exhausted,
their walls are being eroded,
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they're running out of food.
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[narrator] Each day brings with it
a growing sense of desperation.
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[Talbot] There are images
of the holiest relics of Constantinople
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being displayed on the city walls
at the time of the Ottoman siege.
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So these great images
of Christ Pantocrator and the Virgin Mary
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are taken around the walls
to encourage the troops.
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And of course, the Virgin
had saved the city many times before,
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not least from Muslim armies
in the past.
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So, terrifying, yes,
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but both sides clearly believed
that God is on their side
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in one way or another.
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[Crowley] And so the siege
enters a new phase
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where the attacks get bloodier,
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the techniques more intense,
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and the fighting more ferocious.
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[all shouting]
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[Talbot] You think about
the physical nature of medieval warfare.
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Certainly, we have some guns
and some bows and arrows
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that enable you to kill people
at a distance.
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[screaming]
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But lots of the fighting
happens hand to hand,
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with swords, and axes, and spears,
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where you think
about the visceral nature of that.
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You know,
the physical force that's required
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to smash someone in the skull with an ax,
or to stab them through the chest.
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Ahh!
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[grunts]
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[Talbot]
You're looking at someone in the eyes,
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and you're seeing the damage
that your weapon does to them.
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Knowing that in the next few seconds,
that could happen to you.
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It must be absolutely terrifying.
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Ahh!
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[cannon fire in distance]
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00:13:30,476 --> 00:13:31,977
The Italian on the walls,
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Giustiniani...
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needs to be dealt with, Pasha.
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He baits me.
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I would love nothing more
than to deal with him personally.
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I admire your enthusiasm, Zaganos Pasha,
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but that may not be necessary.
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00:14:02,424 --> 00:14:03,759
What's on your mind?
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00:14:23,946 --> 00:14:24,946
Sir!
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00:14:43,716 --> 00:14:45,676
[Zaganos Pasha, shouting] Giustiniani!
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00:14:52,975 --> 00:14:55,185
Has Zaganos Pasha gone insane?
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What's he doing?
185
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[horse neighing]
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[Zaganos Pasha, shouting] Giustiniani!
187
00:15:08,198 --> 00:15:10,659
I bring word from the sultan himself!
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Sultan.
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00:15:54,036 --> 00:15:58,123
So, you're the Genoese nightmare
that stalks walls.
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I've been called worse.
191
00:16:00,626 --> 00:16:02,002
Hmm. Pirate?
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00:16:03,963 --> 00:16:06,966
You and your band of outlaws
have cost me many men...
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00:16:08,425 --> 00:16:10,135
but earned my respect.
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00:16:10,678 --> 00:16:11,845
You flatter me, Sultan.
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I offer reason, mercenary.
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00:16:14,890 --> 00:16:18,894
If it is flattery you're looking for,
turn back to your whimpering paymasters.
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00:16:20,104 --> 00:16:23,649
They're too busy executing
Ottoman prisoners to sweet-talk me.
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00:16:23,732 --> 00:16:25,025
This is not your fight.
199
00:16:25,693 --> 00:16:30,114
You're a soldier of fortune,
so, I'm prepared to give you a fortune.
200
00:16:31,156 --> 00:16:32,992
It's a little late for that, Sultan.
201
00:16:34,034 --> 00:16:35,202
There's a rumor,
202
00:16:35,536 --> 00:16:37,663
the emperor has offered you
the island of Lemnos
203
00:16:37,746 --> 00:16:39,373
in the event of a victory.
204
00:16:40,708 --> 00:16:43,919
The emperor has also promised
the same island
205
00:16:44,336 --> 00:16:46,046
to three others fighting with you.
206
00:16:48,382 --> 00:16:49,383
Have you heard?
207
00:16:50,259 --> 00:16:52,261
[Notaras]
Emperor, this is unacceptable.
208
00:16:52,845 --> 00:16:54,888
How do we know he's not betraying us?
209
00:16:55,639 --> 00:16:57,933
Let us send arrows
into both of them and be done!
210
00:17:01,353 --> 00:17:02,604
Look around, soldier.
211
00:17:03,689 --> 00:17:05,190
You cannot win this battle.
212
00:17:06,191 --> 00:17:07,484
I don't have to win.
213
00:17:08,944 --> 00:17:12,406
It's only a matter of time
before the Christian army arrives.
214
00:17:13,198 --> 00:17:14,742
And you will not defeat them.
215
00:17:16,493 --> 00:17:19,788
Mehmed motivated people
any way he could.
216
00:17:19,872 --> 00:17:25,044
He even tried to, uh, entice Giustiniani
217
00:17:25,127 --> 00:17:29,548
away from, uh, Constantinople to join him,
218
00:17:30,132 --> 00:17:32,092
and he offered him money.
219
00:17:32,342 --> 00:17:33,611
[Mehmed] Leave the defenses now,
220
00:17:33,635 --> 00:17:36,013
and you and your men
will be given land and riches
221
00:17:36,096 --> 00:17:37,765
beyond your wildest dreams.
222
00:17:38,474 --> 00:17:40,726
I will make you governor
of all the Aegean islands
223
00:17:40,809 --> 00:17:42,853
with the protection of my military.
224
00:17:43,062 --> 00:17:47,483
You will be free to conduct
any business you wish, with no taxes.
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00:17:48,859 --> 00:17:52,112
My offer would make you wealthier
than the emperor himself.
226
00:17:54,198 --> 00:17:56,492
For God's sake,
what are they talking about?
227
00:18:01,789 --> 00:18:03,332
Tell me, Sultan...
228
00:18:05,209 --> 00:18:08,337
what is to stop me
from cutting off your head,
229
00:18:08,420 --> 00:18:11,381
- and ending this here and now?
- [chuckles]
230
00:18:12,591 --> 00:18:13,675
[Mehmed] Soldier...
231
00:18:15,094 --> 00:18:16,762
I'll need your answer by sundown.
232
00:18:25,479 --> 00:18:27,606
[Giustiniani] Zaganos Pasha
called for me by name.
233
00:18:28,232 --> 00:18:29,942
And you go running like his whore?
234
00:18:30,025 --> 00:18:32,903
Lord Loukas!
He held aloft a white flag!
235
00:18:34,988 --> 00:18:37,199
It was in our interest
to know what he had to say.
236
00:18:37,282 --> 00:18:38,450
Which was?
237
00:18:41,745 --> 00:18:44,248
Zaganos Pasha bid me
to take my men and leave.
238
00:18:44,331 --> 00:18:45,582
In return for what?
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00:18:45,666 --> 00:18:47,793
In return for our lives, my lord.
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00:18:48,752 --> 00:18:51,547
He would spare us, if we flee.
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00:18:57,719 --> 00:18:59,930
[narrator] With Ottoman ships
in the Golden Horn
242
00:19:00,013 --> 00:19:03,976
and Mehmed's army encamped
outside the city's landward walls,
243
00:19:04,059 --> 00:19:08,438
the Romans are now forced
to defend Constantinople on two fronts.
244
00:19:08,981 --> 00:19:12,025
The city is also still reeling
from the bloody aftermath
245
00:19:12,109 --> 00:19:15,070
of the failed Roman attack
on the ships in the harbor.
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00:19:15,654 --> 00:19:20,117
Within Constantinople was fury and blame,
uh, at the failed attack,
247
00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:22,327
but it got worse because they realized
248
00:19:22,411 --> 00:19:25,998
that a certain number of sailors
had been captured.
249
00:19:26,081 --> 00:19:30,335
And Mehmed then had them impaled
on stakes outside the walls.
250
00:19:30,419 --> 00:19:32,337
The defenders, uh, responded
251
00:19:32,421 --> 00:19:37,050
by hanging some of their Turkish prisoners
from the battlements.
252
00:19:39,219 --> 00:19:43,515
So we see a kind of spiral
of brutality unfolding
253
00:19:43,599 --> 00:19:46,894
between the two sides
as the siege went on.
254
00:19:47,477 --> 00:19:49,146
[narrator] Six weeks into the siege,
255
00:19:49,229 --> 00:19:51,982
both sides are nearing
their breaking point.
256
00:19:55,152 --> 00:19:58,238
[Crowley] It's a moment of trauma
and complete chaos.
257
00:20:07,122 --> 00:20:08,332
[shouting]
258
00:20:12,085 --> 00:20:13,128
[coughs]
259
00:20:13,712 --> 00:20:16,131
[Crowley] But there are many
individual moments of pathos,
260
00:20:16,215 --> 00:20:18,592
- of courage, of...
- [Roman soldier] Get up!
261
00:20:18,675 --> 00:20:20,844
- [Crowley]...sacrifice.
- [Ana] Stop!
262
00:20:20,928 --> 00:20:21,928
Stop it!
263
00:20:22,596 --> 00:20:25,390
- He's hurt. Can't you see?
- He will get a blow of my sword.
264
00:20:25,474 --> 00:20:27,559
No! Have you no mercy?
265
00:20:28,393 --> 00:20:30,145
Let me tend to his wound.
266
00:20:31,230 --> 00:20:34,024
Your pope preaches
to return good for evil.
267
00:20:35,067 --> 00:20:39,488
Perhaps a good deed of charity like this
will help in our cause in front of God.
268
00:20:41,281 --> 00:20:42,324
[sheaths sword]
269
00:20:44,243 --> 00:20:45,327
[spits]
270
00:20:56,630 --> 00:20:57,756
[knock on door]
271
00:21:21,530 --> 00:21:23,282
I thought you weren't coming.
272
00:21:23,907 --> 00:21:25,826
I always keep my promises.
273
00:21:32,624 --> 00:21:35,085
[Giustiniani]
I will take you wherever you wish.
274
00:21:35,544 --> 00:21:38,005
I have my ship waiting in the harbor.
275
00:21:40,507 --> 00:21:41,717
If we survive.
276
00:21:42,718 --> 00:21:45,012
That harbor is filled with Turkish ships.
277
00:21:45,345 --> 00:21:47,389
How much longer can you hold them off?
278
00:21:47,931 --> 00:21:50,183
Despair doesn't suit you, Therma.
279
00:21:53,353 --> 00:21:57,733
I will take you away, far away
from this wretched place.
280
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:09,953
[panting]
281
00:22:11,747 --> 00:22:13,206
[Ana] You will be safe here.
282
00:22:16,543 --> 00:22:17,543
[coughs]
283
00:22:22,841 --> 00:22:24,217
[panting]
284
00:22:27,763 --> 00:22:29,306
Oh! Oh!
285
00:22:32,726 --> 00:22:34,144
You should have let me die.
286
00:22:36,605 --> 00:22:37,981
Too many people have died.
287
00:22:45,238 --> 00:22:47,657
I must believe there is still good
in this world.
288
00:22:56,541 --> 00:22:58,085
[indistinct talking]
289
00:23:40,669 --> 00:23:41,670
[messenger] Sultan.
290
00:23:43,004 --> 00:23:44,589
A message from Constantinople.
291
00:23:57,227 --> 00:24:00,313
[Giustiniani] "Sultan, thank you
for your most generous offer.
292
00:24:00,397 --> 00:24:04,317
I have considered it in full,
but I fear I must decline.
293
00:24:05,026 --> 00:24:07,612
Once this bloody affair is behind us,
294
00:24:08,238 --> 00:24:10,740
I'll be honored
if you visit me on Lemnos."
295
00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,238
[woman] News from Constantinople?
296
00:24:53,366 --> 00:24:55,535
Mehmed is bogged down outside the walls.
297
00:24:57,245 --> 00:24:58,914
My news may hearten you.
298
00:25:00,123 --> 00:25:01,291
What is this?
299
00:25:09,257 --> 00:25:11,635
[Dr. Tunç Şen] There is a great tradition
300
00:25:11,718 --> 00:25:15,013
of practicing astronomy and astrology
301
00:25:15,096 --> 00:25:18,141
in the Greater Eurasian, uh, landscape.
302
00:25:19,601 --> 00:25:25,607
One of the main tasks of astrologers
was designating an auspicious moment.
303
00:25:25,690 --> 00:25:29,152
The idea of future,
the idea of the uncertain,
304
00:25:29,236 --> 00:25:32,822
how this siege would end.
305
00:25:33,907 --> 00:25:34,908
Is this true?
306
00:25:34,991 --> 00:25:36,743
The astrologers have confirmed it.
307
00:25:36,826 --> 00:25:37,911
They are certain.
308
00:25:39,871 --> 00:25:41,790
I need to take this news myself.
309
00:25:42,582 --> 00:25:44,167
[narrator] In Constantinople,
310
00:25:44,251 --> 00:25:46,545
the defenders are faced
with a new problem.
311
00:25:47,379 --> 00:25:49,506
[nobleman] Emperor, we need a miracle.
312
00:25:50,549 --> 00:25:53,009
We are long out of money
and running out of time.
313
00:25:54,970 --> 00:25:57,931
And some of the soldiers
are threatening to leave
314
00:25:58,014 --> 00:25:59,432
if they're not paid.
315
00:25:59,516 --> 00:26:00,516
[Loukas] Leeches!
316
00:26:00,892 --> 00:26:03,728
Determined to suck the last bit of life
from the city.
317
00:26:06,398 --> 00:26:09,317
My men will stay... or go.
318
00:26:10,485 --> 00:26:11,736
Wherever I am.
319
00:26:11,820 --> 00:26:17,325
Lord Giustiniani, no man,
dead or alive, will be left unpaid.
320
00:26:17,909 --> 00:26:19,077
You have my word.
321
00:26:20,870 --> 00:26:22,289
Is that not worth something?
322
00:26:24,666 --> 00:26:27,877
Emperor, I have given you my word.
323
00:26:29,170 --> 00:26:30,964
I am here until the city is safe.
324
00:26:32,799 --> 00:26:36,928
But you know the terms
of the deal you made with them.
325
00:26:37,012 --> 00:26:38,722
[scoffs] Emperor, I warned you,
326
00:26:38,805 --> 00:26:42,475
these Italian recruits would only fight
as long as the money kept flowing!
327
00:26:42,559 --> 00:26:45,937
Not one of them is honorable enough
to see this wretched siege through,
328
00:26:46,021 --> 00:26:49,858
and yet, they strut about
calling themselves Christians!
329
00:26:51,151 --> 00:26:53,778
Careful, Lord.
330
00:26:55,530 --> 00:26:58,074
You are playing with dangerous weapons.
331
00:26:59,826 --> 00:27:05,040
The same weapons that stand between you
and the Ottomans at the gate.
332
00:27:06,583 --> 00:27:09,961
Lord Giustiniani, it's no secret
there is no money in the treasury.
333
00:27:11,671 --> 00:27:13,840
[Dr. Marios Philippedes]
Constantinople was broke.
334
00:27:14,716 --> 00:27:17,677
There is a coin of Emperor John VIII,
335
00:27:18,386 --> 00:27:22,515
who was, uh, the predecessor
of Constantine.
336
00:27:22,599 --> 00:27:25,060
There's a silver, nice coin.
337
00:27:25,143 --> 00:27:30,065
Now if you examine a coin
of Constantine XI...
338
00:27:30,482 --> 00:27:32,484
you can see the difference,
this is silver,
339
00:27:33,318 --> 00:27:37,364
and this is very thin copper
with nothing in there.
340
00:27:37,447 --> 00:27:38,573
He didn't have any money.
341
00:27:39,783 --> 00:27:44,621
Lord Loukas,
you are a man of great wealth,
342
00:27:45,288 --> 00:27:49,084
do you not have anything tucked away
to loan the emperor?
343
00:27:56,549 --> 00:27:58,385
I've given everything I have.
344
00:27:59,844 --> 00:28:01,680
All that is left is my life...
345
00:28:01,763 --> 00:28:02,847
[scoffs]
346
00:28:04,224 --> 00:28:06,101
...and I will gladly give that.
347
00:28:09,354 --> 00:28:12,691
[Jason Goodwin] Constantine is in debt.
He, you know, they owed money.
348
00:28:14,150 --> 00:28:16,861
It's a pretty sort of tragic business.
349
00:28:17,612 --> 00:28:21,324
But he was a...
he was a real fighter, Constantine.
350
00:28:25,161 --> 00:28:26,161
It is God...
351
00:28:27,872 --> 00:28:29,874
who will provide in our time of need.
352
00:28:37,382 --> 00:28:39,884
[indistinct, overlapping talking]
353
00:28:46,224 --> 00:28:48,685
[narrator] In a desperate attempt
to pay the mercenaries,
354
00:28:49,561 --> 00:28:53,606
Emperor Constantine orders
all religious artifacts melted down,
355
00:28:53,690 --> 00:28:55,775
and minted into coins.
356
00:28:55,859 --> 00:28:58,069
[clattering]
357
00:29:36,316 --> 00:29:40,320
Even as the situation in Constantinople
grows more dire,
358
00:29:40,820 --> 00:29:43,656
a glimmer of hope appears
in the Mediterranean.
359
00:29:45,533 --> 00:29:46,533
Look!
360
00:29:52,499 --> 00:29:56,461
[Dr. Philippedes] The Venetians,
they finally put an armada together
361
00:29:56,544 --> 00:29:58,213
to send to Constantinople.
362
00:29:58,963 --> 00:30:00,799
We must get word to Constantinople!
363
00:30:00,882 --> 00:30:04,093
[narrator] In mid-May,
rumors of a massive Venetian fleet
364
00:30:04,177 --> 00:30:06,638
gathering in the Mediterranean
become reality.
365
00:30:08,389 --> 00:30:11,184
The warships prepare to sail
for Constantinople,
366
00:30:11,851 --> 00:30:13,812
and come to the aid of the Romans.
367
00:30:14,270 --> 00:30:19,609
Mehmed's fear was, above all,
any help that would come from Venice.
368
00:30:40,171 --> 00:30:42,298
I have given you
every advantage possible.
369
00:30:43,675 --> 00:30:45,802
And in return,
you have given me nothing.
370
00:30:47,387 --> 00:30:48,388
Halil Pasha,
371
00:30:50,348 --> 00:30:52,016
you promised me the city.
372
00:30:53,643 --> 00:30:54,727
Where is it?
373
00:30:55,937 --> 00:30:57,230
[shouting] Where is it?
374
00:30:57,522 --> 00:30:59,566
Sultan, the Red Apple will fall in time.
375
00:30:59,649 --> 00:31:00,817
It requires patience.
376
00:31:00,900 --> 00:31:01,985
Are you blind?
377
00:31:02,819 --> 00:31:04,529
Can you not see we're out of time?
378
00:31:06,489 --> 00:31:09,367
They're saying the Christian fleet
is just days from here.
379
00:31:12,620 --> 00:31:14,414
What will you do to fix this?
380
00:31:17,500 --> 00:31:18,500
Nothing?
381
00:31:22,672 --> 00:31:27,802
The greatest minds in my empire
can offer me nothing?
382
00:31:34,017 --> 00:31:36,394
Out of my sight. All of you.
383
00:31:55,163 --> 00:31:56,205
What is it?
384
00:31:57,540 --> 00:31:59,709
I have known you
since you were a small boy.
385
00:32:00,126 --> 00:32:02,420
Your father entrusted me
with your education.
386
00:32:02,503 --> 00:32:03,838
Spare me the history lesson.
387
00:32:04,672 --> 00:32:06,966
Say what's actually on your mind for once.
388
00:32:08,176 --> 00:32:10,470
This is exactly what I warned against.
389
00:32:12,055 --> 00:32:15,391
Those walls still stand,
no matter the size of our cannons.
390
00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:18,353
And you see the spirit in the defenders.
391
00:32:18,895 --> 00:32:20,939
They will die before they surrender.
392
00:32:21,022 --> 00:32:22,649
[Mehmed]
We have ten times their numbers.
393
00:32:22,732 --> 00:32:25,526
If our men cannot win
with such an advantage,
394
00:32:25,610 --> 00:32:28,738
it is you who are responsible
for their failure.
395
00:32:28,821 --> 00:32:30,406
Are you not their commander?
396
00:32:33,159 --> 00:32:35,912
Constantinople will fall, someday.
397
00:32:37,163 --> 00:32:40,083
But I fear it cannot be done
under these circumstances.
398
00:32:56,307 --> 00:32:57,809
Make another offer for truce.
399
00:32:59,811 --> 00:33:01,562
I assure you they'll accept it.
400
00:33:03,731 --> 00:33:05,358
Ask for anything you want.
401
00:33:06,484 --> 00:33:08,111
It will be seen as our victory.
402
00:33:10,154 --> 00:33:14,701
And in return,
leave them the city, for now.
403
00:33:15,952 --> 00:33:19,414
And come back when they are weaker,
and you are stronger.
404
00:33:20,456 --> 00:33:22,208
The outcome will be inevitable.
405
00:33:25,962 --> 00:33:31,843
At least allow me to draw up terms
for a truce, for your approval.
406
00:33:33,886 --> 00:33:38,224
Then, if you agree,
we can send word to the emperor.
407
00:33:42,270 --> 00:33:44,039
[Talbot]
When it's going really, really badly,
408
00:33:44,063 --> 00:33:47,316
there's a temptation to just
pick up the camp and walk away,
409
00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:50,194
as happened with so many sieges
of the city in the past.
410
00:34:02,206 --> 00:34:04,917
There was no guarantee
that he was gonna win this.
411
00:34:09,130 --> 00:34:12,508
[narrator] News of the Italian fleet
gathering in the Mediterranean
412
00:34:12,592 --> 00:34:16,554
is a welcome jolt of hope
for the emperor in Constantinople.
413
00:34:18,598 --> 00:34:20,183
- How long?
- Six days at most.
414
00:34:20,266 --> 00:34:22,018
Can you hold off the Turks that long?
415
00:34:23,144 --> 00:34:24,145
Of course!
416
00:34:26,439 --> 00:34:28,274
Lord Loukas, Lord Sphrantzes,
417
00:34:29,484 --> 00:34:31,652
see to it that Lord Giustiniani
has everything he needs
418
00:34:31,736 --> 00:34:32,862
to defend the walls.
419
00:34:33,821 --> 00:34:37,158
We must keep those Ottoman bastards at bay
until the fleet arrives.
420
00:34:59,138 --> 00:35:02,266
Sultan, a message.
421
00:35:04,352 --> 00:35:05,436
It's urgent.
422
00:35:32,213 --> 00:35:33,464
Fetch me my horse!
423
00:35:46,978 --> 00:35:48,062
What is your name?
424
00:35:51,232 --> 00:35:52,232
Ali.
425
00:35:52,733 --> 00:35:53,733
Ali.
426
00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:57,321
I'm Ana.
427
00:36:01,784 --> 00:36:04,620
I called my mother Ana.
428
00:36:07,957 --> 00:36:10,334
Will I see her in Heaven?
429
00:36:12,211 --> 00:36:13,211
Yes.
430
00:36:14,172 --> 00:36:15,173
I'm sure of it.
431
00:36:17,466 --> 00:36:18,634
Our Gods, they're...
432
00:36:20,052 --> 00:36:21,387
they're not so different.
433
00:36:33,691 --> 00:36:35,359
- Mother Mara.
- My son.
434
00:36:35,443 --> 00:36:37,612
I came here as soon
as I received your note.
435
00:36:37,862 --> 00:36:40,072
Why are you here?
It's too dangerous.
436
00:36:40,156 --> 00:36:41,699
I come with important news.
437
00:36:42,366 --> 00:36:44,243
You must not leave the battlefield.
438
00:36:45,786 --> 00:36:48,539
My court astrologers
have watched the skies.
439
00:36:49,123 --> 00:36:50,750
The stars have aligned, Mehmed.
440
00:36:52,585 --> 00:36:56,214
So, we have this tradition
of court astrologers
441
00:36:56,297 --> 00:37:01,093
interpreting comets
or other sorts of celestial
442
00:37:01,177 --> 00:37:03,846
or meteorological occurrences,
443
00:37:03,930 --> 00:37:09,060
as a sign of an Ottoman victory
against their enemies.
444
00:37:09,977 --> 00:37:11,896
Now, it's time to attack.
445
00:37:17,068 --> 00:37:19,403
Remember what I told you long ago?
446
00:37:20,029 --> 00:37:23,366
A blood moon would appear
when all hope was lost?
447
00:37:23,658 --> 00:37:25,576
Have you looked at the moon tonight?
448
00:37:33,167 --> 00:37:37,880
Usually eclipses are considered
as bad signs, bad omen.
449
00:37:37,964 --> 00:37:42,051
But Ottoman astrologers interpret
the occurrence of eclipses,
450
00:37:42,134 --> 00:37:46,305
as a bad omen for their enemies,
not for the Ottomans themselves.
451
00:37:47,306 --> 00:37:49,225
[Mara] You must not doubt yourself.
452
00:37:50,685 --> 00:37:51,686
Now go.
453
00:37:52,228 --> 00:37:56,315
I will see you again,
on your throne in Constantinople.
454
00:38:05,157 --> 00:38:08,327
[Crowley] Mehmed realized
it was now or never.
455
00:38:08,411 --> 00:38:09,412
The signs were good.
456
00:38:24,510 --> 00:38:28,222
As soon as the sultan returns,
the terms must be ready.
457
00:38:29,473 --> 00:38:30,516
Yes, Pasha.
458
00:38:38,941 --> 00:38:41,944
For us now, horoscopes,
you know, we don't all believe in it.
459
00:38:42,028 --> 00:38:43,654
It's just what some people like.
460
00:38:43,738 --> 00:38:46,824
Whereas in the 15th century,
that was part of life.
461
00:38:47,867 --> 00:38:51,078
[Talbot] Gods and holy spirits
were absolutely everywhere around us,
462
00:38:51,162 --> 00:38:53,956
and sometimes
they manifest themselves to us.
463
00:38:57,626 --> 00:39:01,255
[Philippedes] What really lowered morale
in Constantinople
464
00:39:01,339 --> 00:39:03,966
during the siege, was a lunar eclipse.
465
00:39:04,050 --> 00:39:05,301
Dear God.
466
00:39:06,093 --> 00:39:08,429
[Philippedes] They saw the blood moon
as they called it.
467
00:39:09,096 --> 00:39:14,060
There was a prophecy that Constantinople
would fall after a lunar eclipse.
468
00:39:14,852 --> 00:39:15,978
What does it mean?
469
00:39:30,326 --> 00:39:32,870
Sultan, we have the terms drawn up.
470
00:39:36,374 --> 00:39:39,919
Halil was still saying, let's try
and cut a deal with these people,
471
00:39:40,002 --> 00:39:41,921
and get a large amount of money
out of them.
472
00:39:42,588 --> 00:39:44,340
The troops were getting restless.
473
00:39:44,423 --> 00:39:46,675
Mehmed couldn't sustain this
much longer.
474
00:39:46,759 --> 00:39:48,427
Have you not eyes, Pasha?
475
00:39:49,428 --> 00:39:50,638
It is our time.
476
00:39:55,017 --> 00:39:56,018
My brothers!
477
00:39:58,062 --> 00:40:00,022
Pick yourselves up and prepare.
478
00:40:01,774 --> 00:40:03,526
The prophets have spoken.
479
00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:05,820
Our time is at hand.
480
00:40:06,570 --> 00:40:07,613
Don't doubt it.
481
00:40:07,696 --> 00:40:09,240
Don't doubt our might.
482
00:40:10,282 --> 00:40:12,743
Allah will be with every one of us.
483
00:40:12,827 --> 00:40:14,995
And we will take the city!
484
00:40:15,079 --> 00:40:16,372
[cheering]
485
00:40:29,385 --> 00:40:31,720
[Philippedes] We hear
from the defenders chronicles
486
00:40:31,804 --> 00:40:33,431
that the Turks were elated.
487
00:40:33,514 --> 00:40:36,225
They thought it predicted
the end of the city.
488
00:40:36,308 --> 00:40:37,810
[cheering]
489
00:40:40,771 --> 00:40:42,022
Drink up, Lords.
490
00:40:43,858 --> 00:40:46,277
Soon we will fight for our lives.
491
00:41:00,207 --> 00:41:02,501
[narrator] Mehmed readies his army
for battle.
492
00:41:03,627 --> 00:41:07,381
His destiny will be written
at the walls of Constantinople.
493
00:41:07,673 --> 00:41:09,175
[Candarli] Sultan, I urge you.
494
00:41:09,842 --> 00:41:12,094
Do not force the matter any longer.
495
00:41:12,178 --> 00:41:14,680
- If we fail...
- If we fail...
496
00:41:16,348 --> 00:41:19,643
If Venetian galleys arrive
with 100,000 men!
497
00:41:20,436 --> 00:41:24,231
If Caesar returns from the grave
to lead Constantine's troops.
498
00:41:26,233 --> 00:41:28,819
There's no more time for ifs, Pasha.
We must take the city.
499
00:41:28,903 --> 00:41:30,946
The cost will be steep.
500
00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:37,077
You have urged me to give up,
Halil Pasha, time and again.
501
00:41:37,161 --> 00:41:38,996
And you nearly convinced me.
502
00:41:39,538 --> 00:41:42,416
But my fate is written...
503
00:41:44,335 --> 00:41:45,419
as is yours.
504
00:41:47,421 --> 00:41:48,422
[soldier] Sultan!
505
00:41:54,929 --> 00:41:56,555
[narrator] In the wake of the blood moon
506
00:41:56,639 --> 00:42:00,309
and just hours before Mehmed
launches his final assault,
507
00:42:00,893 --> 00:42:03,479
he's met by an apocalyptic sight.
508
00:42:06,232 --> 00:42:09,818
[Crowley] Lights appeared to be shining
on the roof of Hagia Sophia.
509
00:42:23,415 --> 00:42:25,543
What kind of sorcery is this?
510
00:42:31,674 --> 00:42:35,803
It created this incredibly
hysterical atmosphere within the city,
511
00:42:35,886 --> 00:42:38,556
that they could be looking
at the end of the world.
512
00:42:40,516 --> 00:42:41,892
[clamoring]
513
00:42:44,728 --> 00:42:46,522
[sobbing]
514
00:42:48,315 --> 00:42:51,318
[Talbot] The city is meant
to have been protected by the Virgin Mary.
515
00:42:51,402 --> 00:42:54,029
There's the story that on the last day
of Constantinople,
516
00:42:54,863 --> 00:42:57,825
she was seen leaving the city.
517
00:43:01,579 --> 00:43:05,207
[shouting] Allah has abandoned
the infidels!
518
00:43:05,291 --> 00:43:07,293
[cheering]
519
00:43:21,724 --> 00:43:23,642
[dramatic music plays]