Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020): Season 1, Episode 5 - Ancient Prophecies - full transcript

Where is the prince?

In his chambers, Sultana Mara.

- [footsteps approaching]
- [Mara] Mehmed.

I'm so sorry.

No need.

Your mother will always be a part of you.

I hardly knew her.

I can't even remember her face.

It does me no good to live in the past.

[Mara] Let me show you something.

Come.



The Ancients believed the blood moon
was a portent of great change.

Remember this blood moon, Mehmed.

One day, it will return
when you need it most.

When all seems lost.

[cannon fire in distance]

[narrator] In late April,
the Romans attempt a desperate gambit,

ambushing the Ottoman fleet
moored in the Golden Horn.

They are met with a wall of cannon fire.

Turning the attackers into the attacked.

Governor, do you believe in prophecies?

I believe in the word of God.

Many years ago, my ancestor,
Osman, had a dream.

A great tree rose from the ground.

From its roots
sprang four mountain ranges,



then four rivers.

And around those rivers,
beautiful shimmering cities arose.

The great tree's leaves
turned to gleaming swords.

Suddenly, a mighty wind blew
and the swords all pointed to one city...

Constantinople.

Our swords are now pointed
at Constantinople.

The emperor will soon feel
how deeply they cut.

[cannon fire in distance]

[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.

[indistinct talking]

The Genoese in Galata warned the Turks
that this attack is coming.

And it blows up in the Byzantine faces,
because it not only fails completely,

but it cost them the lives of 200 men
that they can't afford to lose.

It's this moment
where now both sides realize

that no quarter will be asked,
and no quarter will be given.

Surrender is no longer even an option.

You're in this to the end.

You either die or you triumph,
and there is no other alternative.

[screaming, panicking]

[narrator] Word of the defenders'
failed ambush and their grisly fate

sends tremors throughout Constantinople.

Ahh!

[sobbing]

[panting]

[Giustiniani] That lying bastard,
Lomellini, betrayed us.

He will pay for this.

I told you we couldn't trust
these Catholic mercenaries.

You dare to speak of trust?

Why don't you share with us

the purpose of the nightly adventures
outside the walls?

[shouting] Tread carefully, Genoa!

Lords!

It's you who should watch your step.

You viper.

Stop it!

You argue like children
while our empire fights for its life!

If you keep this nonsense up,

we might as well surrender to the Turks!

[bell tolling in distance]

The sultan has bested us
at nearly every turn,

and we are running out of time.

And so are they.

Every day, they're camped out there
is a brick thrown onto the sultan's back.

Help will come for us.

There are rumors reported daily
of a fleet...

Rumors encouraged by our own spies.

Based on truth.

- Venice has pledged to send help.
- Then where is it?

They will come, and the walls will hold...

as they always have.

Keep our lookouts alert.

Send out a search party for the fleet.

Constantine is very conscious
of the weight of history, so to speak.

He may rule over the remains
of an empire.

But he is the only one
who can legitimately claim

to be the Roman emperor.

[sighs] Leave me be.

[Brownworth] With a political lineage

that stretches
all the way back to Augustus.

He was very conscious of duty,

and he was very much
of the old school in that manner.

[door shuts]

[Roger Crowley] Constantinople
had been around for so long,

that it was surrounded by prophecies.

One was that the city would be founded,

uh, by an emperor
whose name was Constantine,

whose mother was called Helena,

and that it would be lost under an emperor

with the same name,
and the same mother.

And unfortunately, Constantine XI
fitted the bill in this respect.

I will not be the Constantine
who lost the City of God.

[narrator] The fate
of the 1,100-year-old empire

and its ruler,

will be written in the coming weeks.

[thunder rumbling]

With the battle mired in a stalemate,

both sides dig in...

and old scores are settled.

TRAITOR

[thunder rumbling]

The siege enters its second month.

The Ottoman camp is beset
by a sense of despair.

The fighting reaches a new level
of brutality.

[screaming]

Over the ensuing weeks, Mehmed's forces
attempt numerous assaults on the city.

Only to be repulsed
by the severely damaged,

but still standing walls,

and the defending forces
led by Giustiniani.

[thunder rumbling]

[Dr. Michael Talbot] There's no guarantee
that the siege is gonna be successful.

There's several points where the Ottomans
almost give up and go away.

I mean, just the logistics
of organizing an army in the 15th century.

The amount of food that you need take
from your peasantry to support the army.

The amount of the state's wealth
that you need to invest in arms and pay.

Let alone, the potential loss of life.

You know, populations in the 15th century

are much, much smaller
than ours are today.

Every death is multiplied, if you like.

That's one less person to go home
and till the fields.

That's one less person to pay taxes.

That's one less family
that's gonna exist.

So it's a huge gamble.

[Crowley] Within the walls
at the same time,

the defenders are getting exhausted,
their walls are being eroded,

they're running out of food.

[narrator] Each day brings with it
a growing sense of desperation.

[Talbot] There are images
of the holiest relics of Constantinople

being displayed on the city walls
at the time of the Ottoman siege.

So these great images
of Christ Pantocrator and the Virgin Mary

are taken around the walls
to encourage the troops.

And of course, the Virgin
had saved the city many times before,

not least from Muslim armies
in the past.

So, terrifying, yes,

but both sides clearly believed
that God is on their side

in one way or another.

[Crowley] And so the siege
enters a new phase

where the attacks get bloodier,

the techniques more intense,

and the fighting more ferocious.

[all shouting]

[Talbot] You think about
the physical nature of medieval warfare.

Certainly, we have some guns
and some bows and arrows

that enable you to kill people
at a distance.

[screaming]

But lots of the fighting
happens hand to hand,

with swords, and axes, and spears,

where you think
about the visceral nature of that.

You know,
the physical force that's required

to smash someone in the skull with an ax,
or to stab them through the chest.

Ahh!

[grunts]

[Talbot]
You're looking at someone in the eyes,

and you're seeing the damage
that your weapon does to them.

Knowing that in the next few seconds,
that could happen to you.

It must be absolutely terrifying.

Ahh!

[cannon fire in distance]

The Italian on the walls,

Giustiniani...

needs to be dealt with, Pasha.

He baits me.

I would love nothing more
than to deal with him personally.

I admire your enthusiasm, Zaganos Pasha,

but that may not be necessary.

What's on your mind?

Sir!

[Zaganos Pasha, shouting] Giustiniani!

Has Zaganos Pasha gone insane?

What's he doing?

[horse neighing]

[Zaganos Pasha, shouting] Giustiniani!

I bring word from the sultan himself!

Sultan.

So, you're the Genoese nightmare
that stalks walls.

I've been called worse.

Hmm. Pirate?

You and your band of outlaws
have cost me many men...

but earned my respect.

You flatter me, Sultan.

I offer reason, mercenary.

If it is flattery you're looking for,
turn back to your whimpering paymasters.

They're too busy executing
Ottoman prisoners to sweet-talk me.

This is not your fight.

You're a soldier of fortune,
so, I'm prepared to give you a fortune.

It's a little late for that, Sultan.

There's a rumor,

the emperor has offered you
the island of Lemnos

in the event of a victory.

The emperor has also promised
the same island

to three others fighting with you.

Have you heard?

[Notaras]
Emperor, this is unacceptable.

How do we know he's not betraying us?

Let us send arrows
into both of them and be done!

Look around, soldier.

You cannot win this battle.

I don't have to win.

It's only a matter of time
before the Christian army arrives.

And you will not defeat them.

Mehmed motivated people
any way he could.

He even tried to, uh, entice Giustiniani

away from, uh, Constantinople to join him,

and he offered him money.

[Mehmed] Leave the defenses now,

and you and your men
will be given land and riches

beyond your wildest dreams.

I will make you governor
of all the Aegean islands

with the protection of my military.

You will be free to conduct
any business you wish, with no taxes.

My offer would make you wealthier
than the emperor himself.

For God's sake,
what are they talking about?

Tell me, Sultan...

what is to stop me
from cutting off your head,

- and ending this here and now?
- [chuckles]

[Mehmed] Soldier...

I'll need your answer by sundown.

[Giustiniani] Zaganos Pasha
called for me by name.

And you go running like his whore?

Lord Loukas!
He held aloft a white flag!

It was in our interest
to know what he had to say.

Which was?

Zaganos Pasha bid me
to take my men and leave.

In return for what?

In return for our lives, my lord.

He would spare us, if we flee.

[narrator] With Ottoman ships
in the Golden Horn

and Mehmed's army encamped
outside the city's landward walls,

the Romans are now forced
to defend Constantinople on two fronts.

The city is also still reeling
from the bloody aftermath

of the failed Roman attack
on the ships in the harbor.

Within Constantinople was fury and blame,
uh, at the failed attack,

but it got worse because they realized

that a certain number of sailors
had been captured.

And Mehmed then had them impaled
on stakes outside the walls.

The defenders, uh, responded

by hanging some of their Turkish prisoners
from the battlements.

So we see a kind of spiral
of brutality unfolding

between the two sides
as the siege went on.

[narrator] Six weeks into the siege,

both sides are nearing
their breaking point.

[Crowley] It's a moment of trauma
and complete chaos.

[shouting]

[coughs]

[Crowley] But there are many
individual moments of pathos,

- of courage, of...
- [Roman soldier] Get up!

- [Crowley]...sacrifice.
- [Ana] Stop!

Stop it!

- He's hurt. Can't you see?
- He will get a blow of my sword.

No! Have you no mercy?

Let me tend to his wound.

Your pope preaches
to return good for evil.

Perhaps a good deed of charity like this
will help in our cause in front of God.

[sheaths sword]

[spits]

[knock on door]

I thought you weren't coming.

I always keep my promises.

[Giustiniani]
I will take you wherever you wish.

I have my ship waiting in the harbor.

If we survive.

That harbor is filled with Turkish ships.

How much longer can you hold them off?

Despair doesn't suit you, Therma.

I will take you away, far away
from this wretched place.

[panting]

[Ana] You will be safe here.

[coughs]

[panting]

Oh! Oh!

You should have let me die.

Too many people have died.

I must believe there is still good
in this world.

[indistinct talking]

[messenger] Sultan.

A message from Constantinople.

[Giustiniani] "Sultan, thank you
for your most generous offer.

I have considered it in full,
but I fear I must decline.

Once this bloody affair is behind us,

I'll be honored
if you visit me on Lemnos."

[woman] News from Constantinople?

Mehmed is bogged down outside the walls.

My news may hearten you.

What is this?

[Dr. Tunç Şen] There is a great tradition

of practicing astronomy and astrology

in the Greater Eurasian, uh, landscape.

One of the main tasks of astrologers
was designating an auspicious moment.

The idea of future,
the idea of the uncertain,

how this siege would end.

Is this true?

The astrologers have confirmed it.

They are certain.

I need to take this news myself.

[narrator] In Constantinople,

the defenders are faced
with a new problem.

[nobleman] Emperor, we need a miracle.

We are long out of money
and running out of time.

And some of the soldiers
are threatening to leave

if they're not paid.

[Loukas] Leeches!

Determined to suck the last bit of life
from the city.

My men will stay... or go.

Wherever I am.

Lord Giustiniani, no man,
dead or alive, will be left unpaid.

You have my word.

Is that not worth something?

Emperor, I have given you my word.

I am here until the city is safe.

But you know the terms
of the deal you made with them.

[scoffs] Emperor, I warned you,

these Italian recruits would only fight
as long as the money kept flowing!

Not one of them is honorable enough
to see this wretched siege through,

and yet, they strut about
calling themselves Christians!

Careful, Lord.

You are playing with dangerous weapons.

The same weapons that stand between you
and the Ottomans at the gate.

Lord Giustiniani, it's no secret
there is no money in the treasury.

[Dr. Marios Philippedes]
Constantinople was broke.

There is a coin of Emperor John VIII,

who was, uh, the predecessor
of Constantine.

There's a silver, nice coin.

Now if you examine a coin
of Constantine XI...

you can see the difference,
this is silver,

and this is very thin copper
with nothing in there.

He didn't have any money.

Lord Loukas,
you are a man of great wealth,

do you not have anything tucked away
to loan the emperor?

I've given everything I have.

All that is left is my life...

[scoffs]

...and I will gladly give that.

[Jason Goodwin] Constantine is in debt.
He, you know, they owed money.

It's a pretty sort of tragic business.

But he was a...
he was a real fighter, Constantine.

It is God...

who will provide in our time of need.

[indistinct, overlapping talking]

[narrator] In a desperate attempt
to pay the mercenaries,

Emperor Constantine orders
all religious artifacts melted down,

and minted into coins.

[clattering]

Even as the situation in Constantinople
grows more dire,

a glimmer of hope appears
in the Mediterranean.

Look!

[Dr. Philippedes] The Venetians,
they finally put an armada together

to send to Constantinople.

We must get word to Constantinople!

[narrator] In mid-May,
rumors of a massive Venetian fleet

gathering in the Mediterranean
become reality.

The warships prepare to sail
for Constantinople,

and come to the aid of the Romans.

Mehmed's fear was, above all,
any help that would come from Venice.

I have given you
every advantage possible.

And in return,
you have given me nothing.

Halil Pasha,

you promised me the city.

Where is it?

[shouting] Where is it?

Sultan, the Red Apple will fall in time.

It requires patience.

Are you blind?

Can you not see we're out of time?

They're saying the Christian fleet
is just days from here.

What will you do to fix this?

Nothing?

The greatest minds in my empire
can offer me nothing?

Out of my sight. All of you.

What is it?

I have known you
since you were a small boy.

Your father entrusted me
with your education.

Spare me the history lesson.

Say what's actually on your mind for once.

This is exactly what I warned against.

Those walls still stand,
no matter the size of our cannons.

And you see the spirit in the defenders.

They will die before they surrender.

[Mehmed]
We have ten times their numbers.

If our men cannot win
with such an advantage,

it is you who are responsible
for their failure.

Are you not their commander?

Constantinople will fall, someday.

But I fear it cannot be done
under these circumstances.

Make another offer for truce.

I assure you they'll accept it.

Ask for anything you want.

It will be seen as our victory.

And in return,
leave them the city, for now.

And come back when they are weaker,
and you are stronger.

The outcome will be inevitable.

At least allow me to draw up terms
for a truce, for your approval.

Then, if you agree,
we can send word to the emperor.

[Talbot]
When it's going really, really badly,

there's a temptation to just
pick up the camp and walk away,

as happened with so many sieges
of the city in the past.

There was no guarantee
that he was gonna win this.

[narrator] News of the Italian fleet
gathering in the Mediterranean

is a welcome jolt of hope
for the emperor in Constantinople.

- How long?
- Six days at most.

Can you hold off the Turks that long?

Of course!

Lord Loukas, Lord Sphrantzes,

see to it that Lord Giustiniani
has everything he needs

to defend the walls.

We must keep those Ottoman bastards at bay
until the fleet arrives.

Sultan, a message.

It's urgent.

Fetch me my horse!

What is your name?

Ali.

Ali.

I'm Ana.

I called my mother Ana.

Will I see her in Heaven?

Yes.

I'm sure of it.

Our Gods, they're...

they're not so different.

- Mother Mara.
- My son.

I came here as soon
as I received your note.

Why are you here?
It's too dangerous.

I come with important news.

You must not leave the battlefield.

My court astrologers
have watched the skies.

The stars have aligned, Mehmed.

So, we have this tradition
of court astrologers

interpreting comets
or other sorts of celestial

or meteorological occurrences,

as a sign of an Ottoman victory
against their enemies.

Now, it's time to attack.

Remember what I told you long ago?

A blood moon would appear
when all hope was lost?

Have you looked at the moon tonight?

Usually eclipses are considered
as bad signs, bad omen.

But Ottoman astrologers interpret
the occurrence of eclipses,

as a bad omen for their enemies,
not for the Ottomans themselves.

[Mara] You must not doubt yourself.

Now go.

I will see you again,
on your throne in Constantinople.

[Crowley] Mehmed realized
it was now or never.

The signs were good.

As soon as the sultan returns,
the terms must be ready.

Yes, Pasha.

For us now, horoscopes,
you know, we don't all believe in it.

It's just what some people like.

Whereas in the 15th century,
that was part of life.

[Talbot] Gods and holy spirits
were absolutely everywhere around us,

and sometimes
they manifest themselves to us.

[Philippedes] What really lowered morale
in Constantinople

during the siege, was a lunar eclipse.

Dear God.

[Philippedes] They saw the blood moon
as they called it.

There was a prophecy that Constantinople
would fall after a lunar eclipse.

What does it mean?

Sultan, we have the terms drawn up.

Halil was still saying, let's try
and cut a deal with these people,

and get a large amount of money
out of them.

The troops were getting restless.

Mehmed couldn't sustain this
much longer.

Have you not eyes, Pasha?

It is our time.

My brothers!

Pick yourselves up and prepare.

The prophets have spoken.

Our time is at hand.

Don't doubt it.

Don't doubt our might.

Allah will be with every one of us.

And we will take the city!

[cheering]

[Philippedes] We hear
from the defenders chronicles

that the Turks were elated.

They thought it predicted
the end of the city.

[cheering]

Drink up, Lords.

Soon we will fight for our lives.

[narrator] Mehmed readies his army
for battle.

His destiny will be written
at the walls of Constantinople.

[Candarli] Sultan, I urge you.

Do not force the matter any longer.

- If we fail...
- If we fail...

If Venetian galleys arrive
with 100,000 men!

If Caesar returns from the grave
to lead Constantine's troops.

There's no more time for ifs, Pasha.
We must take the city.

The cost will be steep.

You have urged me to give up,
Halil Pasha, time and again.

And you nearly convinced me.

But my fate is written...

as is yours.

[soldier] Sultan!

[narrator] In the wake of the blood moon

and just hours before Mehmed
launches his final assault,

he's met by an apocalyptic sight.

[Crowley] Lights appeared to be shining
on the roof of Hagia Sophia.

What kind of sorcery is this?

It created this incredibly
hysterical atmosphere within the city,

that they could be looking
at the end of the world.

[clamoring]

[sobbing]

[Talbot] The city is meant
to have been protected by the Virgin Mary.

There's the story that on the last day
of Constantinople,

she was seen leaving the city.

[shouting] Allah has abandoned
the infidels!

[cheering]

[dramatic music plays]