Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020): Season 1, Episode 3 - Into The Golden Horn - full transcript

[man clears throat]

Sultana Mara, the sultan has arrived.

Here?

Uh... um,

um... I mean... no, I...

He waits in the Assembly Room.

[laughs]

Tell the sultan I'll join him
as swiftly as my feet will carry me.

Thank you, Sultana.

[Dr. Marios Philippides]
Mara Brankovic is one of the chief

personalities of the 15th century.



Mehmed had the utmost respect for her,

she was crucial.

She was related to everybody,

the royal family of,

uh, Constantinople, uh,

the ruling family of Serbia,

and all her contacts in the West.

She was the link between the Slavic world,

the Greek world, the Ottoman world,

and the Western world.

[Mara] Mehmed...

how I've longed to see you!

Mother Mara.

[door closes]



What is it?

When I came here as a small child,
you treated me as your own.

Kind words,

before... something darker?

I'm releasing you from the harem.

Now that my father is gone,
I owe you your freedom.

You wish me gone?

[Mehmed] Of course not,

but it's time for you to return
to Serbia and your family.

I've arranged a unit of Janissaries
to escort you home at week's end.

[Mara] You can't do this!

My family's here!

My place is here,

serving you.

You will serve me, in the Balkans.

I need you, Mother Mara.

Who else can I trust without doubt?

Despite having the options to retire
into obscurity after Murad's death,

Mara Brankovic becomes a very important
advisor in Mehmed's court.

You will be my voice and my ears
in the West as the hour draws near.

Constantinople?

- So soon?
- It has to be.

If I fail, I lose my throne,

and maybe my life.

But with it, Mother Mara,

I will become the new Caesar.

[horse neighs]

Then please,

before I leave, take my counsel...

Study the failures of your father,

and those that came before him.

Their defeats will inform your triumph

at the gates of Constantinople.

[narrator] Every empire
has a beginning forged of blood,

steel, fortune and conquest.

In 1453, Roman Emperor Constantine XI,

and Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II,

wage an epic battle for Constantinople.

Twenty three Armies have tried
to take the legendary city,

all have failed.

Out of the carnage,

one ruler will emerge victorious

and change the course of history

for the next 300 years.

For one empire to rise...

another must fall.

[soldiers screaming]

[men screaming in distance]

[narrator] For two weeks,
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II

bombards Constantinople
with the largest artillery attack

the world has ever seen.

[screams]

Mehmed sends his elite troops
into the teeth

of Emperor Constantine's defenses,

along the city's ancient stone walls.

[yelling]

The defenders,
led by Italian soldier-of-fortune,

Giovanni Giustiniani,

repel every attack.

Mmm-argh!

Mmm-argh!

[narrator] The walls are still standing,

but the battle for Constantinople
is being fought on multiple fronts.

If we think about the geography
of Constantinople,

water surrounds it
on pretty much all its sides.

And so,
there needs to be a force on water

to take control of the city's,
um, surroundings...

And that front is really, really worrying,

and potentially catastrophic
for the course of the siege.

[narrator] Constantinople is considered
the best defended city

in the medieval world.

But there is a chink in its armor.

The weaker, poorly defended
seaward walls along the Golden Horn.

An inlet on the city's Northeastern side.

The entrance to the Golden Horn
has one protector...

a massive, half mile long cast-iron chain.

[Lars Brownworth]
The Turks have this massive navy,

but they can't get into the Golden Horn

because there's this great chain
stretching from the Acropolis,

all the way to the Genovese colony,

the tower of Galata.

[Dr. Emrah Safa Gürkan]
So, if an enemy ship comes,

they used to stretch the chain,

so this chain will impede their entrance,

and the navy behind that
will fire the ships

because they can't move.

If a friendly ship comes then they will
lower the chain so that they could enter.

[narrator] The Roman Navy is small,

less than 30 ships,

but safe inside the harbor
of the Golden Horn.

Mehmed has studied the 23 failed sieges.

Without control of the sea lanes,

victory is virtually impossible.

His new 126-ship navy
has been probing the Roman defenses

of the Golden Horn for weeks.

[Talbot] The Ottomans kind of had
this bad reputation

for not being very seafaring.

There was always this idea that, um,
the Ottomans are very much land based,

and naval stuff was for the Greeks.

Whereas actually,
Mehmed invests heavily in a navy,

not least because there's also the risk
the Byzantines might be helped

by naval forces
coming from the Italian states.

So, there's this naval aspect
to the siege that's often forgotten.

[narrator] In mid-April, the Ottomans
receive word of Genoese warships

approaching from the Mediterranean
in the West.

[Baltaoglu]
They will be here in three days.

Two, if the winds are favorable.

[Candarli] Just the first
of many Christian fleets, I fear.

Last night's attack was a disaster.

The Romans and their Italian mercenaries
are laughing at us.

They were lucky, Sultan.

Baltaoglu Pasha,

I cannot afford
another embarrassment like that.

I have put under your command
the largest fleet in our history.

The Genoese ships must not reach the city
under any circumstance, Admiral.

I promise you, Sultan,

we will send the Genoese
to the bottom of the sea.

The scorpion fish will...
[whispers] pick their bones clean.

[chuckles]

I have no doubt you will be victorious.

But, should you fail,

I'll feed you to the scorpion fish.

[narrator] The Genoese Navy is among
the most feared in the world.

The man tasked with stopping them
is Mehmed's top admiral,

Baltaoglu Suleyman.

Baltaoglu,
nicknamed "Son of a Battle Axe,"

has built a reputation
as a fearless warrior

during his years
in the elite Janissary corps.

[exclaims]

His orders are to stop the Genoese
from reaching Constantinople at all costs.

But he'll be battling more
than the Italian warships.

The Sea of Marmara is renowned
for its treacherous winds and currents.

Baltaoglu anxiously awaits
the enemy ships.

The Genoese fleet has been sent
by the pope.

An answer
to Emperor Constantine's prayers,

and critical to his defense of the city.

The warships enter the Sea of Marmara
on April the 20th,

putting them on a collision course
with the Ottoman naval blockade.

[men yelling]

[indistinct chatter]

[Brownworth] Four Christian ships appear
on the horizon.

Three ships bring supplies from the pope,

archers and men,

and then one ship bringing
much needed food.

In God's grace, I said they would come.

In God's grace, they are not here... yet.

They are Genoese, Lord Loukas.

Sit down and enjoy the show.

[Brownworth]
So the four ships are sailing,

and the Turkish admiral
gets his ships into position.

- [men yelling]
- [banging]

Hmm...

just four?

Surely there are more.

This will be over by dinner.

[narrator]
On the land wall side of the city,

the stalemate between the Roman defenders
and the Ottoman Army continues.

Mehmed's land forces open another front

against Constantinople's
seemingly impenetrable walls.

If they can't break through them...

they will go under them.

[shouting] Come on,

you lazy bastards,

dig!

[narrator] Mehmed's mining operation

is led by hundreds
of Serbian silver miners.

[Philippides] Mehmed had sappers,
as they called them back then,

miners, who were from Serbia,

who dug tunnels under the walls,

to weaken the walls,
so they could fall down.

[Talbot]
The Ottomans were digging tunnels

underneath the walls to undermine,
what's where the word comes from,

the walls of the city
by then setting off some gunpowder,

causing them to collapse.

Or setting a fire underneath,
and then that would have the same effect,

therefore causing the walls to fall down.

[narrator] But Emperor Constantine
and the Romans

have an answer to the miners.

John Grant.

A Scottish soldier
with a very particular skill set.

[Talbot]
John Grant is this interesting figure,

and pretty much for all of history,

you will find a random British person
involved in pretty much every war.

And it's always,

well, more often than not, Scots.

Because they just, for some reason,

have that martial gene, I don't know.

Grant has this reputation
as being an engineer,

and his skills are called into use
during the siege from the Byzantine side,

because of the use of mines.

In order to stop this,
you have the counter-mining process.

So you have another bunch of guys
digging under the ground,

trying to listen out for the first bunch
of guys digging around.

[Philippides]
Grant had a very simple strategy.

He put barrels with water,

and he observed the waves on the water,

and he was able to locate those mines.

Lads, you're on!

[narrator]
Over a period of days and weeks,

the Serbian miners clandestinely tunnel
from the Ottoman trenches

to the city walls.

[Grant] Quick!

If they reach these walls,
they'll come crashing down

and these big filthy Turk bastards
will have our balls for breakfast!

[explosion]

[all] Ahh!

[narrator]
Baltaoglu and the Ottoman Navy

are all that stands
between the Genoese fleet

and safe harbor in the Golden Horn.

[all grunting]

[narrator] But first, they must stop
the bigger and faster sailing ships.

The Ottoman sailors pick up the pace,

bringing their archers within
firing distance of the Genoese sails.

The dying winds slow
the Genoese warships.

They are now sitting ducks
for the approaching Ottomans.

[man] Pull!

[men] Pull!

[man] Pull!

[men] Pull!

Prepare the archers!

Ready!

Fire!

Take cover!

[shouting]

Put out the fires!

Put out the fires!

[men shouting]

Yeah!

[shouting]

Ready?

Aim for the sails!

Fire!

They will never survive this.

Don't despair yet.

We just need the winds to pick up.

[shouting]

[Baltaoglu] Go on! Go on!

Go on!

Come on, boys, come on!

- Pull!
- [Baltaoglu] Put your backs into it!

They're slowing down!

[man] Help!

[men] Pull!

[narrator] With no wind,
the galleons sails go limp,

allowing the smaller oared boats
of the Ottomans to close the gap.

Finish them, Baltaoglu.

[narrator] Outside the Western walls
of Constantinople,

the Serbian miners continue
tunneling towards the city.

[Grant] We're close, boys!

I smell a rat!

- [man coughing]
- [dirt tumbling]

Hello, you wee shite!

Go!

[Grant] Light 'em up, lads!

[men screaming]

[screaming]

[narrator] John Grant torches the tunnels
with Greek Fire,

an ancient version of napalm

that adheres to whatever it touches
and burns for hours.

[cheering]

[narrator]
Dozens of Mehmed's miners are killed,

and the walls of Constantinople
remain standing.

In the Sea of Marmara,
the winds have died completely.

Time is running out
on the stranded Genoese fleet,

as the Ottoman warships close in.

They are coming!

Lash the ships together!

[men shouting]

The Christians eventually tie
themselves together,

and make kind of this floating castle,

and it looks like a sitting duck.

But the Christian ships have an advantage
that they are higher,

they can fire down on the Ottoman ships.

Prepare to board!

Yah!

[Baltaoglu] Argh!

Kill them all!

[screams]

The Ottomans had these,
what's called Hadirika,

they are ordinary boats.

Whereas the Europeans had
the galleons already.

So, when a Hadirika comes next
to a galleon, you have to climb to it.

It's much easier for them to kill you,
than it is for you to kill them.

[grunts]

[screaming]

[grunts]

[screams]

Go!

Go!

Go!

Sink them, Baltaoglu, do it now!

Come on.

[wind blowing]

[screams]

[grunts]

Go!

Move!

[screams]

[narrator] Amidst the chaos,

Baltaoglu is gravely wounded.

The fickle winds of the Marmara
intervene once again...

No.

...filling the sails of the Genoese ships.

It is now a last desperate sprint
to the Golden Horn.

With many of his men dead or wounded,

Baltaoglu falls further and further
behind the fleeing Genoese fleet.

Quickly, men!

Before they make it to the Golden Horn!

[Brownworth]
Both sides give as good as they get,

but eventually these four ships managed
to make it all the way to the chain,

the chain is lowered and they get through.

Uh, and it's really a morale booster
for the besieged people.

[cheering]

What a glorious day!

God has smiled upon us!

Bring me Baltaoglu.

[Sengör]
A hundred and forty piece Ottoman Navy

could not stop just four Genoese vessels,

only three of which were military.

And Mehmed was beside himself,
he was so upset, rightly so.

[laughter]

The Holy Spirit has saved us today.

Hooray!

As long as the Spirit is here,

the walls will hold!

Hooray!

Sultan!

We brought Suleyman Pasha.

Perhaps the Ottomans
will finally learn their place.

Yeah!

Perhaps, but the sultan is proud
and has lost much in both men and pride.

He will want something for his pains.

Then let him kneel before the emperor,
and beg for it!

Yeah!

Still it would be prudent
to remember the temperament of the man.

If we helped him save face...

offer some sort of truce?

- A truce?
- God is only truce!

Sultan!

Take it to him yourself, Lord Loukas,

if you like him so much.

[laughter]

Have faith, Loukas, God has spoken.

Mehmed will lead his dogs home
with their tail between their legs!

Yeah!

[heavy breathing]

I'll behead you right here.

Tell me why not?

I have failed you, Sultan.

Forgive me.

You made a fool of me.

You're a coward!

Say what you will, Sultan,

but I am no coward.

I would have gladly died on my ship,

and I will gladly die here by your sword.

Any fault is mine.

Punish me, Sultan,

but forgive my men.

We fought till we could fight no more.

- Argh!
- Show him mercy, Sultan!

This is an honorable man
who has proven himself a loyal soldier

in countless battles.

He has lost an eye for you.

[Crowley] Mehmed was used
to making examples of people.

The Admiral, Baltaoglu,

failed to win a sea battle
just off the walls,

and Mehmed had him

singled out in front of the whole army,

and he was, uh, going to be executed.

This kind of concentrated
the minds of everybody else,

that you could not fail,

and the sultan was watching you.

[sailor] Sultan!

Have mercy for your commander.

I fought with Suleyman Pasha in Bulgaria,
he is a good man.

I will sacrifice my life for his.

[Janissary guard] And mine!

He fought like a true warrior.

[shouting] You dare challenge
your supreme leader?

I should have you all impaled!

Mercy is noble, Sultan.

Mercy is noble.

Give him 100 lashings.

You are merciful, Sultan.

How bad is he?

Lady Therma?

I only hope
we can give them a decent burial.

Your bandage is filthy.

I've been a little preoccupied.

Let me clean the wound, before it festers.

This might be painful.

I can take it.

Mara, news from Constantinople.

[narrator] Word of Mehmed's setback
outside the walls of Constantinople

reaches the Balkans.

What is it, sister?

[narrator] His stepmother, Mara,
now lives in the palace of her father,

the Serbian ruler Durad Brankovic,

who has a fragile peace treaty
with the Ottomans.

[General Stefan]
Lord, we can send an army now.

The Ottomans are bogged down
outside Constantinople.

The Wallachians would be with us as well.

[narrator] The Serbs and Hungarians
are longtime rivals of the Ottomans.

The Hungarians launched a crusade
against Mehmed

nine years earlier during his first reign.

They remain a constant threat.

What of the Catholics and the pope?

There is word of an army
of 40 Italian ships

gathering in the Aegean.

They could reach the city within a month.

This is...

[Mara] General Stefan.

What is it, daughter?

I wasn't aware you were visiting.

Nothing to be concerned about.

I hear worrying rumors
of much bloodshed in Constantinople.

Rumors are always rife, my dear.

Was there something you wanted?

Please, continue.

Get me a messenger now.

He must make haste to Constantinople.

[narrator]
After nearly three weeks of fighting,

the siege of Constantinople is
at a crossroads.

Mehmed must decide to withdraw
and cut his losses, or change tactics.

A larger question hangs heavy
over his camp.

Does he still have the loyalty
of his troops?

[Gürkan]
The morale was low on the Ottoman camp,

propagated by the defeatist elements
in the army.

But it was quite possible
if the siege took too long,

there was gonna be reinforcements
coming from the West.

Then you would've been doomed.

Taking Constantinople would be
near impossible for Alexander, or Caesar.

Near, but not impossible.

With their entire armies mustered
at the city walls.

Speaking in hypotheticals.

It won't be hypothetical
if we lose the faith of our men.

Pasha, I can assure you...

What you need right now,
is to turn defeat into victory!

Offer terms for a truce to end the siege.

The emperor would be a fool
not to embrace it in the circumstances.

You are in a position
to demand concessions,

that no other sultan has achieved.

Taxes, increased borders, territory...

But not the city!

It's a clear victory regardless.

- Maybe back in your day...
- Enough!

[neighs]

From the Serbian court,
for the sultan's eyes only.

My stepmother warns of conspiracy
from the Balkan states.

We must act quickly.

I agree.

Mehmed, he's young and headstrong.

He wants to do something
that really captures the imagination.

But people like Candarli,
they're bureaucrats:

"Let's have more peace talks," "We need
to be cautious with our neighbors,"

"Let's not jeopardize
what we've already got."

Capturing the imagination is all
very well, but how much does it cost?

Halil Pasha,
I'll consider your suggestion.

That will be all, thank you.

Zagonos Pasha come with me.

[Woodwin] Because if Mehmed fails
with this idea that he can take the city,

what would happen then?

[narrator] With rumors
of a looming attack from the West,

spies secretly back-channel
between the Roman and Ottoman courts.

You grew up playing on the walls,

when the slave master wasn't looking.

So don't tell me you don't know
a hidden way out of the city.

But it's too dangerous outside the walls.

Turks are everywhere.

Have I not paid you well?

Found a placement in the palace?

Let me take your message.
No one sees a girl like me.

It's a sensitive matter.

I must tend to it personally.

There is...

there is the old cistern system.

Take me there.

[Ana] I used to come down here
to play when I was alone.

I've never shown it to anyone else.

[Loukas] I chose you well, my dear girl.

You've had courage in your veins
for longer than most warriors.

This way.

[narrator] The ancient cisterns
snaking beneath Constantinople

provide a covert way outside the city.

[Ana] We are a quarter of a mile
outside the Ottoman camp.

[Loukas] Okay.

Go back to the city.

If the Ottomans see you
they will kill you on the spot.

I can deal with them.

Go back.

[Loukas sighs] Hey...

go, child.

[soldier] Stop! Who are you,
and what's your business here?

I'm a Roman nobleman with news
that could help your cause.

[soldier] Then why you kneel down
like a slave huh?

[Loukas sighs]

If you knew who I was, soldier,

you would speak to me
with a little more respect.

Argh!

[door opens]

Wake up.

Wake up, you old Greek.

[Loukas groans]

Oh, I've died and gone to hell.

I would choose my words wisely,
Lord Notaras.

I'm the only reason you are still alive.

Are you here to defect?

Hardly.

I'm here for business.

[laughs]

I'm here... to discuss terms for truce.

By the order of the emperor?

Leave him to me.

Tell me your offer?

I will tell you what Mehmed should offer.

Your attempts to take the city
have failed.

Your army will mutiny soon,

and your young sultan will pay for defeat
with his life.

The same could be said about your emperor
and his Italian mercenaries.

Constantine is a fair man,

and he is wise enough
to know when to stop.

And Mehmed is my sultan.

Ah, then...

talk sense into him.

End this siege before a unified
Christian army shows up at these gates.

If they come.

We both know it's just a matter of time.

And if your sultan does not back down,

we all lose.

What terms do you suggest?

[narrator] Pressure mounts
to offer the Romans a truce.

Mehmed is running out of time
to find a way into Constantinople.

[Murad, voice echoing] One day,

when I die,

this will be yours again.

This sword has seen
too many battles to count.

But heed this, my son...

Every great leader...

has such a weapon

imbued with legacy

and legend...

and hope.

But what sustains an empire

is not just its weapons.

It takes wisdom,

and loyalty...

strategy...

and instinct.

Ultimately, Mehmed,

it is your mind

that will win the fight.

Fetch me my cartographer and a scribe!

[Goodwin]
Mehmed has that thing that Napoleon had.

He has a pizzazz, and he has luck,

and he has a kind of sense
of destiny riding with him.

Somehow everything that Mehmed does,

the timing is right.

Zagonas Pasha, I have discovered a way
to get our ships into the Golden Horn,

but we must do it now.

I would move heaven
and Earth for you, Sultan, but how?

What I say must not leave this tent.

You cannot tell a soul
until the plan is set in motion.

You have my undying loyalty, Sultan,
you know that.

Look... [breathing heavily]

If the infidels are forced to defend
an attack from the Golden Horn,

and spread their forces,

the land walls will be vulnerable.

Yeah, but the chains.
I mean, it's impossible.

So we go round the chain.

I... I don't understand, Sultan,
you want to move the army?

I want to move the navy...

over land.

[dramatic music playing]