Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020): Season 2, Episode 1 - House Of War - full transcript

Why?

Oh, why?

Mehmed.

Mother Mara,
what are you doing here at this hour?

Looking for you.

How long has it been
since you've slept?

Two, three days?

I don't know.

What troubles you?

Mehmed.

I've seen Vlad Dracula.



Here? In the palace?

No.

In my dreams.

Terrible dreams.

This is madness.

Why are you doing this?

You destroyed my family.

No! I protected you like a brother.

Lies!

All you have done is take from me.

No more!

Your hatred blinds you, Vlad.

Walk away now, and I will spare you.

Wallachia will be your grave.



You will die alone.

The Sufi said my dreams
were visions of the future.

I pray this is no omen.

Eight years after Mehmed II's
epic conquest of Constantinople,

he is no longer derided
as the "Boy Sultan."

Mehmed is now
the most powerful ruler in the East,

and the most feared in the West.

Europe had good cause
to be worried about him.

He's fulfilled the prophecy
of the Prophet Muhammad.

He's conquered this city
that people thought was unconquerable,

and he has defeated the Roman Empire.

He starts to set his eyes
gradually on moving towards

the first Rome, the original Rome.

There are accounts
from Italians visiting Mehmed's court

who talk about him desiring to advance

as far west as Alexander the Great
had advanced east.

And so, Italy was always on the agenda.

After the conquest of Constantinople,
Mehmed took the title Kayser-i Rum,

Caesar of the Romans,

so no doubt about
what his intentions were.

In preparation for
his eventual advance westward,

Mehmed has assembled a vast web of spies
throughout the courts of Europe.

Sultan, the word from Rome is

that the Pope is raising a crusade
against you as we speak.

He calls you
the "Red Dragon of the Apocalypse."

Florentine snake. Apologize at once.

Childish taunts
from a man with a silly hat.

Their position is quite clear,
Sultan.

If you invade Europe, all of Christendom
will rise up against you.

Ha!

Like they did at Constantinople.

And who will lead
this mighty Christian army against me?

There hasn't been a great warrior
among them since Hunyadi's death.

There is one ruler
who has the ear of the Pope these days.

He brags that he knows
how to fight the Ottomans and win.

Surely this ruler has a name.

Vlad Dracula.

I taught Vlad how to fight
when he was a little boy.

He is fearless,

but he is not suitable enough
to start a war between us.

Have you confirmed this information?

Grand Vizier,
they are just rumors... for now.

But Prince Vlad has recently visited
the king in Buda.

The prince should choose
his friends more carefully.

Raised in the Ottoman court
with Mehmed,

Vlad Dracula is voivode,
or ruler of Wallachia,

a vassal state and ally of the Ottomans
located in present-day Romania,

but a kingdom that has
notoriously shifted allegiance

between the Ottomans and Hungarians.

They are at the whim essentially
of the Ottomans and the Hungarians

in terms of who's in charge.

Vlad Dracula is
a very, very interesting character

because he's really caught
between these two superpowers.

They've got the Ottoman Empire
coming strongly through the Balkans,

and also you've got the Hungarians.

They're the champions of Catholic Europe,

and they want Dracula to remain
their buffer against the Ottomans.

He's very difficult to control,
but he's still really important to them.

He is a bogeyman.

He is a bête noire.

He is the guy that we can release

because his reputation
for fierce warfare precedes him,

and he is one of the terrors of the age.

He fought the Ottomans,
the Hungarians, and the Moldavians.

He fought everybody around him.

He's considered by Romanian population

as one of the greatest voivodes
that ever existed.

For the rest of the world, he is known
as Dracula, the bloodthirsty vampire,

due to a 19th century Irish guy,
who had some time on his hands

and wrote a novel

because it seems
that he loved impaling people.

The real Vlad Dracula,
also known as Vlad Tepes, "The Impaler,"

takes the throne in Wallachia in 1456

by killing his predecessor in a duel

and beheading another rival
after forcing him to dig his own grave.

Vlad is extremely bloodthirsty and cruel,
even in medieval standards.

He grew up in a very war-like society.

So having grown up
under these really, uh, it's...

really tenuous circumstances,
he developed this very dark personality.

In the midst
of a bitter power struggle

with Wallachia's ruling class
and kingmakers, the boyars,

Dracula hosts an Easter banquet

to settle matters with
his political rivals once and for all.

My esteemed countrymen,

my wife, Anastasia, and I are honored
to celebrate Easter with you.

Just as Christ was resurrected,

so too have the fortunes
of the House of Drăculeşti

been resurrected,

bringing with them
a prosperous and independent Wallachia.

A new day is upon us.

We have the Hungarians' respect.

And we will no longer pay
the sultan's tax.

Prince, we must be wise.

Much of our trade is with the Ottomans,

and we enjoy the protection
of the sultan's army.

This is a celebration.

There will be time for politics.

Later.

To my husband, Prince Vlad.

Long live Prince Vlad!
Long live Prince Vlad!

To God...

...destiny...

my lovely wife,

and, of course, you.

You scheming, backstabbing swine.

You are the real enemy of Wallachia.

Did you think I would forget
how you betrayed my father and brother?

How you conspired with my foes,
growing fat and rich!

Dimitrie, make sure
this lesson sticks with our guests.

Yes.

Each of the boyars
and their wives are taken outside.

They are impaled.

Unfortunately, we know a little too much
about the mechanics of impalement.

It's not pleasant.

Someone help me.
I'll give you my rings. Please!

It's a horrific method
of execution.

You take a stake that's not very sharp
and you push it up the anus of the victim.

No! No! No!

And then you use a mallet,

push it all the way up
until it comes out of the shoulder.

And if you get a master executioner,

he will avoid most of the vital organs,

and then you're gonna fix it
in the ground, and let the person die.

The master of this was...

...Vlad the Impaler.

To be fair to him,
with the Easter Massacre,

there is evidence of a conspiracy
that they're going to depose him.

He had seen all these rivalries
and all these plots

that were meant to kill the rightful ruler
and impose somebody else.

Vlad's father is killed by the boyars.

His older brother, Mircea, is tortured
and then buried alive by the boyars.

I don't think he was a madman.

It's just politics.

This is the time really

when Vlad starts to get his reputation
as "Vlad the Impaler,"

and it's one of those names
that does what it says on the tin.

So this is part of
his identity as a ruler,

as well as a technique
for maintaining control.

If he can show that despite his size,

he's the meanest kid on the block,

even though there's bigger boys next door,
they're not going to pick on him.

Let this be a warning
to all of our enemies.

I'll bend my knee for no one.

The rotting bodies
lining the road to Târgovişte

and growing rumors of Vlad's betrayal

sends a defiant
and highly personal message to Mehmed II.

Dracula's loyalty to the man
he grew up with is waning.

Adding further intrigue to the hostilities
brewing between Mehmed and Vlad

is Dracula's younger brother, Radu.

He, too, was raised in the Ottoman court,

but still remains part
of the sultan's inner circle.

I've received troubling news
from my Italian spy.

The Florentine had much to say.

Your brother openly brags to the Pope
that he knows how to defeat me in battle.

There's even talk of him joining
a Hungarian-backed Crusade against us.

Like your father.

Vlad is not my father.

No, he's more dangerous.

Life would be much easier
if you ruled Wallachia instead of Vlad.

He's unpredictable.

- And you, dear Radu, you are...
- Predictable.

Vlad has always been a braggart,

but it's only words.

Perhaps.

Has he written you?

Not for a while.

There are some in Europe
who might see my patience with him

as weakness and become emboldened.

That cannot happen.

Vlad has forgotten his place,

and I will not allow him
to get in the way of my plans in the West.

Vlad swore an oath to you, Mehmed.

He is only seeking attention.

And now he has it.

He only sits on that throne today
because of my protection.

Free to run his country as he chooses
because of me.

Yet, refuses to come to Istanbul
and pay his yearly homage and tribute?

- He's proud.
- While he holds court

with our enemies in Hungary.

I've already sent the messengers...

to summon him to Istanbul to prove to me
he is still an ally and friend.

I expect him to come at once.

And if he refuses?

That would be unwise.

You wouldn't want to be
little brother to Vlad.

And you wouldn't want to be stuck
between Mehmed II and Vlad Dracula.

Eh, so, he... he also found himself
not in a very nice position.

Radu is known by this nickname as
"Radu the Fair" or "Radu the Handsome,"

but he's also someone clearly
who has a canny political mind.

He's a bit of a culture vulture,

and he likes
the Ottoman way of doing things,

but Radu maintains his Wallachian-ness.

It must have been difficult to be trapped
between these two big personalities.

My dearest brother,
as you have ignored my last three letters,

I'm writing to you once again

in the hope that you will honor
the promise you made to me years ago

and return to your true home

in Wallachia.

The hour is rapidly approaching
when we must take up arms

against those that have had their boot
on our throat for far too long.

Family is the dearest gift we possess.

Loyalty is everything.

Stand ready.

With great affection...

...your brother, Vlad.

The seeds
of Vlad Dracula's betrayal

were sown 20 years earlier

when his own father, Vlad II,
was called before Mehmed's father,

Sultan Murad II, amidst rumors
that he'd joined the Hungarians

and taken up arms against the Ottomans.

Sultan, I'm sorry to interrupt your hunt,

but when I received your summons,
I made all haste to reach you.

You have been a most loyal friend
and ally to me all these years.

I wish I could say the same of you,

Vlad Dracul.

There are some rumors
of my alliance with the Hungarians

in the coming crusade against you,

but I can assure you
they're only that, rumors.

The Hungarians are snakes
and not to be trusted.

If I go to war against you,

take solace
that I will kill you honorably.

Face-to-face.

Not with a knife in the back.

Sultan, you must believe me.

What guarantee do I have
that you won't return home

with your tail between your legs,

only to join the infidels
and take up arms against me?

As proof of my undying loyalty,

I give you my most valued possessions,

my sons, Vlad, and my youngest, Radu.

Father, how can you do this?

Silence, boy!

Prince Vlad, Prince Radu.

As sultan,

I accept your care-taking as my prisoners.

From this moment forward,
your loyalty will forever be to me,

and one day, to my son, Mehmed.

Should your father betray his oath,

you will be executed.

Thank you, Sultan.

This is royal hostage taking.

These are two young boys
taken from their family homes,

cut of all familial ties
and correspondence,

and now having to potentially worry about
this foreign court strangling you

if your father does anything wrong.

They were pawns within a wider game.

One day, I will return for you.

It is a terrible game, you know.

It's full of traumatizing events.
It's full of betrayals,

and I think Vlad is a prime example

what kind of a toll that life
could take on a human psychology.

Two decades later,
Mehmed, like his father, Murad II,

finds himself facing a potential rebellion
from the House of Drăculeşti.

He sends emissaries
to the Wallachian capital

to demand that Vlad pay his debt
to the sultan.

As a vassal state,
Vlad had to be loyal to the Ottomans.

He had to take his army
to fight alongside the Ottoman army,

wherever this was needed.

And of course, the most important part,
to pay his tribute every year.

This was the thing
that kept you in the house of peace.

This is what a gold coin would look like

at the end of the 15th century.

Very small, but pure gold pretty much,

and Vlad's expected to pay 2,000
of these every year,

but he clearly hasn't

because Mehmed, um, sends
some ambassadors to demand

10,000 gold coins of payment,

which would be five years' worth
of back payment,

so that shows us that pretty much
since he's established himself as a ruler

in Wallachia,

Vlad's not been doing
his homage to the Ottoman sultan.

The fact that he refuses to do that
is what causes his problems with Mehmed.

Welcome to Târgovişte.

I trust your journey
was not too long, Pashas.

Thank you, Prince Vlad.

Mehmed II, Conqueror,
Ruler of Two Lands, Ruler of Two Seas,

Caesar of Rome, and Sultan of Sultans,
sends his greetings.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

I'm sure the Sultan of Sultans

didn't send you all this way
just to bring me Turkish delight.

Prince Vlad, the sultan requests...

I will save you the trouble.

Mehmed wants me to come to the capital,

pay what he thinks I owe him,
and bend the knee.

A show of loyalty.

But loyalty works both ways.

Does it not?

Lately, there have been rumors
about your allegiance.

You dare question the prince's loyalty.

Easy.

My kingdom's fortune has been spent

defending the sultan's borders
against the Hungarians and others

who are wary of his adventures.

Wallachia's coffers are empty.

But you have sworn an oath to pay tribute.

This was made very clear when our sultan
allowed you to take your throne.

"Allowed me"?

"Allowed me."

The sultan has been very lenient
because of your longstanding friendship.

We have friendships
in Europe as well.

Leaders who say it is high time
that I have a seat at the table.

They treat me with respect.

You speak of homage,

yet I noticed that none of you
had the courtesy to remove your hats

when you're entering my court.

Prince, you spent years in our court.

You know that Ottoman culture forbids us
from removing our hats in public.

Mm-hmm.

But you're in my court now.

It seems we're at an impasse...

but I have a solution.

Mehmed can find a new ally...

and you'll never have to remove
your hats again.

You don't shoot the messenger
in the Mongolian and Turkish tradition.

These ambassadors are
the symbol of Mehmed.

To mistreat an Ottoman ambassador
is to mistreat Mehmed himself.

So, this is sending as big a message
to Mehmed as Vlad possibly could.

The message was clear.
He was no longer in the house of peace.

He was crossing to the house of war.

Does he think I will ignore this?

You did ignore him for years,

allowing his tribute to go unpaid.

And now that he has the backing
of the Hungarians and the Pope,

he doesn't fear you.

I treated him as a brother
when his own father abandoned him.

Mehmed, forget that boy who showed up
on our doorstep all those years ago.

He no longer exists.

Will staring holes in that map
ease whatever troubles you?

Gulbahar Hatun
is Mehmed's consort

and the mother of his son,
Prince Bayezid II.

A new campaign?

I'm sending your father
on a mission to Wallachia.

To see Prince Vlad?

It's true then.

Vlad has sided with the Hungarians.

Hamza Bey will bring Vlad back
so that he can be punished.

Can't you send someone else?

Your father is
the fiercest warrior I've ever known.

He also knows Vlad
better than anyone in my court, even Radu.

I know what happened to the emissaries.

Gulbahar, Hamza Bey will be back
in time for Bayezid's birthday.

I promise.

The Ottomans decide that
the best way to deal with this situation

is to snatch Vlad and bring him back
forcibly to Istanbul to answer to Mehmed.

So, a plot is hatched that would involve
two key figures from the Ottoman court.

The first is Greek guy,
originally called "Thomas,"

who's baby face of the routine.

He's a bureaucrat. He's non-threatening.

So, he's gonna be the one
who's gonna go into Vlad's court

and persuade him of the benefits of coming
to speak to Mehmed, and to lure him out

into the Wallachian countryside.

Meanwhile, the second part of the plan
is going to be taken care of by Hamza.

He's been a comrade-in-arms of Mehmed's,

all the way back to the time
of the conquest of Constantinople.

Hello, Hamza Bey,

my old friend.

An unexpected surprise.

In some of the sources,

it's certainly stated that capture
of Vlad Dracula was the intent.

Whilst maybe capture
would have been an enjoyment,

I think dead or alive would have been

perfectly acceptable
to the sultan at this point.

Hamza Bey, Prince,
we are all old friends here.

I'm certain this misunderstanding
with the sultan

can be easily resolved, ha?

- "Misunderstanding"?
- Yeah.

There is no misunderstanding.

Now we understand each other.

Teacher.

The fact that in 1461,
Mehmet had proposed

the meeting in Giurgiu
through Thomas Katabolinos,

a writer at the Court,

and through Hamza, the falcon bearer,

shows that both
the Ottoman side and the Wallachian side

were no longer willing, in fact,
to reach peace, but to play.

Vlad has his own network of spies,

so Vlad has set up his counter-trap
to the original trap,

leaving him now
with some valuable captives,

particularly in the form of
Mehmed's comrade, Hamza.

What was that
you told me when I was a boy?

Know your enemy as you know yourself.

You are a fool.

Mehmed will come after you.

And I'll be waiting for him.

But what shall we do about you?

Traitor.

Add this to our collection.

Bring these two with us.

Kill the rest!

Vlad, at this point,
is one step ahead of the game.

After ambushing Hamza Bey
and Thomas Katabolinos,

Vlad launches a 500-mile raid
into Ottoman-held Bulgaria,

killing thousands of men,
women, and children.

"Fatih Sultan Mehmed, I was made aware

that you've been seeking
an audience with me."

"Unfortunately, I must decline."

"From this day forward,
know me as your enemy."

"You are a coward, hiding behind your army

and your walls,
like Constantine before you."

"If you want to take Europe,
you must defeat me."

"And we both know
that will be the end of you."

Vlad said very clearly,

"By such a political gesture,

declare that all bridges
between us are broken,

and I am waiting for you on my ground."

He sent Hamza Bey's prayer beads.

Vlad will die for this.

- He is baiting you.
- No, he is threatening me.

Sultan,

let me lead your army into Wallachia

and rid this arrogant fool of his head.

I should lead the sultan's army...

...to restore my family's honor.

Prince Radu,
you have never led an army,

and I worry that when it comes down to it,

blood may be thicker than water.

- Meaning?
- Meaning there's a streak of betrayal

through your family's dealings
with the sultan.

Enough!

I will lead my army.

This is between me and Vlad.

I will go to Wallachia,

and before I kill him, he will see me take
the one thing he values above all else,

his beloved capital, Târgovişte.

My Sultan, your campaign in Corinth
is just underway.

Send Mahmud Pasha
to Wallachia in your stead.

- Mahmud Pasha.
- Sultan.

- Prince Radu.
- Sultan.

Both of you will ride by my side.

And when I take Vlad's head, Radu,
you will take the throne in Wallachia.

Mother Mara,
I need you to depart for Buda at once.

The Hungarians respect you.
I need to know their role in all of this.

Both men know the war was coming,

but I think at this point,
Mehmed begins to see two things.

One, that Wallachia is going
to be a very tough nut to crack.

It favors the defender, the terrain.

He knows that he's got, uh,

a worthy adversary
on the battlefield in Vlad Dracula,

but there's also a huge element of insult

about what has occurred
leading up to this war.

Mehmed assembles
a massive army,

nearly the size of the one
that conquered Constantinople.

His blood feud with Vlad Dracula
has passed the point of no return.

Meanwhile, in Hungary,

the Impaler Lord seeks out
the one army in Europe

that can rival the Ottomans
on the battlefield.

- Are those...?
- Yes, King Matthias.

The noses and ears
of every Turk and Bulgarian I killed

when I crossed the Danube,

excluding those who were
burned alive in their homes.

Yeah.

23,844.

News of your successful campaign

against the Ottomans
is already known in Europe.

Though, not in such vivid detail.

Hmm.

The Pope himself has said,

"There is a great need for a man
of your talents in the coming Crusade."

"Someone who knows how to fight Mehmed."

Have faith that I will kill the sultan.

But, King Matthias,

Mehmed's rage knows no bounds.

In the spring, he will come
with evil intentions and all his power.

But once you and your mighty army

join forces with me...

the Great Turk's defeat is certain.

All in due time.

We shall send an envoy in the coming weeks
with news of our plans.

Vlad says, very clearly,

"This is what we've done already
to the Ottomans."

"I'm absolutely your man in the field."

And by the way,

here's two sacks of their noses
and ears and heads for you to enjoy."

Matthias Corvinus is using Vlad Dracula
for what he can get out of him.

The Hungarians treat Vlad
like the Ottomans treat Vlad,

that he's part of
a wider game of politics,

and they'll use him
as long as he's useful,

and when he's no longer useful,
then they'll leave him out to dry.

Father, take me with you.

You'll join me on campaign soon enough.

But I've been training
with the Janissaries.

My sword is sharp.

Your sword might be sharp, Bayezid,
but you are not ready.

You must study strategy and tactics.
Alexander and Caesar.

Bayezid, I must speak to your father now.

Is my father dead?

We believe
he's being held hostage by Vlad.

He's a monster.

How did you ever call him brother?

I promise to return with Hamza Bey.

When you find Vlad, make him suffer.

On April 26, 1462,
Mehmed sets off for Wallachia,

where the fate of one Ottoman hostage
has already been decided.

Don't worry, Katabolinos Pasha.

Your sultan will be here soon enough
to save you.

And Vlad Dracula awaits.