The Great Seljuks

About the series

Uyanış: Büyük Selçuklu (Awakening: The Great Seljuks) is a Turkish historical drama produced by Akli Film for TRT 1, written by Serdar Özönalan and directed by Sedat İnci. It focuses on the life of the Seljuk Sultan Malik-Shah I and his son Ahmad Sanjar, and aired from 28 September 2020 to 31 May 2021 for 34 episodes.

Story

The series tells the story of the Great Seljuk Empire at its height: its political structure, its power struggles and the events that shaped it as an Islamic state. Buğra Gülsoy plays Sultan Melikşah, who faces conspiracies inside the palace and enemies on every border, while the young prince Sanjar (Ekin Koç) grows into the ruler he is destined to become.

Main cast

• Buğra Gülsoy as Sultan Melikşah
• Ekin Koç as Sanjar
• Hatice Şendil
• Gürkan Uygun
• Sevda Erginci as Turna Hatun

Production

The series was filmed at TRT’s international film studios and on location in Sakarya, Istanbul and Kocaeli. Musician Gökhan Kırdar composed the opening theme, while Kazakh musicians created other music using traditional instruments of the Turkic world.

Why watch it

For fans of Diriliş: Ertuğrul and Kuruluş: Osman, Uyanış: Büyük Selçuklu offers a lavish look at an earlier Turkic empire. It was later followed by Alparslan: Büyük Selçuklu.

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