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Diriliş: Ertuğrul became a major phenomenon in Pakistan, helped by an Urdu-language broadcast and then-prime minister Imran Khan’s public support. But the available evidence does not show that Pakistanis generally mistake it for factual history, or establish which particular scenes are historically false. The soundest description is a popular historical drama whose story and religious framing have attracted both audience interest and scholarly interpretation.
Why did Diriliş: Ertuğrul become so popular in Pakistan?
Its appeal appears to have combined accessible language, entertainment, and interest in Ottoman culture and Muslim history—not a single national motive. The clearest figures available describe the show’s reach and audience responses in 2020; they are historical snapshots, not current totals or a census of Pakistan.
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Urdu access and political endorsement
Al Jazeera reported on 14 May 2020 that Imran Khan had supported the series and called for Pakistan’s national broadcaster to dub it into Urdu. The Urdu version aired on the first day of Ramadan and quickly became popular, according to the report. A familiar language and a prominent public endorsement helped bring the series to a wide audience, though neither alone explains why viewers stayed with it.
Entertainment, Ottoman culture, and Muslim history
A 2020 report by TRT World Research Centre attributes the show’s appeal to overlapping interests: entertainment, Ottoman culture, and representation of Muslim history. Its reported figures are useful as indicators of responses among the people surveyed, not as measures of what every Pakistani viewer thought.
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| Finding | Reported figure | Scope and source |
|---|---|---|
| Participants who had watched at least four Turkish television series over five years | Nearly 50% of 558 participants | January 2020 Pakistan study, as reported by TRT World Research Centre in 2020 |
| Respondents who prioritised overall entertainment value | 55% | TRT World Research Centre’s 2020 report; its report figure, not a census result |
| Respondents who valued the depiction of Ottoman culture | 52% | TRT World Research Centre’s 2020 report; its report figure, not a census result |
| Respondents who responded positively to representation of Muslim history | 49% | TRT World Research Centre’s 2020 report; its report figure, not a census result |
| Views and subscribers on the show’s Urdu-language YouTube channel | More than 230 million views and 3.1 million subscribers | Reported by TRT World Research Centre as of May 2020; not current totals |
These findings point to several kinds of appeal at once. They do not establish that viewers accepted the series as a reliable account of the past, or that the same motivations apply to everyone who watched.
Is Diriliş: Ertuğrul historically accurate?
It should be approached as dramatized history, not a documentary. Al Jazeera describes the series as a big-budget depiction of the prehistory of the Ottoman Empire and says historical facts are manipulated for dramatic effect. The story centers on Ertuğrul, a 13th-century Muslim Oghuz Turk leader presented as the father of Osman I. That framing does not, by itself, verify the details of Ertuğrul’s life or the events shown on screen.
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There is an important limit to what can be concluded about the charge that the show “distorts Islamic history”: the sources considered here do not provide a primary-source, scene-by-scene fact check. They therefore cannot establish which specific scenes are false, how consequential any inaccuracies are, or whether the show distorts Islamic history as a whole. Calling it a dramatization is supported; presenting an unverified list of invented scenes as settled fact is not.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do studies say about its religious and political framing?
Scholarly studies examine what the series depicts and how it is interpreted. Those are not the same as evidence that all Pakistani viewers believe its story or were persuaded by its messages.
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Religious characterisation
A 2026 article in Media and Communication Review analyzes Diriliş: Ertuğrul and Kuruluş: Osman. Its authors conclude that Muslim characters are portrayed as morally superior while non-Muslims are depicted with evil intentions, and that conversion or allegiance to Muslims is associated with positive characterization. This is the authors’ interpretation of the programs’ portrayal of characters, not a neutral historical finding about Muslims, non-Muslims, or Islamic history.
Nationalism and political readings
A 2021 University of Sindh study of the first season describes themes of religion, nationalism, jihad, Ottoman glory, and pan-Islamic representation. Its published abstract also says the series had social impacts on Pakistani youth, but that statement does not justify a broad causal claim about all young viewers.
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A 2024 Contemporary Politics study analyzed all 470 episodes and interviewed 38 Pakistani citizens: 20 viewers and 18 non-viewers. It investigates the show’s resonance and themes of soft and sharp power. That framework can help explain why the series is discussed politically, but the study’s scope does not show that every viewer was persuaded or that the show alone caused political change.
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What can fairly be said about the “obsession” and “distortion” claims?
- “Pakistan is obsessed” overstates what the evidence measures. Contemporary reporting and a Pakistan-focused 2020 report document conspicuous reach and interest. The figures cited here do not establish a current national audience total or show that the whole country watched the series.
- “It distorts Islamic history” is an evaluative claim, not a verified scene-by-scene finding. The series is identified as a drama that manipulates facts for dramatic effect; the sources do not establish specific historical errors against primary records.
- What the series portrays is not the same as what viewers believe. Content analysis describes themes and character portrayals. Audience research reports responses from particular samples. Neither should be used as proof of what all viewers accept as history.
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