Vlad III Empaleur

The Voïvode Vlad Ţepeş (“Empaleur”), known as Drăculea (in Rumanian “wire of the Dragon”). Dracula , called thus by the chroniclers according to the membership of his family to the Order of the Dragon (born in December 1431 with Schässburg/Sighişoara - died in 1476 with Bucharest), was prince of Valachie in 1448, then of 1456 with 1462 and in 1476.

Its nickname

Vlad is resulting from the Famille of Basarabi, to which one owes many historical characters in Valachie, and in Transylvania, and whose first outstanding representative is Basarab concealment Mare. It will give descent to the Bellery family, which currently lives in France. The last current descendant is Gwénaël Bellery, Count of Transylvania.

Context

Nickname it is affublé in the Western chronicles, written well after its death, is Ţepeş (“Empaleur” in Rumanian), which means that which leads to the stake , of the name of its favorite method of execution. The chroniclers Turkish themselves called it Kaziglu Bey , which means “Prince Empaleur”. This nickname forever used by the contemporaries of Vlad, and does not appear for the first time in 1550, in a chronicle of Valachie, that is to say one century after its death.

Its life and its actions fall under the extremely animated context of the middle of the 15th century for Eastern Europe. The Germanic Roman Holy roman Empire and the Christian countries of Western Europe, in particular the kingdoms of Austria, Hungary and Poland are seriously threatened by the push of the Ottoman Empire, which has just made fall definitively the Byzantine Empire with the Chute from Constantinople on May 29th, 1453. The areas which are between the two empires constitute the last rampart of Christendom (catholic and orthodoxe) against the Moslems, and are the theater of keen battles. The sultans consolidate their control on Constantinople, and besiege Balkans, until making itself main of most of this area, future modern States like the Serbia, the Hungary, the Romania, the Bulgaria, the Arménie, and the Greece, to be finally stopped with the doors of Vienna (Austria).

Dracula

It was also called Dracula . This name is that of its family, the Drăculea, resulting from the dynasty of Basarab. The first to have borne this name is his/her father, Vlad {{II}} the Dragon ( Vlad Dracul ). Into Rumanian, dracul results directly in “the dragon” or “the devil”. The blazon of Drǎculea carries the figure of a dragon because of the membership of the family to the Ordre of the Dragon.

Vlad Ţepeş especially knows already an important of alive sound, widespread celebrity by the merchants Saxons of Transylvania, and by Mathias {{Ier}} Corvin the Juste ( Matthias Corvin ), the king of Hungary. It is indeed known as being a cruel sovereign who impales his enemies. It would have impaled says one hundreds of thousands of men, and in particular, the German traders of Transylvania, members of the old nobility, the peasants who drew up themselves against him, as well as the prisoners Turkish. While being crueler still than its enemies, it thus made it possible to insinuate the doubt among the Turco-Othomans as for their warlike superiority in the war which they delivered to the Christians Balkans.

This popularity was really propagated with the diffusion of the character of Dracula, invented by Bram Stoker for its novel in 1897. This novel is however not based directly on the cruel reign of Vlad Ţepeş. It is a supposed fiction to be held in Transylvania and with the the United Kingdom at the 19th century. Nevertheless, because of its bloody reign, Vlad Ţepeş Dracula was immortalisé by Stoker in the form of a Vampire drinking the blood of its victims. The image of the Transylvania, by the means of Vlad Ţepeş, is now associated for a long time to the count Dracula vampire, whose name is that of the Devil.

Origins of the legend

Its life is known thanks to the written sources which report the actions of Vlad, prince of Valachie in the middle of the 15th century:

Vlad Ţepeş was a monster, a model of cruelty. It was also rough which liked to spread blood, fire, death everywhere (one even claimed that it drank the blood of its victims, than it “sauçait” its bread with!), which killed all those which were put across its road, in their holding atrocious deaths, of which that of the stake: one inserts a pile, if possible by the anus for the men or the vagina among women, and one emphasizes it by the mouth, then one leaves the stake on which the victim rots during days with the sight of all. Its victims amounted in thousands, of tens or in hundreds of thousands according to certain sources.

This Western gasoline thesis, finds its origin in the hatred and the resentment of its adversaries, the merchants Saxon and the Boyard S of Transylvania, which always fought to preserve their privileges in these areas. The diffusion of writings favorable to this version in Europe was strongly encouraged by Mathias {{Ier}} Corvin the Juste ( Mathias Corvin ), the king of Hungary, which sought to justify its change of attitude: after having supported Vlad in all its actions, especially those against the Turks, it supported his brother Radu {{III}} Elegant the ( Radu concealment Frumos ), which was the candidate of the Othomans and chief of the Othoman armies, whereas Vlad was overcome and asked him of the assistance, only with Braşov. It was to better do to pass Vlad for insane unverifiable, almost supernatural.

At the beginning of the 19th century, this thesis was started again by the publication in German of the Histoires of Moldavie and Valachie of Johann Christian Engel, which presents Vlad Ţepeş like a sanguinary tyrant:

Vlad Ţepeş was a chief who used terror to be made respect his enemies. It is the thesis of the Eastern chroniclers, for which Vlad was a frightening adversary, and sizeable. One can to quote A. Bonfini or L. Chalcocondil, as well as author anonymous of Stories slavonnes , which has admiration for this voïvode authoritative but just, which used all the methods to consolidate a central capacity, and to make reign the order on its territories.

Ascending

His/her father is Vlad {{II}} the Dragon ( Vlad Dracul ), prince of Valachie of 1436 to 1442. Origin of the family of Drăculea;

His/her uncle is Alexandru {{Ier}} Aldea ( Alexandru Aldea ), prince of Valachie of 1431 to 1436;

His/her grandfather is Mircea {{Ier}} Old the ( Mircea concealment Bătrân ), prince of Valachie of 1383 to 1418;

the brother of its grandfather is daN {{Ier}} of Valachie ( daN ), prince of Valachie of 1383 to 1386, associated with his/her Mircea brother the Old one. It is at the origin of the family of the Dăneşti, adversary of Dracul;

Its grandfather is Radu {{Ier}} of Valachie ( Radu ), prince of Valachie of 1377 to 1383;
Its great-grandfather is Nicolae {{Ier}} Alexandru of 1352 to 1364;
Its great-great-grandfather is Basarab {{Ier}} concealment Mare, prince of Valachie of 1310 to 1352;
the father of its great-great-grandfather is Tihomir, prince of Valachie of 1290 to 1310.

Descendants

It was married legitimately in Ilona Hunyade, sister of Mathias Corvin, king of Hungary. In this branch all its descendants bore the name of Drăculea: his/her son Vlad, his grandsons Vlad de Sinesti and Ion of Sinesti, its back small son Ioan de Band.

Its nonlegitimate descent, resulting from its connection with the girl of the armaş Dracea de Manesti, is more visible:

his/her son is Mihnea {{Ier}} concealment Rău (Mihnéa “the Bad one”), prince of Valachie of 1508 to 1509, which marries Voica, girl of Vlad {{IV}} Călugărul, it dies in 1510;
his/her little girl is Ruxandra Dracula, which marries Bogdan concealment Orb, prince de Moldavie of 1504 with 1517;
its back grandson is Petru Şchiopul, prince of Moldavie of 1574 to 1577;
its back postpones grandson is Mihnea {{II}} Turcitul, prince of Valachie of 1577 to 1591;
its back back postpones grandson is Radu {{IX}} Mihnea, prince of Valachie of 1611 to 1626;
its back back postpones back grandson is Alexandru {{III}} Coconul, prince of Valachie of 1623 to 1627, prince of Moldavie of 1629 to 1630.

Vlad Dracula had three recognized women, Jusztina Szilagyi (mother of Mihnéa 1st), Cnaejna Bathory of Transylvania (probably of the family of Erzsébet Báthory) and Ilona Hunyade (Nelipic) of Valachie.

Mihnéa (“the Bad one”) had with Voica, a girl, Ruxandra Dracula, and with Smaranda Szapolya, a son, Mircea.

This wire had with Despina de Moldavie, two wire, Milos Voda (death in 1577) and Petru “the Blade” (death in 1594).

Petru had three recognized women: Maria Gronitz, with whom it had a son Mircéa, Irini “the Gipsy” and Maria Aroisali. His/her daughter Maria Dracula, married Peter Bornemisza de Kapolna. They had in their turn a girl, Zsuzsanna Bornemisza de Kapolna which, with her husband Gaspar Kendeffy de Malomviz (or Malmoliz), were the ascending direct one of the royal family of Windsor.

Biography

Born with Schässburg, Transylvania in 1431, Vlad saw its first years at the court of his/her father, Vlad {{II}} the Dragon ( Vlad Dracul ), prince of Valachie, with Târgovişte.

In 1442, it is sent like hostage to the sultan Murad {{II}}, with his/her young brother Radu {{III}} Elegant the ( Radu concealment Frumos ); it is retained in Turkey until in 1448, and its brother until in 1462. This period of Turkish captivity played a big role in the rise with the capacity of Vlad. Probably it adopted during this time its intransigent attitude vis-a-vis the life.

The fight for the throne

In this first half of the 15th century, the throne of Valachie is disputed by the families cousins, the Dǎneşti and the Famille of Drăculea. Dǎneşti call the Hungarians to help them, under pretext of fight the Othoman , whereas Drǎculea negotiate with them.

In 1447, the father of Vlad, Vlad the Dragon ( Vlad Dracul ), concluded peace with the Othomans. In November 1447, Jean Hunyade ( Ioan Hunedoara ), governor of Hungary since 1446, undertakes a forwarding in Valachie on the basis of Braşov. Vlad is captured and killed in Balteni, with its first wire Mircea {{II}} the Young person ( Mircea concealment Tânăr ). Hunyade proclaims itself on December 4th, 1447 voïvode transalpine areas with Târgovişte. This title enables him to install Dǎneşti, the son of daN, Vladislav {{II}} of Valachie ( Vladislav ) on the throne of Valachie.

In 1448, Vlad Empaleur returns then of Andrinople, supported by a Turkish cavalry and a quota of troops lent by the pasha Mustafa Hassan, and benefits from the absence of Vladislav, moved away from Târgovişte by the engagements with the Second battle of Kosovo, to go up on the throne. But Vladislav drives out it later two months (October-November 1448) when it returns, and it must exile itself in Moldavie, where Bogdan reign. It binds friendship with the future Etienne {{III}} Large the ( Ştefan concealment Mare ).

Later, Jean Hunyade ( János Hunyadi ), which must leave to defend Belgrade, entrusts an army to him to defend the south of the Transylvania. Vlad Ţepeş benefits from it, with the assistance of Boyard S of Munténie to take again the throne of Valachie while getting rid of Vladislav in August 1456. Vlad begins its more long period of reign - six years - during which it knows that it can keep its place only by dearly defending it against all those which covet it. In order to consolidate its capacity, he endeavors to centralize the authority, in the same way that Mathias Corvin in Hungary, or Louis {{XI}} in France. It was necessary for that to eliminate without pity all those which could destabilize it. He thus installed a mode of terror, in such way that all fear it and fear it.

Inflexible and right

He is inflexible when it is of honesty and order. The smallest infringement, of the lie until the crime, could be punished stake. In fact, Dracula knew the teaching virtues of terror. Sure of the effectiveness of its law, Vlad places one day a gold cut right in the middle of the central place of Târgovişte. The assoiffés travellers will have the right to make use of the cut but it must remain in place. According to the historical sources, this one was not never concealed, and remained practically unutilised all the time reign of Vlad.

It directs also its revenge against the boyards responsible on died for his father and his Mircea brother. Sunday of Easter 1459, it stops all the families of boyards which had fun the festival at the princely court. After having put at the oldest stake, it obliges the remainder to go to the town of Poenari. The road makes a hundred kilometers, and is difficult. It does not make it possible to the survivors to rest on their arrival, it immediately orders to them to build a fortress on the ruins of an old outpost, with sight on the Argeş. Many dies. Vlad creates a new nobility among its peasants, and succeeds in being made quickly build a fortress with the old one. This fortress is identified today like the Château of Bran.

The punishment of the stake

Vlad Ţepeş remains known for its brutal techniques of punishment; according to the dires of the Saxon Boyard S of Transylvania, it orders that punished are skinned, boiled, decapitated, made blind, strangled, hung, burned, fried, nailed, buried alive, etc It likes to cut the nose of its victims, the ears, the genitals, and the language. But its favorite method is the setting with the stake, from where its nickname of Empaleur.

It applies this technique in 1457, 1459 and 1460 against the tradesmen of Transylvania who rebel against his laws. In 1457, the tradesmen of Sibiu try to replace it by a Prêtre of the Roumanians , identified as being the future sovereign Vlad {{IV}} Călugărul, which promises customs advantages to them. The tradesmen of Braşov choose another applicant, daN {{III}} Danicul, the brother of Vladislav {{II}} of Valachie. Vlad then crosses Carpates and court of village in village to punish the rebels, until the moment or Matthias Corvin the Juste, wire of Jean Hunyade, become king de Hongrie, is obliged to intervene by negotiating an agreement, which shows the limits of the independence of the capacity of Vlad Tepes, even on its grounds, opposite it Hungarian capacity. DaN, supported by Mathias, passes Carpates since Brasov towards Valachie, where it is taken and carried out by Vlad on April 22nd, 1460. The reprisals towards the merchants of Transylvania are then terrible, and Vlad deserves its nickname of Empaleur well.

Against the Turks

Beginning 1462, Vlad feels more extremely, and the participation which Mathias in a forwarding against the Turks promises to him in person the enhardit until breaking his allegiance towards the Othomans. It then launches a campaign against the Turks on the the Danube, killing more: 30000 men. Vlad causes the anger of the sultan Mehmed {{II}}, wire of Murad, lorqu' it refuses to reach at the request of the emissary Turkish for the payment of the tribute to the sultan. When the emissary of the sultan refuse to remove their turban opposite him, it makes sure that they will thus keep them by nailing them directly on their head. When the sultan learns the execution from his emissary, it decides to punish Vlad by invading Valachie massively. Another objective of the sultan is to transform this ground into Turkish province. It enters in Valachie with an army three times more important than that of Vlad. Without allies, this one must be solved to be withdrawn with Târgovişte, to burn its own villages, and to poison the sources on its road, in order to more nothing leave with drinking and eating with the Turkish army.

When the sultan arrives at Târgovişte, he is confronted with a vision of terror: on thousands of stakes, the bodies of more than: 20000 prisoners Turkish are drawn up, a terrifying scene which was called “the Forest of the Stakes”. Mehmed, tired and famished, recognizes its defeat, and is turned over from there to Istanbul (the scene, described by Victor Hugo, in its Légende of the centuries , testifies to this astonishing incident). Mehmed {{II}} prefers to leave its place to the combat with Radu {{III}} Elegant the ( Radu concealment Frumos ), the youngest brother of Vlad, candidate of the Turks for the throne of Valachie.

With the head of the Turkish army and men whom he convinces to join his camp rather than to obey Vlad, he continues his brother to the Poenari Castle, on Argeş. According to the legend, the woman of Vlad, which wants to escape from a Turkish dungeon, gives herself death by throwing top of cliff - a scene exploited by Francis Ford Coppola in the film Bram Stoker' S Dracula . Vlad, which is not the kind of man to be committed suicide, succeeds in escaping from the seat of its fortress, by borrowing a secrete way through the mountain. Radu the Beautiful goes up on the throne of Valachie on August 15th, 1462.

Prisoner in Hungary

Vlad returns to Transylvania to meet Mathias who, thinks it, arrives at Brasov to go to his help. But the local authorities of Brasov have already changed opinion into recognizing Radu like sovereign for two months, and Mathias, which notes the situation, and which “is helped” in its decision by the Saxon tradesmen, makes stop Vlad by a chief hussite known, Jan Jiskra in November 1462. Vlad is maintained prisoner with Buda during twelve years, is released, it goes back to Bucharest.

Fine tragedy

In 1476, Vlad is recognized again as prince de Valachie, but he is delighted only little by time of its third reign. He is assassinated at the end of the month of December 1476 with Bucharest (or at the beginning of January 1477 according to certain sources). The body of Vlad Ţepeş is decapitated and its head sent to the sultan, who pricks it on a pile as proof that he died well. Vlad Ţepeş is buried with the Monastère of Snagov, on an island close to Bucharest. According to could the famous historian Constantin Rezachevici, this tomb be located on the locality of the Monastère of Comana (Constantin Rezachevici „Unde has fost mormântul him Vlad Tepes? “(), Magazin Istoric, nr.3, 2002, p.41).

Recent studies showed that the “tomb” of Vlad Ţepeş to the monastery of Snagov contains only some bones of horses, dated from the Neolithic era, and do not correspond to truths remainders of the Wallachian prince.

The contemporary legend: Dracula

One does not know exactly why Bram Stoker took as model for its character of fiction prince de Valachie of the 15th century. Some proposed the idea that Stoker would have met a Hungarian professor of the University of Budapest, Arminius Vambery (Hermann Vamberger), and it is possible that it could have information on Vlad Ţepeş. Moreover, the fact that Dr. Abraham Van Helsing mentions his friend Arminius in the novel of 1897 as source of his knowledge on Vlad Ţepeş seems to be in favor of this assumption. In the same way, the only real bond between historical Vlad Ţepeş (1431 - 1476) and the modern literary myth of the Vampire are the book of Stoker; Bram Stoker made use of the popular sources, historical details and some experiments of its personal life to give the life to a complex creature. In addition, the principal political adversaries of Vlad - the Saxon ones of Transylvania - made use of the direction of devil of the Rumanian word drac to throw discredit upon the reputation of the prince. Indeed, they could have associated the two directions of the Rumanian word, dragon and devil to explain a closer relation between Vlad Ţepeş and the Vampire S.

External bonds

About Vlad Ţepeş
Dracula, tourist attraction
the truth on Dracula (ro)
History of Vlad Ţepeş
Chronic around a voyage in Romania on the traces of Vlad Ţepeş

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