The Immortal Legend of Count Dracula
Prince Vlad III Dracula
Attribute:"Vlad Tepes 002" by anonymous - Unknown. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vlad_Tepes_002.jpg#/media/File:Vlad_Tepes_002.jpg
Being the second out four brothers, he was born into a noble family in 1436 in Transylvania. Like his father he was later inducted at the age of 5 into the Order of the Dragon created by the Roman Emperor at the time Sigismund, whose main goal was to defend the Christians in Europe against the Ottomans who were Muslim. 1The year Vlad III was born his father Vlad II took the throne of Wallachia, which is located in current southern Romania. Several years later Vlad II was removed from the throne and taking against of new allies Vlad II switched sides, betraying the Order of the Dragon, 2 to ally with the Ottomans. Subsequently, to truly show his loyalty he sent his two sons, Vlad III and his younger son Radu (also known as Radu the Handsome) to hold the truth of his father’s word. As Vlad lives under the Court of the Ottoman Empire Vlad III learned the ins and outs of the Ottoman Empire as well as a few languages. His younger brother Radu soon converted to Islam and joined the Ottomans, but Vlad despised the Ottomans and stuck to the Order of the Dragon. Due to his hatred he was imprisoned and beat in which fueled his hatred more. Upon his release he retuned to Romania to fight for Wallachia. He accomplished gaining control over this region of Romania with the help of the Hungarian Kings.3
Empire Borders
Attributed: googlemap.com
The Wallachia Principality
In his brief tenure as voivode (or prince), Vlad III ruled over the principality of Wallachia in the southernmost section of medieval Romania. It became a principality in the early fourteenth-century after the lords rebelled against the King of Hungary, Charles I, with the first voivode of Wallachia being Basarab I. In the 1400s, it had roughly 500,000 people within its territory.1 It was a feudal society with princes or voivodes as dynastic absolute monarchs. The voivode would then grant tracts of land to nobles called boyars. Boyars would then have control of the peasants or serfs who worked and lived on the land.2 The main source of income in Wallachia was from farming and animal raising. They would specifically grow wheat, corn, grapes for wine, and raise sheep.3
In the 15th century, the rise and expansion of the Ottoman Empire saw the principality of Wallachia undergo great upheaval. The Ottoman Empire would have control over Wallachia and impose tributes, taxes, on the individuals of Wallachia. 4 These high taxes caused unrest and, with a combination of other factors, was the main reason why the princes, such as Vlad the Impaler, rebelled and fought for Wallachian independence from the Turks.5 Eventually, Wallachia would be steadily controlled by the Ottoman Empire until the mid-1800s when it joined the Kingdom of Romania.
Key areas of the Wallachian territory would include the Carpathian Mountains towards the north (which would lead into Transylvania) and the Danube River towards the south, which was highly contested area between the Turks and Wallachians. Also, the city of Targoviste witnessed large amounts of bloodshed and impalements under Vlad III’s rule.
Attribute: "Cronica nurenburg" by Hartmann Schedel - wikisource http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Schedelsche_Weltchronik_d_272.jpglanguage: German. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cronica_nurenburg.jpg#/media/File:Cronica_nurenburg.jpg
Attribute: "Wallachia 13-16c" by Wołoszczyzna_XII-XVI_w.svg: Hoodinskiderivative work: Hoodinski - This file was derived from: Wołoszczyzna XII-XVI w.svg:. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wallachia_13-16c.svg#/media/File:Wallachia_13-16c.svg
Link to Google Map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zfkANsr-9MYQ.k5O8xNOwX_cQ
Vlad the Impaler's Reign
In 1446, the boyars of Wallachia and then-current Governor of Hungary John Hunyadi became tired of Vlad Dracul and Mircea II’s (Vlad III’s older brother) failed policies and tactics towards defending the country against the Ottoman Turks. They then captured, tortured, and killed both men. After this, the boyars and Hunyadi replaced them with Vladislav II. After the deaths of Vlad Dracula’s father and his older brother, Sultan Mehmed II (ruler of the Ottoman Turks during this time period and captor of Dracula and younger brother Radu) released the two brothers and sent them back to Wallachia.1 Upon returning, Vlad Dracula assumed his first reign as voivoide of Wallachia with the help of the Ottoman Turks. After a month, Vladislav II took back control and ousted Vlad III. Vlad Dracula then fled and spent a few years under the protection of his uncle Bogdan II, prince of Moldavia, where he began plotting ways he could regain the Wallachia crown.
In the fall of 1451, Bogdan II was assassinated and Vlad III decided to go to Hungary and align with John Hunyadi.2 After a few years, the Ottoman Turks invaded the area again and Vlad III took a few of Hunyadi’s troops and won back the crown of Wallachia. Once Dracula became ruler of Wallachia, he committed his first act of vengeance for his father and older brother’s deaths. He gathered over 500 boyars--those who were supposedly involved in the assassination of Vlad Dracul and Mircea II--in the city of Targoviste and forced them to walk a fifty-mile trek to Poenari. Upon arrival, he had them all build him a fortress, which is now known as Castle Dracula. After its completion, all of the boyars still alive were impaled.3 This act was the beginning of several impalement stories, which would eventually lead to the creation of his nickname as Vlad the Impaler. He would impale the sick, old, poor, or any individual who challenged his authority as prince of Wallachia. During this time period, Wallachia was still under suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Mehmed II sent envoys to collect the tributes, or taxes, which were required of Wallachia. When these envoys arrived, Vlad III had them killed for disrespect.
Attribute:"Vlad II Dracul of Wallachia" by Unknown - Taken from [1]. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vlad_II_Dracul_of_Wallachia.jpg#/media/File:Vlad_II_Dracul_of_Wallachia.jpg
Meanwhile, in Hungary, John Hunyadi had died and his son Matthew Corvinus came into power. In 1462, Dracula would align with Corvinus, and together they marched and killed Turkish forces from the Danube River to the Black Sea. In response, Sultan Mehmed II attacked Vlad III’s troops all the way back to the city of Targoviste. While Vlad the Impaler was retreating to Targoviste, he destroyed each town with fire and poison while also randomly ambushing the Ottoman forces. When the Sultan and forces finally reached the outskirts of Targoviste, they encountered a two-mile long field of impaled Turks.4 Disgusted, the Sultan left, but made Vlad III’s brother Radu stay and de-throne Vlad Dracula. Vlad Dracula was eventually held captive for two years in Buda, Transylvania, under former ally Matthew Corvinus.6
Eventually Corvinus and Dracula regained their trust and Vlad was released. While he was imprisoned, his brother died of disease and was replaced by another puppet of Sultan Mehmed II. In 1475, Vlad Dracula invaded Wallachia with the help of the Transylvanian and Moldavian princes and took back the throne. Once the crown was reestablished under Vlad III, the allied forces left Vlad unprotected from the Turks. For the next year he would continue to fight the Ottomans. In 1476, Vlad III Dracula was killed in battle. The exact cause and circumstances of his death remain contested.7
Attribute:"AtaculdeNoapte" by Theodor Aman - romanian wp. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AtaculdeNoapte.jpg#/media/File:AtaculdeNoapte.jpg
There are many speculations that famous novel of Dracula written by Bram Stoker was based off the infamous Prince Vlad III of Walachia. Though the Prince was not the only one during that time period who used extreme violence, but he is more recognized for doing liberally, hence his coined name Vlad the Impaler. According to Mathew Beresford novel, Demons to Dracula, he took pleasure in watching his enemies be impaled or buried.5 Some say that he learned his cruel ways while he was hostage with the Ottomans, others say that it was because of his psychological state of mind after losing his father, whatever the reason may have contributed to his ways landed him a mark in history. Though to Western Europeans, Vlad the Impaler is categorized as the icon of evil, while in Eastern Europe many see him as a national hero, especially in Romania.6 To Romania’s he is seen as a strong-minded hero that stood up against the Muslim invaders. Furthermore the Prince is rumored to drink the blood of his victims, though according to Beresford he actually “washes or bathes in the blood”7 and more than 100,000 people died due Vlad the Impaler’s bloodthirstiness, which could have contributed to the character of Dracula being based off him.
Footnotes
