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TV Drama, Starring Engin Altan Duzyatan, Hulya Darcan, Cengiz Coskun, and Esra Bilgic, 2014-2019 (Five-Season Series: 448 Episodes - 45 Minutes per episode), Directed by Metin Gunay, Akif Ozkan, Hakan Arslan, and Produced by Tekden Film
Resurrection: Ertugrul/ Diriliş: Ertugrul1 is a five-season Turkish blockbuster fictional television drama that tops the list of Netflix's viewership and has surpassed 1.5bn views on YouTube.2 Set in thirteenth-century Anatolia, the series visualizes the manners and social environments of Muslim Oghuz Turkish tribes fleeing Mongol invasion as the Rum Seljuq Empire expands west of the Caspian Sea inside Byzantine-controlled territories. Working within the parameters of both action and superhero genera, Dirilis: Ertugrul presents a fictional account of Osman I's father, Ertugrul (starring Engin Altan Duzyatan), son of Sulayman Shah, the chief of one Oghuz tribe, the Kayi. The narrative starts in 1225 CE and follows Ertugrul's quest to secure a permanent homeland for his nomad group while exploring such notable historical figures as the Rum Seljuq Sultan Alaa al-Din Kayqubad I (r.1220-1237),3 Genghis Khan's third son Ogedei Khan (r.1229-1241), Seljuq Emir Sa'd al-Din Kopek (d. 1238),4 and Saladin's grandson and Ayyubid Emir of Aleppo, al-Aziz Muhammad b. Ghazi (r.12161236).5 Capitalizing on multiple romance and espionage stories, mesmerizing costumes, a huge horse farm, enchanting landscape scenery in different seasons as well as a harmonious group of talented actors, and an exceptionally memorable background music, Dirilis: Ertugrul invites its viewers to imagine how people living at that time might have responded to their environments which were primarily shaped by brutal battles fought among expanding empires.
Dubbed into six languages and broadcast in seventy-two countries, the reception of Dirilis: Ertugrul has been wide-ranging and varied. As noted by Firstpost, the Indian online news outlet, Dirilis: Ertugrul is a show that glorifies bravery, justice, romance, and friendship, rooting all these traits in the protagonist's culture; "it is at least as good as Game of Thrones was in its early days, if not better"6 According to the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry, thanks to Dirilis: Ertugrul, Sogut, the first Ottoman capital, is now a tourist destination.7 World leaders like Nelson Mandela's grandson and Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro, and Pakistani Prime Minter Imran Khan are among its fans.8 The latter went as far as urging...