AN EMPIRES SPECIAL: ISLAM: EMPIRE OF FAITH: THE OTTOMANS {EPISODE 3 OF 3} (TV)
Summary
Episode three of three. This program, narrated by Ben Kingsley, tells the story of the Islamic religion from its foundation in the sixth century by the Prophet Mohammed through the height of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century. This episode focuses on the Ottoman Empire. Esin Atil discusses the Sultan Osman and describes his brave and seemingly fearless followers, called "Ghazis" or "Ottomans." The program explains the reasons for the Ottoman expansion to the west and not the east, and the Byzantine capital of Constantinople as the treasure most sought after by the Empire. Victoria Holbrook discusses the transformation of the Ottomans as a nomadic people to an organized, bureaucratic civilization that began with the taking of the city of Bursa and developed with the means to control such a vast area and population through taxation and record keeping. Holbrook also discusses the laissez faire attitude of the Ottomans to the Christians, the problems of management caused by rival Muslims, and Suleyman's ingenious solution to the problem. Atil discusses the warrior class of the janissaries, and the innovations of the army uniform and military band. Walter Denny explains the Emperors' frustrations at the failure to take Constantinople; Denny and Atil talk about the arrival on the scene of the Sultan Mehmed. Karomustafa describes Mehmed's innovative use of gunpowder to propel cannonballs, his siege of Constantinople in 1453, and Europe's inability to come to the aid of Byzantium. Atil describes the history and glory of the church of Hagia Sophia and the significance of its transformation into a mosque. Cornell Fleischer discusses the advent of the Sultan Suleyman, his preparations for the Sultanate and his friendship with Ibrahim Pasha. Atil discusses Suleyman's determination to conquer Belgrade; his first triumph, the fall of Rhodes; and Suleyman as "The Law Giver." Holbrook discuss Suleyman as the supreme monarch and the classical age of Ottoman architecture that flourished under his rule. John Renard, Atil, Karomustafa and Fleischer discuss the qualities of the architecture and court life and its effect on European perceptions of the Ottomans. Holbrook discusses the realities of harem life, its significance to the Empire and Emperor as both home and heir-production unit, and the arrival to the harem of Hurrem, known in the West as Roxelana. Holbrook and Renard outline the differences in Sunni and Shiite Muslim laws of heredity and the Shiite Saffavid Empire east of Anatolia. Atil compares Ottoman and Saffavid architecture. Karomustafa discusses Suleyman's defeat at Vienna and Holbrook contextualizes it in European history. Denny, Atil and Karomustafa discuss Suleyman's tragic last years in which political intrigue would cost him his son and his best friend. The program concludes with a reflection on the shared religious and cultural roots of Islam and the West, and their interdependence.
Cataloging of this program is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2003.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: May 8, 2001 Tuesday 9:50 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:55:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:75505
- GENRE: Public affairs/documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/Documentaries; Turkey - History - Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918; Islam
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 2001
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Brian Donegan … Executive Producer
- Ron Devillier … Executive Producer
- Greg Diefenbach … Supervising Producer
- Morteza Shayesta … Producer
- Robert Gardner … Producer, Director
- Char Gardner … Associate Producer
- Stefan Kotsonis … Documentary Producer
- Hussam Ali … Field Producer
- Motaz Hadaya … Field Producer
- Mark Nino … Field Producer
- Zarife Ozturk … Field Producer
- Kamel Riadi … Field Producer
- Georgio de Marchi … Field Producer
- Jonathan Grupper … Writer
- Patrick Prentice … Writer
- Richard Roughton … Writer
- Leonard Lionnet … Music by
- Ben Kingsley … Narrator
- Esin Atil
- Walter B. Denny
- Cornell Fleischer
- Victoria Holbrook
- Hurrem (a.k.a. Roxelana)
- Ibrahim Pasha
- Ahmet Karomustafa
- Mehmed
- John Renard
- Saladin
- Suleyman