Suleiman the Magnificent - I: A Lion Takes the Throne - Extra History
Added 2016-03-11 11:08:05 +0000 UTCSuleiman ascends the throne of the Ottoman Empire. He wants to be benevolent, but he must prove that he is no pushover.
Comments
it turns out most of how the battle of Eger lives on in our collective memories is highly exaggerated (for instance we have famous paintings with the women of Eger pouring soup on the attackers as a last resort, but in reality even water was scarce so they only poured it on attackers with metal armor and women were mostly kept safe undeground or in buildings) which is kind of a shock for me anyway the people I've asked told me that the fire wheels have most likely existed but they weren't nearly as effective as one would think, as it was impossible to aim them and they just went loose. However, this was still enough to cause a havoc amongst the turkish soldiers marching in dense lines. So basically it reduced morale a lot and caused people to stamp on each other but the explosions themselves weren't that harmful.
Richárd Nagyfi
2016-03-22 14:11:28 +0000 UTCHoly crap! Can you imagine being an unsuspecting Turkish soldier when the first LITERALLY FLAMING BALL OF EXPLODING DEATH comes rolling out of the city at you? I mean... I wouldn't want to be those guys. Much worse than Hannibal's elephants.
Extra History
2016-03-19 02:59:50 +0000 UTCthis is a clip from the movie based on the novel about the battle of Eger (given its importance, the former Soviet ruler party in Hungary actually forced massive amount of real soldiers to dress up and take part in the movie as figurants), you can see the "tűzkerék" at 1:35: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPLHYZG-IjE" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPLHYZG-IjE</a> it looks hideous by today's standards, but keep in mind this is a movie made in 1968, they literally blew things up at the castle of Eger as there was no CGI and here is a replica of the real thing on Wikipedia: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:T%C5%B1zker%C3%A9k_rekonstrukci%C3%B3.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:T%C5%B1zker%C3%A9k_rekonstrukci%C3%B3.jpg</a> long story short the hungarians ran out of ideas and resources to defend themselves so as a desperate last resort they put all their explosives in wooden machines, barrels, millstones, etc. and let them loose, confusing the turkish army and killing many of their retreating warriors this could be a romantic exaggeration though but I still found it awesome as a kid when I first heard about it
Richárd Nagyfi
2016-03-18 10:09:53 +0000 UTCI don't think that siege made it in! I wish it had, but you know, Suleiman had a long reign and we only have six episodes. :( I gotta look up that warmachine though...
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:09:04 +0000 UTCThank you!
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:07:09 +0000 UTCI'm not sure if he'll be in Lies or not (as that's a ways off from being written) but oh, I can tell you, I did very unnecessarily deep research dive into that fellow. I think Lil just wanted to know what he looked like, and I wound up finding her his name, approximate age, rough life story... it was a bit more than she needed. ;)
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:07:04 +0000 UTCSeems to be going over well so far! We're definitely dipping our toes into some new water here, and we've been curious to see how it will be received.
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:06:01 +0000 UTCYou know it!
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:05:36 +0000 UTCGlad you enjoyed!
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:05:31 +0000 UTCYep, the word we were using was "bier!"
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:05:24 +0000 UTCYou'll be getting a lot of her! Since we have Heather working on the Kursk series, Lil's taking over her spot on the schedule so you'll be getting quite a lot of her wonderful art... while also still getting to enjoy Heather's work on Kursk!
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:05:14 +0000 UTCWe have so many memes. Walpole, In the way of a good crusade, We cool, and so on. I looove it.
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:04:30 +0000 UTCIt's gonna be a good one. :)
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:03:57 +0000 UTCWe are going to talk about it in the Lies video, but this series is going to have more of a narrative overlay than past series have. Sometimes you have to try new things to see how they work out, and we figured we were there with Extra History as a whole!
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:03:52 +0000 UTCThere's a lot we have to cut short in order to make the story of someone as storied and accomplished as Suleiman fit into 6 episodes. But our hope is that people who find him interesting will decide to go learn more, and in that way they'll learn for themselves about how Turkish succession!
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:02:53 +0000 UTCWell, you Patreons are responsible for the timing, but I do agree that it is a perfect follow-up to Justinian!
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:01:48 +0000 UTCWe figured the series was established enough at this point to let us experiment with some different narrative approaches.
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:01:29 +0000 UTCThank you. <3
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:00:50 +0000 UTCGlad you noticed and enjoyed!
Extra History
2016-03-18 07:00:46 +0000 UTCGlad you liked it, and that the different approach is noticeable!
Extra History
2016-03-18 06:59:06 +0000 UTCTrying something new!
Extra History
2016-03-18 06:58:56 +0000 UTCWe try to hit a good balance between adding details that enrich the story while still keeping the pace of things moving forward. :)
Extra History
2016-03-18 06:22:22 +0000 UTCAnd whose fault is that, Arthur?
RMS Oceanic
2016-03-17 22:13:16 +0000 UTCYeah, I'm glad we switched to doing a few seconds of cold open so we can set the stage before each episode. Works really well with the narrative aspect of this series!
Extra History
2016-03-17 21:55:05 +0000 UTCThere's a couple of narrative experiments in this series. We'll see how they work!
Extra History
2016-03-17 21:54:36 +0000 UTCIt's a new approach we're trying! It won't be part of every series but it worked well with this one.
Extra History
2016-03-17 21:54:11 +0000 UTCI was going to say something intelligent here, but it was lost in the realization that Extra History is developing it's own memes.
Nessf
2016-03-14 16:37:26 +0000 UTCplease don't forget to cover the siege of Eger, which is one of the most important wars in hungarian history (there is a book by Géza Gárdonyi and also a movie adaptation on the subject, making it a national emblem for patriotic heroism) the people defending Eger used all kinds of unconventional strategies to achieve victory, like throwing bacon at the turkish to mock them, then lighting the now greasy area on fire, having women stop the siege by pouring hot soup down the walls and Gergely even built a god damn warmachine that was basically a huge exploding wheel set on fire
Richárd Nagyfi
2016-03-14 16:33:05 +0000 UTCoh my god Extra History is doing a show on the turkish fighting the hungarians *fan girl scream*
Richárd Nagyfi
2016-03-14 16:26:30 +0000 UTCDamn it, I already can't wait for lies to learn more about the Bey of Egypt
Alan Haskayne
2016-03-12 23:21:51 +0000 UTCso good!
Bob
2016-03-12 22:24:42 +0000 UTCThe new story telling format is incredible; I hope to see more in the future!
Harrison Brussel
2016-03-12 19:09:59 +0000 UTCI think the word is "bier". It's similar to a casket.
Yazen Shunnar
2016-03-12 15:26:11 +0000 UTCHells to the yeah.
Tommy Laukkanen
2016-03-12 14:07:44 +0000 UTCI see what you did there.
Matt Lakits doesn't have the mental energy to update their Patreon name anymore, but still listens to every episode avidly!
2016-03-12 13:47:08 +0000 UTCAwesome start!
Emil
2016-03-12 10:56:00 +0000 UTC2:56 his father's what? It sounds like "beer." Is this some Turkish word I'm missing.
JT Barrett
2016-03-12 04:27:45 +0000 UTCAnd thus the First Crusade began
RMS Oceanic
2016-03-12 02:21:47 +0000 UTCOh, also so much love to see Lilienne's art again. =)
Kathyrne
2016-03-12 02:15:53 +0000 UTCVery excited for the new series! Yay!
Kathyrne
2016-03-12 02:15:24 +0000 UTCI have to agree with this comment. That is the risk with "History that's fun to watch"... Still, it IS fun.
Matt Lakits doesn't have the mental energy to update their Patreon name anymore, but still listens to every episode avidly!
2016-03-12 00:50:41 +0000 UTCThe brash Hungarian prince... was an idiot. :-)
Matt Lakits doesn't have the mental energy to update their Patreon name anymore, but still listens to every episode avidly!
2016-03-12 00:49:09 +0000 UTCAnother promising first episode. :)
Øyvind Wallentinsen
2016-03-11 21:22:07 +0000 UTCThe narration style is a nice way to hear the story, but I gotta say it makes me a little wary of the liberties you have to be taking. Especially that last line about "elation along with his rage" seems to push things a little closer towards historical fiction. I hope you guys talk about your sources and adaptation method in the Lies video.
Olive Perry
2016-03-11 20:38:29 +0000 UTCAwesome job guys. I love the mimicry of Muslim/Turkish/Arabic storytelling, and it seems many other commentators like it as well! As a small criticism, I felt it would have been beneficial to give a small explanation of how Turkish succession usually worked, giving the race to the capitol, killing of his Uncles, and immediate ceremony context. It would also help set the stage for future struggles Suleiman must face . . .
Yazen Shunnar
2016-03-11 20:14:45 +0000 UTCThis is wonderful! I love the timing of this series, and as always you guys are fantastic story tellers, and really make it come to life! ^u^
Stormy Weather
2016-03-11 19:46:22 +0000 UTCI like how it's being told from a memory, brings into a more personal history instead of just dry facts. (And that's an easy trap to fall into with history, I've been impressed how you've been avoiding it).
Aaron hutchinson
2016-03-11 19:20:08 +0000 UTCAwesome, thank you!
Martin Ockovsky
2016-03-11 17:43:49 +0000 UTCAh, a framing device! Excellent.
Nosgoroth
2016-03-11 17:07:15 +0000 UTCEpicpre title open!! Loved it
Batman O'Brien
2016-03-11 15:11:18 +0000 UTCCertainly a change in the way of narration, but nothing wrong with that
Curtis Fric
2016-03-11 13:45:29 +0000 UTCGood start :) A detail but the arrival of the message of his father's death could have been made a bit more dramatic: He was traveling with his entourage in Manisa (which is the province crown princes traditionally govern) upon reading the message, his entourage (and esp. his childhood friend Ibrahim) would know what's about and express their loyalty.
Halil Köklü
2016-03-11 12:47:11 +0000 UTCUnusual mode for you ugys to take for the telling of history, but so far it seems to work well for this particular piece.
Stephen
2016-03-11 12:17:13 +0000 UTCI really like how this one keeps the storyteller voice throughout. It lends the video a taste of oral history that usually gets a little lost under some of the clinical historical context.
David Poulton
2016-03-11 12:07:52 +0000 UTCI like how these open up.
Chidumebi Njoku-Browne
2016-03-11 11:35:05 +0000 UTC
