"Karatai Resistance"...the valor of a people who stopped the barbarism of the Mongol advance forever
The Turkish film "Direnis Karatay" relives the historical period between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when the Seljuk leader "Jalal al-Din Karatay" stopped the barbaric Mongol tide, and thanks to his resistance to the invasion, he paved the way for the emergence of the Ottoman Empire later.
To embody the facts of that period cinematically, director Salah El-Din Sanjakli chooses a narrative method in which he combines the historical transmission of events, with the dramatic suspense that comes from side stories that accompany the main event, and keep the viewer drawn to the screen throughout the film's time, which is charged with tension and emotions.
To achieve all this, the director uses a group of distinguished Turkish actors, and a technical staff with experience in how to bring historical facts to the viewer, to the extent that he feels that he is living them in reality.
Konya..a strong Seljuk legacy that is in danger of collapse
The historical film begins with the city of Konya, where the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat (actor Cahit Kayaoglu) made the center of his Muslim state, which was characterized by strength and prestige.
Despite the dangers surrounding his state, he attached great importance to science, and encouraged education and the opening of schools, in addition to strengthening the army. He gave his trust to the leader and teacher Jalaluddin Karatay (played by the actor Mehmet Aslantog), and assigned him to expand knowledge and build schools.
After his death, his son Ghiyas ad-Din (actor Ali Bukhari Mitti) took over. Unlike his father, the son did not have the competence that the father had in managing the Seljuk state. His weakness and lack of military experience encouraged the Mongols to attack him. He did not take the opinions of those close to him loyal to him to wait and not be drawn into the threats of the Mongolian tyrant "Noyan" (actor Yurdir Okol), and to enter the war as he wanted it.
Imprisoning the faithful and mobilizing for war... the enthusiasm of a weak sultan
The sultan’s overzealous zeal pushed him to banish all those who alerted him to the deception of the enemy, and they were among the most loyal to the Seljuk state, and among the bravest defenders of it at the time of his father’s rule, including the leader and teacher Karatay. He was given the choice between staying near him or devote himself to his schools and students.
The commander decided to stand by the Seljuk Sultan, despite his accurate knowledge of his lack of political resourcefulness and the weakness of his military acumen, which led to the imprisonment of the brave military commander, Ahi Avran (actor Fikret Koshkan), and accusing him of treason without right, and also declaring himself a leader to manage the upcoming battle between his army and the Mughal army, from Without the help of the experts.
The faithful God who kept the secret of the mysterious map, the brave resister
Because of his lack of experience, the city became vulnerable to the enemy's penetration, which began to move inside it to weaken the morale of its residents, in order to facilitate its storming and subsequent control of it.
The Kutab of the Exile... The Fruit of a Forbidden Relationship to the Seljuk Princes
From the introductory opening of the film, the features of its main story and the rest of its threads that extend to connect events and characters among themselves become clear, and with their interconnection, the strength of the cinematic text increases, vitality and suspense. Among the most attractive of them is the mystery of the mysterious map written on a white piece of cloth. What is written above it can only be read after it has been treated with a special material, and through it the words and graphics engraved on it can be seen.
There is also the story of Kutab, the son of Prince Karatay, who was born from an unauthorized romantic relationship with the Seljuk leaders and princes. The father did not find a way to preserve the life of his son and the secret of his relationship with the woman he loved except by moving him to a place far from Konya, so he assigned his friend Afran the task of secretly transporting him to areas controlled by the Mongols, so that the child could grow up without knowing his origin.
Child Kutab, son of Prince Karatay, who was born out of an unauthorized romantic relationship with the Seljuk leaders and princes
Later it becomes clear that Cheb Kutab (actor Alperin Demaz) has become one of the most powerful and powerful leaders of the Mughal army.
Turkan al-Muharisha, the daughter of a commander who lives behind enemy lines
Not only are the leaders men, but there are other no less interesting stories played by women, including the story of the brave warrior Tarkan (actress Buruk Ozberk), the daughter of the commander Avran, who was transferred to live behind the lines of the Mongol enemy, and resides among them without revealing her true identity.
The fighter hid her feelings of love for Kutab, and did not disclose it until after the murder of his Mughal lover, Maral, at the hands of the Mongol tyrant.
All these stories gather and their features become clear in parallel with the course of a military movement in which the Seljuk army loses one of the most unsuccessful battles led by Sultan Ghiath al-Din.
The other half of the map..a secret hidden from the Seljuk Sultan
To control the entire city of Konya and reveal the secret of the map, which allows those who gather the two sides to read what is written in it of ideas and plans to build a new empire; After his victory in the battle, the Mongol tyrant is appointed as his delegate in Konya called Isfahan, who has assigned him to act as the de facto ruler behind the scenes.
From the course of events, facts about the map unfold. Before entering prison - as the Sultan unjustly ordered - the god reveals to his friend Karatay the secret of having half of it in his possession, while the other half is with the Mongol enemy in a fortified place, and they have to reach it.
The two leaders keep their secret from the Seljuk Sultan because they did not trust him, especially after he fled the battlefield and left his soldiers vulnerable to being killed.
Kutab and Noyan .. The struggle of the fighter and the tyrant over a girl
With the escalation of the Mongols' threats to occupy Konya, Karatay takes the decision to resist and defend the Seljuk state and its center by involving the people in protecting it from invaders, and strengthening the faith of his school students in jihad for their homeland according to the teachings of the Islamic religion, where he decides to release his friend and the rest of the loyal soldiers to join his forces.
On the other side, and within the walls of the city of the Mongol ruler, a conflict is taking place between the fighter Kutab and the tyrant Noyan. The young man’s request from his leader to marry him to the girl he loves angered the leader, because he considers “everything between earth and sky as his property,” as he always repeats, and therefore the beautiful young woman is It belongs to him, and no one has the right to take it from him.
The girl who was raped by the Mughal tyrant decides to commit suicide
And Igala in his hatred and cunning tells the fighter that he does not oppose his marriage to her, but on his wedding night, Noyan enters before him on the girl in her tent and rapes her, so that the girl, after what he did, commits suicide. After her death, the conflict between them escalates further, and ends with the flight of Kutab to Konya.
Revealing the secret of childhood... a brave fighter's journey to revenge
In Konya, the ahi tells Kutab the truth of his origin, Seljuk lineage, and who his true father is, and asks him to join his forces heading to take the second part of the map.
To take revenge on the rapist of his beloved, the brave fighter accepts to participate in the dangerous operation. He infiltrates with a small group to the place where it was saved and enters it. He gets his wish and returns to Konya, but the Mongol tyrant sends his fiercest fighters to retrieve it.
The conflict escalates, and the secret map is resolved in Konya, which prompts the Mongol tyrant to declare war on it. Karatay mobilizes his army, his people, his students and all who can defend the existence of the Seljuks.
The withdrawal of the tyrant..a powerful weapon that makes the victory of the Seljuks
In a touching scene, Karatay meets the tyrant Noyan face to face before the outbreak of the battle. The tyrant tells him to weaken his morale that behind him is a strong and ruthless army, while Jalaluddin hears him expressive words, saying: Behind this city is an entire people defending it. Words that he felt its overwhelming force and decided to withdraw from the battle, and not to go into it for fear of losing it to a people who decided to resist it with all it could.
With his withdrawal, the Seljuks announce their victory, which culminates in the farewell of the son Kutab to his father, and he is on his way to deliver the complete map after deciphering it to Ertuğrul, the leader of the Kayi tribe, according to which he will obtain a plot of land, on which he will establish his state, and after him his son will come to establish the Ottoman Empire, which with time will become one of the greatest empires.
With the handover of the map to Ertuğrul, a painful chapter in history ends with the rule of the Mongols, who wreaked havoc in the land, but thanks to the valor and resistance of Karatay and its people, their barbaric advance was stopped forever.
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