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00:009-11, 2001. Terrorists who call themselves
00:09warriors of God against the Crusaders of the West.
00:15Two religions that demand peace, yet wage war throughout history.
00:23Epochs of confrontation and collaboration.
00:40Peoples and powers who fight in the name of God, but who struggle for supremacy on Earth.
00:47The Ottoman Empire, an Islamic great power.
01:02For centuries, a nightmare for the Europeans.
01:06A powerful army that goes from victory to victory.
01:10Muslim warriors that keep advancing towards the West.
01:15In 1683, a cry of terror resounds throughout Christendom.
01:22The Turks are at the gates of Vienna.
01:25Is the future of Europe at stake?
01:28Vienna, capital of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation.
01:43Residents of the Habsburg Emperors.
01:46In the summer of 1683, the city is under threat.
01:51For weeks, the Viennese have been holding out against a Turkish siege army.
02:06The defender's commander, Count von Starnberg.
02:10He knows he has to hold the line at all cost.
02:13If Vienna falls, the gates to Christian Europe are open to a Muslim invasion.
02:20The relentless bombardment is taking its toll.
02:25The city walls are starting to crack.
02:28As is the morale of the defenders.
02:31The Viennese are taking heavy losses, with no relief in sight.
02:38They're urged to strengthen their resolve.
02:44The city is completely cut off from the outside world.
02:48If it wasn't for its strong fortifications, Vienna would have fallen long ago.
02:54The ambitious commander of the Turkish army, Grand Vizier Karo Mustafa Pasha.
03:04He wants to be immortalized through the conquest of Vienna.
03:09Karo Mustafa's troops are confident of victory.
03:15The Turkish artillery is wearing down the Viennese defenses.
03:26Soon, the walls will be annihilated.
03:30Karo Mustafa has powerful cannons and 200,000 soldiers.
03:40Karo Mustafa's troops, the Knights of the European Union.
03:46The Turks also put their faith in the banners of the Prophet Muhammad.
03:50Allah will lead them to victory.
03:52Karo Mustafa's troops, the Knights of the volcanoes.
03:55Karo Mustafa.
03:56The peace of all the pirates.
03:58Karoeller World unturned the Nine-D Cristian Empire.
04:01The Turks must be conquered before the summer is over.
04:04Otherwise, the weather will force the Turks to retreat.
04:06Karoeller World unturned the Soviet Union.
04:09For now, the city walls remain intact.
04:17You need more than just cannons to capture the golden apple, as the Turks call Vienna.
04:23To take the city, Kara Mustafa orders the use of underground mines.
04:33Ottoman miners dig tunnels towards the foundations of the Viennese walls.
04:41They intend to bring down the city's defenses with barrels of gunpowder.
04:48Massive explosions create the first breach in the walls.
04:55It's time to order the attack.
04:59In the nick of time, the defenders are able to protect the breach.
05:06If the Ottomans can take the gap in the wall, the city will fall.
05:11Every inch is fought over, no holds barred.
05:22The Janissaries, elite Turkish troops, are greatly feared.
05:26They were recruited as children.
05:29Born into Christian families in the Balkans, they were forced to convert to Islam.
05:34Now, they are the most loyal troops of the Turkey's sultans.
05:42But even they are unable to break through the defenses.
05:57For nearly eight weeks, the Viennese have withstood every attack.
06:02But they are running short of ammunition and food.
06:05They have suffered tremendous losses and are exhausted.
06:16The situation inside the city wall was dire.
06:20The houses littered the streets.
06:22There was nothing to eat.
06:24Needless to say, this was a very difficult situation for the Habsburgs and the entire army.
06:35Vienna is lost unless a Christian alliance comes to its aid.
06:40Staremberg puts his hopes in the emperor, the alliance, and in God.
06:45Surely, their Christian brothers won't desert them.
06:51In 1683, two great powers clash in Vienna.
06:56The Habsburg dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors and the Ottomans, whose territories stretch across
07:02three continents.
07:04But who are these Muslim warriors who strike fear at the heart of Europe?
07:13The Ottomans are members of a Turkish tribe that advanced from Central Asia into Anatolia
07:19in the 13th century.
07:23It was here that these mountain nomads laid the foundation for their future empire through
07:29extreme violence.
07:34During their long journey to the west, the ancestors of the Ottomans had adopted the Islamic faith.
07:41It was Osman, the founder of the empire, really a warrior for the faith, or Mujahid, as was
07:47later claimed.
07:52The term jihad was often used, but something very different played a role as a motivating
07:57factor or as encouragement for war.
08:00The expansion of the Ottoman Empire itself was not achieved through a holy war.
08:05It was motivated by material interests.
08:09Still, Islam would rule any territories the Ottomans could conquer.
08:15Step by step, they expanded their sphere of control and advanced into Europe.
08:23Since the mid-14th century, numerous territories in the Christian Balkans had come under Ottoman
08:29influence.
08:30Only one city remained out of reach.
08:36Constantinople, the metropolis on the Bosporus.
08:41For Muslims, a promised city.
08:43Mohammed himself had prophesied.
08:47Constantinople will be conquered.
08:50Blessed be the commander and blessed be his troops.
08:57For more than 1,000 years, the emperors of the Byzantine Empire had resided on the Bosporus.
09:04The city was the center of Orthodox Christianity since late antiquity.
09:15The ruler in Constantinople considered himself emperor by the mercy of God and protector of
09:21the one true faith.
09:27Constantinople was famous for its holy relics, for exquisite works of art, and for glorious
09:33opulence.
09:34It was said that the Holy Spirit was revealed through the sheen of gold.
09:40The city's riches were envied by people far beyond its borders.
09:50The Church of Holy Wisdom, the Hagia Sophia, built in the 6th century, towered above Constantinople.
09:57Prior to St. Peter's in Rome, it was the largest church in Christendom, one of the wonders
10:03of the world.
10:04An ecstatic visitor wrote,
10:08Whenever anyone enters the church, they understand immediately that this magnificent work was not
10:14created by human hands, but by the very power of God.
10:21Much of Constantinople was magnificent, including its powerful fortifications.
10:28In the middle of the 15th century, they protected the last bastion of Christianity within the
10:34Ottoman sphere of power.
10:37In 1453, there was a new threat.
10:41The young sultan Mehmed II was out to conquer Constantinople.
10:46He desired the golden apple, symbol of power of the Byzantine emperors.
10:52Many sultans before him had the same dream.
10:57His predecessors had already made great efforts to conquer Constantinople.
11:02Thanks to modern artillery, he now had the potential to breach the city walls.
11:12Mehmed deployed the largest cannons in the world.
11:16They were forged by an armorer from Hungary, a Christian.
11:20Now they were in the service of the greatest Muslim power of the day, in a campaign that
11:26aimed to achieve victory for the one true faith.
11:30Mehmed declares the attack on the city a holy war.
11:34My highest ambition is to crush the non-believers.
11:40On April 12, 1453, the Turkish cannons opened fire.
11:47They are pulverizing the walls, wrote a horrified defender.
11:53For decades, the Ottomans had had the best artillery and ordnance in the world.
11:59The Ottoman artillery was far more decisive than the notion of jihad.
12:03Six weeks later, the battle was won.
12:10From now on, the Ottomans controlled the fate of the city and that of its Christian inhabitants.
12:22Sultan Mehmed takes over the imperial city of the Christians.
12:30The Sultan's dream had come true.
12:33He went down in history as Mehmed the Conqueror.
12:40Mehmed allowed the city to be looted as reward for the warriors of Islam.
12:45They had fulfilled their duty in the holy war, as demanded by the Koran.
12:52Muslim tradition had always required the faithful to engage in jihad, the struggle on the path of God.
13:00The term refers to both religious pursuits and to the armed defense of the faith.
13:08Until the last days and the end of the world, there will always be warriors fighting the jihad.
13:14Those who fight for Allah, whether they live or die in battle, will be rewarded in paradise.
13:26The Ottomans justified their expansion through the concept of jihad.
13:31Islamic law allows victorious soldiers to loot a conquered city if it had refused to surrender.
13:42The soldiers' first target, the churches of Constantinople, with their enormous wealth.
13:47It's no different to the Christian armies of the day.
13:52If a besieged city defended itself, its inhabitants risked vengeance.
13:58In the hours before the fall of the city, many people sought refuge in the church of the Hagia Sophia.
14:07They hoped they would be safe in this place of worship.
14:12They asked God for protection from the enemy.
14:25What happened next was recorded by several Christian chroniclers.
14:33Nothing so horrible has ever happened before.
14:41Nothing so horrible will ever happen again.
14:45The fall of Constantinople left a deep impression in the collective memory of Christian civilization.
14:56Anyone who gets in their way is killed by the sword, men and women, regardless if they are young or old.
15:18After taking heavy losses in battle, the Ottomans took revenge.
15:25For three days, the city was at the mercy of marauding troops.
15:30Eventually, Sultan Mehmed gave the order to stop the looting.
15:50He didn't want Constantinople to be destroyed or depopulated.
15:55It was to become the new capital city of the Ottoman Empire.
16:01In the Ottoman Empire, Greek and Armenian Christians were to have a rightful place next to the Muslims.
16:16According to legend, Mehmed ordered his troops to search for the fallen emperor among the dead.
16:24It's said that he was identified because of the golden eagles that adorned his shoes.
16:46Mehmed showed respect to the brave defenders.
16:49The dead Christians were given proper burials.
16:54In Mehmed's realm, all subjects will be allowed to coexist, regardless of their faith.
17:10Although Islam will dominate.
17:16To demonstrate that this was now an Ottoman Islamic city, Mehmed II converted the main landmark of the Christian world, the Church of the Hagia Sophia, and used it as a mosque.
17:34For over 500 years, the Golden Crescent has adorned the dome of the Hagia Sophia.
17:41It's the symbol of a historical watershed.
17:45For many years, for many years, it was the Ottoman Empire's most important mosque.
17:55Where Christians once turned towards the East for prayer, Anish now pointed the Muslim faithful towards Mecca.
18:07Since 1934, the Hagia Sophia has been a museum, but it remains the main landmark of Istanbul, the former Constantinople.
18:17Mehmed had picked the golden apple.
18:20The Turkish conquest of the Turkish conquest of the city marked the onset of a new epoch.
18:30It was undoubtedly the turning point that made the Ottomans the overlords of the Islamic world for centuries to come.
18:38It had fundamental implications.
18:45After 1453, the Ottomans continued to expand, making inroads into Europe.
18:52They occupied most of the Balkans, as well as Hungary.
18:58Eventually, Islam's greatest power crossed the borders of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation.
19:05It was a powerful opponent, although torn by internal strife.
19:11In the early 16th century, the Holy Roman Empire was shaken by religious conflict.
19:17In the city of Orms, a showdown was looming.
19:23One empire, one faith, one ruler.
19:27That was the vision of Emperor Charles V.
19:31A vision called into question by the teachings of Martin Luther.
19:36This rebel monk was gaining support because of his criticism of the Roman Catholic Church.
19:45Luther was ordered to withdraw his claims in the city of Orms.
19:50Luther was accused of heresy.
19:55He had questioned the judgments of the popes and the authority of the Church,
20:00thus undermining the unity of Christendom.
20:03But Luther had some powerful supporters.
20:09He told the emperor that he refuses to renounce his teachings,
20:17unless he can be convinced through the scripture and through proper reasoning.
20:21Luther dared to stand up to the emperor and to the Church.
20:35The Reformation had become unstoppable.
20:41Especially as Charles V was busy defending the borders of the Holy Roman Empire against the Ottomans.
20:51His forces were tied down in the south-east.
20:59One of Charles V's biggest problems was the threat by the Turks, by the Ottoman Empire.
21:09There had been constant clashes since 1520.
21:13It's a valid point.
21:14Without the Turks, there wouldn't have been the Reformation.
21:18In 1529, the Ottomans dared to attack the metropolis of the Habsburgs for the first time.
21:27The conquest of Vienna, one of the main capitals of Christian Europe,
21:32would have had a huge symbolic significance.
21:35In many cities of the empire, church bells rang out on a daily basis to warn people of the Turkish threat.
21:49There were regular sermons against the Turks, the so-called Antichrist.
21:57Soltan Suleiman the Magnificent was singled out as the archenemy of the Christian faith.
22:14His troops launched the attack on Vienna in the autumn of 1529.
22:23It seemed to be a matter of time until the city fell into Ottoman hands.
22:32The people of Vienna prayed for a miracle.
22:36And their prayers seemed to be heard.
22:39There was snowfall at the beginning of October.
22:42The early advent of winter saved the city.
22:46Suleiman was forced to call off the siege.
22:49When you read the Ottoman chronicles on Vienna in 1529, it sounds as though they had won a great victory.
22:59In reality, Suleiman retreated after three weeks.
23:03But the Christian fear of the Turks remained.
23:08Catholics and Protestants were united in their denunciations of the Turkish peril.
23:14Their tracks against the Ottomans were widely distributed, thanks to the newly invented printing press.
23:24Real as well as alleged crimes were embellished in the so-called Turkish prints.
23:30Descriptions of acts of cruelty were selling like hotcakes.
23:38Even Martin Luther was railing against the perceived antichrist.
23:44He described the Turks as the enemies of all Christians.
23:48They were servants of the devil, who was trying to topple the kingdom of Christ.
23:55Luther encouraged his fellow Germans to strike against the Turks without remorse.
24:04The fear had some justification because of the Ottoman thrust to the west.
24:08People saw the Turks as the scourge of God, as a just punishment for their sins.
24:16But despite their sworn enmity, the Habsburgs and the Ottomans still maintained diplomatic relations.
24:24In 1554, an imperial ambassador, Ogier de Busbeck, traveled to the court of Suleiman the Magnificent for peace talks.
24:37We have been holding out against the Turks for many years.
24:41The emperor explained to me how they can be placated.
24:47The diplomat entered a world that was far more splendid than anywhere in Europe.
24:53He was deeply impressed by the Mosque of Suleiman, built by the Sultan to surpass even the Hagia Sophia.
25:06The Ottoman center of power was the Topkapi Palace.
25:10The magnificent and legendary court of the Sultan was admired and envied throughout Europe.
25:16According to many contemporary observers, the period between 1450 and 1600, perhaps even 1650, was the golden age of the Ottoman Empire.
25:35The Habsburg ambassador was only occasionally allowed to visit the Sultan.
25:43On his way to an audience at Suleiman's palace, Busbeck cut a glimpse of the mysterious and carefully shielded court.
25:58I was able to see the harem, the home of the Sultan and of his family.
26:05Ottoman women are known for their modesty, but they're still kept out of sight of foreign men.
26:12Especially the wives of the Sultan.
26:22They were closely guarded by the eunuchs.
26:25The rulers wanted to ensure that only legitimate heirs were born.
26:29In the Western world, the concept of the harem allowed the imagination to run wild.
26:43It became synonymous with unrestrained sensuality and everything that was forbidden in Christian Europe.
26:50In reality, the harem was rather ordinary, but it could also be ruthless.
26:57There was intense rivalry among the Sultan's many sons.
27:01Only one of them would ascend to the throne.
27:04The Ottomans had a tragic tradition of fratricide.
27:08Entire generations of leaders were wiped out.
27:11Could fratricide be conciliated with Islam?
27:19From the Islamic point of view, both legally and morally, fratricide cannot be justified.
27:27Murder is forbidden.
27:29The only time you might be able to make an exception would be the killing of a tyrant.
27:37When the killing serves the common good.
27:40But fratricide is essentially an act of murder and cannot be justified.
27:47Ambassador Busbek used his time of waiting in Istanbul to study foreign customs.
27:59The priests call out from the top of a specially built tower.
28:07They loathe physical impurity more than spiritual impurity.
28:12So they'd regularly visit the local baths, the hammam.
28:20Constantinople's markets sold exotic goods from all over the world.
28:26The city's first coffee house opened in Busbek's lifetime.
28:31Before long, they were an integral part of the city.
28:35But there were also protests against the new trend.
28:39The religious criticism was that coffee drinkers were consuming a substance that had been unknown to the prophet, an illegal novelty.
28:49Busbek also reported on cultural and technical achievements.
28:57The Ottomans continued in the tradition of the Arabic sciences, like medicine and astronomy.
29:04But they also took on board the new European knowledge, including the realization that the earth is round and not flat.
29:14The discovery of two new continents by the Spanish and the Portuguese also got attention.
29:21Religious minorities weren't persecuted.
29:24Jews from all over Europe sought refuge within the Ottoman Empire.
29:29A synagogue in Istanbul commemorated their escape by sea.
29:34The pulpit resembles the bow of a ship.
29:37You could say that the Ottomans were quite tolerant in their dealings with non-Muslims, at least for that time period.
29:48Tolerance, not in the modern sense of having equal rights, but in the sense that they were given legal protection,
29:56which was certainly not always the case in Europe in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.
30:09After difficult negotiations lasting several years, Busbek was finally able to sign a ceasefire with the Ottomans.
30:17Busbek sent the Emperor's greetings and expressed his desire for peace.
30:31But for peace, the Sultan expected to receive tributes.
30:42Busbek conceded, as a gesture of good will and for the common good.
30:49The Habsburg Emperor would pay an annual tribute of 10,000 gold coins.
30:57There was also a note of warning for the Emperor.
31:00Do not provoke the Sultan, the sleeping lion, as this would result in merciless warfare.
31:08Sultan Suleiman, whose territory stretched across three continents, had no intention of taking the ambassador of the infidels seriously.
31:21After lengthy negotiations, Busbek had concluded a ceasefire agreement between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans.
31:29His mission was accomplished.
31:34But Busbek's assessment is downbeat, writing that ultimately one side will prevail and the other will perish.
31:44For Busbek, it was a final farewell.
31:49After eight years in the Ottoman Empire, the ambassador returned home.
31:54For the time being, the Turkish threat had been averted.
31:58But it was the different Christian denominations that would soon be at loggerheads again.
32:05In Catholic Vienna, there were plans to snuff out the Reformation.
32:10Emperor Ferdinand II intended to turn back the clock and defeat the Protestants within his empire.
32:28A dedicated Catholic, he wanted to restore the unity of the Church.
32:35But within the fragmented Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, the Protestants had become a force to be reckoned with.
32:481618 marked the beginning of the last and worst confessional war between the Christian powers.
32:55For 30 years, Central Europe was a battlefield.
33:00The war was about faith, power and control of the continent.
33:05Sometimes, alliances were made, irrespective of religious differences.
33:10The Thirty Years' War had horrifying consequences for Europe.
33:23Entire regions were devastated and depopulated.
33:31Violence, disease and famine resulted in the death of more than one-third of the population of the German-speaking world.
33:40In the end, there was no victor, but many victims.
33:44In the name of faith, a catastrophe had been unleashed.
33:57In the end, there was a consensus that religion should never again be the cause of war between Europeans.
34:05The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia ended the wars of confession within the Christian world.
34:14The price of peace, the lasting division of the Church, and the territorial fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire.
34:23But only one generation later, the Ottoman Turks again mobilized against the weakened Holy Roman Empire.
34:34Because of its strategic position, was the gateway to Central Europe.
34:40If the city fell to the Ottomans, Europe would be open all the way to the River Rhine.
34:53The attackers decide to charge the city walls in an attempt to break through the Viennese line of defense.
34:59Both Christian and Muslim soldiers are convinced that God is on their side.
35:08It's their motivation as they enter battle.
35:21Starnberg is forced to deploy all his forces to defend the city walls.
35:26Karo Mustafa is confident of victory.
35:33He is sure that Vienna, the Golden Apple, will fall within a day.
35:41The Golden Apple.
35:46The Fortifications of Vienna had been repaired and reinforced after the siege of 15 years.
35:55The walls are stronger, and they have been staggered and angled to withstand the artillery of an attacker.
36:04Vienna is protected by a clever system of walls, moats and bastions.
36:13Constructed in accordance with strict geometrical rules, the star-shaped city walls has no blind spots.
36:20The defending troops can easily fire at the approaching attackers.
36:27There's only one way to overcome the defensive fortifications.
36:31The Ottomans have started to dig tunnels underneath the city walls.
36:36They intend to deposit barrels of gunpowder in underground chambers and blow them up.
36:49The Viennese are aware of the danger.
36:52They establish listening posts in the cellars near the city wall to discover where the tunnels are being dug.
36:59Working frantically, the defenders dig tunnels of their own to detect the enemy's gunpowder chambers.
37:11It's a race against time.
37:14Just in time, the Viennese prevent the Ottomans from igniting a huge mine.
37:27The city averts catastrophe.
37:29It's a close call.
37:37Without help from the Christian Alliance, Vienna will be lost.
37:40Storenberg sends a messenger to the Alliance's commander.
37:46It's a desperate and final appeal to Vienna's Christian allies.
37:52It was a religious war, quite clearly.
37:55The Holy League was there to fight for the faith.
38:00The Holy League is an alliance between the Habsburgs and rulers of the Holy Roman Empire,
38:06who were allied to Poland and Venice.
38:09But other Christian powers, including France, the Netherlands, and England, provide no assistance.
38:21The Viennese have one last hope.
38:24They've been promised help from a relief army of the Alliance.
38:29But will it arrive in time?
38:31The messenger from Vienna reaches the Allies.
38:34The Holy League has its headquarters on a hill near Vienna.
38:44They are the only ones who can save the city from the Turks.
38:47The alliance is led by the King of Poland, Jan Sobieski.
38:56In response to a request by the Pope, he's agreed to support the Habsburgs against the Ottoman threat.
39:02Sobieski understands the gravity of the situation.
39:09If the Turks take Vienna, they will push further into Europe.
39:14He orders to attack the Turks on the following day.
39:16What will be achieved in Vienna will benefit the whole of Christendom.
39:23The decisive battle is about to begin.
39:29It is billed as a fight between Christians and the Antichrist.
39:38When the Viennese see the signal fires, they believe it to be a sign of salvation.
39:43They give thanks to the Virgin Mary and to the Emperor.
39:50During a special field service, the Christian Alliance prepares its troops for the decisive battle.
39:57You have been sanctified for a holy war.
40:00The Ottoman warriors also pray for God's help before going into battle.
40:11They too receive religious blessings.
40:14Both sides believe that God is on their side.
40:19Time is of the essence.
40:22Led by the King of Poland, the alliance attacks the Turkish positions on the Kallenberg Hill outside Vienna in the morning of the 12th of September, 1683.
40:35It will go down in history as the Battle of Vienna.
40:39The Viennese are witnesses as the Polish cavalry surprises the siege army.
40:45The Turks don't expect an attack.
40:47Confident of victory, they told the Emperor in Vienna that they would crush his country under their horseshoes.
41:00Certainly, Kara Mustafa underestimated the strength of the European alliance.
41:05Especially their unity and their determination to defend the city at all cost.
41:09When the armored cavalry suddenly appears at the Ottoman camp, they meet with little resistance.
41:19Even the bodyguards of the Grand Vizier are surprised.
41:24They fight against the attackers, but can't avoid defeat.
41:27As all seems lost, Kara Mustafa seeks death on the battlefield.
41:49Whoever is martyred in a holy war gains entry into paradise.
41:54But without his leadership, the Turkish army will perish.
41:57The Turkish army will perish.
42:15At the last possible moment, Kara Mustafa decides to flee.
42:20The Ottoman army barely avoids total annihilation.
42:27The Grand Vizier escapes with the banner of the Prophet.
42:31He will later be executed for losing the battle.
42:34From the point of view of the victors, Western civilization has triumphed over the usurpers from the Middle East.
42:51The defeat at Vienna is a turning point.
42:56The Turks lose Hungary.
42:58Gradually, they also lose ground in the Balkans.
43:01After 1683, the Ottoman Empire increasingly falls behind the Europeans.
43:09The prevailing opinion is that after the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire entered a period of decline.
43:19In fact, what can be said is that ever since the late 17th century, the Europeans were on an equal footing with the Ottomans, their military and political opponents.
43:29The discovery of America and the opening up of the sea routes to India signaled the beginning of a new era in Europe.
43:42The seafaring powers divided the world amongst themselves, founded colonies and exploited them.
43:51The age of exploration and worldwide colonization happened without the participation of the Ottomans.
43:58Although they observed global developments, the world map drawn by Piri Reis in 1513 proves that the Ottomans were well aware of the Americas.
44:11But unlike Christian Europe, they failed to take advantage of their knowledge.
44:19After the invention of the printing press, Western civilization enters the age of reason.
44:26Europe's media revolution broadens people's horizons and paves the way for the triumph of modern science.
44:33Unlike the Ottomans, who cut themselves off from the outside world and focus on traditional values.
44:48Some historians blame Islam for this, as a force that hampered progress.
44:55I don't know whether Islam really played a decisive role in the long decline of the Ottoman Empire, a process that spanned several centuries.
45:08There were many other factors too.
45:10For example, the undeniable arrogance of the Ottomans, their refusal to modernize, their technical incompetence,
45:17their belated attempt to industrialize, but also the widespread discontent of the population of this multi-ethnic empire.
45:26During the next 250 years, the Ottomans relinquish most of their once powerful empire.
45:34In 1923, modern Turkey is created as a republic.
45:41Soon after, the metropolis on the Bosporus is renamed Istanbul.
45:48Under Kemal Ataturk, the country undergoes reforms in the European mold.
45:53There's also a break with religious tradition. Secularism and modernization are the order of the day.
46:02Turkey develops into one of the most progressive Islamic countries in the world, with a growing economy.
46:09And with an army that guarantees secular rule in the country.
46:13The Turkish Republic, under the leadership of Kemal Ataturk, made a real effort to cut itself off from its Ottoman past and lead Turkey into the modern age.
46:27And it did so on the basis of European ideals.
46:35Today, Turkey's Ottoman heritage is being re-evaluated.
46:40There's a renaissance of Islam.
46:42So where does Turkey belong?
46:45Will it continue to veer towards Europe?
46:48Or will it return to its Ottoman roots as the world's leading Islamic power?
46:54Perhaps the country's most promising future is as a bridge between East and the West.
47:01And the West.
47:02And the West.
47:03And the West.
47:04And the West.
47:06And the U.