1
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[soldiers roaring, grunting]
2
00:00:38,081 --> 00:00:40,041
[soldiers crying out]
3
00:00:45,338 --> 00:00:46,339
[horse neighs]
4
00:01:05,650 --> 00:01:08,111
[soldiers shouting]
5
00:01:08,694 --> 00:01:11,072
[man] Your city is ours!
6
00:01:11,155 --> 00:01:12,406
[soldiers yelling]
7
00:01:24,669 --> 00:01:26,754
[man] Constantinople.
8
00:01:28,506 --> 00:01:30,842
Either I conquer you...
9
00:01:31,509 --> 00:01:34,470
or you conquer me.
10
00:01:43,146 --> 00:01:45,815
[man 2] Come... my son.
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[man] Father?
12
00:01:49,277 --> 00:01:50,444
Constantinople.
13
00:01:51,654 --> 00:01:53,239
Why didn't you believe in me?
14
00:01:53,865 --> 00:01:56,200
-[woman] They betrayed you.
-[man 2] My son.
15
00:01:56,284 --> 00:01:57,743
[man] ...believe in me?
16
00:01:57,827 --> 00:02:00,329
-[man 3] This is madness!
-[man] No!
17
00:02:00,413 --> 00:02:03,916
-[echoing] Constantinople...
-[woman] Mehmed!
18
00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,711
[man] Am I to take Constantinople?
19
00:02:07,336 --> 00:02:10,381
[overlapping voices]
20
00:02:10,464 --> 00:02:12,758
-[roaring]
-No!
21
00:02:12,842 --> 00:02:15,720
-[voices echoing]
-[panting]
22
00:02:25,646 --> 00:02:27,523
[man roaring]
23
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[panting]
24
00:02:37,742 --> 00:02:38,993
[coughing]
25
00:02:41,746 --> 00:02:43,080
[horse neighing]
26
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[thunder crackling]
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00:03:01,849 --> 00:03:03,226
[man] Constantinople.
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00:03:06,312 --> 00:03:08,689
[narrator]
Every empire has a beginning
29
00:03:08,773 --> 00:03:12,902
forged of blood, steel,
fortune and conquest.
30
00:03:12,985 --> 00:03:17,323
In 1453, Roman Emperor Constantine XI
31
00:03:17,406 --> 00:03:19,951
and Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II
32
00:03:20,034 --> 00:03:22,453
wage an epic battle for Constantinople.
33
00:03:23,537 --> 00:03:26,791
Twenty-three armies have tried
to take the legendary city.
34
00:03:26,874 --> 00:03:28,501
All have failed.
35
00:03:28,584 --> 00:03:31,796
Out of the carnage,
one ruler will emerge victorious
36
00:03:31,879 --> 00:03:36,217
and change the course of history
for the next 300 years.
37
00:03:36,884 --> 00:03:40,930
For one empire to rise,
another must fall.
38
00:03:55,695 --> 00:03:57,571
Constantinople is a city...
39
00:03:58,239 --> 00:04:00,199
just destined to be
the center of the world.
40
00:04:01,951 --> 00:04:04,787
It's the hinge: Asia, Europe,
41
00:04:04,870 --> 00:04:07,039
Black Sea, the Mediterranean,
42
00:04:07,123 --> 00:04:09,750
the Balkan world, Italian city-states...
43
00:04:10,376 --> 00:04:11,836
It's like there's a butterfly,
44
00:04:11,919 --> 00:04:14,130
and Constantinople is the body
of the butterfly.
45
00:04:16,215 --> 00:04:19,010
[woman] Constantinople is a concept.
46
00:04:19,093 --> 00:04:21,929
It's more than just a strategic place.
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00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:27,018
It represents layers of empire,
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00:04:27,101 --> 00:04:30,313
it represents layers of civilizations
49
00:04:30,396 --> 00:04:32,898
that have been embedded in it.
50
00:04:34,567 --> 00:04:35,818
[man] In the Mediterranean,
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00:04:35,901 --> 00:04:38,612
the largest city
has always been Constantinople.
52
00:04:38,946 --> 00:04:41,532
This was always cited
as the Promised Land.
53
00:04:42,158 --> 00:04:45,703
Whoever holds Constantinople,
he will be the ruler of the world.
54
00:04:46,829 --> 00:04:48,539
[narrator] In 1451,
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00:04:48,622 --> 00:04:53,419
Constantinople's protector and ruler
is Emperor Constantine XI.
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00:04:54,128 --> 00:04:56,005
[man 2]
There were few people more autocratic
57
00:04:56,088 --> 00:04:58,382
and absolutist
than Eastern Roman emperors.
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00:04:58,466 --> 00:05:01,594
They literally stood halfway to heaven,
between God and man,
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00:05:01,677 --> 00:05:03,971
they were God's sword-arm on Earth.
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00:05:04,597 --> 00:05:07,600
Constantine XI, he's very brave,
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00:05:07,683 --> 00:05:11,020
and the principle for which he will
sacrifice literally everything else
62
00:05:11,103 --> 00:05:13,564
is the preservation of Constantinople.
63
00:05:13,898 --> 00:05:15,691
[narrator]
Twenty-three enemy armies
64
00:05:15,775 --> 00:05:18,736
have tried to take
the legendary walled city and failed.
65
00:05:20,071 --> 00:05:23,157
The biggest threat to the Romans'
1100-year reign
66
00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,285
are their longtime foes, the Ottomans.
67
00:05:26,369 --> 00:05:29,497
Former Anatolian warlords and nomads
68
00:05:29,580 --> 00:05:31,582
who've built a burgeoning empire
69
00:05:31,665 --> 00:05:34,126
reaching all the way
to Eastern Europe...
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00:05:35,294 --> 00:05:36,504
[thunder crashing]
71
00:05:36,587 --> 00:05:41,050
The death of Ottoman Sultan Murad II
in 1451
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00:05:41,133 --> 00:05:42,927
unleashes a chain of events
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00:05:43,010 --> 00:05:45,304
that will soon bring the Ottomans
and Romans
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00:05:45,388 --> 00:05:46,972
to the brink of war.
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00:05:54,647 --> 00:05:58,943
Two hundred miles away,
Sultan Murad's son, Mehmed II,
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00:05:59,026 --> 00:06:01,612
has been serving as governor of Manisa
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00:06:01,695 --> 00:06:03,322
in the Aegean Province.
78
00:06:05,699 --> 00:06:09,578
The Crown Prince has been living
in semi-exile for several years
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00:06:09,662 --> 00:06:12,415
after a falling out
with his father's court.
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00:06:12,498 --> 00:06:13,541
[man] Prince!
81
00:06:14,166 --> 00:06:16,168
I'm rotting out here in the provinces.
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00:06:18,379 --> 00:06:19,505
[man] My prince--
83
00:06:19,964 --> 00:06:23,884
By the time Alexander the Great was
my age, he'd conquered all of this land.
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00:06:26,679 --> 00:06:27,680
My prince.
85
00:06:28,222 --> 00:06:30,975
Yes, Zaganos Pasha. What is it?
86
00:06:31,058 --> 00:06:32,059
Your father.
87
00:06:34,353 --> 00:06:36,230
[bird cawing]
88
00:06:38,899 --> 00:06:40,901
There are some whispers
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00:06:40,985 --> 00:06:43,571
that the grand vizier and the others
in the sultan's court
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00:06:43,654 --> 00:06:45,990
are discussing plans
for a successor.
91
00:06:46,073 --> 00:06:47,283
Of course they are.
92
00:06:48,534 --> 00:06:49,743
Deceitful scum.
93
00:06:50,703 --> 00:06:52,955
They'd want nothing more
than for me to disappear.
94
00:06:53,038 --> 00:06:54,206
Ready the horses.
95
00:06:54,957 --> 00:06:56,584
We must leave for the capital.
96
00:07:02,089 --> 00:07:04,091
[narrator]
Mehmed sets out for Adrianople
97
00:07:04,175 --> 00:07:05,718
to claim the throne,
98
00:07:05,801 --> 00:07:09,430
uncertain whether he'll be named
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
99
00:07:09,513 --> 00:07:11,724
or have to take the throne by force.
100
00:07:15,186 --> 00:07:17,480
In the Ottoman throne,
any member of the dynasty
101
00:07:17,563 --> 00:07:19,231
has an equal right to the throne.
102
00:07:19,315 --> 00:07:21,358
There is no established
line of succession.
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00:07:22,109 --> 00:07:23,611
[man] They had to fight it out,
104
00:07:23,694 --> 00:07:25,863
or be the one
who could establish leadership.
105
00:07:26,947 --> 00:07:28,407
It was survival of the fittest.
106
00:07:38,334 --> 00:07:41,420
[narrator] Mehmed is met
by his father's grand vizier,
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00:07:41,504 --> 00:07:43,589
Candarli Halil Pasha,
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00:07:43,672 --> 00:07:45,382
the sultan's right hand.
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00:07:47,343 --> 00:07:50,763
[Gürkan] The grand vizier
is the prime minister of the empire.
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00:07:50,846 --> 00:07:53,933
When there is a new sultan
inheriting his father's grand vizier,
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00:07:54,016 --> 00:07:55,392
there's always a clash,
112
00:07:55,476 --> 00:07:57,353
and that grand vizier
has to be controlled.
113
00:07:57,436 --> 00:07:59,813
If you lose that game,
you become a puppet sultan.
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00:08:04,026 --> 00:08:05,194
[horse nickers]
115
00:08:19,583 --> 00:08:21,335
-[clicks tongue]
-[horse whinnies]
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00:08:28,133 --> 00:08:29,301
[Mehmed] Halil Pasha...
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00:08:30,844 --> 00:08:34,181
it's been a couple years
since I last saw you.
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00:08:34,265 --> 00:08:35,516
I wish...
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00:08:36,058 --> 00:08:38,143
it was under better circumstances.
120
00:08:48,571 --> 00:08:49,738
Grand Vizier.
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00:09:17,516 --> 00:09:18,892
My sultan.
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00:09:36,201 --> 00:09:39,371
[narrator] After living
in his father's shadow for years,
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00:09:39,997 --> 00:09:44,043
expectations for the 19-year-old ruler
are crushing.
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00:09:46,837 --> 00:09:49,882
[Murad]
You have grown since I last saw you.
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00:09:53,093 --> 00:09:54,345
[young Mehmed]
Father?
126
00:09:56,347 --> 00:09:58,098
[Murad] I've asked too much of you.
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00:09:58,849 --> 00:10:01,685
The throne will be yours, my son,
when you are ready.
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00:10:01,769 --> 00:10:02,978
Don't test me, boy!
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00:10:05,147 --> 00:10:06,607
[man] He's a very young guy.
130
00:10:06,690 --> 00:10:09,360
People didn't know
was he up to the job?
131
00:10:10,277 --> 00:10:12,696
Maybe he wasn't gonna be able
to follow his father,
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00:10:12,780 --> 00:10:13,989
who was a good warrior.
133
00:10:17,242 --> 00:10:19,620
I promised you your time would come.
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00:10:20,621 --> 00:10:21,914
[Mehmed] Mother Mara.
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00:10:22,623 --> 00:10:25,084
[narrator] Mehmed's stepmother,
Mara Brankovic,
136
00:10:25,167 --> 00:10:27,211
is among his closest allies
137
00:10:27,294 --> 00:10:31,215
in a capital anxious to see
how the young sultan will rule.
138
00:10:33,175 --> 00:10:37,054
Do you know what Alexander the Great
said when he took the throne?
139
00:10:39,181 --> 00:10:41,433
"In the end, when it's over...
140
00:10:42,434 --> 00:10:44,687
all that matters is what you have done."
141
00:10:49,191 --> 00:10:50,275
It's yours.
142
00:10:51,485 --> 00:10:53,570
[Goodwin]
When he does come to the throne,
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00:10:53,654 --> 00:10:55,280
he realizes that he's got a signal
144
00:10:55,364 --> 00:10:58,367
that he's everything
that his father wished him to be.
145
00:11:00,327 --> 00:11:02,121
[man 2] So, what would this kid do?
146
00:11:02,746 --> 00:11:07,292
He says,
"I need a crowning achievement..."
147
00:11:11,839 --> 00:11:13,382
...and what will that be?
148
00:11:18,053 --> 00:11:19,596
Take Constantinople.
149
00:11:20,264 --> 00:11:21,849
The dream of everybody!
150
00:11:37,698 --> 00:11:41,827
They will try and shame you
as the boy they remembered, Sultan.
151
00:11:41,910 --> 00:11:44,037
Yes, they will try.
152
00:11:47,207 --> 00:11:49,251
[narrator] Mehmed's court is divided
153
00:11:49,334 --> 00:11:51,795
between the young advisors
he brings from Manisa,
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00:11:51,879 --> 00:11:54,339
led by Zaganos Pasha,
155
00:11:54,423 --> 00:11:58,635
and his father's older viziers
who harbor doubts about his leadership.
156
00:11:58,719 --> 00:12:03,724
Those doubts extend beyond the capital
to the Ottoman's many enemies.
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00:12:03,807 --> 00:12:05,601
[crowd roaring]
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00:12:06,643 --> 00:12:10,397
[narrator] A rival Turkish warlord
tests the 19-year-old sultan,
159
00:12:10,481 --> 00:12:13,025
raiding Ottoman lands in Anatolia.
160
00:12:13,108 --> 00:12:15,277
[battle cries]
161
00:12:16,069 --> 00:12:18,697
Mehmed and his army
crush the rebellion.
162
00:12:22,367 --> 00:12:26,288
The gravest threat to Mehmed's rule
comes in late 1451
163
00:12:26,371 --> 00:12:29,583
from the Ottoman's old enemy,
the Romans.
164
00:12:32,544 --> 00:12:33,629
[Mehmed] Hasan Pasha,
165
00:12:33,712 --> 00:12:35,255
what news from Constantinople?
166
00:12:35,339 --> 00:12:37,216
What do our spies say?
167
00:12:39,468 --> 00:12:41,887
The Romans have...
168
00:12:42,971 --> 00:12:44,515
sent a request.
169
00:12:44,598 --> 00:12:46,475
What sort of request?
170
00:12:47,309 --> 00:12:49,520
They've threatened
to release your Uncle Orhan
171
00:12:49,603 --> 00:12:52,397
if we don't triple our payments
172
00:12:52,481 --> 00:12:54,691
for his continued safety and upkeep.
173
00:12:55,692 --> 00:13:00,697
Prince Orhan represents this long
Byzantine tradition of diplomacy.
174
00:13:01,698 --> 00:13:04,785
[narrator] Prince Orhan has a claim
to Mehmed's throne,
175
00:13:04,868 --> 00:13:09,248
but the Romans keep him safely tucked away
inside Constantinople
176
00:13:09,331 --> 00:13:12,543
in exchange for a yearly payment
from the Ottomans.
177
00:13:13,252 --> 00:13:16,213
[Sengör]
Prince Orhan is an interesting case.
178
00:13:16,296 --> 00:13:17,881
He was kept a prisoner.
179
00:13:17,965 --> 00:13:22,052
The Romans wanted to use him
against the Ottomans.
180
00:13:22,135 --> 00:13:24,137
When Mehmed comes to the throne,
181
00:13:24,221 --> 00:13:25,514
he's only 19 years old,
182
00:13:25,597 --> 00:13:28,851
no one really knows, uh...
what kind of a ruler he would be,
183
00:13:28,934 --> 00:13:31,436
so Constantine tries to...
184
00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:33,230
uh, tries to threaten him.
185
00:13:33,313 --> 00:13:35,899
It was always a threat that
186
00:13:35,983 --> 00:13:38,902
"If you do something aggressive,
we can send Orhan back
187
00:13:38,986 --> 00:13:41,196
with a little money,
a little support,
188
00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:43,365
and maybe overthrow your throne."
189
00:13:44,575 --> 00:13:46,785
[Crowley] The Romans offset
190
00:13:46,869 --> 00:13:49,496
their weakness
in terms of military strength,
191
00:13:49,580 --> 00:13:50,831
land, and power,
192
00:13:50,914 --> 00:13:54,418
in their ability to stir up civil war
193
00:13:54,501 --> 00:13:56,128
within the Ottoman Empire.
194
00:13:56,211 --> 00:13:57,880
[Sengör]
The question becomes:
195
00:13:57,963 --> 00:14:00,382
"What do you do
in a situation like this?"
196
00:14:01,008 --> 00:14:02,885
[Brownworth]
This is one of the rare moments
197
00:14:02,968 --> 00:14:06,096
where Constantine
badly miscalculates.
198
00:14:06,179 --> 00:14:08,515
This turns out to be
a pretty bad mistake.
199
00:14:09,433 --> 00:14:11,393
[Mehmed] I will build my fort right here.
200
00:14:14,021 --> 00:14:16,106
Sultan, this is not diplomacy.
201
00:14:16,189 --> 00:14:17,733
It's an act of war.
202
00:14:18,317 --> 00:14:21,111
We will control the Bosphorus
and every ship that travels through it.
203
00:14:22,029 --> 00:14:23,906
[narrator]
In response to the Roman threat,
204
00:14:23,989 --> 00:14:26,742
Mehmed reveals his plan
for Rumeli Hisari,
205
00:14:26,825 --> 00:14:28,327
literally translated:
206
00:14:28,410 --> 00:14:30,787
"Fortress in the land of the Romans."
207
00:14:30,871 --> 00:14:34,666
Strategically located on the European side
of the Bosphorus Strait,
208
00:14:34,750 --> 00:14:37,961
the fort cuts off all supplies
and military aid
209
00:14:38,045 --> 00:14:40,380
from Roman allies in the Black Sea.
210
00:14:40,464 --> 00:14:44,259
The fortress is ominously nicknamed
"The Throat Cutter."
211
00:14:45,010 --> 00:14:46,845
Sultan, I urge you to reconsider.
212
00:14:47,638 --> 00:14:50,057
Building a fort on the Roman side
will provoke them--
213
00:14:50,140 --> 00:14:52,351
Anything inside the walls
of Constantinople
214
00:14:52,434 --> 00:14:53,560
belongs to the Romans.
215
00:14:54,061 --> 00:14:55,812
Anything outside those walls
216
00:14:55,896 --> 00:14:57,022
belongs to me.
217
00:15:02,527 --> 00:15:04,446
[Sengör] Candarli didn't like the idea
218
00:15:04,529 --> 00:15:06,198
because he said, "Look, Your Majesty,"
219
00:15:06,281 --> 00:15:09,618
he said,
"Europeans could unite against us.
220
00:15:09,701 --> 00:15:12,120
The pope could send an army
against us.
221
00:15:12,871 --> 00:15:16,833
And while trying to get Constantinople,
we might lose everything."
222
00:15:18,168 --> 00:15:20,754
And Mehmed said, "Piss off."
223
00:15:20,837 --> 00:15:22,547
Yeah... [laughs]
224
00:15:23,131 --> 00:15:27,511
[narrator] The Throat Cutter is completed
in an astonishing four-and-a-half months,
225
00:15:27,594 --> 00:15:31,765
bringing the Ottomans and Romans
a step closer to war.
226
00:15:32,516 --> 00:15:35,644
Emperor Constantine sends emissaries
to Mehmed's court
227
00:15:35,727 --> 00:15:37,813
to protest construction of the fort.
228
00:15:37,896 --> 00:15:40,691
[Brownworth] Some emissary would say,
"This is Roman land.
229
00:15:40,774 --> 00:15:43,360
Your father at least had the grace
to ask permission
230
00:15:43,443 --> 00:15:45,237
before he did something like this."
231
00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:47,197
He sends them away,
he won't even hear them.
232
00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,033
So Constantine sends back
more messengers,
233
00:15:50,117 --> 00:15:52,035
this time loaded down with gifts,
and say,
234
00:15:52,119 --> 00:15:53,787
"Can we at least be assured
235
00:15:53,870 --> 00:15:56,331
that this does not herald
an attack on Constantinople?"
236
00:16:10,679 --> 00:16:12,180
[grunts]
237
00:16:12,264 --> 00:16:13,765
[panting]
238
00:16:15,308 --> 00:16:17,269
[blacksmith's hammer clanking]
239
00:16:23,650 --> 00:16:25,986
[Brownworth]
Mehmed decapitates the advisors
240
00:16:26,069 --> 00:16:28,989
and let's Constantine
draw his own conclusion.
241
00:16:29,072 --> 00:16:32,117
[angry chatter in court]
242
00:16:35,037 --> 00:16:36,955
[nobleman] This cannot go unanswered!
243
00:16:38,874 --> 00:16:41,585
We must teach the child a lesson!
244
00:16:41,668 --> 00:16:43,879
[man] Then he will taste the Roman slap.
245
00:16:43,962 --> 00:16:44,963
[laughter]
246
00:16:45,047 --> 00:16:46,798
And who will deliver that slap, pray tell?
247
00:16:48,341 --> 00:16:49,342
You?
248
00:16:50,927 --> 00:16:53,764
Mehmed is a menace,
but force is not the answer.
249
00:16:54,473 --> 00:16:58,226
We must avoid confrontation
until Catholic help arrives from Europe.
250
00:16:58,769 --> 00:17:01,563
If the Catholics are our only hope,
251
00:17:02,230 --> 00:17:03,440
we are doomed.
252
00:17:05,817 --> 00:17:08,028
[man 2] The right-hand man of Constantine
253
00:17:08,111 --> 00:17:10,280
was Loukas Notaras.
254
00:17:10,363 --> 00:17:12,949
He held the position of grand duke,
255
00:17:13,033 --> 00:17:15,994
which was the equivalent
of the Ottoman vizier
256
00:17:16,078 --> 00:17:17,829
or a prime minister.
257
00:17:17,913 --> 00:17:19,956
[Notaras]
I'd rather see a sultan's turban
258
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,250
than a cardinal's cap
inside these walls.
259
00:17:23,877 --> 00:17:25,837
[narrator] Constantinople is the center
260
00:17:25,921 --> 00:17:27,923
of Orthodox Christianity.
261
00:17:28,006 --> 00:17:30,467
Like most of the city
and the emperor's court,
262
00:17:30,550 --> 00:17:33,053
Notaras is Greek
and Orthodox Christian,
263
00:17:33,136 --> 00:17:36,056
and distrusts
the European Catholic Church,
264
00:17:36,139 --> 00:17:39,309
a schism dating back four centuries.
265
00:17:39,392 --> 00:17:41,103
Faced with the Ottoman threat,
266
00:17:41,186 --> 00:17:45,065
the city desperately needs soldiers
and ships from the pope.
267
00:17:45,148 --> 00:17:48,235
-[hushing crowd]
-[crowd murmuring]
268
00:17:52,864 --> 00:17:54,783
We are all brothers
in the eyes of God.
269
00:17:56,493 --> 00:17:59,955
At this moment,
we have emissaries sent to the Vatican
270
00:18:00,038 --> 00:18:03,542
and all the courts of Europe
securing aid for our defense.
271
00:18:04,251 --> 00:18:07,504
Already, there are generous troops
bound for the city--
272
00:18:08,171 --> 00:18:09,297
the first of many.
273
00:18:10,382 --> 00:18:11,883
With God's Grace,
274
00:18:11,967 --> 00:18:14,553
the pope will be sending troops
in the coming weeks.
275
00:18:14,636 --> 00:18:17,389
-[nobleman] Long live the emperor.
-[all] Long live the emperor!
276
00:18:17,681 --> 00:18:21,017
[narrator] Notaras is the wealthiest man
in Constantinople,
277
00:18:21,101 --> 00:18:24,521
with business interests ranging
from Anatolia to Italy.
278
00:18:24,604 --> 00:18:27,858
No one has more to lose
in a war with the Ottomans.
279
00:18:27,941 --> 00:18:30,152
Send this to our Turkish friend.
280
00:18:33,780 --> 00:18:35,991
[bird warbles]
281
00:18:39,995 --> 00:18:43,039
[horse nickers, snorts]
282
00:18:49,087 --> 00:18:50,463
[coins jingle]
283
00:19:00,265 --> 00:19:02,934
[chatter, laughter]
284
00:19:09,065 --> 00:19:11,484
[Candarli Halil]
You slippery Greek goat fucker.
285
00:19:16,323 --> 00:19:17,574
Halil Pasha.
286
00:19:28,168 --> 00:19:30,503
[Goodwin]
Candarli Halil was the grand vizier
287
00:19:30,587 --> 00:19:32,756
and an experienced older statesman.
288
00:19:32,839 --> 00:19:35,175
Also known as Halil the Greek...
289
00:19:35,258 --> 00:19:39,346
because he didn't really want Mehmed
to conquer Constantinople,
290
00:19:39,429 --> 00:19:41,181
he didn't think
it was a useful thing to do.
291
00:19:41,264 --> 00:19:44,768
Or maybe he'd been bribed by the Greeks
to kind of divert Mehmed.
292
00:19:45,727 --> 00:19:47,896
[Nataras]
I'm glad you could make it, Pasha.
293
00:19:52,234 --> 00:19:53,902
Though by the look on your face,
294
00:19:53,985 --> 00:19:56,404
it's not with good tidings.
295
00:19:58,782 --> 00:20:00,408
The sultan won't be swayed.
296
00:20:02,661 --> 00:20:05,163
[sighs deeply]
297
00:20:05,247 --> 00:20:07,540
A war is bad for all of us.
298
00:20:08,708 --> 00:20:10,919
And your interests in the city.
299
00:20:12,712 --> 00:20:14,631
Peace is much more profitable.
300
00:20:17,842 --> 00:20:20,011
[Candarli Halil] He is arrogant, young,
301
00:20:20,095 --> 00:20:22,222
convinced he'll conquer the West,
302
00:20:22,806 --> 00:20:24,891
just as Alexander conquered the East.
303
00:20:27,727 --> 00:20:29,271
[chuckling]
304
00:20:29,354 --> 00:20:31,564
[Philippedes] Loukas was probably
305
00:20:31,648 --> 00:20:34,985
the richest man in all of the Balkans.
306
00:20:35,068 --> 00:20:37,445
He tried to play every side.
307
00:20:39,990 --> 00:20:43,285
There's more talk of the emperor
releasing Prince Orhan.
308
00:20:46,871 --> 00:20:50,125
-The emperor is willing to arm him.
-With a wine flask?
309
00:20:50,208 --> 00:20:52,335
[both laugh]
310
00:20:57,007 --> 00:21:00,719
Tell your sultan the emperor prefers
peace with the Ottomans.
311
00:21:00,802 --> 00:21:02,262
I'll make sure of this.
312
00:21:02,929 --> 00:21:05,932
And we can come to terms
to avoid a war.
313
00:21:11,021 --> 00:21:11,938
But...
314
00:21:13,523 --> 00:21:14,941
if the sultan is...
315
00:21:15,775 --> 00:21:18,111
hell-bent on taking the city...
316
00:21:19,696 --> 00:21:22,490
I hate to think of you dying by his side
317
00:21:22,574 --> 00:21:25,201
in a war that could have
easily been avoided.
318
00:21:30,206 --> 00:21:32,375
[Candarli Halil]
And if it goes the other way,
319
00:21:33,543 --> 00:21:36,629
I'll have a front row seat
for your beheading...
320
00:21:37,672 --> 00:21:39,257
my old friend.
321
00:22:01,571 --> 00:22:03,656
[Mehmed]
I should have his head for this.
322
00:22:04,366 --> 00:22:05,950
Deceitful dog!
323
00:22:06,409 --> 00:22:08,244
Mehmed, patience.
324
00:22:08,328 --> 00:22:11,581
A commodity of which
I have precious little at the moment.
325
00:22:20,507 --> 00:22:23,009
It's wiser to keep him close for now.
326
00:22:23,385 --> 00:22:27,889
Think about the importance
of continuity for a new sultan
327
00:22:27,972 --> 00:22:29,474
who's relatively untested.
328
00:22:29,557 --> 00:22:33,103
To come in and start firing people
and executing them as soon as you get in,
329
00:22:33,186 --> 00:22:34,896
that's not gonna make you many friends.
330
00:22:34,979 --> 00:22:37,357
So in some ways
it's a tactical decision.
331
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,860
You use him for as long as he's useful,
and if he proves useful, great.
332
00:22:40,944 --> 00:22:42,946
If he doesn't, get rid of him eventually.
333
00:22:43,780 --> 00:22:46,241
Perhaps you can use
his carelessness...
334
00:22:47,325 --> 00:22:48,868
to your advantage.
335
00:23:09,222 --> 00:23:11,015
[banging on door]
336
00:23:14,894 --> 00:23:16,479
[Zaganos]
Where is your master?
337
00:23:16,563 --> 00:23:18,022
Halil Pasha!
338
00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:22,694
Zaganos Pasha...
339
00:23:24,154 --> 00:23:25,822
what is the meaning of this?
340
00:23:25,905 --> 00:23:29,200
The sultan requests your presence
at the palace.
341
00:23:31,035 --> 00:23:33,788
-Now?
-At once, Halil Pasha.
342
00:23:42,088 --> 00:23:44,174
Give me a moment to dress.
343
00:23:44,257 --> 00:23:45,467
Sure.
344
00:24:09,574 --> 00:24:10,783
[Zaganos] Sultan.
345
00:24:10,867 --> 00:24:12,368
We brought Halil Pasha.
346
00:24:14,954 --> 00:24:16,122
My sultan.
347
00:24:20,418 --> 00:24:22,128
May I please speak?
348
00:24:39,354 --> 00:24:40,605
What is this?
349
00:24:42,565 --> 00:24:43,691
It's...
350
00:24:49,197 --> 00:24:50,990
It's customary to bring gifts
351
00:24:51,074 --> 00:24:53,618
when summoned by the sultan
in the middle of the night.
352
00:24:55,828 --> 00:24:57,789
I don't need your gold, Pasha.
353
00:24:58,248 --> 00:25:00,250
I need your ear. Get up.
354
00:25:02,627 --> 00:25:03,545
Get up.
355
00:25:09,384 --> 00:25:12,345
I just woke from a dream.
356
00:25:15,974 --> 00:25:17,642
I saw my father,
357
00:25:18,977 --> 00:25:20,311
my ancestors,
358
00:25:21,020 --> 00:25:22,230
Osman.
359
00:25:24,232 --> 00:25:25,900
They showed me the road ahead.
360
00:25:30,488 --> 00:25:32,782
It led me to Constantinople.
361
00:25:34,450 --> 00:25:37,370
The gates of the city flew open.
362
00:25:38,246 --> 00:25:40,790
I walked straight to Hagia Sophia...
363
00:25:42,750 --> 00:25:46,879
and there I saw the Red Apple itself.
364
00:25:48,715 --> 00:25:50,174
It was given to me.
365
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:54,596
You understand, Pasha...
366
00:25:56,347 --> 00:26:00,059
Allah has sent me a vision.
367
00:26:01,144 --> 00:26:05,023
He has commanded me
to take Constantinople.
368
00:26:06,524 --> 00:26:09,736
I have no choice but to obey his wish.
369
00:26:12,697 --> 00:26:16,576
There's a prophecy that Constantinople's
the Red Apple, and a warrior will come,
370
00:26:16,659 --> 00:26:19,871
he will take this center
of Christian orthodoxy
371
00:26:19,954 --> 00:26:22,957
and wrest it from the Christians
372
00:26:23,041 --> 00:26:25,376
and bring it home
to the Islamic world.
373
00:26:26,127 --> 00:26:29,047
In my vision, you, too,
were by my side, Pasha.
374
00:26:29,756 --> 00:26:32,967
Devoted teacher, my loyal servant,
375
00:26:33,051 --> 00:26:35,303
commander of my fearsome army,
376
00:26:35,386 --> 00:26:37,889
and utterly committed to our destiny.
377
00:26:40,933 --> 00:26:42,685
I am all those things.
378
00:26:43,311 --> 00:26:45,855
Then I have your support
in this endeavor?
379
00:26:50,735 --> 00:26:55,198
Mehmed played it very, very wisely.
380
00:26:55,281 --> 00:26:57,784
He was able to put him at ease,
381
00:26:58,576 --> 00:26:59,994
so he was able to use him.
382
00:27:00,078 --> 00:27:03,665
[narrator] As grand vizier,
Candarli Halil Pasha
383
00:27:03,748 --> 00:27:07,085
is the second most powerful man
in the Ottoman Empire.
384
00:27:07,168 --> 00:27:09,879
The young sultan must have
his full support
385
00:27:09,962 --> 00:27:12,298
for an attack on Constantinople.
386
00:27:14,217 --> 00:27:16,344
I knew I could rely upon you, Pasha.
387
00:27:18,638 --> 00:27:19,806
Sleep well.
388
00:27:38,408 --> 00:27:40,201
[narrator] The Ottoman war machine
389
00:27:40,284 --> 00:27:42,120
shifts into high gear.
390
00:27:43,413 --> 00:27:47,667
Within six months,
Mehmed assembles an army of 80,000
391
00:27:47,750 --> 00:27:49,877
ready to march on Constantinople.
392
00:27:51,963 --> 00:27:53,297
[soldiers roaring]
393
00:27:53,381 --> 00:27:55,633
Mehmed's troops quickly capture
and destroy
394
00:27:55,717 --> 00:27:59,721
the few remaining Roman outposts
outside of Constantinople,
395
00:27:59,804 --> 00:28:02,348
further isolating the emperor.
396
00:28:03,141 --> 00:28:06,018
The biggest addition
to the Ottoman war machine
397
00:28:06,602 --> 00:28:08,229
is yet to come.
398
00:28:19,782 --> 00:28:22,452
Your reputation precedes you, Orban.
399
00:28:22,535 --> 00:28:24,495
I've heard much about your big guns.
400
00:28:24,579 --> 00:28:27,540
Yes, Sultan. And "guns..." [laughs]
401
00:28:27,623 --> 00:28:29,834
...doesn't do my latest offerings justice.
402
00:28:35,465 --> 00:28:37,550
You see, you need huge balls
403
00:28:37,633 --> 00:28:40,261
to take down the Theodosian Walls
of Constantinople.
404
00:28:41,262 --> 00:28:44,182
I know them
and I know their weak spots.
405
00:28:45,308 --> 00:28:47,351
[whispering] Father, it's in here.
406
00:28:48,311 --> 00:28:50,021
[Orban sighs, grunts]
407
00:28:50,104 --> 00:28:51,022
Father.
408
00:28:52,940 --> 00:28:55,401
Forgive me, my lord. May I?
409
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:12,001
[Orban] This...
410
00:29:12,877 --> 00:29:14,337
this is my new cannon.
411
00:29:14,962 --> 00:29:16,339
It's eight meters long.
412
00:29:16,964 --> 00:29:18,466
The largest ever designed.
413
00:29:19,133 --> 00:29:20,635
And I call it Basilica.
414
00:29:21,969 --> 00:29:24,055
-You can build this?
-Yes.
415
00:29:24,806 --> 00:29:26,057
Yes, Sultan.
416
00:29:26,516 --> 00:29:30,061
She fires a cannon ball
two-and-a-half meters in diameter.
417
00:29:30,144 --> 00:29:33,481
This gun would blast
through the walls of Babylon.
418
00:29:33,564 --> 00:29:34,398
[chuckles]
419
00:29:34,482 --> 00:29:37,735
Although I know you have no quarrels
with the Babylonians.
420
00:29:38,945 --> 00:29:40,655
-[Mehmed] You're a Hungarian?
-Yes.
421
00:29:40,738 --> 00:29:42,281
-And a Christian?
-Yes.
422
00:29:42,365 --> 00:29:44,951
Why aren't you offering these inventions
to Constantine?
423
00:29:47,537 --> 00:29:49,872
There is a price for my knowledge.
424
00:29:50,373 --> 00:29:52,375
The emperor was unable to pay.
425
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:54,377
[Jacob] And, of course,
426
00:29:54,460 --> 00:29:56,504
you are the true ruler of these lands.
427
00:29:58,339 --> 00:29:59,632
Who is this young man?
428
00:29:59,715 --> 00:30:02,844
Uh, Jacob.
My son and my apprentice.
429
00:30:03,386 --> 00:30:06,264
The only one who knows these guns
as well as me.
430
00:30:06,889 --> 00:30:10,226
One day he will make a cannon
even bigger than Basilica.
431
00:30:13,104 --> 00:30:15,106
So then, what's your asking price?
432
00:30:15,189 --> 00:30:17,608
Uh, 10,000 ducats.
433
00:30:17,692 --> 00:30:19,610
[laughs]
434
00:30:19,694 --> 00:30:21,988
You got pretty big balls yourself,
my friend.
435
00:30:22,905 --> 00:30:24,323
Firearms on the battlefield
436
00:30:24,407 --> 00:30:26,951
have been around for a few decades
by this point.
437
00:30:27,577 --> 00:30:29,662
But cannons of this size were something
438
00:30:29,745 --> 00:30:32,540
that was completely out
of most people's imagination.
439
00:30:33,416 --> 00:30:36,586
And so Orban goes
to a number of people around the world
440
00:30:36,669 --> 00:30:39,046
offering his services as a cannon maker.
441
00:30:39,964 --> 00:30:41,090
[Mehmed sighs]
442
00:30:42,633 --> 00:30:46,095
If this gun can bring down
the walls of Constantinople,
443
00:30:46,178 --> 00:30:49,140
as you claim,
I'll pay you four times that.
444
00:30:50,474 --> 00:30:53,769
My only condition is they must be ready
and on the battlefield in three months.
445
00:30:56,939 --> 00:30:58,441
[dramatic music playing]
446
00:31:11,621 --> 00:31:15,791
[Talbot] The vision of building a weapon
like that is remarkable,
447
00:31:15,875 --> 00:31:20,087
not least because early firearms
were prone to explode.
448
00:31:20,171 --> 00:31:21,964
So if you think about what it is,
449
00:31:22,048 --> 00:31:25,134
it's a big metal tube
that you shove a load of gunpowder into,
450
00:31:25,217 --> 00:31:27,553
and then light on fire
to put a projectile out.
451
00:31:27,637 --> 00:31:32,141
That's as likely to blow up in your face
as it is to blow up the enemy.
452
00:31:33,893 --> 00:31:35,519
[hammers banging]
453
00:31:35,603 --> 00:31:37,813
[Goodwin] This huge, huge thing,
454
00:31:37,897 --> 00:31:40,816
the biggest cannon
that's ever been made up to that point,
455
00:31:40,900 --> 00:31:42,985
and when they fire it, you know,
456
00:31:43,069 --> 00:31:45,404
animals collapse in the fields and,
you know,
457
00:31:45,488 --> 00:31:47,949
women give birth suddenly,
and it's just kind of like
458
00:31:48,032 --> 00:31:49,742
no one's heard anything like this before,
459
00:31:49,825 --> 00:31:51,535
and the ball flies for a mile,
460
00:31:51,619 --> 00:31:53,746
and, you know, it is an astonishing thing.
461
00:31:53,829 --> 00:31:56,499
[narrator]
Mehmed's super-gun is revolutionary.
462
00:31:57,166 --> 00:31:59,377
-[boots stomping]
-[crowd roaring]
463
00:32:01,671 --> 00:32:05,007
But Constantine has a secret weapon
of his own...
464
00:32:06,092 --> 00:32:10,972
Genoese soldier of fortune,
Giovanni Giustiniani Longo.
465
00:32:11,055 --> 00:32:12,890
[crowd cheering]
466
00:32:25,277 --> 00:32:28,364
[Brownworth] He's a gallant,
kind of a swashbuckling figure,
467
00:32:28,447 --> 00:32:30,700
and he's well known as
468
00:32:30,783 --> 00:32:32,785
an expert in defending walled cities.
469
00:32:35,037 --> 00:32:36,664
[Philippedes] He was a pirate...
470
00:32:36,747 --> 00:32:41,085
[laughing] ...and he was particularly
attacking ships from Egypt,
471
00:32:41,168 --> 00:32:43,713
up to the point
that the Genoese government
472
00:32:43,796 --> 00:32:45,923
had brought charges against him.
473
00:32:46,007 --> 00:32:49,093
And he ran away so he wouldn't be tried.
474
00:32:51,512 --> 00:32:55,141
He offered his services to the emperor.
475
00:32:56,934 --> 00:33:00,980
The chronicles say that the emperor
promised him the island of Lemnos.
476
00:33:03,899 --> 00:33:06,652
[cheering]
477
00:33:13,242 --> 00:33:17,246
Lord Giustiniani,
you and your men are a welcome sight.
478
00:33:25,796 --> 00:33:26,964
So...
479
00:33:30,134 --> 00:33:33,804
you have studied our, uh, situation.
480
00:33:34,930 --> 00:33:36,974
Yes. I have.
481
00:33:38,517 --> 00:33:39,685
What do you think?
482
00:33:41,353 --> 00:33:43,314
By my calculations,
483
00:33:43,397 --> 00:33:46,150
you have just under 7,000 soldiers.
484
00:33:46,233 --> 00:33:47,818
It is certainly not ideal,
485
00:33:48,194 --> 00:33:49,862
but I have faith
that with your allegiance--
486
00:33:49,945 --> 00:33:51,030
Allegiance?
487
00:33:51,113 --> 00:33:52,114
Your...
488
00:33:53,949 --> 00:33:56,410
with your faithful support, we, uh,
489
00:33:56,494 --> 00:33:57,912
will defeat the Ottomans.
490
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:04,960
I would decree you
head of the land forces.
491
00:34:06,462 --> 00:34:09,924
There are 14 miles of walls
to defend, Emperor.
492
00:34:11,175 --> 00:34:12,259
Yes.
493
00:34:12,635 --> 00:34:16,347
But, uh, I've sent envoys
to every ally in Europe.
494
00:34:17,056 --> 00:34:18,891
Reinforcements from the pope
495
00:34:18,974 --> 00:34:21,227
hopefully should be arriving
any day now.
496
00:34:21,644 --> 00:34:23,270
We will be in better shape then.
497
00:34:27,525 --> 00:34:28,484
Forgive me...
498
00:34:30,569 --> 00:34:32,446
but in my line of work,
499
00:34:33,155 --> 00:34:35,032
hope will get you killed.
500
00:34:38,536 --> 00:34:40,371
If you are to have my trust,
501
00:34:41,122 --> 00:34:44,708
paid or otherwise,
then I must have yours...
502
00:34:47,545 --> 00:34:48,963
Emperor.
503
00:34:50,881 --> 00:34:52,258
Lord Giustiniani...
504
00:34:58,764 --> 00:35:01,016
the fate of the city is in your hands.
505
00:35:06,897 --> 00:35:08,440
Take heart, my lord.
506
00:35:09,441 --> 00:35:11,652
The Ottomans don't like long sieges.
507
00:35:12,153 --> 00:35:15,072
And we have those big, beautiful walls.
508
00:35:32,798 --> 00:35:35,551
My lord, it's as you suspected.
509
00:35:35,634 --> 00:35:38,429
The emperor put the Genoan
in charge of the defenses.
510
00:35:42,683 --> 00:35:44,226
[birds chirping]
511
00:35:48,814 --> 00:35:50,149
[horse whinnies]
512
00:35:52,151 --> 00:35:54,737
[narrator] In March of 1453,
513
00:35:54,820 --> 00:35:58,782
the Ottomans set out on the 148-mile march
514
00:35:58,866 --> 00:36:00,534
to Constantinople.
515
00:36:03,996 --> 00:36:07,249
[Sengör]
The Ottoman army was a dynamic,
516
00:36:07,333 --> 00:36:08,500
growing entity.
517
00:36:09,543 --> 00:36:11,795
They had a unity of command
518
00:36:11,879 --> 00:36:14,548
which the Europeans didn't have.
519
00:36:14,632 --> 00:36:18,302
When these crusader armies
attacked the Ottomans,
520
00:36:18,385 --> 00:36:21,263
they hardly ever listened
to their supreme commander.
521
00:36:21,347 --> 00:36:24,475
You know, every unit did
whatever they wanted to do.
522
00:36:24,558 --> 00:36:26,268
They were running after the most glory.
523
00:36:26,352 --> 00:36:28,979
But the Ottoman army had
a central command.
524
00:36:29,063 --> 00:36:32,441
Really, there was nobody in the Balkans
who could stop them.
525
00:36:33,984 --> 00:36:36,946
[narrator] The most feared warriors
in Mehmed's army
526
00:36:37,029 --> 00:36:38,572
are the Janissaries.
527
00:36:39,531 --> 00:36:41,951
Former Christian slaves
taken as children,
528
00:36:42,034 --> 00:36:43,619
converted to Islam,
529
00:36:43,702 --> 00:36:47,122
and trained to be
the sultan's elite special forces.
530
00:36:47,206 --> 00:36:48,499
[Goodwin] In the 1300s,
531
00:36:48,582 --> 00:36:50,960
these captives become this standing army
532
00:36:51,043 --> 00:36:53,671
that never disbands, they're always there,
533
00:36:53,754 --> 00:36:55,381
they're always ready to fight.
534
00:36:55,464 --> 00:36:59,510
That's the first standing army in Europe.
This has never happened before.
535
00:36:59,593 --> 00:37:02,638
They become the backbone
of this empire.
536
00:37:05,057 --> 00:37:06,725
[narrator] The Ottoman army arrives
537
00:37:06,809 --> 00:37:09,645
on the outskirts of Constantinople
at Easter,
538
00:37:09,728 --> 00:37:12,231
the holiest day in the Christian world.
539
00:37:28,539 --> 00:37:30,624
[church bells ringing in distance]
540
00:37:38,632 --> 00:37:40,676
[church bells continue ringing]
541
00:37:47,349 --> 00:37:49,727
[Talbot]
And then you look out across these walls
542
00:37:49,810 --> 00:37:52,980
and you see what must have been
an incredible sight.
543
00:37:59,695 --> 00:38:02,573
There hadn't really been
a professional army wandering around
544
00:38:02,656 --> 00:38:03,782
since the time of the Romans,
545
00:38:03,866 --> 00:38:07,578
so these guys must have been
particularly terrifying to look at.
546
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:11,874
I can't even imagine
what Constantine must have felt.
547
00:38:13,459 --> 00:38:15,419
I was hoping this day would never come.
548
00:38:19,381 --> 00:38:22,009
This day was always going to come,
Emperor.
549
00:38:23,677 --> 00:38:25,471
It's what we do tomorrow
550
00:38:26,555 --> 00:38:27,931
that will be important.
551
00:38:34,605 --> 00:38:36,857
[narrator] Mehmed walks the battlefield
552
00:38:36,940 --> 00:38:39,902
where 23 armies, including his father's,
553
00:38:39,985 --> 00:38:43,072
have tried to take the city and failed.
554
00:38:44,114 --> 00:38:46,867
His own destiny remains unknown.
555
00:38:47,993 --> 00:38:51,121
[Talbot] There's a particular hadith
that becomes popular.
556
00:38:51,205 --> 00:38:54,083
A hadith is a saying
of the Prophet Muhammad,
557
00:38:54,166 --> 00:38:57,795
and it says... [speaking Arabic]
558
00:38:57,878 --> 00:39:00,130
[in English]
"Surely you, the Islamic nation,
559
00:39:00,214 --> 00:39:02,424
will conquer Constantinople."
560
00:39:02,508 --> 00:39:05,010
[speaking Arabic]
561
00:39:05,094 --> 00:39:07,805
[in English] "And how wonderful
will its commander be,
562
00:39:07,888 --> 00:39:09,973
the commander of that nation."
563
00:39:10,057 --> 00:39:12,976
[speaking Arabic]
564
00:39:13,060 --> 00:39:15,646
[in English] "And how amazing,
how wonderful will the army be,
565
00:39:15,729 --> 00:39:16,897
the army of that nation."
566
00:39:16,980 --> 00:39:19,066
This particular setting,
567
00:39:19,149 --> 00:39:21,110
that there will one day be
a great commander
568
00:39:21,193 --> 00:39:22,903
who will conquer Constantinople,
569
00:39:22,986 --> 00:39:25,781
starts to become important for Mehmed.
570
00:39:32,079 --> 00:39:34,206
...the Father, the Son, and the Holy...
571
00:39:35,124 --> 00:39:36,750
[priest continues]
572
00:39:37,709 --> 00:39:40,546
We are going to need
more than that, Father.
573
00:39:50,389 --> 00:39:51,223
Lady?
574
00:39:55,936 --> 00:39:58,772
You are George Sphrantzes' daughter.
575
00:39:59,314 --> 00:40:01,066
My name is Therma, sir...
576
00:40:01,692 --> 00:40:03,193
should you wish to use it.
577
00:40:07,739 --> 00:40:10,826
I have never seen so many people
in one place.
578
00:40:12,536 --> 00:40:15,831
[Giustiniani] The sultan appears
determined to make a fight of it.
579
00:40:16,957 --> 00:40:19,710
But they must get
through these walls first.
580
00:40:22,212 --> 00:40:23,922
A lot of people will die.
581
00:40:24,465 --> 00:40:26,425
I have no intention of dying.
582
00:40:33,015 --> 00:40:34,850
[horse whinnies]
583
00:40:34,933 --> 00:40:38,520
[narrator] On April 6th, Mehmed sends
a final offer of truce
584
00:40:38,604 --> 00:40:40,481
to Emperor Constantine.
585
00:40:40,564 --> 00:40:44,193
[Talbot] So, the siege is governed
by different cultural norms,
586
00:40:44,276 --> 00:40:47,070
and some of those cultural norms
are specific to Islam.
587
00:40:47,154 --> 00:40:50,240
There's several rules of war
set down in the Quran,
588
00:40:50,324 --> 00:40:54,077
um... that dictate the way
that we should treat such people.
589
00:40:54,161 --> 00:40:57,080
So we give them the opportunity
to change their minds,
590
00:40:57,164 --> 00:40:59,958
that we give them the opportunity
to negotiate a new treaty,
591
00:41:00,042 --> 00:41:02,419
we give them the chance
to extricate themselves
592
00:41:02,503 --> 00:41:04,922
from the potential bloodletting ahead.
593
00:41:05,506 --> 00:41:08,675
[Ottoman emissary]
"Our lord, the merciful Sultan Mehmed,
594
00:41:08,759 --> 00:41:11,595
will spare the citizens of the city,
595
00:41:12,513 --> 00:41:14,348
harming neither their families
596
00:41:15,057 --> 00:41:17,351
nor their belongings,
597
00:41:18,227 --> 00:41:21,396
if you voluntarily surrender.
598
00:41:22,231 --> 00:41:24,274
The people of Constantinople
599
00:41:25,317 --> 00:41:27,402
may keep their possessions;
600
00:41:27,486 --> 00:41:28,820
there will be no looting.
601
00:41:29,905 --> 00:41:30,948
In return,
602
00:41:31,031 --> 00:41:34,243
you will open the gates of the city
603
00:41:34,826 --> 00:41:37,788
and kiss the hands of our sultan."
604
00:41:37,871 --> 00:41:39,331
[all murmuring]
605
00:41:39,414 --> 00:41:43,460
"Sultan Mehmed will the one ruler
of the Romans."
606
00:41:53,595 --> 00:41:57,724
We'll soon find out if the emperor
loves his city enough to die for it.
607
00:42:00,310 --> 00:42:02,563
[Ottoman emissary]
They rejected the offer, Sultan.
608
00:42:05,566 --> 00:42:08,026
-Prepare the cannons.
-[troops roar]
609
00:42:11,905 --> 00:42:13,740
[roaring continues]
610
00:42:15,534 --> 00:42:17,494
Get ready, boys!
611
00:42:17,578 --> 00:42:19,079
[battle cries]
612
00:42:28,463 --> 00:42:31,592
[distant roaring]
613
00:42:42,477 --> 00:42:45,772
-[soldier 1] Prepare the cannons!
-[soldier 2] Prepare the cannons!
614
00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:50,235
[soldier 3] Ready!
615
00:42:56,325 --> 00:42:57,451
Fire!
616
00:43:01,955 --> 00:43:03,957
[blast reverberates]