The ambitious production documents the last era of the Mamluk state and its downfall at the hands of the Ottomans in the early 16th century.
Saudi-owned television network MBC aired a new drama series on November 17 titled Kingdoms of Fire (Mamālīk al Nar), based on the Mamluks and the Ottomans. The TV series, produced by Genomedia at a reported cost of USD 40m, seems to have gone viral since its first broadcast.
Filmed in Tunisia and directed by British Director Peter Weber, known for popular films such as Girl with a Pearl Earring, Hannibal Rising, and Emperor, the 15-episode drama series of 60 minutes each is a historical drama that took place between Egypt, Syria and the Ottoman empire between the 15th and the 16th century.
“It demonstrates the competition between the Mamluks and the Ottomans over the control of the middle east, through the rise of two main characters, Tuman bay II, the last Sultan of the Mamluks in Cairo, and Sultan Salim the I of Istanbul,” according to a note on the Genomedia website.
Mamālīk al Nar will be screened on MBC Iraq from Sunday to Wednesday at 11 pm Iraqi time, and on MBC Egypt, from Sunday to Wednesday, at 1 am Cairo time.
The drama series is one of the largest drama projects in the Arab World in 2019. Stars in the first episodes of the historical drama include Khaled Al-Nabawi, Mahmoud Nasr, Kinda Hanna, Rashid Assaf, and Mona Wassef.
“We are proud to announce the serial Mamālīk al Nar, which we hope will start a new phase in Arab drama. We are proud to begin its broadcast on MBC,” Saudi Gazette quoted the show’s producer, Yasir Harib, as saying.
