Muhteşem Yüzyıl
Muhteşem Yüzyıl is a Turkish historical drama series. Written by Meral Okay and Yılmaz Şahin, it is based on the life of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Hürrem Sultan, a slave girl who became his wife. It also sheds light on the era known as the Sultanate of Women. It was originally broadcast on Show TV and then transferred to Star TV.
Plot
The series follows the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the most renowned ruler of the Ottoman Empire. As his power and influence spread and grew, it impacted him and those within the imperial household: his friend and advisor, Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha; his mother, Hafsa Sultan, the first Valide sultan; his sister, Sultan (daughter of Selim I)|Hatice Sultan]; Mahidevran Sultan, the mother of Suleiman's eldest son; and Hürrem Sultan, the Haseki sultan of Suleiman.Production
The series was directed by The Taylan Brothers and produced by Timur Savcı, Turkish cinema, TV series and film producer. The series cost a total of 130 million Turkish liras, making it the most expensive project on Turkish television.A 2,100 square-meter plateau was created for the production work that began 5 months before the first broadcast date, and a group of 30 sculptors and painters built exact replicas of the structures there.
Spinoff
The story begins 37 years after the death of Suleiman the Magnificent. It recounts the life of Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan, a female ruler of the Ottoman Empire through her sons and grandson. Safiye Sultan, the favorite concubine of Şehzade Murad, reappears in the spinoff, now the grandmother of Ahmed I and the Valide Sultan.Series overview
Characters
The Imperial Family
Statesmen and palace officials
Palace servants and concubines
The information of the servants and concubines are little known. Most of the characters are fictional.| Actor name | Role name | Explanation | Seasons | Character status |
| Selim Bayraktar | Sümbül Ağa | Chief eunuch of the harem and Hafsa Sultan's confidant after daye hatun and Hürrem Sultan's closest confidant, later Mihrimah Sultan's adviser | 1–4 | Major |
| Filiz Ahmet | Nigar Hatun | Servant and apprentice in the harem later chief treasurer, first wife of Rustem Pasha, İbrahim's lover and confidant and mother of his daughter Esmanur | 1–3 | Major |
| Sema Keçik | Daye Hatun | Valide Sultan's maid and chief treasurer of the harem, Sultan Suleiman's nanny | 1–2 | Supporting |
| Sabina Toziya | Afife Hatun | Chief treasurer and leading servant of the harem, Yahya Efendi's mother and Sultan Suleiman's wet nurse | 3–4 | Supporting |
| Engin Günaydın | Gül Ağa | Eunuch that clarifies the harem prohibitions in the first episode, later Hürrem Sultan's confidant | 1–2 | Supporting |
| Nihan Büyükağaç | Gülşah Hatun | Mahidevran Sultan's maid, later Hürrem Sultan's maid | 1–3 | Supporting |
| Saadet Aksoy | Viktoria | A Hungarian countess and spy for king King Lajos. An enemy of Sultan Suleiman | 1–2 | Supporting |
| Burcü Güner | Fahriye Kalfa | Mahidevran Sultan's maid, later Hürrem Sultan's maid | 3–4 | Supporting |
| Gamze Dar | Fidan Hatun | Hürrem Sultan's servant, later Mahidevran Sultan's maid | 2–4 | Supporting |
| Melike İpek Yalova | Isabella Fortuna | Princess of Castille, in love with Suleiman. Not related to any real life person, although 2 women with similar name existed during the era: Isabel of Braganza, Duchess of Guimarães and Isabella of Portugal | 2 | Supporting |
| Cansu Dere | Firuze Hatun | Persian Safavid spy who poses as an Assyrian slave, Sultan Suleiman's concubine | 3 | Supporting |
| Saygın Soysal | Mercan Ağa | Şah Sultan's confidant | 3 | Supporting |
| Kübra Kip | Canfeda Hatun | Nurbanu Sultan's servant and confidant | 4 | Supporting |
| Cavit Çetin Güner | Gazanfer Ağa | Chief eunuch of the Manisa harem, in service of Nurbanu Sultan | 4 | Supporting |
| Yüksel Ünal | Şeker Ağa | Main chef of the palace kitchen | 1–3 | Supporting |
| Hayal Köseoğlu | Nilüfer Hatun | Hürrem Sultan's servant | 2 | Supporting |
| Burcu Tuna | Gülnihal Hatun | Hürrem Sultan's childhood friend and servant | 1 | Supporting |
| Gökhan Tercanlı | Perçem Ağa | A guardian of the palace in service of Hürrem Sultan | 2–3 | Supporting |
| Melisa Sözen | Efsun Hatun | Hürrem Sultan's servant, in love with Şehzade Mustafa | 2 | Supporting |
| Sebahat Kumaş | Esma Hatun | Hürrem Sultan's servant | 1–3 | Supporting |
| Kaya Akkaya | Lokman Ağa | A servant in Constantinople and later Kütahya harem, later a keeper of Sultan's privy chamber, in service of Hürrem Sultan | 4 | Supporting |
| Ünal Yeter | Kiraz Ağa | Afife Hatun's servant | 3 | Supporting |
| Suat Karausta | Zal Mahmut | Loyal servant of Rüstem Pasha | 4 | Supporting |
| Safak Baskaya | Ferhat Ağa | A keeper of Sultan's privy chamber | 4 | Supporting |
| Merve Oflaz | Ayşe Hatun | Sultan Suleiman's concubine, rival to Hürrem Sultan | 1 | Supporting |
| Elif Atakan | Rümeysa Hatun | Şehzade Mustafa's concubine | 3 | Supporting |
| Büşra Ayaydın | Rümeysa Hatun | Şehzade Mustafa's concubine | 4 | Supporting |
| Cemre Ebuzziya | Helena Hatun | Şehzade Mustafa's concubine | 3 | Supporting |
| Reyhan Taşören | Dilşah Hatun | Şehzade Selim's concubine, rival to Nurbanu Sultan | 4 | Supporting |
| İrem Helvacıoğlu | Nurbahar Hatun | Şehzade Mehmed's concubine | 3 | Supporting |
| Patrycja Widłak | Cihan Hatun | Şehzade Mehmed's concubine | 3 | Guest appearance |
Others
Most of the characters are fictional/fictionalized.| Actor name | Role name | Explanation | Seasons | Character status |
| Serkan Altunorak | Taşlıcalı Yahya Bey | One of the famous poets of the era, Friend and supporter of Şehzade Mustafa | 3–4 | Major |
| Sarp Akkaya | Turahanoğlu Turgul Bey "Atmaca" | Friend and supporter of Şehzade Mustafa and then Şehzade Bayezid | 4 | Major |
| Ezgi Eyüboğlu | Aybige Hatun | Fictional niece of Valide Sultan. A Tatar Princess, Balı Bey's love interest. | 2 | Supporting |
| Fatih Al | Matrakçı Nasuh Efendi | Mathematician, historian, geographer, miniaturist, and inventor, Ibrahim's confidant | 1–4 | Major |
| Gökhan Alkan | Tahmasp I | The 2nd Shah of the Safavid dynasty | 3 | Supporting |
| Tahmasp I | The 2nd Shah of the Safavid dynasty | 4 | Supporting | |
| Hamdi Alkan | Yahya Efendi | An Ottoman Islamic scholar, Sufi and poet, Afife Hatun's son, Sultan Suleiman's foster-brother | 3–4 | Supporting |
| Hilmi Cem İntepe | Yavuz | A supporter of Şehzade Mustafa, serves Piri Reis together with Atmaca | 4 | Supporting |
| Alp Öyken | Pope Clement VII | Pope of the Roman Catholic Church during that time | 1–2 | Supporting |
| Seçkin Özdemir | Leopold "Leo" | A Ukrainian painter, Alexandra/Hurrem's former fiancé | 1 | Supporting |
| Burak Sağyaşar | Hekim Pedro | A physician who cures Mihrimah's illness and later falls in love with her | 4 | Supporting |
| Müjde Uzman | Armin Hatun | Joşua Effendi's daughter, a Jewish girl who falls in love with Bali Bey | 2 | Supporting |
| Güner Özkul | Rakel Hatun | A wealthy Jewish woman who lends the palace money in time of need | 2–3 | Supporting |
| Çağkan Çulha | İlyas | A soldier in service of Şehzade Mehmed who poisons him and causes his death | 3 | Supporting |
| Dolunay Soysert | Gracia Mendes Nasi | A wealthy Jewish woman who became a prominent figure in the politics of the Ottoman Empire | 4 | Supporting |
| Bergüzar Korel | Monica Gritti | Alvise Gritti's sister | 1 | Guest appearance |
| Binnur Kaya | Muskacı Hatun | A witch who writes amulets | 1 | Guest appearance |
| Hümeyra | Remmal Elmas | A famous astrologer who can tell the future by looking into the sands | 2 | Guest appearance |
| Mesut Özkeçeci | Sahib I Giray | Valide Sultan's brother and Aybige Hatun's father. He is the Crimean Khan and Suleyman's uncle | 2 | Guest appearance |
| Demir Demirkan | Deli Sabit | Head of the military unit called Deliler in the Battle of Mohács | 2 | Guest appearance |
| Büşra Pekin | Şirin Hatun | A woman who brings fabrics to the harem | 2 | Guest appearance |
| Burak Demir | Hüseyin Çavuş | Jannissary soldier loyal to Prince Mustafa | 4 | Supporting |
Broadcast
Reception
Controversy
The show generated controversy and complaints from some viewers, for what they referred to as a "disrespectful", "indecent" and "hedonistic" portrayal of the historical sultan. Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council, known as RTÜK, claimed they had received over 70,000 complaints about the show and warned Show TV to publicly apologise for wrongly exposing "the privacy of a historical person". The Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the show as "an effort to show our history in a negative light to the younger generations." An MP for the governing Justice and Development Party, Oktay Saral, went further, threatening to outlaw the "misrepresentation of historical figures" in shows such as Muhteşem Yüzyıl.Small groups of Islamists and Nationalists protested the studio but the show remains successful with consistently high ratings.
Elif Batuman wrote in The New Yorker:
"On the surface, 'Magnificent Century' looks like a quintessential product of the Erdoğan years. Thanks to Erdoğan's economic policies, Turkey has a thriving television industry, capable of staging elaborate period dramas, and a prosperous family-oriented middle class of observant Muslims eager to watch their own values reflected in a historical imperial setting. And, much as Erdoğan's foreign policy has promoted relations with former Ottoman lands, the show has conquered large audiences in Balkan, Caucasian, and Arab countries not known for their fond memory of Ottoman rule. Broadcast to more than two hundred million viewers in fifty-two countries, "Magnificent Century" has accomplished one of Erdoğan's main goals: Making a powerful, non-secularist, globally involved version of Turkey both plausible and appealing.... And yet Erdoğan is not a fan. In late 2012, at the opening of a provincial airport he took a moment to condemn the show's depiction of Suleiman, as well as its directors and broadcasters, hinting at severe judicial repercussions."
According to the report of USA government funded Radio Free Asia, some Uyghur people were arrested for watching the series in 2020, as the Chinese government considered that it might encourage the thought of the Xinjiang Independence.
Anachronisms
Notable writers and critics pointed out multiple chronological mistakes in various scenes related to the timeline in which the plot takes place. Some of these anachronisms are as follows:- Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha is shown, in many scenes, as he is working on a table. The practice of using tables in Ottoman palaces, however, was not adopted until the era of Abdulmejid I.
- Louis II, the King of Hungary, is portrayed in the series as an old man who provokes the Ottoman Empire by executing the Ottoman envoy. The problem with this portrayal is that Louis II never executed anyone, and he was only 20 years old when he died during the Battle of Mohács.
- In one of the episodes of the show, Sultan Suleiman recites the following Turkish phrase: "Nush ile yola gelmeyeni etmeli tekdir, tekdir ile uslanmayanın hakkı kötektir." This phrase comes from the Terkîb-i Bend of Ziya Pasha, which was only written in 1870, almost 400 years after Suleiman's reign.
- One of the workers in the kitchen is shown as she is dicing tomatoes. However, tomatoes became a part of the Ottoman cuisine only after 1835, after European contact with and colonization of the Americas.
- In the scene where Suleiman the Magnificent visits his son Şehzade Mustafa in the Manisa Palace, it can be seen that the floor is covered with parquet. However, parquet was first used in 1684 on the floors of Palace of Versailles.
International popularity
The show is part of an ongoing revival of Turkish culture in the Balkans through imported TV shows from Turkey, such as Öyle Bir Geçer Zaman Ki, or Fatmagül'ün Suçu Ne?, which was top ranked TV show in Kosovo 2012. Serbian sociologist Ratko Bozovic explains the popularity by pointing at the traditional, patriarchal values of the Turkish shows, and the many cultural and linguistic similarities between Turkey and the Balkan countries: "The mentality depicted in those shows has to do with a traditional understanding of morality that people in Serbia remember at some level." According to Bozovic, all Balkan countries have seen dramatic changes in terms of family life, and the Turkish shows help them recall value systems that now seem lost.
In Bangladesh, the show was known as সুলতান সুলেমান and it was broadcast on Deepto TV, dubbed in Bangla. Within the first two months of its release in Bangladesh back in 2015, Sultan Suleiman received the highest TV program ratings in Bangladesh. The channel gained the most TRP ratings. Some people demanded a ban on this serial as viewers lacked interests in watching local dramas, however, keeping all these controversies aside the show still went on. After finishing the series, Deepto TV re-broadcast this massively popular show from June 2, 2019.
In Morocco, the series is called Harim al-Sultan . Many people find it visually and aesthetically enjoyable to watch, but viewers have contrasting opinions of the show's depictions of gender and Ottoman rulers. Many Moroccans stopped watching the show because they did not like the morals it presented.
In Greece, the series has become quite popular for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and ages. Many Greek viewers enjoyed the visuals and oriental decorations present in the show, as well as the cultural proximity and historical ties between the two countries. It has become so popular that Bishop Anthimos of Thessaloniki and the Golden Dawn party condemned the show and urged Greeks not to watch it. "No one should watch Muhteşem Yüzyıl, The Magnificent Century," Anthimos said. He added, "By watching the Turkish series we are telling them we have surrendered."
In North Macedonia, the high popularity of Turkish TV series caused concerns about Turkish impact on Macedonian society, prompting the parliament to pass legislation in 2012 to require an increase in airtime for domestic productions.
In Chile where the series is called El Sultán it is aired since December 14 in Canal 13 on prime time with great success. The Spanish voice of Suleiman is the same as the one of Onur in the Turkish soap opera Las mil y una noches. The series is part of a wave of Turkish soap operas that have become popular in Chilean TV. The series debuted right after the penultimate chapter of Los 80, a popular historical family drama produced by Canal 13.
In Pakistan, the show was named میرا سلطان: داستان جلال و جمال and it aired on channel Geo Kahani. Geo Kahani claims that it was the channel's most popular show and received the highest TRPs. The Pakistani drama industry was adversely affected by the popularity of Turkish dramas, and lead actor Halit Ergenç to win first ever International Icon Award in Pakistan's biggest awards show Lux Style Awards in 2017.