Constantinople was probably the best fortified city in the medieval world. But it had one weak spot. To the north of the city lay the Golden Horn, the wide estuary that was blocked to enemy ships by a great iron chain. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II pondered long and hard how to break into the Golden Horn. Then he came up with an extraordinary idea. Please tak ... Show More
Nov 2021
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 11 "The Strain of War"
Constantinople is surrounded. For seven weeks, it has endured Turkish attacks by land and sea. Its defenders have fought heroically but now they are exhausted. But so too are the Turks. Their losses have been huge and the Turkish Sultan, Mehmet II, starts to wonder whether he sho ... Show More
21m 10s
Jun 2021
The Three Pashas of the Ottoman Empire Pt. 1
After the Fall of Constantinople, the Ottomans became the most powerful dynasty in existence. But the great empire began to decline, and in the early 20th century, a leader named Talaat and a group of radical nationalists worked to remove the ineffectual sultan and restore the Ot ... Show More
48m 11s
Sep 2024
A 1,300 History of the Middle East in Seven Religious Wars
From the taking of the holy city of Jerusalem in the 7th century AD by Caliph Umar, to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I, Christian popes, emperors and kings, and Muslim caliphs and sultans were locked in a 1300-year battle for political, militar ... Show More
48m 58s
Nov 2021
7-1: The Bosnia War - Turks and Ottomans
From the steppes of Central Asia, thousands of Turkish people migrate to Anatolia and the Middle East. These new arrivals become first the Seljuk Turks, then the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, and finally, the Osmanlis.
36m 24s