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[narrator] Hours before Mehmed
launches his final assault,
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00:00:21,064 --> 00:00:23,858
an ominous sight shakes both sides.
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[Notaras] Why has God forsaken us?
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00:00:37,538 --> 00:00:39,791
Is our fate to be thrown
to the Ottoman dogs?
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The city is not yet lost, Lord.
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Yes, the Venetian fleet is on its way.
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Unless they arrive tomorrow,
they do us no good.
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[narrator] Rumors of a 40-ship fleet's
imminent arrival have swirled for weeks,
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but it's exact whereabouts
remain unknown.
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I think everyone involved
was hoping against hope.
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I think you just naturally want the hope
that, uh, deliverance will come.
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The West can't forget about us.
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They know that Venice has voted
to send help in the form of their navy,
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as well as soldiers.
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And so the relief fleet is on their way.
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Every day, they get up there
and they look for it,
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day after day, after day
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and it doesn't come and it doesn't come.
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We can hold off the Turks, Emperor,
I swear to you.
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Lord Giustiniani?
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The walls will hold, Lord.
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The Turks have suffered heavy losses
every time they've attacked.
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It's not me who needs to be convinced,
dear Giustiniani.
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My faith is inseparable from this city.
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[Loukas] It may not have to be, Emperor.
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I have some good friends in Galata.
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They offered me to get us...
you and your court out of the city.
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Leave the city? Now?
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There's no shame in it.
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You will abandon the fight?
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There's no honor in suicide.
The Turks will have our heads.
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I will have yours now, coward!
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[Sphrantzes] Hey,.
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Lord Loukas, you would leave your emperor
and countrymen at such a moment as this?
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I'm, of course, only concerned
for the emperor's safety.
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If this has to be the end
of the Roman Empire,
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I will die defending it.
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Anyone who loves me and their empire,
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take up your swords
and join me in this battle!
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[cheering]
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Then let us write our own history
in these fateful hours!
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[cheering]
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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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[Giustiniani] The Turks will concentrate
their attacks on the land walls.
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The gate of St. Romanus
will be their primary target.
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It's nearly demolished by their cannons
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and they have been stacking their units
directly across from it.
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We must defend with all we have, there.
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Lord Giustiniani,
you will have whatever we can get.
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We will need all men of fighting age.
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We can leave the old and the clergy
to defend the seaside walls.
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Lord Loukas,
knowing the Turks will come here,
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I will immediately need your cannons
moved to the gate of St. Romanus.
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00:04:08,541 --> 00:04:10,126
That's out of the question.
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I need them to defend the walls
along the Golden Horn.
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You've seen their ships waiting to attack.
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They will not come from the Horn.
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It's too great a risk.
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They will storm this gate.
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I need all of our cannons to stop them.
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Lord Giustiniani,
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I'm sure you will find a way
to defeat them without my cannons.
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You are the military genius,
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aren't you?
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It's not a request.
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[scoffs] I don't take orders
from the Catholic pirates.
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[Loukas] Ah!
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Ah!
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I have killed hundreds in this siege.
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00:04:49,623 --> 00:04:53,919
-One more won't make a difference to me.
-Enough!
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00:04:54,962 --> 00:04:57,423
There is no time
for this petty bickering.
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00:04:57,506 --> 00:04:58,924
[cannon fire in distance]
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00:05:00,968 --> 00:05:04,972
You will get your cannons,
Lord Giustiniani, but end this now.
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We will settle this
after the Turks are gone.
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[Lars Brownworth] Humans have
this endless capacity to bicker.
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Even when extinction is threatening.
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Constantine has to kind of
console Giustiniani and Notaras
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and kind of wake them up to, you know,
we have a bigger problem here.
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My lord, Captain Tommaso
has returned with urgent news.
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Send him in.
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[narrator]
Three and a half weeks earlier,
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Constantine had ordered lookouts
to find the Venetian fleet.
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Their imminent arrival
could save the city.
94
00:05:42,635 --> 00:05:44,887
We ran the blockade, my lord.
95
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We scanned the seas from dusk till dawn,
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but saw no ships.
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[narrator] The grim news means
the Venetian fleet's arrival
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00:06:00,528 --> 00:06:02,321
is at least a week away.
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00:06:03,030 --> 00:06:05,157
The Romans are on their own.
100
00:06:06,742 --> 00:06:08,077
Thank you, Captain.
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[John Goodwin]
Constantine couldn't surrender.
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00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:41,152
He couldn't give up
because he bore on his shoulders
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more than his own personal dignity
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and his hopes, uh, for himself
and for his family.
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00:06:47,825 --> 00:06:49,702
He was the embodiment
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of something that had been set in train
a thousand years before
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with the foundation of that city
by his namesake, Constantine the Great...
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who had founded that city
and called it after himself.
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And from the 15th century,
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that had been one, almost continuous story
of imperial rule and Christianity.
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And that was too much
for one man to lay aside.
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[Brownworth] Constantine, he says,
"These are my people
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and it's worth dying...
I'm not gonna leave them to die alone,
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I'm gonna... I'm gonna lead them
and die with them."
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[cheering]
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[Roger Crowley] The day comes,
29th of May, before dawn.
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[cheering continues]
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Mehmed realized
that it was now or never.
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[cheering]
120
00:08:25,965 --> 00:08:27,383
[all chanting]
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[narrator] Mehmed orders his cannons
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to intensify their barrage
on the weakened walls.
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[screaming]
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There is a Genoese ship
readying to depart from the Golden Horn.
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Take who you can, go to Chios.
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No. No, I won't leave you!
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If you care for me, you will.
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00:09:09,425 --> 00:09:11,760
It will give me strength
to know you are safe.
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00:09:14,054 --> 00:09:17,516
Promise me... promise me
you'll join me in Chios.
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Now go.
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[cannon fire]
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I think we're due a pay rise, lads.
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[laughs]
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Let's send the bastards to hell.
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[soldiers] To hell!
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00:10:05,648 --> 00:10:06,982
To hell!
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00:10:07,066 --> 00:10:08,359
To hell!
138
00:10:12,780 --> 00:10:15,032
[narrator] Giustiniani
and his remaining men
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00:10:15,115 --> 00:10:18,285
take up a position
between the inner and outer walls
140
00:10:18,369 --> 00:10:19,995
at the St. Romanus gate,
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00:10:20,537 --> 00:10:23,874
putting them in what will soon become
a killing field.
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00:10:24,500 --> 00:10:27,336
For the Genoese mercenaries
and their leader,
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there are two ways out:
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00:10:29,380 --> 00:10:31,382
victory or death.
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00:10:37,638 --> 00:10:43,602
Twenty-three armies have tried
to take this city and failed.
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00:10:47,940 --> 00:10:51,360
My own father faltered at these walls,
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00:10:51,443 --> 00:10:54,697
as did many of your fathers
who fought alongside him.
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Tonight, we will avenge them.
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00:11:01,578 --> 00:11:02,955
Allah has willed it.
150
00:11:04,915 --> 00:11:10,129
The Prophet said,
"You shall conquer Constantinople.
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00:11:10,629 --> 00:11:13,006
What a wonderful leader
will her leader be.
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00:11:14,133 --> 00:11:16,552
And what a wonderful army
will that army be."
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00:11:17,845 --> 00:11:20,055
Let us now fulfill our destiny.
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00:11:20,139 --> 00:11:22,391
[cheering]
155
00:11:31,775 --> 00:11:35,696
Then, we will use our hands and minds
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00:11:35,779 --> 00:11:38,073
to forge a new age from the ashes.
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The Red Apple
will be given to the fateful.
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Allahu Akbar!
159
00:11:43,537 --> 00:11:45,122
Allahu Akbar!
160
00:11:45,205 --> 00:11:46,498
Allahu Akbar!
161
00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:48,459
Allahu Akbar!
162
00:11:48,542 --> 00:11:50,002
Allahu Akbar!
163
00:11:50,085 --> 00:11:51,253
Allahu Akbar!
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00:11:51,670 --> 00:11:54,965
[Dr. Talbot] Mehmed, he really knows
what to do and when to do it.
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So, you'll conquer
and you'll get these riches.
166
00:11:57,259 --> 00:12:00,679
But also appealing to the religious side
of these soldiers too.
167
00:12:00,763 --> 00:12:03,056
God is with us
and he'll help us to conquer.
168
00:12:03,140 --> 00:12:06,310
But also making himself into a standard.
169
00:12:06,727 --> 00:12:08,854
I'm with you, therefore we'll conquer.
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00:12:08,937 --> 00:12:11,148
[cheering]
171
00:12:17,029 --> 00:12:19,573
[narrator]
Inside the walls of Constantinople,
172
00:12:20,282 --> 00:12:22,117
the emperor readies his men.
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00:12:22,993 --> 00:12:25,829
The battle will decide
the fate of the city.
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Men!
175
00:12:30,667 --> 00:12:32,920
You know what awaits you
outside those walls.
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00:12:35,964 --> 00:12:37,090
Be not afraid.
177
00:12:39,009 --> 00:12:42,346
We are privileged to defend this city
178
00:12:42,429 --> 00:12:45,265
that Constantine the Great
built from dust.
179
00:12:46,642 --> 00:12:50,270
We are the protectors
that have kept the scourge of Islam
180
00:12:50,354 --> 00:12:52,856
from Europe for a thousand years.
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00:12:54,858 --> 00:12:56,735
If the great empire of Rome...
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must end tonight,
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00:13:00,781 --> 00:13:02,157
let it not go easily.
184
00:13:03,492 --> 00:13:09,998
Sharpen your swords and steel your souls,
for we fight as brothers, as Romans!
185
00:13:10,082 --> 00:13:12,042
[cheering]
186
00:13:16,797 --> 00:13:17,923
Augustus,
187
00:13:18,590 --> 00:13:19,716
Justinian,
188
00:13:20,175 --> 00:13:21,426
Constantine...
189
00:13:22,302 --> 00:13:24,096
they will be watching!
190
00:13:24,179 --> 00:13:25,806
[cheering]
191
00:13:35,482 --> 00:13:39,528
There's this wonderful speech that
Constantine gives right before the battle
192
00:13:39,611 --> 00:13:41,989
where he's addressing
both the Italians and the Byzantines
193
00:13:42,072 --> 00:13:44,408
and he reminds the Byzantines
in particular,
194
00:13:44,491 --> 00:13:45,993
of who their ancestors were:
195
00:13:46,076 --> 00:13:47,828
the great heroes of the Roman past.
196
00:13:47,911 --> 00:13:51,582
And he gives this stirring reminder:
be worthy of your ancestors.
197
00:13:52,541 --> 00:13:54,543
And I think it's this moment where he...
198
00:13:54,626 --> 00:13:57,504
he was up to the task
when it finally came to it,
199
00:13:57,588 --> 00:14:00,465
he was willing to die
for a cause that he believed in.
200
00:14:00,549 --> 00:14:02,217
[cheering]
201
00:14:08,390 --> 00:14:10,976
[Ottoman band playing]
202
00:14:19,943 --> 00:14:21,945
[cheering]
203
00:14:39,504 --> 00:14:40,797
Sound the alarm bells.
204
00:14:41,381 --> 00:14:43,842
[bells tolling]
205
00:14:59,566 --> 00:15:00,984
Send the Bashi-Bazouks.
206
00:15:01,568 --> 00:15:02,986
Send the Bashi-Bazouks.
207
00:15:04,029 --> 00:15:05,948
[shouting] Full forward!
208
00:15:06,573 --> 00:15:07,783
Attack!
209
00:15:09,576 --> 00:15:13,163
[narrator] Bashi-Bazouk
literally means "crazy heads."
210
00:15:14,790 --> 00:15:19,920
The fierce, but unpredictable volunteers
are Mehmed's first wave of attackers.
211
00:15:20,003 --> 00:15:21,505
[shouting]
212
00:15:27,135 --> 00:15:29,763
[Crowley] Before dawn,
they attack in waves
213
00:15:29,846 --> 00:15:32,516
and he sends his most
disposable troops in first.
214
00:15:33,225 --> 00:15:34,893
And these are the cannon fodder.
215
00:15:41,733 --> 00:15:43,235
Get ready, boys.
216
00:15:43,318 --> 00:15:44,319
Draw!
217
00:15:45,195 --> 00:15:46,488
Aim!
218
00:15:47,239 --> 00:15:48,198
Release!
219
00:15:53,161 --> 00:15:54,121
Release!
220
00:15:57,749 --> 00:15:58,875
Release!
221
00:16:07,217 --> 00:16:08,802
[shouting]
222
00:16:23,108 --> 00:16:25,819
[Dr. Philippedes]
You had the first wave of the expendables
223
00:16:25,902 --> 00:16:28,155
and that lasted
a couple of hours, actually.
224
00:16:28,697 --> 00:16:30,782
The defenders were tired after that,
225
00:16:31,408 --> 00:16:35,078
while the Ottomans were getting ready
for the second wave of the attack.
226
00:16:41,418 --> 00:16:42,419
Ahh!
227
00:16:49,426 --> 00:16:50,677
Send the Regulars.
228
00:16:55,557 --> 00:16:57,642
[narrator]
The disciplined Ottoman Regulars
229
00:16:58,143 --> 00:17:00,771
are a far cry from the Bashi-Bazouks.
230
00:17:01,146 --> 00:17:04,149
They're the most feared army
in the Balkans.
231
00:17:05,984 --> 00:17:08,570
The use of mercenaries
or foreign experts
232
00:17:08,653 --> 00:17:10,822
is something that's often forgotten
in the siege
233
00:17:10,906 --> 00:17:14,576
when it's seen as simply a clash
between Christian and Muslim.
234
00:17:14,659 --> 00:17:18,163
There were guys from both faiths
and from all over the world
235
00:17:18,497 --> 00:17:20,832
helping each other out
for the highest price.
236
00:17:22,459 --> 00:17:23,293
Aim!
237
00:17:28,590 --> 00:17:29,424
Release!
238
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:38,016
Aim!
239
00:17:41,686 --> 00:17:43,021
Forward charge!
240
00:17:44,856 --> 00:17:45,690
Release!
241
00:17:54,282 --> 00:17:55,283
[shouting]
242
00:17:57,577 --> 00:17:59,037
Fire the bombards.
243
00:18:06,211 --> 00:18:08,713
[narrator] Giustiniani converts
the small cannons
244
00:18:08,797 --> 00:18:10,340
into makeshift shotguns.
245
00:18:17,681 --> 00:18:21,685
The Ottomans take heavy casualties,
but press the attack.
246
00:18:27,816 --> 00:18:29,776
Giustiniani and his men
247
00:18:29,860 --> 00:18:33,947
rush outside the ramparts
of the outer walls and into the moat.
248
00:18:41,329 --> 00:18:43,415
[men grunting]
249
00:18:57,387 --> 00:18:58,597
[distant screaming]
250
00:19:02,267 --> 00:19:04,186
[men grunting]
251
00:19:07,397 --> 00:19:08,648
[groaning]
252
00:19:10,025 --> 00:19:12,402
The Turks are no match
for Giustiniani, my lord.
253
00:19:13,737 --> 00:19:14,821
There is still hope.
254
00:19:15,238 --> 00:19:16,948
Ahh!
255
00:19:21,494 --> 00:19:22,704
Ahh!
256
00:19:24,915 --> 00:19:26,750
Ahh!
257
00:19:29,836 --> 00:19:32,255
[grunting]
258
00:19:33,006 --> 00:19:35,425
[narrator] Mehmed sends
wave after wave of troops,
259
00:19:35,508 --> 00:19:37,844
but after four hours of fighting,
260
00:19:37,928 --> 00:19:40,805
the battle shifts in the defenders favor
261
00:19:40,889 --> 00:19:43,975
and the Ottomans are unable
to breach the walls.
262
00:19:44,601 --> 00:19:46,436
Sultan, we must retreat and regroup.
263
00:19:46,937 --> 00:19:47,896
Nonsense.
264
00:19:48,396 --> 00:19:50,815
-You can see, we are losing the battle.
-We attack again.
265
00:19:50,899 --> 00:19:52,150
We only have the Janissaries.
266
00:19:52,234 --> 00:19:53,443
Then send them!
267
00:19:53,526 --> 00:19:55,403
If they fail, we won't have an army!
268
00:19:55,487 --> 00:19:57,948
-If they fail.
-Sultan, I urge you to reconsider.
269
00:19:58,031 --> 00:19:59,366
I will take this city!
270
00:19:59,449 --> 00:20:00,951
This is madness!
271
00:20:03,245 --> 00:20:04,746
Out of my way, old man.
272
00:20:10,794 --> 00:20:13,046
[narrator] The first two waves
of Mehmed's attack
273
00:20:13,129 --> 00:20:15,465
failed to break the city's defenses.
274
00:20:16,132 --> 00:20:21,221
The legendary Janissaries are his last
and only hope for taking Constantinople.
275
00:20:23,723 --> 00:20:25,016
Mighty Janissaries!
276
00:20:26,393 --> 00:20:30,105
You have fearlessly protected the empire
for a hundred years,
277
00:20:30,689 --> 00:20:33,900
standing between your sultan
and chaos.
278
00:20:35,527 --> 00:20:39,990
Now, I order you to go forth
and create chaos.
279
00:20:40,073 --> 00:20:41,616
[cheering]
280
00:20:46,162 --> 00:20:47,872
Let us take the Apple!
281
00:20:47,956 --> 00:20:49,416
[cheering]
282
00:20:54,504 --> 00:20:56,923
Attack!
283
00:21:20,822 --> 00:21:21,823
[horse whinnies]
284
00:21:36,713 --> 00:21:37,839
Take the sultan!
285
00:21:42,635 --> 00:21:45,263
[breathing heavily]
286
00:21:54,022 --> 00:21:57,025
[panting]
287
00:22:08,703 --> 00:22:09,913
[gasps]
288
00:22:09,996 --> 00:22:11,790
[grunting]
289
00:22:14,417 --> 00:22:15,460
Sultan!
290
00:22:22,092 --> 00:22:24,677
[grunting]
291
00:22:47,450 --> 00:22:49,160
[men cheering]
292
00:22:50,328 --> 00:22:52,414
[narrator] The momentum shifts once again
293
00:22:52,497 --> 00:22:57,460
as the Janissaries continue their push
towards the St. Romanus gate.
294
00:22:58,086 --> 00:23:01,047
[Brownworth] The Janissaries
were the most feared element
295
00:23:01,131 --> 00:23:02,340
of the Ottoman army.
296
00:23:05,552 --> 00:23:07,095
Giustiniani is with his men
297
00:23:08,805 --> 00:23:11,850
and here come the Janissaries
who are the best trained,
298
00:23:11,933 --> 00:23:15,270
the most disciplined,
who are fanatically loyal.
299
00:23:17,230 --> 00:23:18,356
And they're yelling.
300
00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,358
They have these colorful uniforms.
301
00:23:20,442 --> 00:23:22,026
The drums are beating.
302
00:23:22,110 --> 00:23:24,988
It... it must have been
absolutely terrifying.
303
00:23:26,030 --> 00:23:28,491
[narrator] The relentless advance
of the Janissaries
304
00:23:28,575 --> 00:23:33,037
begins to weaken the desperate defense
put up by Giustiniani and his men.
305
00:23:33,621 --> 00:23:34,747
[Giustiniani] Retreat!
306
00:23:35,331 --> 00:23:36,583
Retreat!
307
00:23:37,375 --> 00:23:39,919
[narrator] Forcing him to order
a tactical retreat
308
00:23:40,003 --> 00:23:41,754
into the safety of the walls.
309
00:23:43,381 --> 00:23:44,716
[Therma] Go! Go on!
310
00:23:44,799 --> 00:23:47,051
-Come on! Go!
-[screaming]
311
00:23:47,135 --> 00:23:50,096
[narrator] Inside the city,
panic engulfs its citizens
312
00:23:50,180 --> 00:23:53,057
as the Janissaries close in
on the St. Romanus gate.
313
00:24:12,744 --> 00:24:14,787
Retreat! Retreat!
314
00:24:17,707 --> 00:24:20,793
-Get them in here and close gate. Now!
-Yes, sir!
315
00:24:21,419 --> 00:24:23,963
Retreat! Retreat!
316
00:24:30,303 --> 00:24:31,721
Go, go, go!
317
00:24:39,521 --> 00:24:42,106
They are coming! Close that gate!
318
00:24:42,190 --> 00:24:45,193
-Close that gate!
-[soldier] We still have men out there!
319
00:24:45,276 --> 00:24:46,528
Close it!
320
00:24:46,611 --> 00:24:48,571
[intense shouting]
321
00:24:49,531 --> 00:24:52,033
The gate is open! Come on, men!
322
00:25:01,251 --> 00:25:02,919
[grunting]
323
00:25:03,795 --> 00:25:05,797
Close that gate now!
324
00:25:23,064 --> 00:25:24,315
[gasps]
325
00:25:29,529 --> 00:25:30,697
[groans]
326
00:25:38,413 --> 00:25:39,622
[groans]
327
00:25:47,755 --> 00:25:48,965
[gasps]
328
00:25:51,467 --> 00:25:52,385
[grunts]
329
00:25:54,721 --> 00:25:56,055
[groans]
330
00:26:08,318 --> 00:26:10,361
[groaning]
331
00:26:22,248 --> 00:26:23,625
[panting]
332
00:26:28,588 --> 00:26:31,591
[breathing heavily]
333
00:26:40,183 --> 00:26:42,977
We have to get him to the surgeon
or he won't make it!
334
00:26:46,314 --> 00:26:47,398
[groans]
335
00:26:51,903 --> 00:26:53,613
Crossbow fire!
336
00:27:01,829 --> 00:27:03,873
Let's go men, let's go!
337
00:27:04,374 --> 00:27:05,875
Clear the path.
338
00:27:09,253 --> 00:27:12,340
-[Constantine] Where are you taking him?
-He's hurt. He needs to see the surgeon.
339
00:27:12,423 --> 00:27:14,926
He can't leave!
These men will abandon the fight!
340
00:27:15,343 --> 00:27:16,427
I am sorry.
341
00:27:16,928 --> 00:27:18,513
You can't go, Giustiniani.
342
00:27:19,764 --> 00:27:20,973
The city will fall.
343
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:27,188
It's no good, Emperor.
344
00:27:28,856 --> 00:27:30,149
Save yourself.
345
00:27:50,211 --> 00:27:52,296
[Gürkan]
Giovanni Giustiniani fought very well.
346
00:27:52,380 --> 00:27:55,633
He fought valiantly until when he didn't.
347
00:27:55,717 --> 00:27:59,220
Uh, the last day of the siege he was...
I have to do justice to him.
348
00:27:59,303 --> 00:28:01,514
He fought very bravely,
but then he ran away
349
00:28:01,597 --> 00:28:04,225
because he was already shot
and he realized everything was gone.
350
00:28:05,977 --> 00:28:08,020
The city was doomed,
everyone knew it.
351
00:28:08,104 --> 00:28:11,149
There are all sorts of accounts
as to how this happened, what happened.
352
00:28:11,232 --> 00:28:16,988
Giustiniani, maybe he's just run out of,
uh, of energy.
353
00:28:17,071 --> 00:28:20,491
His morale is shot
and this is the moment really,
354
00:28:20,575 --> 00:28:23,202
when they see Giustiniani leaving,
355
00:28:23,286 --> 00:28:26,914
uh, the whole, uh, morale
of the defenders collapses.
356
00:28:26,998 --> 00:28:29,292
-[grunts]
-[men shouting]
357
00:28:33,254 --> 00:28:34,714
[grunting]
358
00:28:40,511 --> 00:28:42,054
[Baltaoglu] We got them!
359
00:28:42,722 --> 00:28:44,599
Push forward!
360
00:29:00,239 --> 00:29:03,785
[Genoese soldier] Retreat!
The commander has left the battle!
361
00:29:03,868 --> 00:29:05,244
Retreat! Retreat!
362
00:29:05,661 --> 00:29:08,664
[narrator] After two months of pounding
by Mehmed's cannons,
363
00:29:08,748 --> 00:29:11,417
much of the outer wall
has been reduced to rubble.
364
00:29:11,959 --> 00:29:13,753
The defenders are overwhelmed
365
00:29:13,836 --> 00:29:17,715
as thousands of Ottoman soldiers pour in
through the breaches.
366
00:29:25,765 --> 00:29:26,766
Dear God.
367
00:29:32,939 --> 00:29:36,025
Our beloved city is lost.
368
00:29:39,111 --> 00:29:42,073
Now make haste, go to the Marmara walls
while there's time.
369
00:29:42,156 --> 00:29:43,157
No, Majesty.
370
00:29:43,241 --> 00:29:45,618
There's a ship waiting for us
in the harbor.
371
00:29:45,701 --> 00:29:47,745
We can still escape if we leave now.
372
00:29:49,038 --> 00:29:50,581
I am going to God, my friend.
373
00:29:52,667 --> 00:29:53,793
It is my duty.
374
00:29:56,587 --> 00:29:57,588
Save yourself.
375
00:29:59,090 --> 00:30:01,717
-You think I would leave your side?
-I'm ordering you to leave!
376
00:30:04,762 --> 00:30:10,935
Tell the world how valiantly
we Romans fought here tonight.
377
00:30:13,938 --> 00:30:15,064
[in Latin] Morior invictus.
378
00:30:20,611 --> 00:30:21,654
Morior invictus.
379
00:30:23,823 --> 00:30:26,993
[Brownworth] This is one of those moments,
which I think is very revealing.
380
00:30:27,076 --> 00:30:30,580
Sphrantzes says to the emperor,
"You should flee."
381
00:30:30,663 --> 00:30:33,708
He says, "We have ships,
we've proven we can run the blockade,"
382
00:30:33,791 --> 00:30:36,335
and Constantine probably could have,
383
00:30:36,627 --> 00:30:41,048
but he turns Sphrantzes down
and he says, "No, these are my people.
384
00:30:41,132 --> 00:30:42,925
I'm not gonna leave them to die alone.
385
00:30:43,009 --> 00:30:44,802
I'm gonna lead them and die with them."
386
00:30:44,886 --> 00:30:47,388
Which, you know, is a pretty...
pretty remarkable decision.
387
00:31:11,412 --> 00:31:13,956
[Brownworth]
The emperor sees the Turks streaming in.
388
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,083
He knew he was going to die.
389
00:31:16,167 --> 00:31:19,003
He faced odds
that none of us will ever face
390
00:31:19,086 --> 00:31:23,549
and instead,
he said to his enemies, "No!"
391
00:31:31,432 --> 00:31:32,808
And the answer he gives
392
00:31:32,892 --> 00:31:37,313
is an answer the Spartans gave
at the Pass of Thermopylae with Leonidas.
393
00:31:37,396 --> 00:31:40,816
"I would rather die on my feet
than live on my knees."
394
00:31:42,610 --> 00:31:45,196
And he plunges
into where the battle is thickest...
395
00:31:47,907 --> 00:31:48,991
and is never seen again.
396
00:32:06,258 --> 00:32:07,677
[man] Hurry up!
397
00:32:18,187 --> 00:32:19,814
[Giustiniani groaning]
398
00:32:29,156 --> 00:32:32,785
If Giustiniani had somehow
magically disappeared from the scene
399
00:32:32,868 --> 00:32:34,495
the night before the last battle,
400
00:32:34,578 --> 00:32:37,748
he would absolutely be remembered
as a real hero.
401
00:32:37,832 --> 00:32:38,874
[groans]
402
00:32:39,166 --> 00:32:41,419
[Genoese soldier]
The city belongs to the Turks.
403
00:32:43,629 --> 00:32:46,424
If you leave now,
you can get through the blockade.
404
00:32:52,430 --> 00:32:55,141
-Come on. Come on.
-[sobbing]
405
00:33:02,523 --> 00:33:03,524
Let's go.
406
00:33:07,611 --> 00:33:13,534
Unfortunately, after displaying
such incredible fortitude and bravery,
407
00:33:13,617 --> 00:33:14,785
he flees.
408
00:33:14,869 --> 00:33:16,579
[Genoese soldier] Raise the sails!
409
00:33:16,912 --> 00:33:18,497
And then eventually dies.
410
00:33:18,581 --> 00:33:20,583
[Constantinople citizens scream]
411
00:33:30,593 --> 00:33:35,973
[narrator] The feared Venetian fleet
bound for Constantinople never arrives.
412
00:33:36,599 --> 00:33:40,186
The Venetians waited and waited...
[chuckles] and waited.
413
00:33:40,269 --> 00:33:44,815
They finally put an armada together
to send to Constantinople,
414
00:33:45,524 --> 00:33:47,568
but it sailed too late.
415
00:33:47,651 --> 00:33:52,865
It only reached the Aegean
after the fall of Constantinople.
416
00:33:52,948 --> 00:33:55,826
Crusades were a thing of the past.
417
00:34:14,011 --> 00:34:16,597
[narrator] On May the 29th, 1453,
418
00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:20,643
Sultan Mehmed II
enters Constantinople.
419
00:34:23,687 --> 00:34:28,943
He's 21 years old
and proclaims himself "Kayser i-Rum,"
420
00:34:29,026 --> 00:34:31,654
the new "Caesar of Rome."
421
00:34:34,698 --> 00:34:37,785
But the Ottomans will forever know him
as "Fatih,"
422
00:34:38,410 --> 00:34:39,578
the Conqueror.
423
00:34:51,257 --> 00:34:54,969
He had done something
that many people
424
00:34:55,052 --> 00:35:00,641
for the last... 1700 years tried
and failed.
425
00:35:01,475 --> 00:35:06,438
He put an end to the Roman Empire
and he did it when he was only 21.
426
00:35:25,624 --> 00:35:30,880
[narrator] With Constantine's defeat,
Constantinople becomes Istanbul,
427
00:35:31,839 --> 00:35:34,383
the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
428
00:35:35,050 --> 00:35:38,804
Mehmed takes the city,
goes directly to the Hagia Sophia.
429
00:35:39,638 --> 00:35:42,975
It's the biggest building
in all of Europe.
430
00:36:00,451 --> 00:36:02,494
[birds chirping]
431
00:36:09,585 --> 00:36:13,756
[Papademetriou] He's even described
as walking through the building,
432
00:36:13,839 --> 00:36:18,385
walking on top of the domes
in order to survey the beauty.
433
00:36:20,095 --> 00:36:24,808
And he describes it in these ideas
that now he is in the realm of heaven.
434
00:36:26,101 --> 00:36:30,773
It's not just a symbolic thing,
for him it's a mystical and a...
435
00:36:30,856 --> 00:36:35,486
it's, uh, fulfilling
what was the tradition of the hadith
436
00:36:35,569 --> 00:36:39,949
that the one who takes Constantinople
will be truly blessed.
437
00:37:17,653 --> 00:37:20,281
Sultan, we've found the grand duke.
438
00:37:20,781 --> 00:37:21,824
And the emperor?
439
00:37:21,907 --> 00:37:22,908
Not yet.
440
00:37:46,390 --> 00:37:47,349
[Zaganos] Bring him in.
441
00:37:54,148 --> 00:37:55,024
Enough.
442
00:38:00,404 --> 00:38:01,864
Salutations, Sultan.
443
00:38:03,073 --> 00:38:05,409
I'm Loukas Notaras, the grand duke
444
00:38:05,492 --> 00:38:07,953
and supreme commander
of the military forces.
445
00:38:09,038 --> 00:38:12,875
Your highest majesty,
I am here to offer you my services.
446
00:38:14,835 --> 00:38:17,713
And in honor of your victory,
I have brought a gift.
447
00:38:36,315 --> 00:38:38,442
Why didn't you give these riches
to your emperor
448
00:38:38,525 --> 00:38:39,735
when he so clearly needed it?
449
00:38:39,818 --> 00:38:41,612
-Lord, I--
-What kind of scoundrel are you?
450
00:38:41,695 --> 00:38:44,239
Hoarding your wealth while women
and children starve around you.
451
00:38:44,323 --> 00:38:45,699
Sultan, you misunderstand me.
452
00:38:45,783 --> 00:38:48,994
I... misunderstand?
453
00:38:50,329 --> 00:38:52,831
Please, my intentions are honorable.
454
00:38:54,124 --> 00:38:55,834
Ask your vizier, Halil Pasha.
455
00:38:55,918 --> 00:38:56,794
Candarli Halil?
456
00:38:56,877 --> 00:38:59,129
Yes, I worked with him
to bring the siege to a quick end,
457
00:38:59,213 --> 00:39:01,340
in the hopes of avoiding the bloodshed.
458
00:39:01,423 --> 00:39:03,801
If you could call him here,
he would testify so.
459
00:39:07,888 --> 00:39:10,974
Take this half-breed dog away.
He'll look better without his head.
460
00:39:11,058 --> 00:39:12,935
[Loukas] No, please! Sultan!
461
00:39:13,018 --> 00:39:14,728
Please no! No!
462
00:39:15,187 --> 00:39:17,940
No, mercy! Mercy!
463
00:39:46,593 --> 00:39:48,053
Congratulations, Sultan.
464
00:39:49,638 --> 00:39:51,557
You have won a great victory.
465
00:39:52,599 --> 00:39:53,517
Thank you...
466
00:39:54,852 --> 00:39:55,894
my teacher.
467
00:39:58,564 --> 00:40:00,691
What will you do with your new jewel?
468
00:40:02,359 --> 00:40:04,987
I will build the capital
of my empire here.
469
00:40:06,447 --> 00:40:07,656
The new Rome.
470
00:40:08,657 --> 00:40:09,992
It will be splendid.
471
00:40:10,534 --> 00:40:11,452
Yes.
472
00:40:16,832 --> 00:40:20,919
Teacher, when my father came back
473
00:40:21,712 --> 00:40:23,213
and took the throne from me,
474
00:40:25,424 --> 00:40:27,217
do you remember what you said?
475
00:40:29,261 --> 00:40:32,473
You said, "When it's truly your time,
476
00:40:34,308 --> 00:40:36,643
you'll take your rightful place
on the throne
477
00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:42,149
and throw aside
the trappings of the past."
478
00:40:48,780 --> 00:40:50,741
And now you are your own man.
479
00:40:52,117 --> 00:40:53,744
Why didn't you believe in me?
480
00:40:53,827 --> 00:40:55,454
I gave all I could,
481
00:40:56,872 --> 00:40:58,457
so you would succeed.
482
00:41:02,753 --> 00:41:05,047
Now I go into exile, willingly.
483
00:41:05,130 --> 00:41:06,298
Not exile.
484
00:41:08,550 --> 00:41:13,430
Grand Vizier, reunite Candarli Halil
with his dear friend, Loukas Notaras.
485
00:41:15,307 --> 00:41:16,558
Gladly.
486
00:41:18,769 --> 00:41:21,855
Everything I have done, Sultan,
has been done to serve you.
487
00:41:24,399 --> 00:41:28,403
Please remember that
when you grow old, if you grow old.
488
00:41:30,072 --> 00:41:32,199
Thank you for all your lessons, teacher.
489
00:41:33,450 --> 00:41:34,910
They will be remembered.
490
00:41:52,386 --> 00:41:54,930
Everybody calls it
the fall of Constantinople.
491
00:41:55,013 --> 00:41:57,057
It wasn't a fall. Nothing fell.
492
00:41:57,140 --> 00:41:58,809
It was a conquest.
493
00:42:00,602 --> 00:42:02,604
[Gürkan] The conquest of Constantinople
494
00:42:02,688 --> 00:42:07,568
can be regarded as the first major victory
of cannons against cities.
495
00:42:07,651 --> 00:42:10,571
It was one big event
that showed the world
496
00:42:10,654 --> 00:42:12,781
how effective cannons can be
against walls,
497
00:42:12,864 --> 00:42:15,576
so it was the declaration
that the walls are obsolete.
498
00:42:19,288 --> 00:42:21,790
There are a few people
in world history
499
00:42:21,873 --> 00:42:24,876
who get to call themselves
world conquerors.
500
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:26,628
Mehmed the Conqueror,
501
00:42:27,588 --> 00:42:30,299
in many senses,
changed the nature of world history.
502
00:42:31,383 --> 00:42:36,096
This great empire that will go on
to dominate a third of Europe,
503
00:42:36,638 --> 00:42:40,183
most of North Africa,
the whole of the Middle East,
504
00:42:40,267 --> 00:42:42,060
going towards the Persian Gulf
505
00:42:42,144 --> 00:42:44,688
and even at certain points
towards South-East Asia.
506
00:42:47,357 --> 00:42:53,155
It's the time when this state turns around
from being just one random principality
507
00:42:53,238 --> 00:42:55,490
on the borders
between Christendom and Islam,
508
00:42:55,574 --> 00:42:59,661
to being the dominant force
in world politics for 300 years.
509
00:43:00,370 --> 00:43:03,123
[Mara] My son, the Red Apple is yours.
510
00:43:04,583 --> 00:43:06,752
It is the prize of your new empire.
511
00:43:14,051 --> 00:43:15,135
And so...
512
00:43:16,845 --> 00:43:17,971
we begin.
513
00:43:23,185 --> 00:43:25,103
[dramatic music plays]