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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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00:13:30,519 --> 00:13:32,020
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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00:14:02,467 --> 00:14:03,802
What's on your mind?
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00:14:23,989 --> 00:14:24,865
Sir!
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00:14:43,759 --> 00:14:45,719
[Zaganos Pasha,shouting] Giustiniani!
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00:14:53,018 --> 00:14:55,228
Has Zaganos Pasha gone insane?
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What's he doing?
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[horse neighing]
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[Zaganos Pasha, shouting] Giustiniani!
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00:15:08,241 --> 00:15:10,702
I bring word from the sultan himself!
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Sultan.
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00:15:54,079 --> 00:15:58,166
So, you're the Genoese nightmare
that stalks walls.
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I've been called worse.
191
00:16:00,669 --> 00:16:02,045
Hmm. Pirate?
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00:16:04,006 --> 00:16:07,009
You and your band of outlaws
have cost me many men...
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00:16:08,468 --> 00:16:10,178
but earned my respect.
194
00:16:10,721 --> 00:16:11,888
You flatter me, Sultan.
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00:16:11,972 --> 00:16:14,057
I offer reason, mercenary.
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00:16:14,933 --> 00:16:18,937
If it is flattery you're looking for,
turn back to your whimpering paymasters.
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00:16:20,147 --> 00:16:23,692
They're too busy executing
Ottoman prisoners to sweet-talk me.
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00:16:23,775 --> 00:16:25,068
This is not your fight.
199
00:16:25,736 --> 00:16:30,157
You're a soldier of fortune,
so, I'm prepared to give you a fortune.
200
00:16:31,199 --> 00:16:33,035
It's a little late for that, Sultan.
201
00:16:34,077 --> 00:16:35,245
There's a rumor,
202
00:16:35,579 --> 00:16:37,706
the emperor has offered you
the island of Lemnos
203
00:16:37,789 --> 00:16:39,416
in the event of a victory.
204
00:16:40,751 --> 00:16:43,962
The emperor has also promised
the same island
205
00:16:44,379 --> 00:16:46,089
to three others fighting with you.
206
00:16:48,425 --> 00:16:49,426
Have you heard?
207
00:16:50,302 --> 00:16:52,304
[Notaras]
Emperor, this is unacceptable.
208
00:16:52,888 --> 00:16:54,931
How do we know he's not betraying us?
209
00:16:55,682 --> 00:16:57,976
Let us send arrows
into both of them and be done!
210
00:17:01,396 --> 00:17:02,647
Look around, soldier.
211
00:17:03,732 --> 00:17:05,233
You cannot win this battle.
212
00:17:06,234 --> 00:17:07,527
I don't have to win.
213
00:17:08,987 --> 00:17:12,449
It's only a matter of time
before the Christian army arrives.
214
00:17:13,241 --> 00:17:14,785
And you will not defeat them.
215
00:17:16,536 --> 00:17:19,831
Mehmed motivated people
any way he could.
216
00:17:19,915 --> 00:17:25,087
He even tried to, uh, entice Giustiniani
217
00:17:25,170 --> 00:17:29,591
away from, uh, Constantinople to join him,
218
00:17:30,175 --> 00:17:32,135
and he offered him money.
219
00:17:32,385 --> 00:17:33,595
[Mehmed] Leave the defenses now,
220
00:17:33,678 --> 00:17:36,056
and you and your men
will be given land and riches
221
00:17:36,139 --> 00:17:37,808
beyond your wildest dreams.
222
00:17:38,517 --> 00:17:40,769
I will make you governor
of all the Aegean islands
223
00:17:40,852 --> 00:17:42,896
with the protection of my military.
224
00:17:43,105 --> 00:17:47,526
You will be free to conduct
any business you wish, with no taxes.
225
00:17:48,902 --> 00:17:52,155
My offer would make you wealthier
than the emperor himself.
226
00:17:54,241 --> 00:17:56,535
For God's sake,
what are they talking about?
227
00:18:01,832 --> 00:18:03,375
Tell me, Sultan...
228
00:18:05,252 --> 00:18:08,380
what is to stop me
from cutting off your head,
229
00:18:08,463 --> 00:18:11,424
-and ending this here and now?
-[chuckles]
230
00:18:12,634 --> 00:18:13,718
[Mehmed] Soldier...
231
00:18:15,137 --> 00:18:16,805
I'll need your answer by sundown.
232
00:18:25,522 --> 00:18:27,649
[Giustiniani] Zaganos Pasha
called for me by name.
233
00:18:28,275 --> 00:18:29,985
And you go running like his whore?
234
00:18:30,068 --> 00:18:32,946
Lord Loukas!
He held aloft a white flag!
235
00:18:35,031 --> 00:18:37,242
It was in our interest
to know what he had to say.
236
00:18:37,325 --> 00:18:38,493
Which was?
237
00:18:41,788 --> 00:18:44,291
Zaganos Pasha bid me
to take my men and leave.
238
00:18:44,374 --> 00:18:45,625
In return for what?
239
00:18:45,709 --> 00:18:47,836
In return for our lives, my lord.
240
00:18:48,795 --> 00:18:51,590
He would spare us, if we flee.
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00:18:57,762 --> 00:18:59,973
[narrator] With Ottoman ships
in the Golden Horn
242
00:19:00,056 --> 00:19:04,019
and Mehmed's army encamped
outside the city's landward walls,
243
00:19:04,102 --> 00:19:08,481
the Romans are now forced
to defend Constantinople on two fronts.
244
00:19:09,024 --> 00:19:12,068
The city is also still reeling
from the bloody aftermath
245
00:19:12,152 --> 00:19:15,113
of the failed Roman attack
on the ships in the harbor.
246
00:19:15,697 --> 00:19:20,160
Within Constantinople was fury and blame,
uh, at the failed attack,
247
00:19:20,243 --> 00:19:22,370
but it got worse because they realized
248
00:19:22,454 --> 00:19:26,041
that a certain number of sailors
had been captured.
249
00:19:26,124 --> 00:19:30,378
And Mehmed then had them impaled
on stakes outside the walls.
250
00:19:30,462 --> 00:19:32,380
The defenders, uh, responded
251
00:19:32,464 --> 00:19:37,093
by hanging some of their Turkish prisoners
from the battlements.
252
00:19:39,262 --> 00:19:43,558
So we see a kind of spiral
of brutality unfolding
253
00:19:43,642 --> 00:19:46,937
between the two sides
as the siege went on.
254
00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,189
[narrator] Six weeks into the siege,
255
00:19:49,272 --> 00:19:52,025
both sides are nearing
their breaking point.
256
00:19:55,195 --> 00:19:58,281
[Crowley] It's a moment of trauma
and complete chaos.
257
00:20:07,165 --> 00:20:08,375
[shouting]
258
00:20:12,128 --> 00:20:13,171
[coughs]
259
00:20:13,755 --> 00:20:16,174
[Crowley] But there are many
individual moments of pathos,
260
00:20:16,258 --> 00:20:18,635
-of courage, of...
-[Roman soldier] Get up!
261
00:20:18,718 --> 00:20:20,887
-[Crowley] ...sacrifice.
-[Ana] Stop!
262
00:20:20,971 --> 00:20:21,888
Stop it!
263
00:20:22,639 --> 00:20:25,433
-He's hurt. Can't you see?
-He will get a blow of my sword.
264
00:20:25,517 --> 00:20:27,602
No! Have you no mercy?
265
00:20:28,436 --> 00:20:30,188
Let me tend to his wound.
266
00:20:31,273 --> 00:20:34,067
Your pope preaches
to return good for evil.
267
00:20:35,110 --> 00:20:39,531
Perhaps a good deed of charity like this
will help in our cause in front of God.
268
00:20:41,324 --> 00:20:42,367
[sheaths sword]
269
00:20:44,286 --> 00:20:45,370
[spits]
270
00:20:56,673 --> 00:20:57,799
[knock on door]
271
00:21:21,573 --> 00:21:23,325
I thought you weren't coming.
272
00:21:23,950 --> 00:21:25,869
I always keep my promises.
273
00:21:32,667 --> 00:21:35,128
[Giustiniani]
I will take you wherever you wish.
274
00:21:35,587 --> 00:21:38,048
I have my ship waiting in the harbor.
275
00:21:40,550 --> 00:21:41,760
If we survive.
276
00:21:42,761 --> 00:21:45,055
That harbor is filled with Turkish ships.
277
00:21:45,388 --> 00:21:47,432
How much longer can you hold them off?
278
00:21:47,974 --> 00:21:50,226
Despair doesn't suit you, Therma.
279
00:21:53,396 --> 00:21:57,776
I will take you away, far away
from this wretched place.
280
00:22:08,203 --> 00:22:09,996
[panting]
281
00:22:11,790 --> 00:22:13,249
[Ana] You will be safe here.
282
00:22:16,586 --> 00:22:17,420
[coughs]
283
00:22:22,884 --> 00:22:24,260
[panting]
284
00:22:27,806 --> 00:22:29,349
Oh! Oh!
285
00:22:32,769 --> 00:22:34,187
You should have let me die.
286
00:22:36,648 --> 00:22:38,024
Too many people have died.
287
00:22:45,281 --> 00:22:47,700
I must believe there is still good
in this world.
288
00:22:56,584 --> 00:22:58,128
[indistinct talking]
289
00:23:40,712 --> 00:23:41,713
[messenger] Sultan.
290
00:23:43,047 --> 00:23:44,632
A message from Constantinople.
291
00:23:57,270 --> 00:24:00,356
[Giustiniani] "Sultan, thank you
for your most generous offer.
292
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,360
I have considered it in full,
but I fear I must decline.
293
00:24:05,069 --> 00:24:07,655
Once this bloody affair is behind us,
294
00:24:08,281 --> 00:24:10,783
I'll be honored
if you visit me on Lemnos."
295
00:24:48,363 --> 00:24:50,281
[woman] News from Constantinople?
296
00:24:53,409 --> 00:24:55,578
Mehmed is bogged down outside the walls.
297
00:24:57,288 --> 00:24:58,957
My news may hearten you.
298
00:25:00,166 --> 00:25:01,334
What is this?
299
00:25:09,300 --> 00:25:11,678
[Dr. Tunç Şen] There is a great tradition
300
00:25:11,761 --> 00:25:15,056
of practicing astronomy and astrology
301
00:25:15,139 --> 00:25:18,184
in the Greater Eurasian, uh, landscape.
302
00:25:19,644 --> 00:25:25,650
One of the main tasks of astrologers
was designating an auspicious moment.
303
00:25:25,733 --> 00:25:29,195
The idea of future,
the idea of the uncertain,
304
00:25:29,279 --> 00:25:32,865
how this siege would end.
305
00:25:33,950 --> 00:25:34,951
Is this true?
306
00:25:35,034 --> 00:25:36,786
The astrologers have confirmed it.
307
00:25:36,869 --> 00:25:37,954
They are certain.
308
00:25:39,914 --> 00:25:41,833
I need to take this news myself.
309
00:25:42,625 --> 00:25:44,210
[narrator] In Constantinople,
310
00:25:44,294 --> 00:25:46,588
the defenders are faced
with a new problem.
311
00:25:47,422 --> 00:25:49,549
[nobleman] Emperor, we need a miracle.
312
00:25:50,592 --> 00:25:53,052
We are long out of money
and running out of time.
313
00:25:55,013 --> 00:25:57,974
And some of the soldiers
are threatening to leave
314
00:25:58,057 --> 00:25:59,475
if they're not paid.
315
00:25:59,559 --> 00:26:00,476
[Loukas] Leeches!
316
00:26:00,935 --> 00:26:03,771
Determined to suck the last bit of life
from the city.
317
00:26:06,441 --> 00:26:09,360
My men will stay... or go.
318
00:26:10,528 --> 00:26:11,779
Wherever I am.
319
00:26:11,863 --> 00:26:17,368
Lord Giustiniani, no man,
dead or alive, will be left unpaid.
320
00:26:17,952 --> 00:26:19,120
You have my word.
321
00:26:20,913 --> 00:26:22,332
Is that not worth something?
322
00:26:24,709 --> 00:26:27,920
Emperor, I have given you my word.
323
00:26:29,213 --> 00:26:31,007
I am here until the city is safe.
324
00:26:32,842 --> 00:26:36,971
But you know the terms
of the deal you made with them.
325
00:26:37,055 --> 00:26:38,765
[scoffs] Emperor, I warned you,
326
00:26:38,848 --> 00:26:42,518
these Italian recruits would only fight
as long as the money kept flowing!
327
00:26:42,602 --> 00:26:45,980
Not one of them is honorable enough
to see this wretched siege through,
328
00:26:46,064 --> 00:26:49,901
and yet, they strut about
calling themselves Christians!
329
00:26:51,194 --> 00:26:53,821
Careful, Lord.
330
00:26:55,573 --> 00:26:58,117
You are playing with dangerous weapons.
331
00:26:59,869 --> 00:27:05,083
The same weapons that stand between you
and the Ottomans at the gate.
332
00:27:06,626 --> 00:27:10,004
Lord Giustiniani, it's no secret
there is no money in the treasury.
333
00:27:11,714 --> 00:27:13,883
[Dr. Marios Philippedes]
Constantinople was broke.
334
00:27:14,759 --> 00:27:17,720
There is a coin of Emperor John VIII,
335
00:27:18,429 --> 00:27:22,558
who was, uh, the predecessor
of Constantine.
336
00:27:22,642 --> 00:27:25,103
There's a silver, nice coin.
337
00:27:25,186 --> 00:27:30,108
Now if you examine a coin
of Constantine XI...
338
00:27:30,525 --> 00:27:32,527
you can see the difference,
this is silver,
339
00:27:33,361 --> 00:27:37,407
and this is very thin copper
with nothing in there.
340
00:27:37,490 --> 00:27:38,616
He didn't have any money.
341
00:27:39,826 --> 00:27:44,664
Lord Loukas,
you are a man of great wealth,
342
00:27:45,331 --> 00:27:49,127
do you not have anything tucked away
to loan the emperor?
343
00:27:56,592 --> 00:27:58,428
I've given everything I have.
344
00:27:59,887 --> 00:28:01,723
All that is left is my life...
345
00:28:01,806 --> 00:28:02,890
[scoffs]
346
00:28:04,267 --> 00:28:06,144
...and I will gladly give that.
347
00:28:09,397 --> 00:28:12,734
[Jason Goodwin] Constantine is in debt.
He, you know, they owed money.
348
00:28:14,193 --> 00:28:16,904
It's a pretty sort of tragic business.
349
00:28:17,655 --> 00:28:21,367
But he was a...
he was a real fighter, Constantine.
350
00:28:25,204 --> 00:28:26,038
It is God...
351
00:28:27,915 --> 00:28:29,917
who will provide in our time of need.
352
00:28:37,425 --> 00:28:39,927
[indistinct, overlapping talking]
353
00:28:46,267 --> 00:28:48,728
[narrator] In a desperate attempt
to pay the mercenaries,
354
00:28:49,604 --> 00:28:53,649
Emperor Constantine orders
all religious artifacts melted down,
355
00:28:53,733 --> 00:28:55,818
and minted into coins.
356
00:28:55,902 --> 00:28:58,112
[clattering]
357
00:29:36,359 --> 00:29:40,363
Even as the situation in Constantinople
grows more dire,
358
00:29:40,863 --> 00:29:43,699
a glimmer of hope appears
in the Mediterranean.
359
00:29:45,576 --> 00:29:46,536
Look!
360
00:29:52,542 --> 00:29:56,504
[Dr. Philippedes] The Venetians,
they finally put an armada together
361
00:29:56,587 --> 00:29:58,256
to send to Constantinople.
362
00:29:59,006 --> 00:30:00,842
We must get word to Constantinople!
363
00:30:00,925 --> 00:30:04,136
[narrator] In mid-May,
rumors of a massive Venetian fleet
364
00:30:04,220 --> 00:30:06,681
gathering in the Mediterranean
become reality.
365
00:30:08,432 --> 00:30:11,227
The warships prepare to sail
for Constantinople,
366
00:30:11,894 --> 00:30:13,855
and come to the aid of the Romans.
367
00:30:14,313 --> 00:30:19,652
Mehmed's fear was, above all,
any help that would come from Venice.
368
00:30:40,214 --> 00:30:42,341
I have given you
every advantage possible.
369
00:30:43,718 --> 00:30:45,845
And in return,
you have given me nothing.
370
00:30:47,430 --> 00:30:48,431
Halil Pasha,
371
00:30:50,391 --> 00:30:52,059
you promised me the city.
372
00:30:53,686 --> 00:30:54,770
Where is it?
373
00:30:55,980 --> 00:30:57,273
[shouting] Where is it?
374
00:30:57,565 --> 00:30:59,609
Sultan, the Red Apple will fall in time.
375
00:30:59,692 --> 00:31:00,860
It requires patience.
376
00:31:00,943 --> 00:31:02,028
Are you blind?
377
00:31:02,862 --> 00:31:04,572
Can you not see we're out of time?
378
00:31:06,532 --> 00:31:09,410
They're saying the Christian fleet
is just days from here.
379
00:31:12,663 --> 00:31:14,457
What will you do to fix this?
380
00:31:17,543 --> 00:31:18,461
Nothing?
381
00:31:22,715 --> 00:31:27,845
The greatest minds in my empire
can offer me nothing?
382
00:31:34,060 --> 00:31:36,437
Out of my sight. All of you.
383
00:31:55,206 --> 00:31:56,248
What is it?
384
00:31:57,583 --> 00:31:59,752
I have known you
since you were a small boy.
385
00:32:00,169 --> 00:32:02,463
Your father entrusted me
with your education.
386
00:32:02,546 --> 00:32:03,881
Spare me the history lesson.
387
00:32:04,715 --> 00:32:07,009
Say what's actually on your mind for once.
388
00:32:08,219 --> 00:32:10,513
This is exactly what I warned against.
389
00:32:12,098 --> 00:32:15,434
Those walls still stand,
no matter the size of our cannons.
390
00:32:16,143 --> 00:32:18,396
And you see the spirit in the defenders.
391
00:32:18,938 --> 00:32:20,982
They will die before they surrender.
392
00:32:21,065 --> 00:32:22,692
[Mehmed]
We have ten times their numbers.
393
00:32:22,775 --> 00:32:25,569
If our men cannot win
with such an advantage,
394
00:32:25,653 --> 00:32:28,781
it is you who are responsible
for their failure.
395
00:32:28,864 --> 00:32:30,449
Are you not their commander?
396
00:32:33,202 --> 00:32:35,955
Constantinople will fall, someday.
397
00:32:37,206 --> 00:32:40,126
But I fear it cannot be done
under these circumstances.
398
00:32:56,350 --> 00:32:57,852
Make another offer for truce.
399
00:32:59,854 --> 00:33:01,605
I assure you they'll accept it.
400
00:33:03,774 --> 00:33:05,401
Ask for anything you want.
401
00:33:06,527 --> 00:33:08,154
It will be seen as our victory.
402
00:33:10,197 --> 00:33:14,744
And in return,
leave them the city, for now.
403
00:33:15,995 --> 00:33:19,457
And come back when they are weaker,
and you are stronger.
404
00:33:20,499 --> 00:33:22,251
The outcome will be inevitable.
405
00:33:26,005 --> 00:33:31,886
At least allow me to draw up terms
for a truce, for your approval.
406
00:33:33,929 --> 00:33:38,267
Then, if you agree,
we can send word to the emperor.
407
00:33:42,313 --> 00:33:44,023
[Talbot]
When it's going really, really badly,
408
00:33:44,106 --> 00:33:47,359
there's a temptation to just
pick up the camp and walk away,
409
00:33:47,443 --> 00:33:50,237
as happened with so many sieges
of the city in the past.
410
00:34:02,249 --> 00:34:04,960
There was no guarantee
that he was gonna win this.
411
00:34:09,173 --> 00:34:12,551
[narrator] News of the Italian fleet
gathering in the Mediterranean
412
00:34:12,635 --> 00:34:16,597
is a welcome jolt of hope
for the emperor in Constantinople.
413
00:34:18,641 --> 00:34:20,226
-How long?
-Six days at most.
414
00:34:20,309 --> 00:34:22,061
Can you hold off the Turks that long?
415
00:34:23,187 --> 00:34:24,188
Of course!
416
00:34:26,482 --> 00:34:28,317
Lord Loukas, Lord Sphrantzes,
417
00:34:29,527 --> 00:34:31,695
see to it that Lord Giustiniani
has everything he needs
418
00:34:31,779 --> 00:34:32,905
to defend the walls.
419
00:34:33,864 --> 00:34:37,201
We must keep those Ottoman bastards at bay
until the fleet arrives.
420
00:34:59,181 --> 00:35:02,309
Sultan, a message.
421
00:35:04,395 --> 00:35:05,479
It's urgent.
422
00:35:32,256 --> 00:35:33,507
Fetch me my horse!
423
00:35:47,021 --> 00:35:48,105
What is your name?
424
00:35:51,275 --> 00:35:52,151
Ali.
425
00:35:52,776 --> 00:35:53,611
Ali.
426
00:35:56,363 --> 00:35:57,364
I'm Ana.
427
00:36:01,827 --> 00:36:04,663
I called my mother Ana.
428
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:10,377
Will I see her in Heaven?
429
00:36:12,254 --> 00:36:13,130
Yes.
430
00:36:14,215 --> 00:36:15,216
I'm sure of it.
431
00:36:17,509 --> 00:36:18,677
Our Gods, they're...
432
00:36:20,095 --> 00:36:21,430
they're not so different.
433
00:36:33,734 --> 00:36:35,402
-Mother Mara.
-My son.
434
00:36:35,486 --> 00:36:37,655
I came here as soon
as I received your note.
435
00:36:37,905 --> 00:36:40,115
Why are you here?
It's too dangerous.
436
00:36:40,199 --> 00:36:41,742
I come with important news.
437
00:36:42,409 --> 00:36:44,286
You must not leave the battlefield.
438
00:36:45,829 --> 00:36:48,582
My court astrologers
have watched the skies.
439
00:36:49,166 --> 00:36:50,793
The stars have aligned, Mehmed.
440
00:36:52,628 --> 00:36:56,257
So, we have this tradition
of court astrologers
441
00:36:56,340 --> 00:37:01,136
interpreting comets
or other sorts of celestial
442
00:37:01,220 --> 00:37:03,889
or meteorological occurrences,
443
00:37:03,973 --> 00:37:09,103
as a sign of an Ottoman victory
against their enemies.
444
00:37:10,020 --> 00:37:11,939
Now, it's time to attack.
445
00:37:17,111 --> 00:37:19,446
Remember what I told you long ago?
446
00:37:20,072 --> 00:37:23,409
A blood moon would appear
when all hope was lost?
447
00:37:23,701 --> 00:37:25,619
Have you looked at the moon tonight?
448
00:37:33,210 --> 00:37:37,923
Usually eclipses are considered
as bad signs, bad omen.
449
00:37:38,007 --> 00:37:42,094
But Ottoman astrologers interpret
the occurrence of eclipses,
450
00:37:42,177 --> 00:37:46,348
as a bad omen for their enemies,
not for the Ottomans themselves.
451
00:37:47,349 --> 00:37:49,268
[Mara] You must not doubt yourself.
452
00:37:50,728 --> 00:37:51,729
Now go.
453
00:37:52,271 --> 00:37:56,358
I will see you again,
on your throne in Constantinople.
454
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:08,370
[Crowley] Mehmed realized
it was now or never.
455
00:38:08,454 --> 00:38:09,455
The signs were good.
456
00:38:24,553 --> 00:38:28,265
As soon as the sultan returns,
the terms must be ready.
457
00:38:29,516 --> 00:38:30,559
Yes, Pasha.
458
00:38:38,984 --> 00:38:41,987
For us now, horoscopes,
you know, we don't all believe in it.
459
00:38:42,071 --> 00:38:43,697
It's just what some people like.
460
00:38:43,781 --> 00:38:46,867
Whereas in the 15th century,
that was part of life.
461
00:38:47,910 --> 00:38:51,121
[Talbot] Gods and holy spirits
were absolutely everywhere around us,
462
00:38:51,205 --> 00:38:53,999
and sometimes
they manifest themselves to us.
463
00:38:57,669 --> 00:39:01,298
[Philippedes] What really lowered morale
in Constantinople
464
00:39:01,382 --> 00:39:04,009
during the siege, was a lunar eclipse.
465
00:39:04,093 --> 00:39:05,344
Dear God.
466
00:39:06,136 --> 00:39:08,472
[Philippedes] They saw the blood moon
as they called it.
467
00:39:09,139 --> 00:39:14,103
There was a prophecy that Constantinople
would fall after a lunar eclipse.
468
00:39:14,895 --> 00:39:16,021
What does it mean?
469
00:39:30,369 --> 00:39:32,913
Sultan, we have the terms drawn up.
470
00:39:36,417 --> 00:39:39,962
Halil was still saying, let's try
and cut a deal with these people,
471
00:39:40,045 --> 00:39:41,964
and get a large amount of money
out of them.
472
00:39:42,631 --> 00:39:44,383
The troops were getting restless.
473
00:39:44,466 --> 00:39:46,718
Mehmed couldn't sustain this
much longer.
474
00:39:46,802 --> 00:39:48,470
Have you not eyes, Pasha?
475
00:39:49,471 --> 00:39:50,681
It is our time.
476
00:39:55,060 --> 00:39:56,061
My brothers!
477
00:39:58,105 --> 00:40:00,065
Pick yourselves up and prepare.
478
00:40:01,817 --> 00:40:03,569
The prophets have spoken.
479
00:40:04,403 --> 00:40:05,863
Our time is at hand.
480
00:40:06,613 --> 00:40:07,656
Don't doubt it.
481
00:40:07,739 --> 00:40:09,283
Don't doubt our might.
482
00:40:10,325 --> 00:40:12,786
Allah will be with every one of us.
483
00:40:12,870 --> 00:40:15,038
And we will take the city!
484
00:40:15,122 --> 00:40:16,415
[cheering]
485
00:40:29,428 --> 00:40:31,763
[Philippedes] We hear
from the defenders chronicles
486
00:40:31,847 --> 00:40:33,474
that the Turks were elated.
487
00:40:33,557 --> 00:40:36,268
They thought it predicted
the end of the city.
488
00:40:36,351 --> 00:40:37,853
[cheering]
489
00:40:40,814 --> 00:40:42,065
Drink up, Lords.
490
00:40:43,901 --> 00:40:46,320
Soon we will fight for our lives.
491
00:41:00,250 --> 00:41:02,544
[narrator] Mehmed readies his army
for battle.
492
00:41:03,670 --> 00:41:07,424
His destiny will be written
at the walls of Constantinople.
493
00:41:07,716 --> 00:41:09,218
[Candarli] Sultan, I urge you.
494
00:41:09,885 --> 00:41:12,137
Do not force the matter any longer.
495
00:41:12,221 --> 00:41:14,723
-If we fail--
-If we fail...
496
00:41:16,391 --> 00:41:19,686
If Venetian galleys arrive
with 100,000 men!
497
00:41:20,479 --> 00:41:24,274
If Caesar returns from the grave
to lead Constantine's troops.
498
00:41:26,276 --> 00:41:28,862
There's no more time for ifs, Pasha.
We must take the city.
499
00:41:28,946 --> 00:41:30,989
The cost will be steep.
500
00:41:34,243 --> 00:41:37,120
You have urged me to give up,
Halil Pasha, time and again.
501
00:41:37,204 --> 00:41:39,039
And you nearly convinced me.
502
00:41:39,581 --> 00:41:42,459
But my fate is written...
503
00:41:44,378 --> 00:41:45,462
as is yours.
504
00:41:47,464 --> 00:41:48,465
[soldier] Sultan!
505
00:41:54,972 --> 00:41:56,598
[narrator] In the wake of the blood moon
506
00:41:56,682 --> 00:42:00,352
and just hours before Mehmed
launches his final assault,
507
00:42:00,936 --> 00:42:03,522
he's met by an apocalyptic sight.
508
00:42:06,275 --> 00:42:09,861
[Crowley] Lights appeared to be shining
on the roof of Hagia Sophia.
509
00:42:23,458 --> 00:42:25,586
What kind of sorcery is this?
510
00:42:31,717 --> 00:42:35,846
It created this incredibly
hysterical atmosphere within the city,
511
00:42:35,929 --> 00:42:38,599
that they could be looking
at the end of the world.
512
00:42:40,559 --> 00:42:41,935
[clamoring]
513
00:42:44,771 --> 00:42:46,565
[sobbing]
514
00:42:48,358 --> 00:42:51,361
[Talbot] The city is meant
to have been protected by the Virgin Mary.
515
00:42:51,445 --> 00:42:54,072
There's the story that on the last day
of Constantinople,
516
00:42:54,906 --> 00:42:57,868
she was seen leaving the city.
517
00:43:01,622 --> 00:43:05,250
[shouting] Allah has abandoned
the infidels!
518
00:43:05,334 --> 00:43:07,336
[cheering]
519
00:43:21,767 --> 00:43:23,685
[dramatic music plays]