Original subtitles

The events and characters in this show have been fictionalised based on history.

Today, I will...

...teach you how to bow and rise. Now all of you stand up!

Get up, quickly! I don't want any laziness!

All right, now...

...we tightly clasp our palms together.

Good.

We bow down...

...with our backs straight...

...and without raising our heads. I'm looking, checking.

Straight as an arrow, good. A bit lower.

Straight, good. A bit straighter.

Checking again, now stand up!

I'll check you individually.

Now, girl, clasp your palms. Good.

Bow down. Bow, bow, bow.

Bow down, dear.

Bow down, girl. Did you swallow a stick? Lean more.

Stand up.

What did I last teach you today?

What did I last teach you today?

"Forbidden, forbidden."

You only learned the word "forbidden" today?

-Yes, forbidden. -That's quite good.

Then we will proceed with that.

Now, prohibitions. It's forbidden to make a racket.

It's forbidden to look and see.

It's forbidden to gossip.

Insubordination is forbidden.

Men are forbidden.

-Do I make myself clear? -Gül Agha.

Men are forbidden?

They aren't forbidden because they aren't men.

They are men.

They are harem attendants, so they are eunuchs.

Why are you laughing so much?

The moment I leave you alone, you start laughing.

Now, the tailors are waiting with their scissors at hand.

Come on, follow me. Be quick.

You speak first, treasurer.

What is the status of the Imperial Treasury?

Thanks to our late Sultan Selim Khan, the treasury is full, Your Majesty.

Currently, we have...

...6,380,530 golden ducats in our treasury.

The annual income of the Ottoman Empire is 11 million golden ducats.

The fact that our treasury is full will hasten our campaign preparations.

Pay 3000 of the 5000 silver coins...

...I gave to Janissaries as my enthronement tribute.

Add the remaining 2000 as a wage increase.

Now...

...do you know why I spread this map out here?

I wanted to lay the world under our feet and examine it.

We are not a Balkan empire anymore.

We will ride into continental Europe.

Belgrade, Buda, Vienna, Rome.

We will stab Europe, the heart of the infidels, with our sword.

We are not turning our back to the east, of course.

Our borders will go beyond the Caspian Sea.

Hopefully, with Allah's help and your absolute might, Your Majesty.

Shah İsmail is not my foe.

My foes are Charles V, Francis, Henry Tudor...

...and the infidels in the Vatican.

Our first goal is Rhodes.

The Mediterranean will become an Ottoman sea.

Nobody will be able to set sail or unfurl their flag without our knowledge.

We will be the wind, the storm and the thunder!

Look, her.

Her.

That beautiful girl became the sultan's woman...

...the other night.

-You mean, they had sex? -Yes.

Speak in Turkish. Russian is forbidden.

Come on, girls, dinner is over.

How was the sultan?

Tell me, did you conceive?

It was like a dream. Handsome, kind.

Hopefully I have conceived.

I pray for him to desire me again, but....

But?

He is said to have a very beautiful wife. Mahidevran Sultan...

...the mother of his son, Prince Mustafa.

Where is she? Here?

She is coming from Manisa soon.

Come on, Ayşe!

"Süluyman."

Do you require anything, Your Majesty?

I'll work for a while, İbrahim, you may go.

Tomorrow will be your first council meeting.

Everyone is curious about the decisions you're about to make.

Do you think the world is ready for my decisions?

Is the empire ready, İbrahim?

Sultan Süleyman has his father's gaze.

Stern...

...like a fathomless chasm.

Mashallah.

In the name of the great God.

I open the council meeting in the name of Allah, most merciful and gracious.

This throne...

...this crown...

...is not more powerful than the laws of Allah.

Our holy book, the Quran...

...commands justice and benevolence.

The justice of the empire, the justice of Sultan Süleyman...

...will be done lawfully.

Six hundred Egyptian families...

...who were ripped away from their homes and whose pain is known by all...

...will be able to go back...

...to their homeland, Egypt...

...whenever they so desire.

They are our equal subjects.

I also remove the thrown-silk ban against Iranian merchants from Tabriz.

These people will be compensated for their losses.

Also, those who mistreated these people...

...whoever they may be, will be judged before the law...

...and will be punished.

The Quran...

...commands us to seek justice...

...and not act arbitrarily...

...even if it's a matter of two people.

For this reason...

...I command that Grand Admiral Cafer Agha...

...who mistreated these families...

...who coveted their possessions...

...and the lives of countrymen in Anatolia...

...who shed blood and stole from the innocent, to be put on trial...

...and for his punishment to be meted out immediately.

Your Majesty! These are untrue, all lies!

Have mercy, Your Majesty. It's all slander!

Sheer calumny!

All untrue! All lies!

It's all slander, Your Majesty! Have mercy!

Your Majesty!

Lies, slander! All lies!

Allah!

Your Majesty--

Help me, Pargalı, please!

Stand by your actions like a man, Cafer Agha. Don't cry.

Hold your head high. Don't beg.

This is Sultan Süleyman's justice, nobody can change it.

It's all slander! It's all lies! Allah!

You are the best at training the girls in the harem, Daye.

What happened with that bad-tempered girl from Crimea?

Did you teach her a lesson?

She is restless...

...but she learns fast.

-She is quite sharp. -We don't need them clever.

We need them well-behaved, Daye.

Don't spoil her.

She is beautiful, Mother.

Beauty is fleeting, my Hatice.

I knew many beauties...

...who now live in the mud inside adobe houses.

-What is it, Sümbül Agha? -My valide sultan...

...His Majesty, Süleyman Khan...

...has asked for the head of Grand Admiral Cafer Agha.

My lion, my Süleyman, has seen fit to do so.

His judgement is always free of error.

Sümbül, have a great feast prepared for my lion tonight.

I want it to be perfect.

Have the most beautiful concubines prepared for him.

Have them play and sing.

Make sure Concierge İbrahim is with you.

Choose them together.

Hear ye, hear ye! His Majesty has ordered...

...that our tribute be paid right away!

We are getting 3000 silver coins tomorrow!

And a 2000 wage increase!

Long live the padishah!

Long live the padishah!

Long live the padishah!

May he live long! This is a godsend!

Good morning, Şeker Agha. Have a seat.

-Bring my sharbat and pastries. -Quick, boy!

And you two look for bulgur and rice. Come on!

Look, my agha, these came in this morning. I set them aside for you.

What a liar. These were here three days ago.

I recognised this from its neck.

You probably already carved their livers out.

Bring me those geese livers right now. Quickly!

Right away, my agha!

Sultan Süleyman came to decisions faster than his father.

Cafer Agha is going to lose his head.

I wonder what's next.

Did you know he'd make these decisions?

No.

He asked me about the last days of his father.

He is his son after all. He was curious.

He asked if his father suffered.

Anything else? Anything about us?

He didn't tell me anything else.

The sharbat pitcher...

...is held like this.

Bend your knees slowly.

Hold its handle gently.

Lean.

Hold it gently with both hands.

Bend your knees slowly. All right.

With both hands. Lean.

Raise your elbow.

-Girls! -Who is she?

Leave her. She is Alexandra, the Crimean lunatic.

She is Crimean?

Ruthenian. She was the daughter of an Orthodox priest.

Raise your elbows higher. Both of them.

-Orthodox? -Orthodox.

Tatar bandits abducted her from her village.

They sold her to the Crimean Palace, and then they sent her here.

If you could see the way she was when she first came....

So insolent, so impudent....

But I'm teaching her manners now.

Prepare that Crimean girl, Sümbül Agha.

-Alexandra? -Yes.

The one beside her as well.

-The short one? -Yes.

And that one facing away from us.

The one that's smiling?

Matrakçı!

Come, drink a sharbat before you break your arms too.

-Come. -Come here.

Come on.

What happened?

Nothing. I fell.

And they're making fun of me.

I've become a joke.

How is the air up there, Matrakçı?

Good. Here, look.

The navy is in the Bosporus.

Gun carriages are on the way from Haliç to Sarayburnu.

They're waiting for Sultan Süleyman to start the new campaign.

The Janissary battalions are gathering in Etmeydanı.

-Bring Matrakçı a sharbat on me! -Thanks.

Very well done. You're working hard on these, but do they serve any purpose?

I'm writing the Book of Süleyman .

Day by day, I and this city will record these events.

Sultans will pass, I will pass, but these will stay.

Do you understand, Şeker Agha?

Hear ye, hear ye!

Sultan Süleyman asked for the head of Grand Admiral Kanlı Cafer Agha.

Cafer Agha will be executed.

That's not all. The captive Egyptian merchants are pardoned. They're free.

The thrown-silk ban is lifted.

Long live the padishah!

Long live the padishah!

Mother, this palace is so big.

Is this my palace?

Yes, son. It's your palace.

Our palace.

I'll get lost in here.

How will I find you?

I'll always be by your side.

Don't be afraid.

Let's go, your grandmother is waiting.

The valide sultan ordered festivities to be prepared for tonight's feast.

I went with Sümbül Agha...

...to pick from the Crimean concubines to entertain you.

Alexandra, the girl who fainted when she saw you, is among them.

You didn't talk with her, did you?

I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty.

Sümbül Agha told me how she was brought from Crimea.

She is from Crimea, you say?

Your Majesty, Prince Mustafa has arrived.

-He is in Valide Sultan's chamber. -Congratulations!

Pargalı, my son awaits. We'll talk later.

My Mustafa. How I missed you, my dear.

The apple of my eye.

-My Mustafa, did you miss me too? -I did.

Where is Father? Take me to Father.

Your father must be busy, not now. You'll see him later.

Isn't that right, Hatice?

It is, Mustafa.

I order you, take me to him.

Isn't this my palace?

I'm the owner of this palace!

How can he talk like this?

Are you teaching this to a 5-year-old?

How dare you.

Forgive me, my valide.

Come here, Mustafa!

Come!

This palace has but one owner, Mustafa.

His Excellency, Sultan Süleyman Khan.

-Let me hear you repeat it. -His Excellency, Sultan Süleyman Khan.

I will not hear such words again.

Now go, play outside.

Take him outside.

He is only a child, my valide. He was just talking nonsense.

Forgive me.

Mothers must be clever, Mahidevran.

You can't discipline a prince like this.

Look at the favourites' clothes.

Look at the jewellery.

They sleep in beautiful rooms, on feather beds.

And us, Maria?

Look at us.

Maybe we will be like them some day.

The sultan's chief consort and his son have arrived.

Mahidevran Sultan.

She is beautiful.

I wouldn't care if they died.

Be quiet. Jesus Christ, Alex!

They're coming here. Did they hear us?

You...

...and you.

Maria, Alexandra, come on. We're going.

Prohibition, punishment, beating?

Come on, after you.

You will be busy tonight. You will entertain Sultan Süleyman.

Do you know how to dance or sing?

Dancing, stupid girls.

Watch and learn.

Dancing...

...just like this. Dancing smoothly.

Go on! Let's go!

Mustafa?

-Father! -My son!

My little one, my dear son.

I missed you so much, my Mustafa.

Welcome...

...we missed you.

We missed you too, my sultan.

Where is İbrahim? Take me to him.

Later, son.

Go on to your chambers, settle in, rest. You have come a long way.

Gülşah, put Mustafa to sleep. It's time.

I won't sleep! My father is coming, İbrahim is coming!

Stop shouting, Mustafa. I have a headache.

Gülşah, I'm talking to you.

Let's go, my pasha.

I order you to let go of me.

Of course, my pasha. Of course, my prince.

Welcome.

Mustafa has grown so much, mashallah.

Do you need anything?

No.

Put that back, it's priceless.

I don't want it to break.

We can send in concubines to help, if you wish.

I don't want them.

You are alone on your first night.

There will be great festivities for His Majesty tonight.

Music, dancing, everything.

Is that so?

Who is preparing them?

Valide Sultan. Didn't you know?

Girls! Come and take these!

Do you call this cleaning?

Come on, faster!

I'll be going, if you don't need anything.

Have a good night.

Your chamber looks nice. Do you like it?

Is there something wrong, Mahidevran?

Leave us, get out.

Okay, I'm listening.

His Majesty will be at the festivities tonight.

On our first night.

Was my son supposed to ask for your permission?

You are the mother of a prince.

You are His Majesty's most favoured.

There are hundreds of women who want to take your place.

Stop whining like a little girl.

Or this palace will devour you.

Now, come to your senses...

...and sit in your chambers as the chief consort.

Forgive me, my valide. I upset you.

I don't get upset over simple things like this, girl.

Sleep well now. Tomorrow is a new day.

Your handkerchief looks quite nice.

Take care of that handkerchief.

It's the key to your prosperity.

You will walk through the golden way thanks to that.

I don't understand. Tomorrow night?

Nigar kalfa.

The sultan is waiting for you.

You will lie with him tomorrow night.

Lay?

You will sleep with him.

Do you think I didn't see how you danced to seduce him?

Stop with the gullible slave-girl facade, Alexandra.

Alexandra...

...you enchanted the sultan. You are an enchantress.

You really are something.

Are you jealous, Maria?

"Someone whose massacres are officially recognised...

...and witnessed by the naval chamberlain...

...who seizes the properties of landowners by bloodshed and therefore...

...erodes the Ottoman Empire's credibility...

...cannot be considered an honourable member of the Ottoman army.

Cafer Agha is sentenced to death.

The sentence is to be carried out immediately."

So my lion was pleased with the festivities?

He gave the purple handkerchief to Alexandra.

You wouldn't believe how she danced.

I didn't expect that from her.

She turned out to be quite skilled.

Don't neglect Alexandra's training just because...

...she received the purple handkerchief.

Prepare her well for tonight.

I don't want any insolence from her.

-Are you Alexandra? -Yes, I'm going to the hamam.

Forget about that. You can go later. We have things to do.

Come with me.

Are you ready, captain?

We are ready.

The Executioner Kara Ali...

...is awaiting orders from His Majesty.

You're just what we need, Venetian ambassador.

But you're late, you missed the great tragedy.

Gather these up and put them in the chest.

Stop staring at me, work!

Me?

Don't you like the job? Shall we find you something else?

Do it neatly, Alexandra.

Let's go.

Who is this woman?

She is Sultan Süleyman's chief consort...

...Mahidevran Sultan.

Did you take his weapons?

The ambassador to the Republic of Venice, Tommaso Mocenigo.

We congratulate the tenth sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

...Sultan Süleyman Khan, on his rise to the throne...

...on behalf of the doge of Venice...

...and hope for the strengthened continuation...

...of our good relations as it has been in the past.

Do you accept these good wishes, Your Majesty?

We accept all wishes that carry no hostility or dissension.

As long as the promises are kept...

...and our law is respected. Or else....

His Majesty accepts your good wishes and expresses his gratitude.

During this era of peace....

It's true that Sultan Süleyman...

...accepts your good wishes.

But there's an important detail.

He asks Venice to keep their promises.

He wants no dissension and expects respect for our laws.

I understand. How do you speak our language so well?

It is my mother tongue.

My mother was Venetian.

Pargalı, ask him this:

When will Charles V and Francis go to war? Who will declare himself the kaiser?

With whom will Venice side?

The sultan never addresses an ambassador unmediated.

We pray to God for a war like this to never break out...

...so we don't have to side with or make alliances with anyone.

Charles V longs to be the Holy Roman Emperor.

He will start the war as soon as possible, maybe even tomorrow.

A new Crusade would be a dream. They learned their lesson.

What is he doing in the audience room? How can he interrupt? Impudent.

Where does he get the encouragement?

Where do you think? From his sultan.

The infidels will fight among themselves.

Your small states couldn't maintain unity in Italy.

They will devour you.

Venice, Naples, Florence....

Your papal power is in pieces.

You can't save your rule with trade.

You need a powerful army for strong trade.

My sultan, we know the might of your army.

The whole eastern trade is in the Ottoman Empire's hands.

The Silk Road and the spice trade routes go through your lands.

Tell him...

...the West's, the Mediterranean's trade routes will go through us too.

We will own the Mediterranean Sea.

Where have you been?

I was with the sultan's wife.

Are you crazy? Why were you with her? They'll kill you!

I went to her and said:

"You aren't his woman anymore.

Forget it. I won't be his woman for a night.

I will be his woman for 1001 nights.

I will make Süleyman my slave."

You are finished, Alex!

They will throw you to the sea, you will be eaten by fish!

Are you crazy? How could you?

She sent for me and I went to her.

Don't be afraid. It's a joke.

You are so cruel, Alex.

You really are--

Why have you still not gone to the hamam, Alexandra?

Go on! It's almost night and you're still not ready. Go!

Come on, girls, get up!

I need to see Joshua Effendi.

I need some information about the market.

I will write a report.

Let's see what the tradesmen say about the new sultan.

You should've seen the way that unbending...

...Kanlı Cafer looked.

He could barely walk. He was finished.

What goes around comes around.

-There is divine justice. -This is not divine justice.

This is Sultan Süleyman's justice.

The minute he came into power, Cafer lost his head.

True.

The Venetian ambassador was there too. He must've been scared to death.

Signor Mocenigo!

Come, have a sharbat.

Thank you, Matrakçı Nasuh Effendi.

I have an engagement with Joshua Effendi.

Of course. Of course.

Of course, go to him. Money begets money.

I'm a little fish when there's a Jewish financier.

It's an honour, Signor Tommaso. How can I help you?

How are you, Signor Joshua?

How is business? How is the market?

Mashallah. Mashallah, very good.

The new sultan arrived...

...and the market came to life.

Gold is flying all over the place.

Long live Sultan Süleyman!

She is going to be with Sultan Süleyman for not one night...

...but 1001 nights and turn him into her slave?

That's exactly what she said, my lady.

I heard her with my own ears.

Very well, Daye. You may leave.

Keep your eye on that disobedient girl.

I know what to do.

Send for Mahidevran.

Sultan Süleyman, into whose presence we were accepted today, welcomed me.

He is young and handsome.

He has determined, affecting eyes.

His calm, confident manner is the exact opposite...

...of his father's stern and short-tempered personality.

He has a distant and noble appearance.

Even though his ascension to the throne was recent...

...he now makes swift decisions and acts upon them.

He has already won over the people.

Another surprising matter is that he is following our world closely.

And he says this about the future of Charles V and France:

You will go to war amongst yourselves and I will own the Mediterranean.

Your Majesty, your sharbat.

Your fate may change tonight.

Be a noble lady, worthy of His Majesty.

Out.

Wait.

Your Majesty, your beloved subject is here.