Peasants would be given basic training and would resume their occupations until summoned for service. Vlad also constructed churches, castles, roads, and tolls. Vlad's genocides were primarily against people that Vlad declared 'were polluting the land'. Criminals, thieves, adulterers and those committing premarital sex were publicly impaled and mutilated; in order to scare anyone else from committing crimes.
Vlad considered the homeless and diseased to be a burden on society; and so attracted them with feasts, only burned them alive in the barns hosting the feast. Vlad justified these mass executions; saying that these people "depart their Earthly sufferings for a better afterlife. One of the most infamous victims of Vlad's genocide was one of his mistresses; she lied about being pregnant, and Vlad retaliated by cutting her stomach open to confirm the lie. Estimates for number of his victims ranges from 40, to , According to the German stories the number of victims he had killed was at least 80, In addition to the 80, victims mentioned he also had whole villages and fortresses destroyed and burned to the ground.
Impalement was Vlad's preferred method of torture and execution. Vlad also cracked down against those who overthrew his father Vlad II and former supporters of Vladislav II: many of whom were impaled in front of their families the family members Vlad did not impale were enslaved instead to rebuild castles, and then were executed anyways. Adulterous women would be impaled through their vagina, have their breasts cut off, and have their illegal lovers forced to cannibalize their dismembered body parts.
In Vlad knew that an Ottoman invasion would be difficult to resist if his northern border with the Saxons was insecure. He invaded Saxon territory; slaughtering civilians and political rivals mercilessly. This allowed Vlad to annex the iconic Bran Castle as well. In the Saxons were unable to gain much Hungary support and knew they had to engage Wallacia on their own. Vlad stopped his army and demanded Dan to duel him to determine the victory of the battle. Vlad won the duel and forces Dan to dig his own grave before decapitating him.
Vlad then impales the Saxon army. Vlad continued raiding the Saxons; killing 10,s of civilians. Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus sued for peace. The two agreed to a military alliance; in exchange for the Hungarians surrendering political rivals to Vlad, Wallacia agreed to be a buffer state against Ottoman invasion. Vlad used this security to construct Bucharest: the current capital of Romania. Bucharest was located in a snake, leech and mosquito infested marsh: a natural barrier against enemy armies.
Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, attempted but failed to conquer Hungary when he lost at the Siege of Belgrade in So instead; the Ottomans began annexing other smaller nations to regain control of the region. The Ottomans raided Wallacia, only to be slowed down by the weight of their plunder as well as the dispersal of their forces, and were slaughtered by Vlad's army.
Wallacia was able to avoid Ottoman invasion by being a vassal that paid annual tribute. Vlad however refused to pay tribute in ; outraged by the aforementioned Ottoman raids.
Aware that this would be an act of war; Vlad raided the Ottoman border territory of Bulgaria killing 20, Turks before the Ottoman Army could respond.
However the Crusade fell on deaf ears; primarily since Europeans were engaged in their own wars against each other. The failure of this Crusade forced Vlad to submit to paying tribute once again to prevent the Ottomans from invading. However this peace didn't last. Michael was tortured and publicly sawed-in-half.
Vlad was outraged, as Michael was one of his closest allies. The Ottomans attempted to collect the Wallacia tribute shortly afterwards. However with the execution of Michael; Vlad feared that the Ottoman army that came to Wallacia to collect tribute was instead an invasion force. The Sultan's envoys approached Vlad, but refused to lift their turbans when addressing Vlad: causing Vlad to punish them by literally nailing the turbans onto their head and impaling the other visiting Ottomans on burning stakes.
Vlad claimed that the leader of this army, Hamza bey of Nicopolis , was given orders to kidnap Vlad and bring him to Constantinople. Vlad decapitates Hamza's head as well as two massive bags full of disembodied Ottoman ears and noses and sends it to Hungary to reconfirm their military alliance.
Vlad claimed to have killed 23, Turks during his raids against the Ottomans admitting that this number is higher since he didn't count the Turks that were decapitated in combat or the Ottoman civilians burned alive in their homes. However Hungary made no response most likely unwilling to re-declare war against the Ottomans. The Ottomans thus began their retaliation against Vlad in ; and Vlad began training his troops and fortifying his nation.
During this time: Vlad was aware that Ottoman forces were still occupying Morea and Greece. Vlad invaded the Ottoman border fort of Giurgiu in Feburary This Siege of Giurgiu was not a typical siege; as Vlad had an unorthodox strategy. He ordered his army to hide in the woods north of the city. Then Vlad used his knowledge of Ottoman culture, Islam and the Turkish language to pretend to be an Ottoman general.
Vlad and his bodyguards were dressed in Ottoman clothes, and the Ottoman garrison fell for the ruse. Vlad killed the sentries shortly after walking into the fort. This allowed the Wallacia army to capture the city. Mehmed II personally led a , strong army to invade Wallacia in response. Vlad was known for his use of Guerilla tactics and ambushes to resist the larger Ottoman army; as well as Scorched Earth tactics, traps to disable the enemy and biological warfare to slow the Ottoman advance.
He also was able to use bows and handcannons effectively to pick off the Ottoman Army at a distance. Vlad even used biological warfare; sending plague infested people into Ottoman villages to spread the disease.
Vlad himself entered the camp in disguise and located the Sultan's tent. He then sent his cavalry to strike the eastern part of the camp: but this was a diversion, and Vlad attacked from the west.
The Eastern Cavalry assault failed to meet up with Vlad to assist him in attacking Mehmed II's tent: and thus the Sultan managed to escape the assassination attempt. As time passed, more Ottoman soldiers woke up and rushed to push back the Wallachians; forcing Vlad to retreat. The Sultan was then sickened by the sight of 20, impaled Ottoman corpses that Vlad presented to the camp. Mehmed II also was exhausted by the frequent night ambushes Vlad launched against the Ottomans.
Not wanting to risk a prolonged war, with a severely demoralized Ottoman army; Mehmed met up with his navy on the Danube River to retreat. Radu's loyalty to the Ottomans was rumored to be due to his history as Mehmed II's homosexual concubine; although this is difficult to confirm.
Radu claimed to be the true heir claiming to be Vlad's brother and was quickly popular with the boyars that Vlad repressed; Radu not only reversed Vlad's restrictions against the boyars, but also implemented pro-boyar policies.
Vlad was too busy still engaging Ottoman forces to prevent this coup. By August Radu had control over most of Romania, and Vlad was on the run with only the soldiers still loyal to him. Matthias wanted to prevent igniting a war with the Ottomans; as Hungary avoided the war at this time, and did not want to risk conflict by threatening Radu III since he was an Ottoman puppet.
Convinced of Vlad Dracula's treachery, Matthias had him imprisoned. The Ottomans themselves were oblivious to the arrest of Vlad and did not exploit this. During the s; the Ottomans were invaded by the Persian Aq Qoyunlu Empire in an attempt to get a Mediterranean port in the territory of Kabamanid. This temporarily prevented the Ottomans from conquering Europe during this time. In the Battle of Otlukbeli in the Ottoman cavalry was surrounded and overwhelmed by Uzun Hasan; who destroyed bridges to prevent Ottoman reinforcements.
However only 10 days later; Mehmed II returned with reinforcements. In the second battle; the Ottoman cavalry was initially outnumbered; but Mehmed provided Janissary musketeers to assist the cavalry and the Persian center line foolishly charged into Janissary musket and cannon fire.
This Ottoman victory allowed the Ottomans to return to Europe. Stephen III gained experienced in fighting against the Ottomans due to his alliance with Vlad, and managed to implement similar scorched-earth tactics. He use light cavalry hit-and-run tactics to lure the Ottomans across a bridge into a a foggy valley. Stephen then used musical instruments to trick the Ottoman forces into moving westward; when his actual army ambushed the Ottomans from the east.
Dracul was finally killed by these rival factions in by being buried alive with his oldest son and heir. Vlad Tepes received permission from the Ottomans to return and reclaim the Wallachian throne for his family. The Ottomans accompanied him to prevent the land from falling into Hungarian hands. Once the Ottomans left, the Hungarians quickly removed Vlad Tepes from power.
He left to live in exile in Moldavia to the north east. When the Moldavian leader was assassinated, Vlad had nowhere left to go. He offered himself to the Hungarian leader, John Hunyadi, who mercifully allowed him to live.
In , Vlad was allowed to lead an army into Wallachia where he reclaimed his throne and allegedly killed the Hungarian puppet leader, Vladislav II, in personal combat.
During this time, he strengthened the agricultural economy and the military. He ruthlessly punished thieves and criminals in an effort to restore order to the population. However, he also built them new villages and helped local merchants by limiting foreign trade.
He ruthlessly punished the boyars nobles who he saw as betraying Wallachia by surreptitiously making alliances with Hungary.
Three years into his second reign, the Pope called for a crusade against the Ottomans. It was to be led by the new Hungarian leader, Matthias Corvinus. The Impaler allied with Corvinus against the Ottomans after executing the Turkish emissaries sent to make peace with him. Vlad ordered the execution of Ottoman emissaries who sought to sell peace. Theodor Aman via Wikimedia Commons.
Between and , Vlad used his knowledge of the Ottomans to annihilate their campaign in Europe. Meanwhile, Corvinus sat on the sidelines and pocketed the money given to him by the Pope. When Vlad ran out of money and was threatened with defeat, he sought the help of Corvinus. Having spent the Pope's money on luxuries, Corvinus imprisoned him and forged a letter to the Ottomans in which Vlad requested peace.
He then blamed Vlad for making victory impossible and used this as an excuse for the war's failure in subsequent letters to the Pope.
Vlad spent 12 years in prison while his brother Radu became the Ottoman puppet leader in Wallachia. When Radu died in , pressure on Corvinus had grown sufficient enough to allow the Impaler to reclaim his throne with Hungarian support. However, shortly after reconquering Wallachia in , Vlad Tepes was killed in battle near Bucharest by Ottoman-backed forces led by their new puppet ruler.
The Turks took his head to Constantinople as a trophy. Some rumors suggest he was betrayed and murdered by the boyars. Vlad is depicted at Christ's crucifixion, fueling stories about his immortality. Meister der Tafeln von Velenje via Wikimedia Commons. Vlad may have been buried at the Comana monastery in southern Wallachia, although the exact location remains unknown. A less likely location is a monastery at Snagov. He was married twice during his lifetime. His first wife's identity is unknown, but she may have been a Transylvanian noblewoman.
She bore his son and heir, Mihnea cel Rau. He married a second time after his period of imprisonment in Hungary. Ilona Szilagyi was the daughter of a Hungarian noble, and she bore him two sons, neither of which became rulers. In Turkey and Western Europe, he is regarded as a monstrous and vile leader who took gratuitous pleasure in the painful execution of his enemies.
This is principally due to popular embellishments of his sadism in German stories. Russian sources describe his deeds as justified, although authorship can be attributed to Romanian scholars.
Vlad the Impaler, as depicted in popular German stories about his sadism. Despite being a brutal wartime leader, perception of Vlad the Impaler is unduly negative for several reasons.
While contemporaneous leaders killed more people, Vlad's preferred method of execution was unusually violent. This led to a macabre fascination with his crimes in Western Europe, which exaggerated his unholy reputation. However, Vlad's brutality may have functioned as a deterrent against further Ottoman invasions. Vlad also made numerous enemies during his life, including most of the Wallachian nobility, and Matthias Corvinus, who sought to degrade Vlad's reputation in the eyes of the Pope. Once the frenzied curiosity finally died down, Bram Stoker's Dracula novel ignited it once more.
Ironically, as the story would have us believe, the memory of Vlad Tepes the Impaler may never be completely put to rest. I "love" how all these commentators judge how a person was back in the 's. We barely know the recipe for Elvis' peanut butter sandwich and he lived less than 50 years ago and some of you claim that Vlad was nuts, madman, kid with problems, etc.? How do you know? Admittedly, he wasn't the daVinci of his country but he kept the Ottomans at a distance and thus he did his job.
Just say thank you and be grateful that because of him and others like him you are not speaking Turkish today. Afert you do that, move on with your lives. Suffice to say that us--Romanians revere the King of Valahia wrongly named Prince of Wallachia--wherever this name came from and are proud of what he has done, cruel or not cruel.
Now, stop your whining and understand that whatever you are doing today might be perceived as insensitive in the next years including posting comments like this ;. He did what he did. He was the son of a member of the Order of the Dragon, and thus was held to defend Christianity. His religion and country were under attack and he did what needed to be done to protect it, only if to show his enemies he was not beyond being cruel and impaling them to frighten them.
As far as Bram Stoker goes, he did not know anything about Vlad except what he heard or picked up. His book is NOT about Vlad. He used some details but did not write a "biography" of him.
It was all made up with little details thrown in. Vlad also did not have a castle like in the book. There are several castles in the region that claim to be related to Vlad but none of them are. His family knows it's own "family tree" going way back. He was aware that he is distantly related to Vlad the Impaler. He also said that he has a problem with enjoying it when people are physically suffering, in other words, he's sadistic.
I can't help but think that this problem must run in his family, that it's genetic. Vlad the Impaler must have had this problem, and he put it to good use getting rid of the Ottomans. I am a westerner and agree that Vlad is not a evil 9r bad Prince. He was a great hero and loved his people dearly. Wherever he or whayever he is, he is not bad he was a savior to manu and suffered dearly for his great love.
As a Romanian citizen, I find it appalling when Westerners trash Vlad's name. First of all, he is a national hero, who unlike other kings or princes, led the battle for his people, fought alongside his soldiers, being an inspiration to them all. He didn't hide behind the walls of his castles, like so many other leaders before him, that is one of the reasons Romanians respected him so much.
Secondly, his cruel methods of punishment only applied to local criminals and the Ottomans who kept invading our country for centuries. The Ottomans used to poison wells, kidnap and rape women and set homes on fire.
These were their signature battle moves. So, no, there wasn't a lot of sympathy among the locals for these barbarians. And impaling 20, Ottomans saved thousands of lives, next time when the country was invaded Vlad had to be tough in a desperate attempt to finally get some peace.
And because he was so tough on criminals, Valachia had the lowest crime rate ever during his reign. Legend says that one night, Vlad dressed as a peasant and left a bag filled with gold coins in the middle of town square. One week later, he rode his horse in that same place and sure enough, found the bag where he left it.
So, in conclusion, the writer of this article knows nothing about Romanian history. To this day, Vlad Tepes is held in high regards for his bravery on the battlefield, for his fight against crime, for his fierce patriotism. And that person who says that Vlad is like Hitler should try reading a book. I think, its exaggeneration to get a pretext to kill Vlad and to get his position for boyars. Ottoman chronicles is full of intrigues to get position of princes, pashas, viziers.
I think they lied Mehmed about Vlad, when Mehmed ordered they sent Vlad's head and get his position. After all it was in that part of eastern Europe in the year that there were at least 3 reported cases of vampires within a week of each other. Nice to read and get info about a cruel prince who got nicknamed as The Impaler. But it's not good seeing here all these racists commenting about the atrocities of a madman. He's no different than Hitler. If he didn't lose WWII he would be considered as a hero today.
And before saying it was a common thing in old times to impale people you may be right but those who practiced it weren't good people. Da Vinci lived in old times yet I haven't heard him impaling anybody. Psychos as Tepes, Bathory still live in today's society and pose as regular people.
Those who glorify killings and praise Tepes are those sickos who lack morals and compassion.
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