Rise of Empires: Ottoman


Rise of Empires: Ottoman is a Turkish historical docudrama, starring Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, Tommaso Basili and Daniel Nuță. Its first season, which consists of 6 episodes, is directed by Emre Sahin and written by Kelly McPherson. It became available for streaming on Netflix on 24 January 2020. It deals with the Ottoman Empire and Mehmed the Conqueror and tells the story of the Fall of Constantinople. The second season also has 6 episodes and premiered on 29 December 2022, focusing on the 1462 campaign against Vlad the Impaler in Wallachia.

Premise

In Season 1, Rise of Empires: Ottoman, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror wages a campaign to take the Eastern Roman capital of Constantinople in 1453, resulting in the capture of the city and establishment of the Ottoman Empire.
In Season 2, Mehmed vs. Vlad, Mehmed the Conqueror and Vlad the Impaler, childhood companions in the Ottoman court, go head-to-head in the 1462 Ottoman invasion of Wallachia.

Cast

Series overview

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2022)

Critical response

Generally, the reception is positive. Rise of Empires: Ottoman delivers, with a similarly novel approach, a chronicle of historical events. Daily History concludes that "the series uses correct timeline and description of the attack on Constantinople is incredibly accurate from the Ottoman perspective."
However, "despite the historical accuracy of the show, the dramatized events are more geared towards a captivating watching experience rather than an actual depiction of events." Some historians, such as Florian George Calian, suggest that the historical accuracy of at least the first session might be open to question: "In the Netflix production Mehmed enters an empty Hagia Sophia alone, thus converting the most wanted building in the world into a mosque. The scene is dubbed by interviews with contemporary scholars, making viewers interested in acquiring historical knowledge believe that the series is well documented. But unfortunately, everything depicted here is inaccurate."
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 87% based on 66 reviews, and an average rating of 4.3/5.