Vlad the Impaler: The Real Count Dracula?

Imagine a prince showing no mercy to his enemies and brutally killing them. Vlad Tepeş, Vlad III, Voivode of Wallachia, aka Dracula, whose cruelty is the language of all Ottoman and European lands, and his name is mentioned a lot in history. Today, he has been declared the national hero of Romania. They named their own nation Tepeş, and the Hungarians referred to it as Dracul. Tepeş means executioner and Dracul means devil.

Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, known as Voivode the Impaler, was born in Transylvania. It is not known when he was born, but it is estimated that he was born in 1431. Besides the kings and princes of other countries, Vlad managed to make himself known for his cruelty towards his people and his enemies, rather than being known for his devotion to his people or his mastery in wars. Especially his hostility towards the Turks and the Ottoman Empire made him famous as the Impaler Voyvoda.

Vlad's father, Vlad Dracul, had bad relations with the Ottoman Empire and after the war defeat, his two sons Vlad and Radu were brought to Edirne as hostages. Upon the death of his father, his cousin Vladislav II becomes the new owner of the throne. Vlad, who grew up with Mehmet II in the Ottoman lands and took Turkish, mathematics, and Quran lessons together, improved himself according to the war and education system of the Ottoman Empire. He repulsed his cousin, who wanted to enter the Ottoman lands, and his military genius was heard in Edirne. Many Ottoman soldiers were given his command and he defeated the enemies one by one.

He was favored by the Ottoman sultan, winning the trust of everyone, and handing over the spoils of war himself. Vlad, who was a good soldier, did not fulfill the orders and started not to pay the taxes over time while dealing with the Black Sea coast and the Peloponnese. In fact, he began to torment people from the public and administrators, and the complaints went up to the sultan's ears. After the Second Battle of Kosovo, he wanted to take Wallachia with the support of the Ottomans, but he could not succeed. When he was defeated by Vladislav, he was exiled to Moldavia. After the exile, he participated in the siege of Belgrade with Mehmet II, and soldiers were given his command. Taking advantage of this, Vlad organizes a campaign against Wallachia and executes Vladislav, and becomes Voivode.

When Vlad recaptures Wallachia, he wants to meet with the Transylvanian Saxons in his country to make a deal. But some do not accept this and Vlad plunders and razes the Transylvanian Saxon towns. He kills the people he took hostage by putting them on a stake on the wheeled platform and shows them around Wallachia as a lesson. This cruel behavior made him famous. Over time, he inflicted the same persecution on the captured Ottoman soldiers and on the Turks living in Bulgarian lands.

Not content with impaling his enemies, he found and applied a dozen horrific torture methods in his own way. He skinned the soldiers and slaughtered the babies in front of their mothers. One day, he gathered all the beggars in his country and had a feast prepared for them. Then he burned them all and watched with pleasure, drinking his wine. The pain and suffering he inflicted on his people and his enemies were the subjects of the Irish writer Abraham Bram Stoker's book and film Dracula, written in 1897.

Death of Voivode

Vlad rebels against the Ottoman state and his persecutions reach the ears of Fatih Sultan Mehmet. Fatih Sultan Mehmet, who did not remain silent about the torture he inflicted on the Turks, immediately took action. He writes a letter calling for Voivoda on the grounds that he has not paid his taxes for a long time. He sends the letters with the soldiers and Vlad states that he does not want to come. Because Voyvoda is worried that the Hungarians will attack while he is not on his throne, and he informs Fatih of the situation.

He asks for help to protect his throne and Sultan Mehmet sends reinforcements. Voivode ambushes and kills Sultan Mehmet's soldiers in the Danube River. Veli Mahmud Pasha went ahead with 150,000 soldiers and ambushed them and impaled them. It was reported that Hamza Pasha, who was in the reinforcement force sent by Mehmet, had impaled him and his companions. Sultan Mehmet gets very angry at this situation and organizes an expedition to Wallachia. The galleys move towards Wallachia with their transports and thousands of soldiers.

Sultan Mehmet and his entourage, who set out on an expedition in 1462, could not believe their eyes when they arrived in Wallachia. Because they had encountered the corpses of many Turkish and Ottoman soldiers driven into piles with no end in sight. More than 20,000 corpses were impaled, and most of the soldiers who saw it lost their minds. Upon this situation, Târgovişte Castle, located in the capital of Wallachia, was captured by the Ottomans.

In the face of such a great defeat, Vlad gets angry and plans to assassinate Fatih Sultan Mehmet. They sneak into the headquarters where they stay at night with their soldiers and make observations. Sultan Mehmet, who grew up with Vlad, guesses what to do and the janissaries are on their guard. Vlad manages to enter Fatih's tent but encounters the janissaries waiting in front of him. Vlad, who escaped from them when he had an opportunity, took refuge with the Hungarians.

The Hungarian king fears that his relationship with the Ottomans will deteriorate and throws Vlad in prison. His brother Radul takes over Wallachia and after his death, Basarab Voivoda takes his place. In 1479, the Hungarian King freed Vlad. Hearing this, Basarab informs the Ottoman state and the raiders set out to search for Vlad along the Danube. The raiders found Vlad and delivered his head to Fatih Sultan Mehmet in Istanbul. The Germans and Russians believed that he was a vampire, and the Romanian people declared him a national hero. His tomb is in the Comana Monastery in Romania.