Barbaros: Sword of the Mediterranean

Barbaros: Sword of the Mediterranean (Barbaroslar: Akdeniz'in Kılıcı) is a Turkish historical drama television series created by ES Film, starring Engin Altan Düzyatan and Ulaş Tuna Astepe in the lead roles. The series depicts the lives of Oruc Reis and Hizir Reis, two consecutive "Kapudan Pasha" of the Ottoman Empire. Barbaros: Sword of the Mediterranean premiered on 16 September 2021 on TRT 1. It had sequel series Barbaros Hayreddin: Sultanın Fermanı.

Premise
The series details the life of Oruc Reis, Hizir Reis and their brothers. The plot starts from when Oruc Reis kills a pirate, who turns out to be Poseidon/ Antuan's brother. Antuan swears revenge and raids Oruc's older brother, Ishak's house, killing his pregnant wife and kids. Oruc, Hizir and Ilyaas rescue their older brothers but he is furious with Oruc. Oruc tries to tell him that his wife Despina is pregnant but he doesn't want to hear it. Later Ishak reconciles with his brother. An emir of the Mamluks Emir Karaby comes and is bent on defeating Oruc, even if it means uniting with their enemies. Oruc eventually kills him. Despina dies shortly after she miscarries her baby. Oruc falls in love with Isabel, a girl who has helped them a lot. Meanwhile, a girl called Meryem arrives, the adopted daughter of Dervish Baba who saved her from a slave trader. She later finds out she is the sister of Pietro, the commander of Kalimnos, and the enemy of Oruc and Hizir. This girl has a book, which is vital for both sides. They rescue that book a lot of times. Hizir gradually starts falling in love with her. Ilya's marries Ester, who becomes Muslim and her name changes to Esma. They conquer Kalimnos, and kill Pietro. Shahbaz a traitor is also caught and killed. Gabriel, a new enemy captures Oruc and has him in captivity until Hizir rescues him. They conquer Modon and kill Gabriel. They lose many of their levents on the way. Don Diego comes and he is a savage Spanish commander. They fight against him and Selim of Tunis, who betrayed them. In this, Esma and Ilyaas are martyred by Don Diego and his lover, Rosa. Many of Oruc's levents get martyred too. Eventually, they lure Oruc in a trap and trecherously kill him. Oruc Jas already conquered Algeria, and Hizir takes revenge for his brother, by first destroying Rosa, and then killing Don Diego. He becomes Sultan with Piri Reis and Antuan, who has become Muslim after regretting everyone he killed and changes his name to Murat. Its sequel is Barbaros Hayreddin Sultanin Fermani.

Development
The series is written by Cüneyt Aysan, Ozan Aksungur and Oğuz Ayaz. The series is being filmed in Istanbul. It began shooting in the last weeks of March 2021.

Casting
Casting of actors is still ongoing. It was initially confirmed that Çağatay Ulusoy would be a member of the cast, and would have the lead role, although he later announced his departure from the show due to delay in production. Engin Altan Düzyatan announced that he was taking part in the series after he had been caught outside a gym, he replied to the media that he was training hard for the new Barbaros series.

Release
By July 2021, the series was expected to be released in September of that year. The first teaser trailer for the series was released on 20 June 2021. On 4 September, TRT released a second trailer for the series, revealing its title, Barbaroslar: Akdeniz'in Kılıcı, and premiere date of 16 September.