Vladislav III Dracula

Wladislaus Dragwlya.jpg

Vlad III (Romanian: Vlad al III-lea), Prince and Duke of Wallachia, also known as Vlad Cepeş (Romanian: Vlad Ţepeş — Vlad the Impaler) or Vlad Dracula (Romanian: Vlad Dracula), was a Wallachian Duke who ruled Wallachia on three occasions: 1448, 1456–1462. and in 1476.

He is known for the fact that during his reign he allegedly implemented cruel methods in defense against the Ottoman conquests, especially by impaling, above all, Ottoman prisoners and their helpers.

It is also known as the inspiration for the name of the vampire in the novel Dracula by the Irish writer Bram Stoker.

His father, Vlad II Dracul was a member of the Order of the Dragon, which was founded to protect Christianity in Eastern Europe. Vlad is revered as a folk hero in Wallachia, as well as in other parts of Europe for protecting the Christian population north and south of the Danube. A significant number of common people and other boyars (nobles) moved north of the Danube to Wallachia and they recognized him as a leader in the defense against the Ottomans.

Vlado Cepeš's name is also on the list of donors of the Hilandara monastery on Mount Athos.

### Name

His full name is Vladislav III Dracula. During his lifetime, he signed himself in Latin documents as Wladislaus Dragwlya, vaivoda partium Transalpinarum (1475).

His father, Vlad II, who was accepted as a member of the Order of the Dragon in 1431, was nicknamed Dracul, which means dragon. Dracula is the genitive form of the word Drakul, meaning that he is Vladislav (of) Dracula.

The word Dracu in Romanian means devil, which later led to misinterpretations that Vladislav was actually a devil.

The nickname The Impaler is associated with the cruel methods of impaling opponents, which he allegedly used, but was given to him posthumously, and is only mentioned around 1550. Before that, however, he was known as Kazıklı Bey (Kazika Bey) as he was called in the Ottoman Empire

### **Youth and family**

He was born in 1431 in the fortress of Sighisoara in Transylvania.

His father was Vlad II Dracul, and his mother was the Moldavian princess Snezhana.

He had an older brother Mircea (Miroslav) and a younger half-brother Radu (Radoslav ).

In the same Vladislav year he was born, his father was inducted into the military Christian Order of the Dragon by the German Emperor and Hungarian King Sigismund of Luxembourg in Nuremberg.

He was entrusted with the task of fighting the Ottomans on the border of Transylvania and Wallachia.

In 1436, Vlad II Dracul overthrew Alexander Aldea from the throne of Wallachia and became the Prince of Wallachia.

When he established himself on the throne, he saw that the balance of power was changing in favor of the Ottoman Sultan Murat II. He made an alliance with the Turks against Sigismund. In 1438, he participated with the Ottomans in the attack on Transylvania, followed by his sons Vladislav and Miroslav.

In that campaign, he often rescued Christians from Turkish captivity and this led the Ottomans to suspect his loyalty.

Vlad II and his sons Vladislav III and Radoslav were captured during their visit to Murat in 1444. After a short imprisonment, Vlad II swore allegiance to the sultan and left his sons as hostages as proof of loyalty.

### **Hostage of the Ottoman Empire**

Vlad III and his younger half-brother Radu were sent to Egrigiz in Asia Minor and placed under house arrest. There they learned the Turkish language,[and Dracula, supposedly observing Turkish torture methods, developed a strong sense of cruelty himself.

In contrast to the blind obedience of his half-brother Radu who embraced Islam, Vlad instilled fear in his guards with his intransigence, even though he was often whipped and tortured.

Meanwhile, their father Vlad II returned to the Wallachian throne and renewed his previous oath as a member of the Order of the Dragon. Although hesitating, he joined the fight against the Ottomans, and his oath to the Ottoman sultan was absolved by the Pope.

His oldest son Mircea actively participated in the great crusade in 1443, in which the fortress Đurđu was taken from the Ottomans. However, the campaign against Varna in 1444, although it reached the Black Sea, ended as a complete failure.

Dracul and Mircea accused the leader of the campaign, Janos Hunjadi (Jul. Janko of Sibinja), for the defeat and he was sentenced to death, but he was pardoned due to his earlier merits.

In 1447, Hunyadi's supporters killed Vlad II Dracula, and blinded Mircea and buried him alive. After the death of Vlad II, the Ottomans wanted to return Vlad III to Wallachia and to support his return to the throne in the hope that he would remain their ally.

### **Government**

Vlad III managed to escape from the camp of the Ottoman army and escape to his uncle Prince Bogdan II, the ruler of Moldavia, with whose son Stefan continues his education in the Sučava monastery. He soon convinced Janos Hunjadi of his determination to oppose the Ottoman advance and with his help he returned to the throne of Wallachia. Having ascended the throne, Vlad III began to rearrange foreign and domestic politics. He is known for his reliance on the common people and the people's militia, which made up the bulk of his army.

He reformed Wallachia to the benefit of the people, and to the detriment of the boyars, by dividing the land and rights. He abolished the feudal obligation and gave the status of free soldiers to all those who were ready to join the people's militia and fight against the Ottomans. He practiced surprise and night attacks, and in one such raid on the camp of the Ottoman army, Sultan Mehmed II himself almost escaped.

Allegedly, after that night raid, Mehmed II retreated with his army, frightened by his own near death, as well as by the forest of impaled Ottoman soldiers - all that remained from the previous Ottoman campaign. After that success, Vlad III became a full member of the Order of Dragons with the addition of Dracul, but he would continue to sign himself as Vladislaus Drakulya.

Vlad III refused to wear a crown, but as a symbol of power he wore a cap — a black hat with a brooch (actually a ring with a red ruby on a gold eight-pointed star, with pearls on the arms, through which eagle feathers were threaded and thus would be attached about shubar). Special properties were attributed to that ring, but also to the precious stone, because it possessed a rare form of a six-pointed asterism, and legends were told about its origin. In cases of Vlad III's absence, the cap would be placed on a pillar in the middle of the square, and in case of his death, it would be given to his successor elected by the people. This symbol of the Wallachian government will be seen for the last time in the portrait of Mihajlo Hrabrog (Mihaj Viteazul), Prince of Wallachia (1593-1601).

The legend of his justice and fight against the Ottomans is still alive in the folklore of the people of Gorja and Banat (in present-day Romania and Vojvodina), contrary to media stories about vampirism and cruelty. These traditions and folk legends were later popularized by Nicolai Ceaușescu (President of Romania, 1965-1989), himself born in the Wallachia Mountains, in an attempt to justify and strengthen his rule.

### **Death**

There are several variants of the story about the death of Vlad III. The most widespread belief is that he died in December 1476. in the battle against the Ottoman Empire near Bucharest. Another version is that he was killed by disloyal Wallachian boyars, just before he defeated the Ottomans on the battlefield, or while hunting. There are also claims that he fell in battle, surrounded by the bodies of his loyal Moldavian bodyguards (the units lent to him by Prince Stefan III of Moldavia remained with Vlad after Stefan Bathory returned to Transylvania)

The only indisputable fact is that the Ottomans cut off Vlad's head and sent it to Istanbul preserved in honey, where the sultan displayed it on a stake as proof that Kazika Bey was finally dead.

It is assumed that he was buried near the Koman monastery (Djurđu district), which was founded by Vlad III in 1461.Most Romanian historians believe that his eternal home is located there

### **Tales of Dracula**

Most of the this stories were written down in German and Russian manuscripts from the 15th century.

#### **Dracula and the Turkish envoys:**

On one occasion, emissaries of the Turkish sultan came to Dracula to demand an annual tribute, because the sultan considered Dracula his vassal. The envoys knelt before Dracula, but did not remove their fez from their heads. He asked them: "Why do you insult me? Why don't you take off your fez?" They replied: "My lord, we take off our fez only in front of our sultan." Dracula retorted, "I see that you are loyal to your Sultan, and I wish to strengthen you even more in your loyalty to him." Then he ordered his soldiers to nail the fezzes to the heads of the envoys with metal nails

#### **Golden Cup**

In the middle of Dracula's capital Trgovište there was a well with water. A golden goblet stood by the well so that any passer-by could use the goblet to scoop up the water and get drunk. As long as Dracula was the prince of Wallachia, no one dared to steal that cup.

#### **A wise envoy**

A merchant was driving his car through Trgovište. He had to spend the night in the city, but he didn't know where to leave the cart with the goods. He went to Dracula and after giving him the gift said: "Master, the night found me in your city. Advise me where to leave the cart with my property so that it will not be stolen." Dracula answered him: "Leave the car overnight in the middle of the town square. I will vouch for it." The merchant didn't like it, but he obeyed. In the morning, 160 gold coins were missing from the car. The merchant reported the robbery to Dracula, who threatened the citizens of Trgovište that if they did not hand over the thief, the entire town would be burned. Meanwhile, Dracula ordered his men to take 161 gold coins from his treasury and place them inconspicuously in the merchant's cart. The merchant found the coins, but when he counted them he saw that he had one gold coin more. He went to Dracula and said to him: "My lord, I have found my coins, but there is one gold coin more." Just at that moment the soldiers impaled the thief and Dracula said to the merchant: "If you had not told me more about that gold coin, I would have impaled you along with the thief. This is how you have proven your honesty. Go in peace."

#### **A merchant's honesty**

A merchant was driving his car through Trgovište. He had to spend the night in the city, but he didn't know where to leave the cart with the goods. He went to Dracula and after giving him the gift said: "Master, the night found me in your city. Advise me where to leave the cart with my property so that it will not be stolen." Dracula answered him: "Leave the car overnight in the middle of the town square. I will vouch for it." The merchant didn't like it, but he obeyed. In the morning, 160 gold coins were missing from the car. The merchant reported the robbery to Dracula, who threatened the citizens of Trgovište that if they did not hand over the thief, the entire town would be burned. Meanwhile, Dracula ordered his men to take 161 gold coins from his treasury and place them inconspicuously in the merchant's cart.

The merchant found the coins, but when he counted them he saw that he had one gold coin more. He went to Dracula and said to him: "My lord, I have found my coins, but there is one gold coin more." Just at that moment the soldiers impaled the thief and Dracula said to the merchant: "If you had not told me more about that gold coin, I would have impaled you along with the thief. This is how you have proven your honesty. Go in peace."

#### **A bag of money**

A Vlach merchant lost a bag of money. He had announced everywhere that whoever found her would be given a hundred gold coins as a reward. A peasant found a bag and brought it to him. He said, "Merchant, if this is your bag, here it is." The merchant counted the money and saw that they were all counted, but out of stinginess he did not want to pay the peasant the promised reward. He said to the peasant: "I counted the money and saw that you had already taken your reward of a hundred gold pieces. It was your right and you should be." The peasant answered: "I didn't take any money from the bag. I brought it to you closed as I found it." The merchant said to him: "When I lost the bag there were seven hundred gold pieces in it. Now there are only six hundred." The peasant repeated to him: "I didn't take any money." They go to Dracula to judge. The merchant told him his story, and the peasant said: "Master. I don't care about money. It bothers me that he doesn't believe in my honesty." Dracula saw through the merchant's game and said to him: "Everything is clear. You, merchant, lost a bag with seven hundred gold coins, and the peasant found a bag with six hundred. Therefore, merchant, it is not your bag and you wait until someone calls you who found your bag". And he said to the peasant: "You take this bag of money, take it home and wait until someone who has lost a bag with six hundred gold coins calls"..