Kingdoms of Fire
| Kingdoms of Fire | |
|---|---|
| ممالك النار | |
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Created by | Muhammed Abdulmalik |
| Directed by | Peter Webber |
| Country of origin |
|
| Original language | Arabic |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50–60 minutes |
| Production company | Genomedia Studios |
| Original release | |
| Release | 17 November – 9 December 2019 |
Kingdoms of Fire (Arabic: ممالك النار, romanized: Mamalik Al-Nar) is an Arabic historical drama television series about the reign of Ottoman Empire's Selim I and Mamluk Sultanate's Tuman bay II, created by Muhammed Abdulmalik and directed by British director Peter Webber.[1]
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 originator of the movie, and filmed in Tunisia, debuted on MBC channels on 17 November 2019.[2][3]
Fatima Bhutto of Foreign Policy wrote that the show is "an expensive salvo against Turkey’s cultural neo-Ottomanism" and that the director was chosen for "added cachet".[4]
Overview
The series depicts events that took place between Egypt, Syria and the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and the 16th century. It demonstrates the competition between the Mamluks and the Ottomans over the control of the Middle East, through the rise of two main characters, Tuman bay II, the last Sultan of the Mamluks in Cairo, and Sultan Selim I of Istanbul.[5]
Cast
- Rafic Ali Ahmad, Mehmed the Conqueror
- Abdulmonem Amairy, Bayezid II
- Rashid Assaf, Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri
- Nadine Tahseen Bek, Gülbahar Hatun
- Khaled El Nabawy, Tuman bay II
- Mahmoud Nasr, Selim I
- Hala Rajab, Ayşe Hatun
- Kosai Al-Shofi, Suleiman the Magnificent
- Souhir Ben Amara, Hafsa Sultan
- Yassine Ben Gamra, Kurtbay
- Fethi Haddaoui, Qaitbay Al-Ragbi
- Alaa Al-Zuabi, Şehzade Ahmet
- Ramez Al-Aswad, Hadım Sinan Pasha
- Yamen Fayoumy, Sultan Cem
- Nedal Nejem, Hayır Bey
- Shadi Safadi, Yunus Pasha
- Saad Minah, Janbirdi al-Ghazali
- Farazdaq Dyub, Şehzade Korkut
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.[4]
Criticism
Multiple critics after the episodes aired characterized the show as harassment targeted at Turkey and as anti-Turkish, reflecting recent tensions between Turkey and both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It was seen as an attempt by the Saudi government to sour public opinion against Turkey.[6]
References
- ^ "مسلسل – ممالك النار – 2019 طاقم العمل، فيديو، الإعلان، صور، النقد الفني، مواعيد العرض" (in Arabic). Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ هي, مجلة (19 December 2018). "مؤلف المسلسل التاريخي "ممالك النار" يكشف لـ"هي" تفاصيل ومفاجآت العمل". مجلة هي (in Arabic). Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ "بطل مسلسل ممالك النار . دار الحياة – اخبار فلسطين اخبار المملكة العربية السعودية اخبار العالم". 5 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ a b Bhutto, Fatima (5 September 2020). "How Turkey's Soft Power Conquered Pakistan". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ "MBC airs new drama series Kingdoms of Fire based on Ottoman empire". www.broadcastprome.com. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ "Islamism and its discontents / No solution / Once an organised force, brief bids for power have left Islamists adrift" (print & web). The Economist. No. Special report: The Arab world. The Economist Newspaper Limited. 28 August 2021. p. 7. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
'Mamalik al-Nar'...It cast the early Ottomans not as benevolent overlords, as they are often portrayed in Arab historiography, but as harsh occupiers. Saudi television takes its cue from the government; the series was seen as an effort to sour public opinion against Turkey.
