1 00:00:09,126 --> 00:00:12,543 [menacing music playing] 2 00:00:30,418 --> 00:00:31,293 So, 3 00:00:32,668 --> 00:00:35,876 you've finally thrown me over for your Ottoman master. 4 00:00:41,876 --> 00:00:43,626 I suppose that's meant for me. 5 00:00:44,918 --> 00:00:45,876 And that for me. 6 00:00:54,876 --> 00:00:59,418 Mehmed is losing the battle, but you don't have to die for him. 7 00:01:01,418 --> 00:01:02,751 I don't plan on dying. 8 00:01:04,084 --> 00:01:07,959 Then join me, and we'll kill him together. 9 00:01:08,043 --> 00:01:10,459 We swore an oath of loyalty to Mehmed. 10 00:01:10,543 --> 00:01:13,543 Those were empty words uttered with a knife to our throats. 11 00:01:15,209 --> 00:01:17,084 What about your loyalty to me? 12 00:01:19,334 --> 00:01:23,459 Who protected you when we were left to rot in the sultan's palace? 13 00:01:27,834 --> 00:01:30,459 - [battle cries] - [swords clashing] 14 00:01:31,168 --> 00:01:32,626 [explosion] 15 00:01:32,751 --> 00:01:36,126 [narrator] As the fighting intensifies in the Ottoman camp, 16 00:01:36,209 --> 00:01:41,376 Sultan Mehmed II and his soldiers find themselves facing endless waves 17 00:01:41,459 --> 00:01:43,126 of Wallachian attackers. 18 00:01:45,543 --> 00:01:47,168 [soldier cries out in agony] 19 00:01:47,251 --> 00:01:49,251 [narrator] The wrath of Vlad Dracula. 20 00:01:49,334 --> 00:01:51,251 - [Mehmed grunts] - [soldier grunts in pain] 21 00:01:54,084 --> 00:01:58,584 A piece of gold for every Wallachian head you bring me! 22 00:02:00,751 --> 00:02:03,501 [Vlad] Mehmed has always tried to turn you against me, 23 00:02:04,168 --> 00:02:06,084 but the blood of Dracula 24 00:02:07,584 --> 00:02:09,668 still runs through your veins. 25 00:02:10,793 --> 00:02:12,709 It is time for you to come home. 26 00:02:14,209 --> 00:02:15,543 Join me, brother. 27 00:02:16,209 --> 00:02:18,626 We'll build our own empire, 28 00:02:20,126 --> 00:02:23,334 and you will lead my army. 29 00:02:31,251 --> 00:02:32,793 [music continues] 30 00:02:35,459 --> 00:02:36,293 No. 31 00:02:39,168 --> 00:02:44,084 You have nothing to offer but war and suffering. 32 00:02:44,751 --> 00:02:46,793 Thousands have died 33 00:02:46,876 --> 00:02:50,168 because of your lust for power and vengeance. 34 00:02:53,043 --> 00:02:54,376 Even your own wife. 35 00:02:57,168 --> 00:02:59,334 What do you know of Anastasia's death? 36 00:03:01,001 --> 00:03:02,126 I was there. 37 00:03:05,334 --> 00:03:06,209 I'll cut your head. 38 00:03:06,918 --> 00:03:09,959 It's your head I've come for. 39 00:03:10,043 --> 00:03:11,876 Then come and take it, brother. 40 00:03:12,418 --> 00:03:15,209 [music intensifies, fades] 41 00:03:15,293 --> 00:03:17,793 [theme music playing] 42 00:03:24,418 --> 00:03:26,418 [swords clanging] 43 00:03:28,334 --> 00:03:30,751 [narrator] June 17, 1462, 44 00:03:31,251 --> 00:03:32,584 Hell comes to Earth 45 00:03:32,668 --> 00:03:35,459 outside the Wallachian capital of Târgovişte. 46 00:03:37,543 --> 00:03:40,918 Under the cover of darkness and disguised as Ottoman soldiers, 47 00:03:41,001 --> 00:03:44,959 Vlad Dracula's army launches the infamous Night Attack, 48 00:03:45,043 --> 00:03:49,418 a daring surprise assault on the camp of Sultan Mehmed II. 49 00:03:50,543 --> 00:03:53,043 {\an8}If I was one of… of Vlad's soldiers, 50 00:03:53,126 --> 00:03:58,834 {\an8}this is a crazy plan, but a plan that, if it works, we have an amazing victory. 51 00:03:58,918 --> 00:04:01,209 And if it doesn't, we go down fighting, 52 00:04:01,293 --> 00:04:03,959 and we go down fighting in a most spectacular fashion. 53 00:04:04,043 --> 00:04:06,126 - [soldiers grunting] - [swords clashing] 54 00:04:06,209 --> 00:04:09,959 [narrator] The Wallachians unleash a torrent of steel and fire 55 00:04:10,043 --> 00:04:14,209 in a desperate attempt to stop the Ottomans taking Vlad's throne. 56 00:04:15,584 --> 00:04:17,418 {\an8}[Waterson] The Wallachians get inside the camp, 57 00:04:17,501 --> 00:04:19,709 {\an8}and they dash forward, carrying torches, 58 00:04:19,793 --> 00:04:22,126 {\an8}shooting arrows as wildly as they can, 59 00:04:22,209 --> 00:04:25,209 {\an8}and causing as much chaos and confusion as they can. 60 00:04:25,834 --> 00:04:27,168 [explosion] 61 00:04:28,209 --> 00:04:30,543 [Talbot] It's pitch black. You can't see what's going on. 62 00:04:30,626 --> 00:04:31,834 You don't know who's who. 63 00:04:31,918 --> 00:04:35,126 So, the initial attack by Vlad is a huge success. 64 00:04:35,209 --> 00:04:36,959 This was potentially a disaster. 65 00:04:39,209 --> 00:04:40,501 [battle cries continue] 66 00:04:46,793 --> 00:04:48,584 [Mehmed grunts] 67 00:04:54,293 --> 00:04:56,418 - [soldier grunts] - [sword clangs] 68 00:04:59,251 --> 00:05:01,251 [agonized grunts] 69 00:05:01,959 --> 00:05:03,959 [panting heavily] 70 00:05:10,668 --> 00:05:12,168 [yells] 71 00:05:14,251 --> 00:05:15,876 Hold the line! 72 00:05:19,334 --> 00:05:22,209 They're losing ground! Keep pushing! 73 00:05:23,793 --> 00:05:25,126 Hold the line! 74 00:05:32,001 --> 00:05:32,834 Sultan! 75 00:05:33,418 --> 00:05:35,918 Our men can't hold our position much longer! 76 00:05:36,001 --> 00:05:37,876 We're about to be overrun! 77 00:05:37,959 --> 00:05:39,584 Have faith, Ali Bey. 78 00:05:39,668 --> 00:05:42,334 Do you think I intend to die in this hellhole? 79 00:05:44,834 --> 00:05:45,834 [Ali] Hold! 80 00:05:46,793 --> 00:05:48,584 Father always said you were weak. 81 00:05:48,668 --> 00:05:51,418 Father was wrong about many things. 82 00:05:51,501 --> 00:05:54,501 Let's see how sharp your sword is, baby brother. 83 00:05:56,168 --> 00:05:57,168 [soft thud] 84 00:06:01,626 --> 00:06:05,168 You should show more respect for the new ruler of Wallachia. 85 00:06:06,501 --> 00:06:08,501 One of the sultan's bootlicks, 86 00:06:08,584 --> 00:06:10,668 sent to do his dirty work. 87 00:06:10,751 --> 00:06:13,793 You will die by Prince Radu's sword or my own. 88 00:06:13,876 --> 00:06:17,834 Either way, we'll deliver what's left from your corpse to the sultan. 89 00:06:23,209 --> 00:06:25,834 Once I kill Mehmed, I'll be back for you. 90 00:06:26,459 --> 00:06:27,376 [Mahmud] Get him! 91 00:06:29,334 --> 00:06:31,626 [narrator] Vlad Dracula flees into the chaos, 92 00:06:31,709 --> 00:06:33,501 joining his soldiers, 93 00:06:33,584 --> 00:06:36,126 who continue pouring into the Ottoman camp. 94 00:06:39,418 --> 00:06:42,251 Sultan, our line is breaking! 95 00:06:44,834 --> 00:06:46,126 Now you are mine. 96 00:06:47,126 --> 00:06:49,543 Unleash the Janissaries! 97 00:06:50,959 --> 00:06:52,584 [horn sounding] 98 00:06:52,668 --> 00:06:54,043 [indistinct yells] 99 00:06:59,584 --> 00:07:01,584 [bloodcurdling cries] 100 00:07:08,918 --> 00:07:12,001 {\an8}Whenever you saw the Janissaries on the field in front of you, 101 00:07:12,084 --> 00:07:13,793 {\an8}you knew that hell was coming. 102 00:07:16,584 --> 00:07:19,376 [battle cries continue] 103 00:07:23,251 --> 00:07:24,668 [softly] It's a trap. 104 00:07:24,751 --> 00:07:29,043 [yells] It's a trap! It's a trap! 105 00:07:34,251 --> 00:07:37,126 At least one Ottoman chronicle says that 106 00:07:37,209 --> 00:07:40,834 the Ottomans were waiting for the Wallachians that night. 107 00:07:42,126 --> 00:07:43,751 The sultan must have known, 108 00:07:44,251 --> 00:07:47,668 even if he never told anyone in the camp, 109 00:07:47,751 --> 00:07:51,084 or maybe just told his commanders and his Janissary corps. 110 00:07:51,168 --> 00:07:56,001 {\an8}Mehmed was a master of military strategy and a tactician, 111 00:07:56,084 --> 00:07:58,501 {\an8}and he was a brilliant soldier. 112 00:07:58,584 --> 00:08:00,959 He never showed any fear. 113 00:08:01,043 --> 00:08:04,043 Drive them to the center! 114 00:08:04,584 --> 00:08:07,293 We know that the losses were huge for the Ottomans, 115 00:08:07,376 --> 00:08:09,793 but they managed to regroup at some point. 116 00:08:11,459 --> 00:08:13,668 Drive them to the center! 117 00:08:14,251 --> 00:08:16,959 [Waterson] Mehmed, we must remember, is the toughest character around. 118 00:08:17,043 --> 00:08:18,668 Nothing will stop the man. 119 00:08:18,751 --> 00:08:21,251 He is tough. He is resilient. 120 00:08:22,251 --> 00:08:23,793 Keep the line! 121 00:08:23,876 --> 00:08:25,793 Keep the formation! 122 00:08:31,834 --> 00:08:36,126 - [thundering battle cries] - [swords clanging] 123 00:08:44,376 --> 00:08:46,376 [arrows whizzing] 124 00:08:57,168 --> 00:08:59,168 [arrows whizzing] 125 00:09:03,126 --> 00:09:04,626 [sword unsheathes] 126 00:09:06,168 --> 00:09:07,001 Where is he? 127 00:09:10,959 --> 00:09:12,209 - Where is he? - [Radu grunts] 128 00:09:12,293 --> 00:09:13,251 Where did he go? 129 00:09:17,459 --> 00:09:18,751 Find him! 130 00:09:20,709 --> 00:09:24,209 [narrator] Thousands are killed in the first few hours of fighting. 131 00:09:25,376 --> 00:09:28,251 Hand cannons. Now! 132 00:09:28,334 --> 00:09:30,334 [narrator] With the battle hanging in the balance, 133 00:09:30,418 --> 00:09:34,209 Mehmed once again summons his superior firepower. 134 00:09:34,293 --> 00:09:35,251 Fire! 135 00:09:35,334 --> 00:09:37,501 [cannonade] 136 00:09:41,418 --> 00:09:42,793 Hit them again! 137 00:09:44,376 --> 00:09:45,334 Fire! 138 00:09:48,543 --> 00:09:51,501 The Janissaries, with their incredible discipline, 139 00:09:51,584 --> 00:09:55,959 form up around the sultan, and they create a withering wall of fire. 140 00:09:57,209 --> 00:10:01,126 Ghazis, take the fight to the infidels! 141 00:10:01,209 --> 00:10:02,793 They are no match for us! 142 00:10:03,834 --> 00:10:04,834 Sultan. 143 00:10:05,584 --> 00:10:07,834 Radu, you live. 144 00:10:08,543 --> 00:10:10,126 Yes, barely. 145 00:10:10,209 --> 00:10:11,418 [Mahmud] Sultan. 146 00:10:11,501 --> 00:10:14,918 Sultan, we should get you away from here, where it's safer. 147 00:10:15,001 --> 00:10:16,793 And where might that be? 148 00:10:17,376 --> 00:10:18,293 Sultan, 149 00:10:19,543 --> 00:10:21,001 my brother has escaped. 150 00:10:23,043 --> 00:10:24,251 He's coming for you. 151 00:10:28,668 --> 00:10:30,334 It is as it should be then. 152 00:10:32,126 --> 00:10:35,376 I will find him first and kill him. 153 00:10:36,876 --> 00:10:39,251 [dramatic sting] 154 00:11:01,918 --> 00:11:03,626 Face me, Mehmed! 155 00:11:06,543 --> 00:11:07,918 Face me, Mehmed! 156 00:11:11,168 --> 00:11:12,626 It's time to end this! 157 00:11:13,459 --> 00:11:15,334 - [Mahmud] Sultan, no! - [explosion] 158 00:11:18,793 --> 00:11:20,793 [pulsating, dramatic music playing] 159 00:11:36,584 --> 00:11:37,876 [explosions] 160 00:11:39,876 --> 00:11:41,876 [swords clanging] 161 00:11:50,293 --> 00:11:51,876 [blades swish] 162 00:12:04,084 --> 00:12:06,751 [music continues] 163 00:12:08,501 --> 00:12:10,376 You came here to kill me? 164 00:12:12,209 --> 00:12:13,084 Here I am! 165 00:12:14,751 --> 00:12:17,751 The glory and renown you've sought your entire life. 166 00:12:19,834 --> 00:12:21,918 It's not glory I'm seeking, Mehmed. 167 00:12:23,334 --> 00:12:24,501 It's revenge. 168 00:12:25,209 --> 00:12:28,126 Radu and Mahmud Pasha are not here to save you. 169 00:12:28,209 --> 00:12:30,751 - But they will help me bury you. - [Vlad laughs] 170 00:12:30,834 --> 00:12:33,209 Just like when we sparred as boys. 171 00:12:33,793 --> 00:12:34,626 Ha? 172 00:12:34,709 --> 00:12:35,959 [laughs] 173 00:12:37,626 --> 00:12:39,418 [dramatic music intensifies] 174 00:12:39,501 --> 00:12:40,876 [both yell] 175 00:12:49,668 --> 00:12:50,626 [both grunt] 176 00:12:56,626 --> 00:12:59,626 I kept the wolves from your door for years! 177 00:13:00,209 --> 00:13:02,251 - Protected you like a brother! - [Vlad] Lies! 178 00:13:02,334 --> 00:13:05,751 You took my brother and destroyed my family! 179 00:13:05,834 --> 00:13:07,793 You are blind and a fool, 180 00:13:07,876 --> 00:13:11,918 but I will keep my promise and give you an honorable death. 181 00:13:12,001 --> 00:13:13,543 How you did to my wife? 182 00:13:15,001 --> 00:13:17,334 It gives me some comfort knowing your wife is also… 183 00:13:18,168 --> 00:13:19,334 dead. 184 00:13:22,168 --> 00:13:23,001 No. 185 00:13:23,501 --> 00:13:27,001 Yes, and you will soon join her. 186 00:13:27,918 --> 00:13:28,876 No! 187 00:13:30,376 --> 00:13:31,959 [both yell] 188 00:13:48,668 --> 00:13:49,959 [Mehmed roars] 189 00:13:50,793 --> 00:13:53,168 Wallachia will be your grave. 190 00:13:53,251 --> 00:13:54,584 Die! 191 00:14:00,251 --> 00:14:01,918 [both grunt] 192 00:14:08,043 --> 00:14:09,668 [Mehmed moans] 193 00:14:12,501 --> 00:14:13,793 [Vlad grunts] 194 00:14:19,834 --> 00:14:22,001 - [music intensifies] - [both yelling] 195 00:14:22,709 --> 00:14:24,793 [explosion] 196 00:14:31,293 --> 00:14:33,751 [explosion reverberates] 197 00:14:36,459 --> 00:14:39,626 [ominous music playing] 198 00:14:48,293 --> 00:14:49,834 [explosions] 199 00:14:53,251 --> 00:14:55,251 [stones falling] 200 00:15:01,834 --> 00:15:04,334 [music swells] 201 00:15:06,876 --> 00:15:08,959 [Mehmed] This is madness. Why are you doing this? 202 00:15:09,834 --> 00:15:11,376 [young Vlad] How could you do this? 203 00:15:11,459 --> 00:15:14,626 [adult Mehmed] Show me some patience and loyalty. 204 00:15:14,709 --> 00:15:16,834 [adult Vlad] Wallachia will be your grave. 205 00:15:18,626 --> 00:15:20,918 - Sultan, do you hear me? - Can you hear me? 206 00:15:21,001 --> 00:15:23,626 [Radu's voice echoes] 207 00:15:24,584 --> 00:15:26,793 - I'll kill you! I'll kill you! - [Mahmud] No, Sultan! 208 00:15:26,876 --> 00:15:27,834 Sultan, it's me. 209 00:15:28,376 --> 00:15:29,918 [grunts] 210 00:15:32,084 --> 00:15:33,001 Where's Vlad? 211 00:15:34,293 --> 00:15:35,209 [Radu] He is gone. 212 00:15:35,793 --> 00:15:38,418 [panting heavily] 213 00:15:40,709 --> 00:15:42,126 There's nowhere to run. 214 00:15:45,334 --> 00:15:48,293 I will find him and kill him. 215 00:15:51,501 --> 00:15:53,918 Vlad alive represented a threat. 216 00:15:54,001 --> 00:15:56,668 He had escaped with his life so many times, 217 00:15:56,751 --> 00:15:58,334 he had to be killed. 218 00:15:59,959 --> 00:16:04,751 [narrator] The Night Attack, which began three hours after sunset on June 17, 219 00:16:05,709 --> 00:16:08,793 rages on until 4:00 a.m. the next morning. 220 00:16:11,376 --> 00:16:14,043 [somber music playing] 221 00:16:22,584 --> 00:16:25,084 [narrator] According to some chronicles of the battle, 222 00:16:25,168 --> 00:16:27,418 in those five horrific hours, 223 00:16:27,501 --> 00:16:30,168 some 20,000 men were killed. 224 00:16:36,668 --> 00:16:40,876 Vlad Dracula's surprise attack pushes Mehmed's army to the brink, 225 00:16:40,959 --> 00:16:43,043 but he fails to kill the sultan. 226 00:16:43,668 --> 00:16:45,043 A devastating blow 227 00:16:45,126 --> 00:16:48,668 for the Impaler Lord's attempt to hold on to his throne. 228 00:16:49,293 --> 00:16:50,959 [Waterson] The discipline of the Janissaries 229 00:16:51,043 --> 00:16:53,459 with all the terrors and the horrors they've been through, 230 00:16:53,543 --> 00:16:57,043 there's still enough to drive the Wallachians back from the camp 231 00:16:57,126 --> 00:17:00,959 and also exhaust the last arrow in Vlad Dracula's quiver. 232 00:17:05,501 --> 00:17:10,668 Please, no! My only loyalty is to the sultan! I swear it! Please! 233 00:17:10,751 --> 00:17:11,626 Vlad's spy? 234 00:17:12,501 --> 00:17:13,376 One of them. 235 00:17:14,543 --> 00:17:16,959 We'll give him a chance to reveal the others 236 00:17:17,043 --> 00:17:19,584 before he's relieved of his traitorous head. 237 00:17:20,834 --> 00:17:23,043 My brother's scheme almost succeeded. 238 00:17:26,209 --> 00:17:28,501 How did you know where he would attack? 239 00:17:29,126 --> 00:17:29,959 [scoffs] 240 00:17:30,584 --> 00:17:32,001 The Battle of Issus. 241 00:17:33,709 --> 00:17:36,334 In 333 B.C., 242 00:17:36,418 --> 00:17:40,334 Alexander was greatly outnumbered by the Persian king, Darius. 243 00:17:41,043 --> 00:17:45,626 He gambled and decided to attack the king and his personal guard directly, 244 00:17:45,709 --> 00:17:49,376 believing that if he killed him, his much larger army would collapse. 245 00:17:49,876 --> 00:17:51,584 And did Alexander win? 246 00:17:52,459 --> 00:17:53,834 He routed the Persians. 247 00:17:55,709 --> 00:18:00,668 But Vlad Dracula is not Alexander, 248 00:18:01,418 --> 00:18:05,126 and I am not Darius. 249 00:18:06,376 --> 00:18:08,126 [tense music playing] 250 00:18:09,751 --> 00:18:13,418 {\an8}[narrator] Four hundred and fifty miles southeast of Târgovişte 251 00:18:13,501 --> 00:18:15,543 {\an8}in the imperial palace… 252 00:18:20,001 --> 00:18:21,626 Do you know why you are here? 253 00:18:24,751 --> 00:18:26,584 No, Princess Mara. 254 00:18:26,668 --> 00:18:27,626 [scoffs] 255 00:18:28,751 --> 00:18:32,126 We wanted to commend you for your… loyal service. 256 00:18:33,876 --> 00:18:37,543 Unfortunately, your loyalty was to the wrong person. 257 00:18:41,293 --> 00:18:42,501 [narrator] The Wallachian plot 258 00:18:42,584 --> 00:18:45,918 to assassinate the sultan's family has been thwarted, 259 00:18:46,501 --> 00:18:49,459 but there are still loose ends to tie up. 260 00:18:51,793 --> 00:18:56,043 Sultana Gulbahar, would you give our friend here some water? 261 00:18:57,001 --> 00:18:58,126 He seems nervous. 262 00:19:06,959 --> 00:19:08,959 [tense music continues] 263 00:19:12,959 --> 00:19:14,793 Thank you, Sultana. 264 00:19:17,043 --> 00:19:20,584 Your friend Elena is no longer with us, 265 00:19:23,334 --> 00:19:24,209 but… 266 00:19:25,876 --> 00:19:28,584 she left this for you. 267 00:19:30,876 --> 00:19:32,293 They tell me it's quick, 268 00:19:32,959 --> 00:19:34,501 and you won't suffer… 269 00:19:36,418 --> 00:19:38,793 [music intensifies] 270 00:19:38,876 --> 00:19:39,709 …much. 271 00:19:45,918 --> 00:19:48,543 [narrator] Eight miles outside of Târgovişte, 272 00:19:49,126 --> 00:19:51,334 Vlad Dracula has been defeated, 273 00:19:51,959 --> 00:19:55,668 but the capital city is not yet under Ottoman control. 274 00:20:00,126 --> 00:20:01,001 Last night, 275 00:20:02,459 --> 00:20:09,126 Vlad Dracula threw the entire might of his army at us and failed. 276 00:20:11,126 --> 00:20:14,501 The price of their failure was death. 277 00:20:18,168 --> 00:20:22,001 You, soldier, how many Wallachian heads did you collect for me? 278 00:20:23,584 --> 00:20:24,793 Nine, Sultan. 279 00:20:26,293 --> 00:20:29,251 Then you shall collect your nine gold pieces today. 280 00:20:33,376 --> 00:20:37,918 Many of our brothers were martyred at the hands of the infidels. 281 00:20:39,459 --> 00:20:42,043 Today, we bury them, 282 00:20:43,334 --> 00:20:45,668 but we will not forget their sacrifice. 283 00:20:48,959 --> 00:20:50,084 As for our enemy, 284 00:20:50,876 --> 00:20:56,918 I look around, and the only Wallachians I see are dead or in chains! 285 00:20:58,334 --> 00:21:03,126 We did not ask for this war, but we will end it! 286 00:21:03,209 --> 00:21:05,543 Today, we grieve! 287 00:21:05,626 --> 00:21:08,793 Tomorrow, we take Târgovişte! 288 00:21:08,876 --> 00:21:11,001 [all cheering] 289 00:21:21,793 --> 00:21:24,126 [cheering continues] 290 00:21:26,501 --> 00:21:30,959 [in Arabic] Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! 291 00:21:31,043 --> 00:21:35,418 [all] Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! 292 00:21:35,501 --> 00:21:39,834 [exclamations continue] 293 00:21:41,584 --> 00:21:42,876 [exclamations fade] 294 00:21:43,543 --> 00:21:45,209 [water splashing] 295 00:21:48,626 --> 00:21:52,126 [horse approaching, whinnying] 296 00:22:15,918 --> 00:22:19,126 [evocative music playing] 297 00:22:40,543 --> 00:22:41,751 [Vlad sniffs] 298 00:22:46,834 --> 00:22:48,001 We thought you were dead. 299 00:22:50,001 --> 00:22:51,584 I am very much alive… 300 00:22:53,834 --> 00:22:55,084 but so is the sultan. 301 00:22:56,793 --> 00:22:59,001 The countryside is crawling with Janissaries. 302 00:22:59,084 --> 00:23:02,084 I know. It won't be long before they reach us. 303 00:23:04,709 --> 00:23:07,043 Mehmed intends to put my brother on the throne. 304 00:23:14,459 --> 00:23:16,084 Gather as many men as you can. 305 00:23:17,668 --> 00:23:19,043 We'll fight them. 306 00:23:19,959 --> 00:23:22,168 We'll fight them in the forests and mountains. 307 00:23:22,251 --> 00:23:27,043 Yes, my Prince. Yes, and Târgovişte. 308 00:23:28,126 --> 00:23:29,209 - [sighs] - [Vlad] Hmm. 309 00:23:32,334 --> 00:23:33,751 [laughs] 310 00:23:38,751 --> 00:23:40,834 Mehmed has no idea what awaits him. 311 00:23:42,668 --> 00:23:43,751 [Dimitrie laughs] 312 00:23:51,918 --> 00:23:54,043 [narrator] Exhausted but determined, 313 00:23:54,959 --> 00:23:58,543 Mehmed and the Ottoman army arrive at Târgovişte. 314 00:24:02,626 --> 00:24:05,501 {\an8}A bittersweet return for Prince Radu. 315 00:24:09,793 --> 00:24:11,793 - [evocative music continues] - [Radu sighs] 316 00:24:17,709 --> 00:24:19,293 [Radu exhales] 317 00:24:26,084 --> 00:24:28,459 Since my father first ruled these lands, 318 00:24:31,376 --> 00:24:33,876 the throne has changed hands nine times. 319 00:24:38,376 --> 00:24:41,084 He and my older brother, Mircea… 320 00:24:43,793 --> 00:24:45,043 were killed for it, 321 00:24:46,918 --> 00:24:48,334 just as Vlad will be. 322 00:24:57,043 --> 00:24:58,334 When does it end? 323 00:24:58,418 --> 00:24:59,668 [wry laugh] 324 00:25:03,043 --> 00:25:03,959 It never ends. 325 00:25:05,376 --> 00:25:07,709 So long as you sit on the throne, 326 00:25:08,626 --> 00:25:10,043 you can trust no one. 327 00:25:12,376 --> 00:25:14,709 And never show weakness. 328 00:25:19,251 --> 00:25:24,001 And what if I displease you, Mehmed? 329 00:25:29,501 --> 00:25:33,043 Learn from your brother's mistakes and forge your own path. 330 00:25:35,501 --> 00:25:38,501 We only have so long to make our mark in this world. 331 00:25:44,834 --> 00:25:47,668 But first, we must take Târgovişte. 332 00:25:52,209 --> 00:25:53,751 [ominous music playing] 333 00:25:55,376 --> 00:25:57,793 [Waterson] Târgovişte is a natural fortress 334 00:25:57,876 --> 00:26:01,376 because it's sitting on top of a very high outcrop of rock. 335 00:26:01,918 --> 00:26:04,209 It was a well-engineered city as well. 336 00:26:04,293 --> 00:26:07,584 It… it wasn't, um, created at the level, and depth, 337 00:26:07,668 --> 00:26:12,334 and thickness of a classic medieval city expecting a gunpowder assault. 338 00:26:12,418 --> 00:26:15,168 But this is a city that when you place your eye upon it, 339 00:26:15,251 --> 00:26:17,501 think to yourself as an ordinary soldier, 340 00:26:17,584 --> 00:26:20,793 "This is going to be a very, very, very hard nut to crack." 341 00:26:23,751 --> 00:26:25,418 [grunting] 342 00:26:32,626 --> 00:26:33,459 Sultan? 343 00:26:34,334 --> 00:26:35,168 Hmm? 344 00:26:37,751 --> 00:26:39,126 What is it, Mahmud Pasha? 345 00:26:42,668 --> 00:26:43,793 Something is wrong. 346 00:26:44,959 --> 00:26:46,584 [ominous music continues] 347 00:27:00,293 --> 00:27:05,543 - [ominous music intensifies, fades] - [doors rolling] 348 00:27:07,501 --> 00:27:09,501 [soft footsteps] 349 00:27:21,751 --> 00:27:24,126 - [wings fluttering] - [men grunt] 350 00:27:27,126 --> 00:27:28,293 [eerie silence] 351 00:27:31,751 --> 00:27:34,043 - [soldier] Turn! - [boots slide] 352 00:27:41,876 --> 00:27:44,043 [tense music intensifies] 353 00:27:46,168 --> 00:27:47,501 [dogs barking] 354 00:27:47,584 --> 00:27:48,751 [men grunt] 355 00:27:48,834 --> 00:27:50,543 [dogs continue barking] 356 00:27:53,251 --> 00:27:54,959 - [soldier] Turn! - [boots slide] 357 00:28:20,126 --> 00:28:22,126 [tense music continues] 358 00:29:03,168 --> 00:29:07,251 [Talbot] Mehmed wants to hunt down Vlad and make sure he's no longer a threat, 359 00:29:08,293 --> 00:29:12,418 but Vlad retreats up towards the Carpathian Mountains, 360 00:29:12,501 --> 00:29:14,334 where he can try and send out messages 361 00:29:14,418 --> 00:29:16,959 to try and get some help from the Hungarians, 362 00:29:17,043 --> 00:29:20,626 but what he's also done in doing this is abandon his capital city. 363 00:29:27,209 --> 00:29:32,251 [Hasan, in Romanian] He finds the capital of Wallachia, Târgovişte, 364 00:29:33,126 --> 00:29:39,293 an abandoned city, without inhabitants, on a dusty summer day 365 00:29:39,376 --> 00:29:41,168 with all the gates open. 366 00:29:43,501 --> 00:29:45,126 [in English] I don't like this. 367 00:29:47,709 --> 00:29:48,584 [soldier] Sultan! 368 00:29:51,251 --> 00:29:52,543 [Hasan, in Romanian] And next, 369 00:29:52,626 --> 00:29:54,751 the sultan encounters one more surprise. 370 00:29:59,084 --> 00:30:01,626 [ominous music playing] 371 00:30:04,251 --> 00:30:05,459 [exhales] 372 00:30:07,501 --> 00:30:10,959 [pulsating music playing] 373 00:30:11,834 --> 00:30:14,834 [breathing slowly] 374 00:30:16,626 --> 00:30:18,209 [exhales] 375 00:30:36,334 --> 00:30:38,334 [dramatic sting] 376 00:30:52,001 --> 00:30:55,459 [Talbot, in English] The sight that confronts Mehmed 377 00:30:55,543 --> 00:30:58,334 on the road out from the Wallachian capital 378 00:30:58,418 --> 00:31:01,668 is one that will probably haunt him for the rest of his life. 379 00:31:02,168 --> 00:31:05,043 [haunting music playing] 380 00:31:18,001 --> 00:31:20,209 [Talbot] It was called "The Forest of Corpses." 381 00:31:20,293 --> 00:31:25,668 Some of the accounts say that this spectacle was five miles 382 00:31:25,751 --> 00:31:31,001 with the impaled bodies of Ottoman soldiers and Muslims. 383 00:31:34,209 --> 00:31:40,376 Twenty-four thousand individuals of different ages, different genders, 384 00:31:41,626 --> 00:31:45,168 all impaled and presented in horrific ways. 385 00:31:54,876 --> 00:31:57,793 [Pogăciaş] You have maybe one of the most beautiful pieces 386 00:31:57,876 --> 00:31:59,543 of psychological warfare. 387 00:32:01,376 --> 00:32:04,959 The chronicles say that even the sultan got off his horse, 388 00:32:05,043 --> 00:32:09,209 and he put his, uh, rug on the ground, and he started praying. 389 00:32:09,293 --> 00:32:10,584 And the army did the same 390 00:32:10,668 --> 00:32:13,334 because never in the history of the Ottoman Empire, 391 00:32:13,418 --> 00:32:18,501 {\an8}had an Ottoman ruler and an Ottoman army seen what they were seeing. 392 00:32:25,209 --> 00:32:30,293 [narrator] But the most devastating blow struck by Vlad in the war for Wallachia 393 00:32:30,376 --> 00:32:31,626 is yet to come. 394 00:32:33,543 --> 00:32:34,584 [gasps] 395 00:32:35,668 --> 00:32:37,918 [sobs] 396 00:32:40,584 --> 00:32:41,876 [voice breaks] Hamza Bey. 397 00:32:49,209 --> 00:32:51,834 [inhales, exhales deeply] 398 00:33:05,584 --> 00:33:08,959 Have all of them taken down at once… 399 00:33:11,001 --> 00:33:12,543 and given a proper burial, 400 00:33:14,126 --> 00:33:16,126 far from this charnel house. 401 00:33:16,959 --> 00:33:18,084 Yes, Sultan. 402 00:33:25,334 --> 00:33:26,834 [Talbot] Hamza Bey was given 403 00:33:26,918 --> 00:33:29,626 a particularly high stake because of his high rank, 404 00:33:29,709 --> 00:33:33,084 but also he'd been dressed up in his nicest gear 405 00:33:33,168 --> 00:33:36,126 to make sure he was putting on a good display for the sultan. 406 00:33:36,209 --> 00:33:37,709 It's those kinds of details 407 00:33:37,793 --> 00:33:42,168 that show that Vlad was really thinking about who his audience was for this, 408 00:33:42,251 --> 00:33:45,001 and it clearly had an intended effect. 409 00:33:45,084 --> 00:33:49,918 {\an8}It's like you can have the city, you can have the land, 410 00:33:50,584 --> 00:33:53,501 {\an8}but you will be a lord of the dead. 411 00:33:53,584 --> 00:33:56,543 This is what you are. You are a lord of the dead. 412 00:34:00,043 --> 00:34:02,043 [stark music playing] 413 00:34:13,626 --> 00:34:16,084 {\an8}[narrator] Vlad Dracula remains on the run, 414 00:34:16,168 --> 00:34:19,293 {\an8}pursued by Ottoman forces in the countryside. 415 00:34:20,626 --> 00:34:24,376 But before Sultan Mehmed II departs Wallachia in July, 416 00:34:26,168 --> 00:34:30,959 he deals the death blow to Vlad's violent and bloody six-year reign, 417 00:34:33,084 --> 00:34:34,709 not with a sword, 418 00:34:35,251 --> 00:34:36,793 but with a coronation. 419 00:34:43,084 --> 00:34:45,084 [epic choral music playing] 420 00:35:00,001 --> 00:35:04,043 Prince Radu, Voivode of Wallachia. 421 00:35:26,126 --> 00:35:28,793 [Radu] Vlad and I used to chase each other around this room 422 00:35:30,126 --> 00:35:31,959 when our father was off at war. 423 00:35:33,043 --> 00:35:35,626 One day, your children will do the same. 424 00:35:46,876 --> 00:35:48,126 [sighs] 425 00:35:48,876 --> 00:35:49,793 You're leaving? 426 00:35:52,001 --> 00:35:54,084 But Vlad is still out there. 427 00:35:54,168 --> 00:35:58,334 I would like nothing more than to mount him on a stake outside these walls, 428 00:35:59,418 --> 00:36:03,209 to make him suffer and rot, as he did to Hamza Bey and the others, 429 00:36:04,876 --> 00:36:06,918 but… [sighs deeply] … 430 00:36:07,001 --> 00:36:10,668 there are pressing matters in the Aegean with the scheming Venetians… 431 00:36:12,709 --> 00:36:16,709 and I'm anxious to see Gulbahar and my son. 432 00:36:17,834 --> 00:36:20,709 Yes, of course. 433 00:36:22,501 --> 00:36:23,959 I am leaving Mihaloğlu Ali Bey 434 00:36:24,043 --> 00:36:26,543 and 2,000 of my best soldiers here with you. 435 00:36:32,126 --> 00:36:32,959 And this. 436 00:36:43,376 --> 00:36:45,376 [music continues] 437 00:36:51,251 --> 00:36:52,876 Thank you, Mehmed. 438 00:37:10,501 --> 00:37:12,584 Be the ruler Vlad should have been. 439 00:37:15,251 --> 00:37:18,293 [music continues] 440 00:37:23,459 --> 00:37:27,584 Long may you reign, Radu Dracula. 441 00:37:35,501 --> 00:37:38,543 Radu gets the crown he never thought he would get, 442 00:37:38,626 --> 00:37:43,876 and Mehmed gets a friendly ruler in this key borderland territory. 443 00:37:50,793 --> 00:37:56,209 {\an8}We can often say that Vlad Dracula spent so much time in the Ottoman court that 444 00:37:56,293 --> 00:37:57,418 {\an8}he understood his enemy, 445 00:37:57,501 --> 00:38:01,209 {\an8}but I think we must also return the compliment to Mehmed. 446 00:38:01,293 --> 00:38:03,293 He understood his enemy as well, 447 00:38:03,376 --> 00:38:05,793 and he certainly understood Wallachian politics, 448 00:38:05,876 --> 00:38:08,876 and he knew that by putting Radu on the throne, 449 00:38:08,959 --> 00:38:12,209 Vlad Dracula was going to fall from grace very quickly. 450 00:38:12,834 --> 00:38:17,918 And with this one simple gambit, Mehmed outplays him, outfoxes him, 451 00:38:18,001 --> 00:38:21,043 and it's all over for Vlad Dracula, and he has to flee. 452 00:38:23,751 --> 00:38:27,084 [narrator] After coming within inches of killing the most powerful ruler 453 00:38:27,168 --> 00:38:28,376 in the world, 454 00:38:28,459 --> 00:38:32,459 Vlad Dracula soon finds himself a man with no country, 455 00:38:32,543 --> 00:38:35,959 a dwindling army, and few political allies. 456 00:38:37,251 --> 00:38:40,126 Forever defined by his barbarity 457 00:38:40,209 --> 00:38:44,793 and his heroic, but ill-fated uprising against Mehmed the Conqueror. 458 00:38:50,293 --> 00:38:53,418 [Vlad] We're a two-days' ride from the Hungarian border. 459 00:38:55,126 --> 00:38:57,751 I won't ask you to accompany me. The choice is yours. 460 00:39:00,043 --> 00:39:01,626 Your fight is my fight. 461 00:39:05,834 --> 00:39:09,793 Take heart. We will return and have our revenge. 462 00:39:13,084 --> 00:39:15,418 We'll see each other soon, brother Mehmed. 463 00:39:18,668 --> 00:39:20,293 [Vlad spurs on horse] 464 00:39:22,501 --> 00:39:24,501 [dramatic percussion playing] 465 00:39:30,668 --> 00:39:33,668 [Pogăciaş] If Vlad had succeeded in killing the sultan, 466 00:39:33,751 --> 00:39:36,709 the campaign would have ended in that moment. 467 00:39:36,793 --> 00:39:39,459 It would have been not just a military blow, 468 00:39:39,543 --> 00:39:43,251 it… it would have been a… a propaganda blow 469 00:39:43,334 --> 00:39:48,376 for him to kill Mehmed, the guy who conquered Constantinople. 470 00:39:48,459 --> 00:39:52,626 He would have been a hero for the whole Christian world. 471 00:39:53,334 --> 00:39:57,251 He didn't, so he became known as Dracula, the bloodthirsty vampire. 472 00:39:58,418 --> 00:40:00,418 [laughing] 473 00:40:00,501 --> 00:40:03,751 [narrator] Mehmed's strategical brilliance on the battlefield 474 00:40:03,834 --> 00:40:06,001 and cunning political maneuverings 475 00:40:06,084 --> 00:40:11,168 deal Vlad Dracula a devastating defeat from which he never fully recovers. 476 00:40:11,668 --> 00:40:17,376 Wallachia will remain a vassal state of the Ottomans for the next 400 years. 477 00:40:19,251 --> 00:40:22,459 {\an8}[dramatic percussion swells, fades] 478 00:40:29,668 --> 00:40:32,168 [narrator] Months after his victory at Târgovişte, 479 00:40:32,251 --> 00:40:37,418 {\an8}the sultan remains embittered that Vlad Dracula still lives. 480 00:40:50,334 --> 00:40:51,876 What's wrong, Mehmed? 481 00:40:55,334 --> 00:40:57,251 You must let this obsession go. 482 00:40:59,084 --> 00:41:01,584 You won. Radu is on the throne. 483 00:41:02,376 --> 00:41:05,084 - Your wife and son are safe. - Vlad Dracula is still alive-- 484 00:41:05,168 --> 00:41:09,334 He's nothing but a disgraced prince with no throne and no power. 485 00:41:09,418 --> 00:41:11,293 [angrily] I cannot rest 486 00:41:11,376 --> 00:41:14,918 until he pays for what he did to Hamza Bey and the others. 487 00:41:15,584 --> 00:41:17,501 I swore an oath! 488 00:41:19,501 --> 00:41:25,876 You won great victories in Anatolia, the Mediterranean, Europe. 489 00:41:25,959 --> 00:41:29,626 This city is a reflection of your vision. 490 00:41:30,751 --> 00:41:32,918 Rome is within your grasp. 491 00:41:35,418 --> 00:41:37,376 But you must put Vlad behind you. 492 00:41:40,001 --> 00:41:42,251 Your destiny lies elsewhere. 493 00:41:51,251 --> 00:41:52,209 Destiny… 494 00:41:55,251 --> 00:41:56,418 [sighs] 495 00:42:09,959 --> 00:42:11,084 [Mehmed sighs] 496 00:42:24,334 --> 00:42:27,334 Our destiny can be found here, The Iliad. 497 00:42:36,751 --> 00:42:39,251 [unsettling music playing] 498 00:42:56,001 --> 00:43:00,168 "Let me not then die ingloriously… 499 00:43:00,251 --> 00:43:01,501 [scoffs] 500 00:43:02,251 --> 00:43:03,709 …and without a struggle, 501 00:43:05,501 --> 00:43:08,001 but let me first do some great thing." 502 00:43:08,501 --> 00:43:10,751 "That shall be told among men hereafter." 503 00:43:26,001 --> 00:43:28,251 {\an8}[narrator] Mehmed finally meets Vlad Dracula 504 00:43:28,334 --> 00:43:32,793 {\an8}face-to-face one last time in 1477 505 00:43:33,834 --> 00:43:36,876 {\an8}at the ancient walls of Constantinople. 506 00:43:37,376 --> 00:43:39,376 [intense buzzing] 507 00:44:20,793 --> 00:44:22,459 [coin tinkles, thuds] 508 00:44:31,293 --> 00:44:34,334 [somber epic music playing] 509 00:44:43,209 --> 00:44:45,418 [theme music playing]