Payitaht: Abdülhamid
Payitaht: Abdülhamid, named The Last Emperor in English, is a Turkish historical television drama series starring Bülent İnal and Özlem Conker depicting historical events during the reign of the 34th Ottoman Sultan, Abdul Hamid II.[1][2]
| Payitaht: Abdülhamid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | The Last Emperor |
| Written by | Osman Bodur Uğur Uzunok Ali Al Suleiman |
| Directed by | Serdar Akar Doğan Ümit Karaca |
| Starring | Bülent İnal Özlem Conker |
| Country of origin | Turkey |
| Original language(s) | Turkish |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 118 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | ES Film |
| Production location(s) | Turkey |
| Running time | 150 min. |
| Release | |
| Original network | TRT 1 TRT HD |
| Picture format | 576i (16:9 SDTV ) 1080i ( HDTV ) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 24 February 2017 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Filinta |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Alex Ritman and Mia Galuppo of The Hollywood Reporter described it as a "follow-up" to the previous television series Filinta.[3]
Plot
The series follows last 13 years of the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II as he tries to protect the Empire and industrialize it.
Characters
| Character | Played by | Appearance in Episodes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sultan Abdul Hamid II | Bülent İnal | 1- | Sultan Abdul Hamid II: Sultan Abdülhamid is the titular character, played by Bülent İnal. He is the last Sultan to hold executive powers in Ottoman Empire. Abdülhamid is a seasoned politician and statesman. He is trying to preserve the Empire from external as well as internal threats. He survives many assassination attempts. Sultan is a devout Muslim who wants to modernize and industrialize the empire while retaining Islamic and cultural values. His dream project is Hejaz railway to connect Muslim world from Sarajevo to Baghdad to the Holiest sites in Islam. He is shown to be the de facto head of the secret police and intelligence services of the Empire. |
| Tahsin Paşa | Bahadır Yenişehirlioğlu | 1- | The head of chamberlains and First Secretary of the palace. He is the most loyal person and the right-hand man of the Sultan and Sultan trusts him with his life. He is always present with the Sultan. For him, the state means the Sultan. He has been working for the state since he was 13 years old. Although he did not like either at first, he becomes friends with Mahmut Paşa and Ahmet Celalettin Paşa. Is logical and clear-headed, not fooled very easily. |
| Bidar Kadın | Özlem Conker | 1- | Wife of Abdulhamid II, the empress and matriarch of the palace. Intelligent and not easy to fool, she is the mother of Prince Abdülkadir and Naime Sultan. |
| Fatma Pesend Hanım | Zeynep Özder | 4-17 | Sultan Abdülhamid's second wife, is pregnant. |
| Seniha Sultan | Selen Öztürk | 1-89 | Sultan Abdülhamid's sister and wife of Mahmut Pasha. She loves her brother and always wants him out of the harm's way. She is smart and cunning. She stands out with her ambitious and brave personality. She depends on the traditions and rules of the state. Although she likes Sultan Abdülhamid very much, the continuation of the Ottoman Dynasty is more important to her. Doesn't appear in the fourth season after the first episode. |
| Theodor Herzl | Saygın Soysal | 1-44 | The main antagonist of the first season. Herzl is an Austro-Hungarian Zionist. He wants to establish a Zionist state in Palestine and tries to convince the Sultan. He repeatedly publishes fake news against Abdülhamid II to defame him and the Ottoman Empire. His death is spoken of but not shown. |
| Mahmud Paşa | Hakan Boyav | 1- | Brother-in-law of Sultan and husband of Seniha Sultan. He is one of the Pashas. He is one of the antagonists for the first season and the beginning of the second season. He is greedy and treacherous, always ready to switch sides. He is main conspirator of several assassination attempts on Sultan and tries to sabotage the Hejaz Railway project. He is also the best comic relief character. Mahmut Pasha reforms after helping the Sultan find the killer of Sultan Abdülaziz, and becomes a trustworthy and clever pasha whose former ties with traitors comes in handy. |
| Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir | Can Sipahi | 1- | Son of Sultan Abdülhamid and Bidar Kadın. He is arrogant, pampered by his mother and spoiled by his uncle Mahmut Pasha who wants to use him as a pawn. He causes trouble for the Sultan and exhibits a lot of personal and ideological differences with his father. He often reads the opposition’s newspapers. His best friend is his cousin Sebahattin, who repeatedly tricks him into making many mistakes. |
| Naime Sultan | Duygu Gürcan | 1- | Sultan Abdülhamid and Bidar Kadın's favorite daughter. |
| Sultanzade Sabahaddin | Kaan Turgut | 1- | Son of Seniha Sultan and Mahmut Pasha. He is a Young Turk member. He is cunning like his father and acts as his right-hand man in manipulating Prince Abdülkadir. There is nothing he won’t do for independence. He is ideologically more rabid than his father. Is a traitor and flees the Empire. Collaborates with Armenian gangs, Rothschild, and Zalman to bring trouble to Abdülhamid. |
| Kolağası Celal | Umut Kurt | 1-9 | Excellent marksman and loyal soldier of the Sultan. He is an officer in sultan's secret police. Is shot while transporting weapons. |
| Melike (Ahsen) | Ezgi Eyüboğlu | 1-39 | A beautiful girl from Balkans who loses her memory in an accident during the chaos of an assassination attempt on the Sultan. Intelligent, with a big heart and good intentions. She becomes a royal guest after losing her memory in an accident and becomes a love interest for Prince Abdülkadir, who runs into trouble with rival Ömer. Is shot by Vladimir while shopping for a wedding dress. |
| Ömer | Akın Akınözü | 1-17 | Brave, dashing and fearless cabby, he is a commoner. He saves the Sultan during the assassination attempt and becomes a favorite young admirer of sultan. His best friends are Yusuf and Celal who works in Secret Police. He is romantically interested in Melike which causes him to get in trouble with Prince Abdülkadir. Shoots himself in order not to betray his state. |
| Yusuf | İbrahim Kendirci | 1-27 | He was born and raised on the same street as Ömer. When Yusuf lost his family at 13, he moved with Ömer's family. Together with Ömer, he is sworn to fight. Is shot and killed by Vladimir. |
| Fehime Sultan | Elif Özkul | 1-51 | Ottoman Sultan Murad V's second daughter. Abdülhamid treats her like his own daughter, although she is forbidden to meet her father. |
| Hatice Sultan | Gözde Kaya | 1-54 | Sultan Murad V's eldest daughter. Doesn’t like her uncle, wanting revenge for her dad being taken off the throne. |
| Hiram | Berkan Şal | 1-18 | An Armenian priest sent by Vatican but, he is more than a pastor. He is an atheist professional assassin. He is known to commits his first murder at the age of four. He attempted to assassinate Abdülhamid but he fails. Abdülhamid confronts him in prison with some emotional details about his past, after which he becomes a double agent for Abdülhamid. |
| Emanuel Karasu | Ali Nuri Türkoğlu | 2- | He is a well-known member of Young Turks. He is a member of a well-known merchant family of Zionists who plots to overthrow the Empire. He is the pioneer of Freemasonry activities in the Ottoman State. |
| Samir | Emre Kentmenoğlu | 1-9 | Brother of Melike. He is a journalist by profession who believes in violent revenge for the death of his father who is believed to be killed during a rebellion against the Empire in the Balkans. He too wants to kill the Sultan. However, he learns the truth about his dad and has Ahsen write his apology in a notebook after being shot by Hiram. |
| Sara Hedeya | Elena Viunova | 1-17 | Assistant and personal secretory of Herzl. She is a hardcore Zionist herself. Killed by Parvus's man. |
| Aleksandr İsrail Parvus | Kevork Malikyan | 18-54 | A rich Zionist who funds various anti-Ottoman factions. Killed Melike and Samir’s dad Efraim Efendi. The main antagonist of the second season. |
| Edmond Rothschild | Suavi Eren | 55-89 | Edmund Rothschild, born in France in 1845, is a member of the Rothschild Banking family; he is a very rich Zionist. An extremely intelligent, cunning, and cold-blooded character, he is an identity that worships money and power like all Rothschilds, sees the world as its own playground, and believes that everything exists to serve him. His biggest goal is to destroy the Ottoman Empire. Is openly enemies with Sultan Abdülhamid, although he has sent many traitors into the palace. |
| Shivenaz (Lila) | Başak Daşman | 55-88 | Rothschild's daughter. Clever, cunning, and manipulative. Her biggest dream is to get the holy lands of her belief back from the Ottomans. By coming to payitaht, she turns everything in the palace upside down. Is also Fuat Efendi's fiancée. Pretends to reform and convert to Islam after being arrested, but is really trying to kill Bidar Sultan. Shot by Abdülkadir. |
| Fuat Efendi | Hakan Yufkacıgil | 55-81 | Works with Rothschild and Shivenaz. Inherited his hate of the Sultan from his father, who was Khedive of Egypt. His biggest purpose is to get rid of Abdülhamid and his family. Is in love with Shivenaz, although they never get married. Is shot in the neck and killed by Ahmet Celalettin Paşa. |
| Zeynep Nurse | Sedef Avci | 55-82 | A nurse who crosses paths with Bidar Sultan. Is a traitor and works for Shivenaz. Although Mehmet Selim falls in love with her, she is in love with Halil Halid. Is shot and killed by Shivenaz's men before telling who the traitor is. |
| Arminius Vambery | Güven Kıraç | 55-88 | Sultan Abdülhamid’s old friend. He is a dynamic, cunning, intelligent, and political man who knows how to act. In addition to being an international spy for Abdülhamid, Uncle Vambery is a close friend to Abdülkadir and Naime since their childhood. Though he has a strong will, he loves money and power, causing him to become a traitor and work with Fuat Efendi and Rothschild. |
| Halil Halid | Gürkan Uygun | 55- | He is the one of the most trustworthy and efficient spies of Sultan. He is seen carrying out missions throughout the Empire as well as behind enemy lines like in Tsarist Russia. He is known as "Dayı" or Uncle, and commands a small group of men, including Söğütlü Osman, Tatar, Nadir Bey, and Asaf Emre, who accompany him on different missions. |
| Ahmet Celalettin Paşa | Cem Uçan | 75- | The head of spies (Serhafiye) for Abdülhamid. Was underground for 10 years due to his harsh tactics, but was summoned to find the pasha collaborating with the Young Turks. The journals from all over the world pass by him and are presented to Abdülhamid; only what he thinks is important is followed. Few people have achieved his might within the state and all the statesmen are afraid of him. He is like a wall next to Abdülhamid and fights against those who are hostile to the state. |
| Cemile Sultan | Devrim Yakut | 89-111 | Sister of Abdulhamid II. Is grieving over her husband Mahmud Celaleddin Pasha, who was known to have a finger in the assassination of Sultan Abdülaziz. They did not divorce despite his death sentence from exile. She is authoritarian, intolerant, and a sultan who shakes everyone in the harem, even causing Seniha Sultan to leave. |
| Zalman David Levontin | Sermet Yeşil | 89-112 | He is an expert in war tactics. Had participated in all the wars of the past 30 years. His main goal is to start a big world war. Goes to payitaht to fight as a Jewish Zionist for the first time. Is killed by Selim Paşa. |
Controversy
According to staff members of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the series promotes an antidemocratic, antisemitic and conspiratorial worldview, mirroring that of Turkish President Erdoğan.[4] A commentator in the Washington Post noted that the series "promotes a worldview uncannily similar to that of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: A free press, secularism and democracy are the work of foreign powers, religious minorities and godless liberals, and ultimately serve to erode national identity, honor and security. Of all the series’ villains, none are more sinister than the Jews."[4] However, the show also goes on to depict the Jews as people of innocence while marking a contrast between Judaism and Zionism. This is shown by the saving of Jews by Sultan AbdulHamid II that fled Russia due to discrimination and wide-spread abuse.
Ritman and Galuppo stated that the television series portrays Abdulhamid "as a noble leader forced to do what he must to protect the Ottoman Empire", at odds with the negative reputation in the west for allowing the Hamidian massacres.[3]
Theodor Herzl, the liberal founder of modern Zionism is one of the villains of the series who is portrayed as a man so perfidious as to hold his penniless father prisoner without his mother's knowledge because of alleged ideological differences. The show depicts him at the First Zionist Congress, portrayed in such a way as to evoke the Elders of Zion, planning to create a Jewish state spanning from the Nile to Euphrates,[4] which is a popular anti-Semitic conspiracy theory albeit it's truth arguably contested. Meanwhile, the coin-flipper for the Sultan is portrayed as a secret Vatican agent allegedly working on behalf of Herzl,[4] even though the Vatican allegedly opposed the establishment of Israel. The Washington Times noted that this portrayal was "revisionist in the extreme" even though the show reports itself to be "inspired by real historical events".[4]
The anti-Westernism present in the show's message has also been remarked upon,[4] as the production portrays "Zionist conspiracies" as melding together with the nefarious plots of the Catholic Church, Freemasonry, Britain as well as other Western powers, and the Young Turks into "one overarching scheme".[4] The Vatican emissary is named "Hiram", a name that is associated with Freemasonry.[4]
Reception
Political endorsements in Turkey
The Washington Post noted that various actors in Turkey's political scene seemed to explicitly endorse the messages present in the show.[4]
In Turkey, the show has met the approval of a descendant of Abdulhamid, who said "history repeats itself … these meddling foreigners now call our president a dictator, just as they used to call Abdulhamid the ‘Red Sultan’".[4][5]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised the show's portrayals just two days before a referendum,[4] saying "the same schemes are carried out today in the exact same manner … What the West does to us is the same; just the era and actors are different".[4][6] Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus lauded the show for "shedding light" on Sultan Abdulhamid's life in "an objective manner", and gave a personal visit to the set.[4][7] Aykan Erdemir and Oren Kessler, writing for the Washington Times, noted that Sultan Abdulhamid frequently used the same Koranic-inspired catchphrases as President Erdogan, notably including "If they have a plan, God too has a plan!".[4]
See also
- Other productions by Eastern Sunrise Films:
- Filinta
- The Ottoman Lieutenant
- İsimsizler
- List of Islam-related films
References
- "Payitaht "Abdülhamid" cuma günü başlıyor" (in Turkish). Haberturk. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- "Sultan Abdülhamid's era depicted in new TV series". Daily Sabah. Anadolu Agency. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- Ritman, Alex; Mia Galuppo (2017-04-21). "'The Promise' vs. 'The Ottoman Lieutenant': Two Movies Battle Over the Armenian Genocide". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
- Aykan Erdemir and Oren Kessler (15 May 2017). "A Turkish TV blockbuster reveals Erdogan's conspiratorial, anti-semitic worldview". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- "Şehzade Orhan Osmanoğlu: O benim dedem değil!". Turkiye Haber Merkezi. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- "Erdogan degerlendirdi: Dirilis mi, Payitaht mi?". Yeni Akit. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- "Numan Kurtulmuş, Payitaht Abdülhamid setinde". Sabah. February 15, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- "Turkish Series About Sultan Causes Concern in Kosovo". Balkan Insight. March 9, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
External links
- Payitaht: Abdülhamid - Eastern Sunrise Films