''Kingdoms of Fire'' ( ar, ممالك النار, Mamalik Al-Nar) is an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

historical drama television series about the reign of

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Selim I Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite last ...

and

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...

Tuman bay II Al-Ashraf Abu Al-Nasr Tuman bay ( ar, الأشرف أبو النصر طومان باي), better known as Tuman bay II ( ar, طومان باي), (c. 1476 – 15 April 1517) was the last Sultan of Egypt before the country's conquest by the Ottoman ...

, created by Muhammed Abdulmalik and directed by British director

Peter Webber Peter Webber (born 1968) is a British film and television director and producer whose debut feature film as a director was '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'' (2003). He subsequently directed ''Hannibal Rising'' (2007). Early life Webber took a one ...

. The 14-episodes series is produced by Genomedia Studios with a budget of $40 million, financed and supported by the government of Saudi Arabia and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, the originator of the movie, and filmed in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, debuted on MBC channels on 17 November 2019. The second season is under development process.

Fatima Bhutto Fatima Bhutto ( ur, ; , born 29 May 1982) is a Pakistani writer and columnist. Born in Kabul, she is the daughter of politician Murtaza Bhutto, sister of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, niece of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and grand ...

of ''

Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

'' wrote that the show is "an expensive salvo against Turkey’s cultural neo-Ottomanism" and that the director was chosen for "added cachet".

Overview

The series depicts events that took place between

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and the

between the 15th and the 16th century. It demonstrates the competition between the Mamluks and the Ottomans over the control of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, through the rise of two main characters,

, the last Sultan of the

Mamluks Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, and Sultan

of Istanbul.

Cast

* Rafic Ali Ahmad,

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

* Abdulmonem Amairy,

Bayezid II Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...

* Rashid Assaf,

Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri ( ar, الأشرف قانصوه الغوري) or Qansuh II al-Ghawri (c. 1441/1446 – 24 August 1516) was the second-to-last of the Mamluk Sultans. One of the last and most powerful of the Burji dynasty, he reigned f ...

* Nadine Tahseen Bek,

Gülbahar Hatun Gülbahar is a Turkish given name for females and may refer to: *Gülbahar Hatun, consort of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, and Valide Sultan as the mother of Sultan Bayezid II *Gülbahar Hatun, consort of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II and the mother of Sul ...

Khaled El Nabawy Khaled Mohamed El Nabawy ( ar, خالد محمد النبوي; born September 12, 1966) is an Egyptian actor who played roles in film, theater and television. He was born in Mansoura, Egypt, and was introduced to cinema by the director Youssef ...

* Mahmoud Nasr,

* Hala Rajab, Ayşe Hatun * Kosai Al-Shofi,

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ� ...

* Souhir Ben Amara,

Hafsa Sultan Hafsa Sultan ( ota, حفصه سلطان, "''Young lioness''"; or before – 19 March 1534), also called Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, was a concubine of Selim I and the first Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Dur ...

* Yassine Ben Gamra, Kurtbay * Fethi Haddaoui, Qaitbay Al-Ragbi * Alaa Al-Zuabi,

Şehzade Ahmet ota, شہزادہ احمد , house = Ottoman , house-type = Dynasty , father = Bayezid II , mother = Bülbül Hatun , birth_date = , birth_place = Amasya, Ottoman Empire , death_date = , death_place = Yeni� ...

* Ramez Al-Aswad,

Hadım Sinan Pasha Hadım Sinan Pasha ( ota, خادم سنان پاشا, tr, Hadım Sinan Paşa, ; sh, Sinan-paša Borovinić; died 22 January 1517) was Bosnian- Ottoman nobleman, politician and statesman. He served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire fro ...

* Yamen Fayoumy,

Sultan Cem Cem Sultan (also spelled Djem or Jem) or Sultan Cem or Şehzade Cem (December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495, ; ota, جم سلطان, Cem sulṭān; tr, Cem Sultan; french: Zizim), was a claimant to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. Ce ...

* Nedal Nejem,

Hayır Bey Hayır Bey (sometimes spelled Kha'ir Bey or Kha'ir Beg) or Khayrbak (died 1522) ruled Egypt in the name of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 until his death in 1522.Süreyya, Bey Mehmet, Nuri Akbayar, and Seyit Ali. Kahraman. Sicill-i Osmanî. Beşik ...

* Shadi Safadi,

Yunus Pasha Yunus Pasha (Ottoman Turkish: يونس پاشا ) (died September 13, 1517) was an Ottoman statesman. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire for eight months in 1517, serving from January 30 until his death on September 13. Biography Yunus ...

* Saad Minah,

Janbirdi al-Ghazali Janbirdi al-Ghazali ( ar, جان بردي الغزالي; ''Jān-Birdi al-Ghazāli''; died 1521) was the first governor of Damascus Province under the Ottoman Empire from February 1519 until his death in February 1521. Career Viceroy of Hama and ...

* Farazdaq Dyub, Şehzade Korkut Ahmad Harhash as Ahmed

Reception

Bhutto, a Pakistani journalist, stated in 2020 that the show in terms of an anti-Ottomanist production "has apparently failed; no one seems to be watching" in Pakistan.

Criticism

Multiple comments from the Turkish side after the episodes aired characterized the show as harassment targeted at Turkey and as anti-Ottoman, reflecting recent tensions between Turkey and both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; This was during a time when Turkey had been trying to assert its Ottoman identity and its rule over Arabs.

References

External links

* 2019 Egyptian television series debuts Arabic television series Fiction set in the 1510s Television series about the Ottoman Empire Television series set in the 16th century Films directed by Peter Webber {{drama-tv-prog-stub