[young Mehmed] I will repeat myself.
Can any of you fetch me the red apple,
without setting foot on the carpet?
Selim Pasha...
the esteemed general of the North,
what is your plan?
Just as I expected.
[clears throat]
And how about you,
the great grand vizier,
Candarli Halil Pasha?
For a sharp mind such as yours,
a riddle like this should be easy to solve.
I haven't time for childish games,
my prince.
Perhaps it takes a child to solve this riddle.
You are fortunate...
I am not yet sultan.
[crunches]
[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.
Sultan Mehmed II's siege of Constantinople
enters its third week.
Mehmed's artillery teams continue their relentless bombardment
of Constantinople's walls.
After his navy suffers a devastating defeat...
Prepare to board!
Yah!
...at the hands of an incoming Genoese fleet
bringing soldiers and supplies to Constantinople,
the Genoese find safe harbor inside the Golden Horn,
a narrow inlet that runs along Constantinople's seaward walls.
Constantinople is gifted because it has this huge protected harbor,
which is the Golden Horn.
It has a very narrow entrance
and it has two towers on each side,
but if an enemy fleet enters the Golden Horn
there's only one line of walls and it's not well protected.
Because they didn't make it as tough as those all looking towards the West,
where any besieging army would have come from.
This is an area where loads of Christian ships are all kind of moored up in there.
It was like a soft underbelly.
If they can only get in there,
they can then set up operations against that side of the walls.
That's why Mehmed II would go to great lengths in order to open a...
another front against the most vulnerable part of the city.
This definitely underscores in his mind
"I've got to get into the Golden Horn."
[narrator] But the harbor is protected by a massive cast-iron chain.
The chain spans half a mile from Constantinople to Galata
and weighs over 30 tons.
It has protected the harbor for over seven centuries.
Newly reinforced by order of Emperor Constantine,
it is virtually impenetrable.
[Brownworth] Mehmed, he's got a very active mind and he's always thinking,
and so he concocts this brilliant,
out of the blue, wild plan.
[Goodwin] It's not clear how the idea comes to Mehmed,
but clearly, under the pressure of time
and with a sort of genius
for both strategic thinking and good PR,
he comes up with this idea that they can turn the whole flank
of the attack by dragging ships overland from the Bosporus
and then drop them back down into the Golden Horn.
[man] It's falling!
[narrator] The 76 ships will be hauled
across a one-and-a-half mile stretch of woods
above the Genoese colony of Galata.
[Dr. Emrah Safa Gürkan] Warfare is about engineering, most of the time.
It's not about valiance or it's not about bravery,
it's all about different techniques.
[Dr. Marios Philippedes] It was a stroke of genius.
Brilliant.
[horse neighs]
[narrator] The success of Mehmed's audacious plan
hinges on secrecy in a land riddled with spies.
Mehmed's plan to move his ships takes on even greater urgency,
as rumors of a large incoming Christian fleet from Venice reach camp,
along with hints of unrest among his soldiers.
Forgive me, Sultan. The guard told me you were due back.
Has the brazier gone cold in your own tent, Pasha?
Candarli Halil is always welcome.
You wish to speak with me?
Yes, Sultan.
There are troubling rumors circulating through camp.
What sort of rumors?
Reports of the Venetians sending more ships and men imminently.
These reports you speak of,
who are they from?
Our spies in Constantinople have been hearing rumblings of this for days now.
I see.
If true,
even word of this could be disastrous for the morale of our troops
and our plans to take the city.
Are you still considering terms for truce?
I am considering options, Pasha.
I will inform you once I've made my decision.
Forgive me, Sultan, but we are in peril here.
[Mehmed] Hence my endeavors.
You must trust me, teacher,
as I have always trusted you.
I should check on my men.
I want those ships in the Golden Horn now.
We need to move before word gets out.
[quacking]
[narrator] In Constantinople, the victory at sea
and rumors of a 40-ship Venetian fleet sent by the pope
lift the city's spirits for a moment.
But many citizens have already fled,
knowing the battle is far from over.
Where are you going?
You thought I was going to lay here all day,
watching you sleep like an angel?
Come back to bed.
We don't have to sleep.
Don't you have a war to fight?
[sniffs] Isn't there anything I can do to convince you otherwise?
[Therma] There is one thing.
You have only to name it.
Take me with you when you leave the city.
Have you been talking to your father?
Or that slippery bootlick, Notaras?
You'd do well to keep an eye on that one.
I'll tell you what I told them.
I don't intend to leave until I see this siege through.
You can tell them I will honor my word.
[Therma] I don't care what they say.
Take me from this city.
You're speaking of marriage?
-How would your father-- -I don't need a husband.
Just passage to Italy.
I will pay you.
Think about my offer.
[narrator] In the hills above Galata,
Mehmed's daring plan to bring more than 70 ships across land,
and drop them into the Golden Horn is progressing.
The massive operation is dependent upon complete secrecy.
Mehmed was very secretive,
and he used to say,
"If one hair in my beard
knew what I really think,
I would pull it out."
Everywhere they were surrounded by spies.
Anything Mehmed said in the council
was reported to the Romans.
Anything that the Romans decided was reported to Mehmed immediately.
So there was a lot of that.
[narrator] Galata, the Genoese trading colony across the Golden Horn
from Constantinople,
sits just below Mehmed's planned route for his ships,
and is a hotbed of spying.
A growing concern for the sultan.
The Genoese are merchant states.
They don't have a kind of dramatic religious policy,
they don't have a kind of plan except to get rich.
It's like, "We'll stay here, behind our walls,
and we'll talk to Mehmed, we'll talk to whoever we need to
but we'll say to Mehmed, 'don't worry, we won't interfere.'"
[Philippedes] Genoese also had a little problem.
They supplied the Ottoman forces.
But at night, we're told,
they used to go and help Giustiniani and the defense.
So they were trying to play every possible side.
Sultan,
the Genoese Governor of Galata is here to see you.
[Mehmed] Lord Lomellini.
Thank you for coming.
I only have a few minutes,
as you can imagine there is much to keep me busy these days.
Yes, of course, Sultan.
There is a matter which requires the sort of confidence
which can only be had between good neighbors.
Our humble little colony in Galata
has always been a friend of the Ottoman people.
And of the Romans.
Perhaps.
But we simply seek to ply our trade and make a living.
A neutral friend to all.
And?
We have repeatedly shown our support of the sultan,
supplying grains and goods to your army,
and ships when asked.
We helped your father, rest his soul,
at the Battle of Varna, when he needed to cross the straits.
If your spies...
were to see something that I wished to remain unseen,
and if that was reported to the Romans,
that would make me very unhappy.
Hm.
You can be sure I will not speak of anything.
If there were to be something like you suggest.
But?
People from all parts of the world come through our gates to trade,
with many different agendas.
The Genoese in Galata have trafficked in information for centuries.
But discretion might be more profitable in the coming weeks.
I will certainly try my best, Sultan.
You have my thanks, Lord Lomellini.
[Sengör] Wherever necessary, you instill respect.
Wherever necessary, you instill fear.
But you have an aim.
To reach that aim, you do whatever is necessary
and that is a sign of genius.
[narrator] Mehmed orders his cannons fired directly over Galata,
at the ships moored in the Golden Horn.
The bombardment obscures the sounds of his men
clearing the overland path for the Ottoman ships...
and sends a clear message to Governor Lomellini...
"You could be next!"
[distant chatter]
Hundreds of miles to the West,
trouble could be brewing for the Ottomans
in the form of their old adversaries,
the Hungarians and Serbs.
[door opens, closes]
Still working?
Always, my dear.
Some warmth?
I saw General Stefan was here again.
He's been making frequent visits.
It's always good to keep friendly relations with the Hungarians.
And what of Rome?
Rome will always drag its feet when it comes to Orthodox Christians.
We are no friends of the pope.
Meaning?
What are you after, Mara?
Are you sending an army to attack the Turks?
That is a matter I cannot discuss.
Do you not trust me?
I trust you.
But?
Some in the council feel your allegiance is with the sultan.
And what about you?
These are complicated times, my dear.
[Gürkan] It was quite possible, if the siege took too long,
that the Hungarian king could come with a major relieving force
then you would have been doomed.
If there's a Hungarian army waiting at your side
and you are in a besieging position,
then your entire army could be annihilated.
Attacking the Ottomans would be a grave mistake.
Do not mistake youth for weakness.
If even a whisper of this gets to him,
you will have the Ottoman army at the gates
and they will crush your army.
You mean our army?
Father, please,
I beg you to reconsider your plan before it's too late.
You have always been wise beyond your years.
Like your mother.
I fear now...
you are blinded by the sultan.
Mehmed is like a son to me.
Murad is dead,
and your time in Adrianople has passed.
Perhaps...
you should consider another marriage.
Certainly a suitable husband can be found.
Sultan, the Governor Lomellini is here to see you.
[Lomellini] Sultan Mehmed.
I did not mean to interrupt your meal,
but I come on urgent business.
Signore Lomellini.
[speaking Italian]
[speaking Greek]
[in English] You're kind, but I don't intend to trouble you for long.
What could possibly be so urgent, Angelo Pasha?
[Lomellini] I'm here about our ships,
specifically the merchant ship your cannons sank in the harbor today.
-I'm certain it was just an accident-- -Hm.
Yes, it went down very fast.
That was a Genoese trade ship from Galata.
It was loaded with cargo worth 100,000 ducats.
But it was inside the chain,
was it not?
Yes.
My dear governor,
I was not aware there were friendly ships still in the harbor.
You were warned before the siege to move all your ships outside the chain.
It is our assumption that
all vessels still inside the Horn are there with hostile intent,
including that of the pirate,
Giustiniani.
But, you're telling me those are yours?
-A misunderstanding. -Good.
-It will be addressed at once. -Good.
There's one other matter.
[sighs]
Yes?
[Lomellini] Your new cannons,
they have been firing directly over our city all day.
[explosion]
The constant firing overhead is...
unnerving.
My brother's wife went into labor from the distress
and there's growing concern
that another errant shot could hit a house or a school.
That would be terrible.
But we are in the middle of a battle.
Governor,
you're wise in all matters of business
so I have a proposal.
I will silence my cannons in exchange for your silence.
But I already assured you I will try to contain any speculation--
[Mehmed] Let me show you something.
Once I take Constantinople,
we will be even closer neighbors.
I will build the new capital for my empire there.
It will make Rome seem like a small village.
For a trading colony like yourselves, there will be plenty of business.
All I'm asking in the meantime is
you control your countrymen, my dear friend.
Understood.
Good. Good.
Thank you for bringing your concerns to me, Governor.
It would have been a tragedy
if one of our cannons mistakenly hit your beautiful tower.
[men sawing]
[narrator] In the hills above Galata,
thousands of Ottoman soldiers
have nearly finished clearing the path for the sultan's ships.
[Dr. Michael Talbot] We need to think about the human labor
and effort involved in this exercise.
You need loads and loads of tallow,
so that's animal fat,
to help grease these various trees
that have been chopped down to help roll the ships along.
The fact that they then are able to take these ships
across from one body of water into the other,
to surpass the Roman's trap,
it's a credit to some of the visionaries in the Ottoman armed forces
to think around a really practical solution
to a seemingly impassable problem.
They built that road for many days,
and they did it behind the mountains of Pera
from a place where they couldn't see from Constantinople or from Galata.
And they started transporting the ships to the Golden Horn
in one night.
The Romans look out from their walls
and they're initially thinking, "What's all this noise? What's going on?
What infernal machine is going to come at us now?"
Once this roadway has been built, greased and everything is ready to roll,
the ships are dragged up out of the water
with ropes with men and... and oxen.
[men shouting]
And then they get to the top of this hill and they just come sliding down
and they sploosh into the... into the water of the Golden Horn.
[praying in Latin]
[church bells ringing]
[woman screams]
[Walla] Turkish ships are in the harbor!
[Emperor Constantine] Is it true?
[Giustiniani] The bastards are in the Horn.
How could this be? Did they break through the chain?
They went around it.
Dear God.
If you're standing there watching this happening
from the walls of Constantinople, you must lose a bit of heart.
Everything we're trying, they're clever enough to get around us.
Zaganos Pasha, move your artillery from Galata to the harbor below.
Keep them in sight of the city and have them ready to fire.
In the meantime, a salute for the emperor:
Fire all the cannons we have on the land walls.
Yes, Sultan.
[man shouting]
That's all I have!
Hey!
[explosion]
[screams]
All of a sudden, these guys that were over there are now over here
and they're also shooting at you and unloading troops.
That must have been very terrifying.
[people screaming]
Not only is it a strategically useful thing to have done,
but it's one of those things where everyone goes, you know,
"Oh, Mehmed really knows his business,"
you know, "That's a stroke of genius."
[men screaming]
[Goodwin] It's about morale.
Everyone's spirits are flagging and suddenly this amazing event occurs
and the news of it spreads like wildfire and everyone, you know,
the man's a genius, you know, let's follow him.
[narrator] Mehmed's gambit swings the momentum of the siege.
The Romans are caught off guard, and are now vulnerable.
We need to send soldiers to the harbor walls.
Now.
Do it.
This is a severe blow because the Roman defenses are stretched thin as it is.
They have less than 7,000 to patrol 14 miles of wall.
And now, suddenly,
because there's Turkish ships inside the harbor,
that's an additional three-and-a-half miles of sea walls
they have to defend which stretches their limited resources even further.
But even worse, now,
even if a relief force arrives,
where are they gonna sail in?
Are you hurt?
[sobbing] No, no but there are many who are.
My lord, you must do something.
-I can take a message to your friend-- -Shh.
-It's too late, Ana. -But the city is falling.
-Your Ottoman friend might-- -Shh. You must not speak of it again.
It's gone too far.
Anything now would be treason on both our parts.
My lord...
It's out of my hands now.
Now clean your face,
attend to your duties and pray.
How did we not get word of this from Galata?
This is open betrayal.
[Giustiniani] If they knew about it,
they would have told us.
If they knew about it?
You think they didn't notice
the Ottoman fleet passing over the hills behind their city?
Why haven't they attacked us from the harbor yet?
They have us pinned down on both sides.
If I were them,
I would wait,
slowly choke us...
then finish the job in one blow.
[scoffs]
I see you've thought quite a bit on how to end us.
We can't allow them to stay in the harbor.
They expecting us to hide behind the walls in fear.
Which is exactly why we must attack now,
before they settle in.
Could we launch our ships against theirs?
We can turn this into an advantage.
Their ships are in the harbor, yes.
But they are also cornered.
You have seen our naval superiority against them.
With one well planned ambush,
we can sink every ship they have.
I agree with Lord Giustiniani, Emperor.
If we wait, we give them what they want.
But if we catch them off guard,
we can end the naval threat.
Very well.
It's decided.
Prepare for an attack as quickly as possible.
And burn every Turk on those ships.
[woman] No, please don't leave me!
[woman sobbing]
[fire sizzles out]
[indistinct chatter]
[Ana] Let me go!
[shouts in Turkish]
[soldier] Enough!
[Ana] You're hurting my arm!
Let me go!
[Ana screams]
Let me go!
Bring her to me.
[Ana groans]
[Ana shouting in Turkish]
[in English] Let go of me I can walk!
Let me go, you're hurting--
[Ana groans]
[in Greek] What is your business here?
[in English] Yes,
the devil himself speaks Greek.
You're safe here.
And have nothing to worry about.
Unless you're a spy.
Mehmed comes across as an extraordinarily complicated character.
He spoke many languages, he spoke Turkish,
he spoke Arabic, he spoke Persian,
he spoke Greek, and he spoke a Slavic dialect.
He is fascinating because he comes across as a warrior,
but he also could be generous to foreigners.
What business have you here?
I have a message for someone.
A warning.
Who?
My master's friend.
I don't know his name.
And your master is?
[breathing heavily]
Do you know the punishment for spying?
-Death. -[Mehmed whispers] Yes.
It would be a slow and horrible death.
And it would give me no pleasure to exact.
God will be waiting.
What's your name?
Ana.
Ana... What are you doing outside the city, Ana?
It's dangerous.
It's dangerous inside the city.
I heard you speak Turkish to my men.
My parents were Turkish.
They moved to Constantinople to find a better life.
Surely they wouldn't approve of you running through the woods at night?
They died when I was young.
The plague.
I see you're a Christian now.
I was brought up in an orphanage.
Nuns raised me.
So,
here we are,
two orphans,
caught in a war with no end in sight.
But you are the sultan, and I am a slave.
We are all the same in Allah's eyes.
Your Bible says,
"Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the maker of them all."
You know the Bible?
Yes, I have studied it.
[Dr. Karen Barkey] Mehmed was a very, very powerful sultan.
He was actually interested
in building something that was larger
than just an Ottoman and a Turkish empire.
Something that was multi-religious,
multi-ethnic,
and expansive.
You, Sultan, have the power to show mercy before thousands more die.
I offered your emperor mercy and safety for everyone inside the city walls,
but he refused. His vanity blinds him.
So the siege is for the benefit of your people, Sultan?
Not for you own glory?
I think it's time you told me about this "warning" of yours.
I just want to stop the bloodshed.
Then start with yourself, I could spare you.
Your ships, in the harbor,
have shaken the emperor.
They will escalate things.
Things don't have to escalate.
Your navy is in danger.
The Italian mercenaries are gathering on the sea walls.
They have a plan, and it will be deadly.
When?
I don't know when, but soon.
And why would I believe a little Roman spy?
My only hope was that this news would see you retreat, Sultan.
Spare yourselves, spare us all.
You think I should run?
After coming this far?
The emperor hits you and you will hit back harder.
I fear it will go on like this until no one is left.
No Muslims, no Christians, no Romans, no Ottomans.
-Just death! -I'm not interested in more death.
Yet here you are encamped outside the city with thousands of soldiers!
[shouts] The Romans' time is ending, little spy.
How brutally it ends is in your emperor's hands.
Fetch me Zaganos Pasha immediately.
I will have my men confirm your story. If you're lying to me--
If you must execute me for my crimes, so be it.
But if you take the city,
I beg you,
be kind.
Be the ruler you say you will be.
[indistinct chatter]
[narrator] In Constantinople,
a plan to ambush the Ottoman fleet
is led by Venetian naval officer, Giacomo Coco.
[Dr. Marios Philippedes] The problems here come down
between the Genoese and Venetians.
An attempt was planned
and Coco was placed in charge of it, Venetian,
to go burn the Turkish boats that were in the harbor.
The Venetians planned this, approved by the emperor,
then the Genoese find out about it
and they wanted to be part of it.
So the operation was postponed for a number of days
so the Genoese could participate.
We can't keep delaying. I don't understand the hold up!
[Lomellini] An attack of this sort must be thought out properly.
There is no room for haste.
One wrong move,
and it will be the end of all of us.
We don't need your advice.
You are simply here as a courtesy.
An unnecessary one if you ask me.
And how do you plan to get through my harbor to the Ottoman ships?
If my night watch sees any ship moving through the harbor,
they will have no choice but to sound the alarms.
Now, please,
let us go over the plans one more time, eh?
[in Italian] If there is anything I need to know, tell me now.
What could there be to know, Lord?
I swear on my dead mother's grave, if you betray us
I will cut you in half and string your guts from Galata Tower.
Then it is just as well I am faithful.
[narrator] After several delays,
the secret mission to destroy the Ottoman fleet
is launched on the night of April the 28th.
The saboteurs plan to use Greek Fire
to incinerate the 76 Ottoman ships and sink them.
Greek Fire which is a kind of mixture of inflammable material and pine resin.
If you were hit by this,
you were going to be burned alive and there was no, no way out of it.
It is like medieval napalm.
You're a stubborn-assed Genoese bastard, Giustiniani.
But you are a warrior.
I'd like to pay you the same compliment, Coco,
but, unfortunately, you are not Genoese.
[chuckles]
God willing, we will end this tonight.
But, if I don't come back,
will you make sure that my wife and daughters get this?
Godspeed, brother.
Ciao.
[narrator] Coco and his men set out upon the Golden Horn.
If they're able to destroy the Ottoman fleet,
it could change the entire course of the battle for Constantinople.
[praying]
[water splashing]
[praying]
Prepare the Greek Fire.
Abort!
Take cover!
No!
We have been betrayed.
[men shouting]
History will reward your loyalty, my friend.
[dramatic music playing]