In the goofs section of the Did You Know? part of this board, . . .

. . . this comment was made: "Miles Gloriosus sings that he's defeated Turks. The Turks would get nowhere near the Roman Empire as a military threat for another few centuries."

Not to worry about historical accuracy in this movie.

Because it was a serious farce--that is, it was intended on both the stage and screen to BE a farce, and not because it came up that way because of poor direction, writing, or staging--then we should take Gloriosus' words in one of two ways.

First, the stage and movie versions were written and produced in a time when people actually learned things in school. Many or most of the audience would know something about the history of the Roman Empire. They would, even vaguely, remember that the Romans Empire did not fight the Turks in this period of history. In which case, Gloriosus' words and a contrived lie, to add to his own stature. Or,

Two, that the line was a throwaway line meant to put the audience in a little bit of awe that such a fool as Gloriosus had been brave enough to fight Turks. Turks, in the mind of '60s audiences were a little bit mysterious and unknowable. Turks simply rode into battle by the hordes on horseback, waving scimitars over their heads as they killed raped, stole, and plundered.

At any rate, the line added to the great fun of the movie.