Vlad the Impaler

As I have talked about this trip with various people, I have been warned to be careful. But not for the normal reasons of traveling in a foreign country...but in case my travels should take me to Transylvania, the home of Dracula. (Thanks for the concern, everyone. I will do my best to avoid him. I'll keep an eye out for any sparkling men. [and yes, I did just allude to Twilight. Deal with it.]) And so, being the history nerd that I am, I decided to do a little research and find out the history surrounding Bram Stoker's gothic novel.

 This is Vlad, III or Vlad Dracula. (I really like the name Vlad, so forgive the overuse that is more than likely going to take place.) Vlad lived in the 15th c. For those of you who struggle with centuries, I will relieve your stress and just tell you it's the 1400s. He was born to Vlad, II  (shocking, I know) in Transylvania (tune in in the next few days for some history on Transylvania and Dracula's castle). Vlad, II was a member of a secret society that was determined to protect "christianity" during the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the mid 1400s.

Vlad Dracula was inducted into the Order of the Dragon, the same secret society his father  belonged to, at the age of 5. Talk about indoctrinating your children. Growing up he was tutored in combat skills, geography, mathematics, science, languages, classical arts, and philosphy.

Both Vlad's  were  rulers of Wallachia (not Transylvania) as you can see in this map of Romania:

Vlad II ran into some trouble during his reign, and so he sent Vlad III and his brother as hostages to the Ottomans. Vlad III was known for being defiant, thus explaining Vlad III's hatred for the Ottomans. He also had daddy issues since his father sold him to the very people that his secret society swore to work against.

 

Vlad III took the throne at a young age after his father had been killed. This first reign was short lived and he fled into exile for a few years. When he took the throne for a second time, he found Wallachia in an appalling state. He implimented severe measure to bring prosperity back to the province.

 

And so began the bloodshed. To ensure his rule, he put many of the nobles to death (those whom he deemed responsible for his father's death).

 

When the Pope declared war on the Ottoman Empire in 1495, the Turks visited Vlad III to ask for a delayed tax to be paid. Vald refused, saying that to pay the tax would signify Wallachia's inclusion in the Ottoman Empire.

 

Instead, Vlad had the envoys killed by nailing their trubans to their heads, for "refusing to remove their hats in his presence." And then he went on a killing spree. He ravaged through the Ottoman empire, killing men and women, young and old alike. Posthumously dubbed "the Impaler", his favorite method of killing was by impalment. I'll leave out all the gruesome details that I came across, but this guy was bad news, and was known for his sadistic pleasure in killing people. The death toll during his reign is estimated in the tens of thousands.

 

The character found in Bram Stoker's novel circa 1800s, may have been loosely based around Vlad II, (aka the Impaler, aka, Vlad DRACULA), however Stoker made enough changes that no direct links can be made to good ol' Vlad. Many historians will agree, however, that Stoker's knowledge of Vlad Dracula played into the character.

 

So now you know the real Dracula (minus the gorey details). Rest assurd, readers, that I will do  my best to avoid any vampires, or impalers whilst journeying throughout Transylvania and Wallachia.