The world of symbols and stories is a very dangerous and important world. It is not a world of free entertainment and leisure time. It is the medium that unites the conscience and imagination of a group of people and melts them into one alloy that thinks, feels and seeks the same direction and is united behind interests, claims, threats and challenges. If these symbols do not exist, which they always do, the state must search for them and transform them, through its soft power tools, into symbols or invent them. Through the tools of its soft power, the state must search for them and transform them into symbols, or invent them, and transform fleeting incidents in history and reality into mythical tales above the level of mortal men, whose heroes are closer to the gods of Olympus than to flesh and blood human beings, and whose actions, words, and alleged forms must be transformed into a common source of inspiration for the people and an effective tool in shaping their perception of the universe, the state, and mankind.

In the Turkish context, the story of Onbashi Koca Sayed ibn Muhammad, who was the reason for the Ottoman victory in the Battle of Canakkale, where he lifted a huge shell on his back after the crane crashed and his colleagues were martyred, placed it in the cannon with the help of a colleague and fired it, hitting one of the attacking ships, which led to the collapse of the enemy fleet like the collapse of the dominoes and changed the balance of the battle in favor of the Ottomans, stands out in the Turkish context. Koca, the master of the day, is present on every Turkish victory occasion with his iconic image of a bent man carrying a shell on his back, and has become synonymous with the idea that God Almighty stands by the Turkish people and provides them with divine victory even in impossible circumstances, in front of the external enemy. In the face of the internal enemy, there is the non-commissioned officer Omer Khalis Demir, to whom the official version credits the failure of the military coup in Turkey in 2016, when he killed the coup leaders from the special forces, which thwarted their role and influence in supporting the coup, and thus led to its weakness and failure. Omer Khalis Demir became a new Koca Master, representing this time the free will of the people who defeated the coup and chose martyrdom and loyalty over betrayal and survival, so his name was named on squares and streets in many Turkish cities and his photos were spread with the martyrs who rose in the face of the coup. Inversion Failure.

So there is a comprehensive state of divine protection for this people, immunizing them from the external enemy, which is represented by the legend of Koca Sayed, who led the victory of the Turkish people in the decisive battle of Canakkale, and Omar Khalis Demir, who failed the coup against legitimacy and the people's choice, and represents the tool of divine care for the people of Turkey and their democratic choice in the face of the internal enemy, which charges the psyche of the Turkish citizen with a sense of invincibility and invincibility no matter what the circumstances. The Turkish citizen is charged with a sense of invincibility and the inability to be broken and defeated whatever the circumstances, which is what the series has been repeating and repeating throughout its many and numerous episodes, and thus we can understand how Bamse Alp (Nurettin Sonmez) and Turgut Alp (Genghis Güçkün) appear on stage on the 563rd anniversary of the conquest of Constantinople, and are received by the million audience in Yeni Qapu Square in Constantinople. Istanbul The arrival of real heroes, not television stars, to inspire the feelings of the audience with poems about the pride of Turkey and the greatness of the Turkish people, and the music of the Tatar music beats with the arrival of the beloved President of the Republic Recep Tayyip Erdogan, until it became associated with him, and the faces of many young people who grew beards in imitation of the famous characters of the series, and wore their distinctive hats in the winter cold, one believes that this series dug deep into the Turkish conscience, or dug deep to awaken a dream hundreds of years old, and one is sure that this series dug deep into the Turkish conscience.

Creating a hero and adapting history 

Just as the legend of Ertugrul bin Suleiman was created based on limited historical information, other nations have followed the same path. In India, a series was produced for almost the same purposes, relying on little archaeological information to weave the biography of India's national hero King Ashok, and the question arises here about the reliability of the historical information on which the series was based, which, if it is a pressing question in viewers' circles, is of little importance technically, as historical drama series are not intended to be history lessons or to teach people history. While this is a pressing question in viewers' circles, it is of little importance from a technical point of view, as historical drama series are not intended to be history lessons or to teach people history, and this is the main difference between documentaries, educational films, and historical dramas. Although historical dramas are based on a historical ground on which the plot builds and develops, the most important thing in them is to build the viewer's consciousness in a way that reflects on his reality, by adopting a certain intellectual and moral system through characters he already knows and projecting these characters and events onto his reality. The closer the historical series is to people's reality and addresses their emotions, the more popular it is and the deeper its influence on them, which affects their political and sometimes even consumerist orientations.

It is natural for the ruling political current to market its vision of the universe, the state, and society, especially if its project represents a sharp turn in local politics, which is what the conservative current is doing in Turkey. He is trying to present his counter-narrative to the narrative of the Kemalist state that was put forward and adopted after the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, which depicts not only the reality and the future, but digs up the past and revives and reshapes it if necessary, with the aim of restoring Turkey's role as the heir of the Ottoman Empire and placing it at the center of international politics, through the use of one of the most important means of soft power, namely television drama, especially historical ones, because of its ability to influence the audience and change their orientations.

Popularity and Influence

How can we explain the wide acceptance of the series, even among religious Arabs who have long called for a boycott of television and drama as a tool of corruption and a door of the devil?

We can attribute this popularity to several reasons:

Thirst for serious drama

For decades, the viewer has suffered from the lack of serious dramas that address his needs and respect his taste and mind. These works tended to address instincts and empty laughter, as if their goal was to alienate the viewer from reality and isolate him from his cultural heritage, or to formulate that heritage in a way that is subject to strict security policies, creating a domesticated audience far from politics, except what perpetuates the status quo, which is dominated by a limited elite control over the reality and future of the people and the state and their future. In contrast to all of the above, the resurrection of Ertugrul took place in an atmosphere of democracy and freedom, which allowed producers to freely express and inspire history and project its events onto reality in a creative way, characterized by a high degree of seriousness, which met with the approval of the public as well as the support of the authority that came this time representing the people through free elections.

High technical level

It is important to note that the series constituted a qualitative leap in technical terms compared to local series, which are characterized by weakness in this regard, especially when compared to Western and American drama productions in particular.

We can observe this rise in technical level by:

- Filming Locations 

One of the most beautiful things that attracts the viewer to follow the series is the locations that have been chosen to film the series, as the Chaigze region on the Riva River is a region of great beauty, surrounded by dense forests and characterized by abundant water and natural beauty, which increases its impact on the Arab viewer in particular, who is fascinated by the greenness of the Turkish countryside.

- The evolution of photography and visual effects

In many scenes of the series, visual effects were employed in a way unprecedented in the previous two parts, as in the sixty-second episode (the first in the third season) when Ural fired an arrow from his bow towards the slave Hachurian to kill him, and Ertugrul's initiative to intercept him with his dagger, in a very impressive shot, as the camera follows him as he shoots from the bow and undulates in the air in slow motion until he reaches Ertugrul's side. This is accompanied by a development in panoramic and moving photography, where small drones are often used to shoot vertical scenes and moving images on horseback, and high-powered cameras are used to capture panoramic images that dazzle the viewer and make him embrace nature and feel like he is part of the image as if he is watching a three-dimensional drama.

- Developing horsemanship skills

The actors impress the viewer with their skill on horseback, sword and bow, as well as their ability to express emotion. Not surprisingly, they were trained for three months in horsemanship by a team of trainers specially imported from Turkestan, and many of them were injured in the process, not to mention the horses themselves. In this third installment, we see horses stumbling and falling to the ground with vivid movements, indicating that these are horses that have been trained for a long time for these difficult shots, as in the best international films.

- The vitality and intelligence of the dialog

This reflects the dialog writer's ability and desire to influence the viewer through words that he has crafted like magic. He chooses the most beautiful and expressive words, using many Quranic verses, prophetic hadiths, and wisdom, directing this to a society that has almost lost its Islamic identity, even including daily greetings, making them familiar to the ear of the simple man, reconnecting him with his Islamic culture once again.

- Professionalism

The tents, clothes, weapons and jewelry were all designed to be as close to reality as possible, even the way carpets are woven, iron making and the education of boys, the director did not leave anything but made a great effort to be consistent with what the Turkmen tribes used, which gave the viewer that feeling of actually being transported to a time hundreds of years ago to get a close look at a unique cultural experience that he is not familiar with in his contemporary world.

- Respecting the culture of viewers

Unlike most drama productions, the series respects the peculiarities and culture of Turkish society as a Muslim society. It tends to be conservative in clothing and gender relations and avoids the popularization of evils such as alcohol, illicit relationships, and "bed drama", which made it suitable for young age groups (contradicted by the large dose of violence), so the whole family watches it without embarrassment, turning it into a family occasion where the family gathers and discusses the facts of history and their impact on reality. It also attracted religious people who rarely watch soap operas. Some of them, who used to deny others watching soap operas, became enthusiastic advocates of the series, which in itself represents an unprecedented cultural coup.

- Addressing viewers' longings for heroism and dignity

Finally, this series came on a date with the masses of viewers who watch every day the state of fragmentation and hosting that the nation suffers from, and look for a savior to save them from the suffering and humiliation that surrounds them, and look for a hero to create a victory for them, even on television, to raise their morale and restore some hope and self-confidence, which the hero of the series did to the fullest.

Ertugrul's State and Nation Building

The most important feature of the third part of the series is the clarity of his vision to establish a state that protects Islam from its first enemy, Crusader Europe, by cutting off the land route to the crusades that used to march from Europe through Eastern Europe to Constantinople, then the Levant and Jerusalem, and to do so he must control the European part of what is today Turkey, obtain material resources and military support after obtaining political support from the Seljuk Sultan of Anatolia, Sultan Alaaddin Kiqbad.

The first thing he did was to obtain jihadi legitimacy by confronting the Templars and defeating them, which spread his name among the Turkmen tribes and reinforced his image among them as an exceptional and trustworthy mujahid and hero, which made him hope to unite and lead them, who are people of courage and war, to confront the Crusader powers to achieve his vision of building a buffer state. In the field of financial support, the series shows his attempts to develop the carpet industry and sell it to the Venetians by building a special factory in cooperation with the Chavdar tribe, then his plans evolved by taking control of the region's market and wresting it from the Templars, pursuing an attractive policy for merchants, and securing trade routes from Constantinople, which would create an ideal atmosphere for the growth of trade in that turbulent region. Most importantly, he will seek to obtain the source of wealth, gold, in huge quantities by mining it in rivers, which will provide him with an inexhaustible source of money to finance his military campaigns, buy the allegiances of the tribes, and later build a strong state.

With a little observation, we can see the projections that the series wants to instill in the viewer's conscience, recalling the similarities between the world of Ertugrul and AKP Turkey, which can be summarized by highlighting the importance of Turkey as a country located at the crossroads of continents, its ability to provide the justice and security required for the prosperity and progress of the region, and its worthiness to unify and lead the Islamic nation to face international aggression and encroachment. The importance of historical drama does not lie in the fact that it is a history lesson, but rather in its projections on reality and the deep psychological impact it has on the viewer's subconscious and the molding of the national character.

Reinforcing negative traits

Unfortunately, the three negative traits that characterized the first two parts of the series - excessive violence, the prevalence of conspiracy theories, and the superficiality of addressing major issues - persist in the third part, and seem to have become inescapable traits of their own. 

The third part suffers from excessive violence, which is a reflection of attempts to imitate Western movies, especially American ones, because the producers believe that this type of drama attracts more viewers, and although it corresponds to the Western materialistic culture, it contradicts Islamic culture and Islamic teachings, which command gentleness and mercy and avoid unnecessary violence, even with enemies, and even with animals as well. The plot is almost entirely based on conspiracy theory, as the conspirators are scattered everywhere and may be among the closest relatives who claim to be good and in the interest of the tribe and the nation, only to discover later that they are conspiring with the enemy for their narrow interests, or that they declare Islam but hide the opposite and their main concern is the destruction and elimination of Islam, and above all, major issues such as unity of the nation and facing the Crusader aggression are addressed with much simplification that could have been overcome to more profound treatments.

What is notable in this part is the consecration of the figure of the absolute or superhuman leader when presenting Ertugrul, a trend that must reflect the producers' vision of leadership and leadership, as Ertugrul combines all good qualities, such as wisdom, courage, knowledge and generosity, and is above error and criticism, even if this criticism is directed at him by his mother, after his return to the market in a deplorable economic state, the tribal leaders asked Ertugrul to call a meeting for consultation, but he strongly refused. After returning from the market in a deplorable economic situation, the tribal leaders requested that Ertugrul call a meeting for consultation, but he strongly refused, explaining that if he gathered them in this state, they would make decisions that were not in the best interest of the tribe, and when his mother confronted him that his action was wrong In a later incident, the leader of the rival tribe offered Ertugrul to marry him his daughter, and after Ertugrul consulted his mother and his special advisor Artuk Bey, and knew for sure that rejecting this offer would threaten the future of his tribe and split the unity between the two parties, he prevailed over his personal feelings and rejected the sheikh's offer, although political marriages were common in those times, and this was a prelude to other hot and dangerous events that threatened the Islamic presence in the region.

The violence that Ertugrul directs at his enemies is legitimate and should not be questioned or even stopped. When Ertugrul's bag of money was stolen in the khan, he hastened to cut off the thief's hand without even having to ask, let alone try the thief, in a scene that would belong in a horror movie, in contrast, when his opponent bought slaves, shot arrows at them and killed them in order to vent his anger. On the other hand, when his opponent bought slaves, shot arrows at them and killed them in order to vent his anger, Ertugrul saved one of them with a skillful movement of a dagger that utilized sophisticated visual tricks, establishing the principle that violence is acceptable as long as it is for acceptable goals and lofty purposes. In terms of cognitive superiority, Ertugrul monopolizes secrets and news, and all his actions are based on unspoken promises and agreements with Sultan Alauddin, while in terms of strength and courage, he is able to defeat any number of enemies, no matter how well armed they are, as long as his capture does not serve the story, and he is able to defeat them sometimes without a weapon, as happened when He is infallible from death by poison when his friend Turgut gave him a poisoned letter without his knowledge, and divine providence intervened to save him from the death in which others perished, and this incident was the cause of his first victory and conquest in the region, which is the opening of the Khan's market.

So, the third part of the series was able to reconnect the story and scenario of the series to the issue of protecting Jerusalem, after the second part was devoted entirely to his story with the Mongols and his defeat of them, considering the Turks as the protectors of Islam in the face of the European Crusader attack and the only force capable of leading the Islamic world in a world ruled by the law of the jungle, which increases the state of historical projection on the current reality and makes it more attractive and influential, especially with what Jerusalem is exposed to today The series also dedicated its role in reformulating the modern Turkish personality and reconnecting with its civilizational heritage, history and religion in line with the vision of the Freedom and Justice Party, and was able to gain more audience on the Arab and Islamic level by translating the series into Arabic and posting it on YouTube successively, penetrating circles that were not used to watching drama before, sparking a serious discussion about the importance of drama and its positive employment for the renaissance and upliftment of the nation.

Finally

On December 7, 2016, Elham Badr tweeted that Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Thani, CEO of Qatar Media Corporation, signed an exclusive broadcasting contract with TRT TV, which means that this time the Arab viewer will be able to watch the series on TV screens, most likely dubbed, which will be a positive shock for Arab drama, a great pleasure for Arab viewers, and an additional boost for this outstanding series.