The History of The Real Dracula

Vlad Dracula is one of the most popular figures in history but the Dracula that we think of today is much different from the man that was given the nickname, Vlad the Impaler. Author Bram Stoker published Dracula in 1897 as he was inspired by Vlad’s incredible story in Wallachian history. The real Dracula wasn't a vampire but he was a ruthless man that changed Wallachia and was able to stop the Ottomans from invading further into Europe. 

Vlad III Dracula was born in Sighișoara, Transylvania in 1431 and was the second son of Vlad II Dracul. Vlad’s nickname, Dracula, was given to him as his father was inducted into the Order of the Dragon to protect Europe from Ottoman oppression. When Dracula was just five years old he moved to Târgovişte, Wallachia as his father became the new voivode (leader) for Wallachia. 

Dracula was trained to be a knight at a young age and his father taught all of his four sons how to become some of the best warriors. Many people mistake Vlad for being a part of the Knight’s Templar as they too were protecting Europe from Ottoman oppression but Vlad was part of the same order that his father was in, which was the Order of the Dragon. 

Since Vlad III would someday become the voivode of Wallachia, his father wanted him to become well-educated. Vlad learned how to speak German, Hungarian, Latin, Romanian, and English which he was well-versed in. Vlad was also educated in Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism as his father thought that it was important for a leader to understand everyone’s beliefs that he was ruling. 

Wallachia, also known as “The Romanian Land,” was divided into two sections which were Muntenia and Oltenia. Vlad II was in control of keeping both sections of Wallachia under control but there was a lot of infighting within the nation. The nation was created after Basarab I of Wallachia formed a rebellion against Charles I of Hungary. 

The Ottoman Empire was already in control of Bulgaria which was just south of Wallachia and they were threatening to invade the nation as Wallachia stood with Christianity. Vlad’s father, Vlad II, ended up signing an agreement with the sultan to pay a yearly tribute to the Ottoman Empire in return for peace between the two empires. 

In 1442, Vlad II was invited to pay homage to sultan Murad II in Ottoman-owned territory. Dracula and his brother, Radu, accompanied their father which ended up being a mistake as Murad II ended up imprisoning all three of them. The sultan eventually released Dracula's father from prison, but in return, both of his sons remained in Ottoman hands. 

While Dracula and Radu were imprisoned by the Ottomans, they both became fluent in Turkish and even learned most of their customs. The sultan didn't want to convert Dracula and Radu as he wanted them to rule over Wallachia in his name once he took control of the nation. 

A rift was created between Dracula and his younger brother, Radu, as he was treated badly by the Ottomans while his brother was favored by them. Dracula would often be whipped as he wasn't afraid to speak against the Ottoman Empire. Radu had a much different relationship with the Ottomans as he started to become accustomed to their beliefs. 

In 1447, Vlad II and Dracula's younger brother, Mircea II, were both killed by Vladislav II in Wallachia. Shortly after Vlad II was released from the sultan, a large revolt took place in Wallachia, which resulted in both the deaths of Vlad II and Mircea II. 

Shortly after Vlad II and Mircea II were both killed, a loyal servant of Dracula gathered Mircea II's sword and collar to show Dracula what had become of his father and brother. Once Dracula was alerted, he was enraged and wanted to take revenge against Vladislav II.  

Dracula swore to kill Vladislav II in hand-to-hand combat to avenge the deaths of his father and brother. Dracula insisted that he should be allowed to take back Târgoviște so that he could restore order in Wallachia. Dracula convinced the Ottomans that he would take back Târgoviște in their name. 

In 1448, Dracula was released from imprisonment by the Sultan so that he would take back Târgoviște and restore order in Wallachia. Dracula didn't have much money or men to take back Târgoviște so he gathered men across Wallachia until he had enough men to start raiding the countryside. 

Dracula took back Târgoviște while Vladislav II was helping the Hungarians battle the Ottomans. Dracula saw this as the perfect opportunity to take back the capital as he didn't have enough men to storm the castle which was heavily guarded. Luckily, Vladislav II took the best of his warriors to battle and left few men to defend the capital. 

Once Dracula realized that it wasn't safe for him to stay in the Ottoman's hands, he decided to flee to Moldova as he was close to his cousin, Stephen the Great. Dracula was related to the leaders of Moldova and helped them keep control over their nation. 

Dracula fought several battles with Stephen the Great and Bolgan II against Polish aggressors in the region. Dracula and Stephen the Great became close allies and this relationship between the two would help Dracula restore order in Wallachia. 

John Hunyadi was Hungary's most prized warrior that eventually captured Dracula whom he disliked as his father had pledged loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. Instead of killing Dracula, Hunyadi had something else in mind for the young prince as he wanted him to become the new leader of Wallachia. 

During this period, Mehmed II became the new Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Dracula had met Mehmed II while he was imprisoned by the Ottomans and got along with him as they had a lot in common. But when Dracula heard of the news that he became the new Sultan he knew that Mehmed II would eventually invade both Wallachia and Hungary. 

Dracula became one of Hunyadi's closest friends and eventually convinced him to supply him with men so that he could take back Wallachia. After five years in Hunyadi's service, Dracula was granted Hungarian support so that he could defeat Vladislav II and become the new voivode of Wallachia. 

In 1456, Dracula invaded Wallachia with the support of the Hungarians. Although Dracula had Hungarian support he still needed more men to defeat Vladislav II so he gathered men from every village and town in Wallachia that still supported him. 

Once Dracula reached Târgovişte he challenged Vladislav II to battle him in hand-to-hand combat and stated that whoever is defeated will become the leader of Wallachia. Vladislav II accepted Dracula's proposition and faced him in combat. Dracula slayed Vladislav II and reclaimed Târgovişte in his name. 

Hunyadi asked Dracula to fulfill his end of the deal after he captured Wallachia, which was to defend the Transylvanian passes that led to Hungary. Since Hunyadi gave Dracula Hungarian support to capture Târgovişte and defeat Vladislav II, he agreed to Hunyadi's deal. 

On April 15, 1456, Vlad III Dracula was officially elected as the voivode of Wallachia. This was Vlad's second reign as voivode of Wallachia, and his longest, as he would have to flee from Wallachia one more time and have to reclaim his throne again. Dracula won the hearts of the people of Wallachia as he had proven to be a strong and brave leader. 

Once Dracula was elected as the voivode of Wallachia, Mehmed II reached out to him to see if he was still in support of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan sent dignitaries to Târgovişte, demanding that Dracula pay a yearly tribute to him. Dracula accepted the Sultan's agreement begrudgingly, as he had no other choice. 

Mehmed II tested Dracula further as he felt that Dracula wasn't in full support of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan asked Dracula to pay homage to his reign and invited him to visit a Bulgarian city that was in the hands of the Turks. Since Dracula's father was killed by the previous Sultan when asked to pay homage, he abruptly refused the Sultan's offer. 

Since Dracula was planning to go against the Ottomans he decided to strengthen Wallachia's defenses. Dracula rebuilt most of the castles that were located in Wallachia and even built new defenses that would help him repel the Ottomans or any other forces looking to invade Wallachia. 

Dracula also fortified the Snagov Monastery as it was normal practice to fortify monasteries during that period as the Ottomans were known to sack them. Snagov Monastery is located on a small island in the middle of a lake so Dracula built a bridge to the mainland and fortified the monastery as much as he could. 

Once Dracula became the voivode of Wallachia there were still some Wallachian tribes that didn't call him their king. This forced Dracula to visit every town and village in Wallachia to strike fear into those that didn't think of him as their leader. 

Albu the Great was a Wallachian leader that gathered an army against Dracula and was causing a lot of problems for him. Dracula knew that he had to stamp Albu the Great out in order to have full control over Wallachia. Dracula ambushed Albu the Great and his family and wanted to set an example for anyone that went against him. 

Dracula's impalement process was quite gruesome as it entailed inserting a sharp sturdy wooden stake into the victim's rectum which would protrude through their mouths. The victims were still alive during the impalement process but often perished once the stakes were placed upright. 

Once Dracula instated new leadership throughout Wallachia he set out to rebuild his new kingdom. At this point in time, Dracula had killed thousands of people to regain control of Wallachia and he was feared by all that he ruled over. 

Dracula supported the Romanian Orthodox Church and granted them special tax immunities in return for their full support. The Romanian Orthodox Church was happy to agree to Dracula's terms as he not only gave them tax breaks but also protected them from Ottoman raids. 

Once Dracula secured his kingdom, a new threat arose in the north as the Saxon towns of Transylvania were rebelling against his reign. Dracula knew that he couldn't ignore this new threat as certain members of his family were claiming the right to his throne. 

Dracula ended up earning his vile reputation from Saxon propaganda which portrayed him as a blood-sucking monster. This is one of the reasons why Bram Stoker decided to turn Dracula's true history into the legend that we know as Dracula today. 

Dracula waged war on the Saxons from 1456 to 1460 and killed thousands of Saxons in the process. Dracula was afraid that he was losing control of Wallachia and was forced to fight the Saxons as his previous attacks led to more resistance. There were several Saxon factions that endangered Wallachia so he decided to purge all of Transylvania of Saxons. 

In 1460, Dracula won the war against the Saxons as he had wiped out all who opposed him. Hungary was grateful that Dracula and his forces were able to expel the Saxons from Transylvania but they still didn't trust him as Dracula was still paying tributes to the Ottoman Sultan. 

Dracula was said to have eaten his breakfast among a forest of impaled people and enjoyed the sight before him. This was yet another horror story that was surprisingly true about Dracula as many accounts prove that he actually did this. 

One of Dracula's closest allies, Michael the Brave, was on a reconnaissance mission in Bulgaria and was captured by the Ottomans. The Turks tried to get valuable information about Hungarian and Wallachian forces but Michael the Brave refused to give any information which resulted in his death.  

Mehmed II was concerned about Dracula's power and sent an envoy to Dracula's court to see if they can swindle him to their side. The Ottomans sent three diplomatic dignitaries to confront Dracula and see if he was loyal to Mehmed II. Once the dignitaries arrived, Dracula ordered the Turks to remove their turbans from their heads to show a sign of respect to him.  

Dracula was ambushed by Mehmed II's forces in Wallachia but he knew what was coming long before the ambush as he was given intel about the secret ambush that Mehmed II planned. Dracula outsmarted his enemy and ambushed the ambushers. 

Dracula gathered a large army and marched in Ottoman Bulgaria to wreak havoc on the people in the region. Dracula lived up to his infamy as he killed over 23,000 people. Dracula and his men collected all the ears and noses of the people that they slayed and sent them to the king of Hungary as proof that he declared war on the Ottomans.  

Mehmed II raised an army of 150,000 troops to invade Wallachia as he wanted to get rid of Dracula once and for all. Dracula and the Wallachians were prepared to fend off an invading force but they were taken aback by the sheer number of troops that were in the Sultan's army. 

Dracula wanted to end the invasion of the Ottomans and decided to attack Mehmed II's camp at night. The battle would go on to be called the Night Attack of Târgoviște. Dracula waited with 30,000 horsemen until night fell to attack the Sultan's camp. The Turks were caught in complete surprise and suffered 15,000 casualties from the surprise attack. 

Mehmed II was angered by Dracula's surprise attack and decided to march all his forces toward Târgovişte. What Mehmed II and his men found shook them to the bone as the sight before them was something that they had never seen. When the Sultan and his forces reached the outskirts of Târgovişte they were horrified to find a forest of impaled Turkish troops that ran for two miles up to the walls of Târgovişte. 

Dracula's brother, Radu, stayed in Wallachia with a large Ottoman force and started to gather support throughout the nation. The people of Wallachia were getting tired of Dracula's ruthless rule and turned to Radu as he was more of a rational man. 

As Radu gained more control of Wallachia, Dracula had to flee to Transylvania. Dracula was losing supporters every day to Radu as people feared that the Ottomans would invade Wallachia again. Although the people of Wallachia favored Dracula's defeat of Mehmed II, they still were fearful of his reputation. 

Matthias Corvinus did not supply Dracula with any troops but allowed him to gather forces in Transylvania and Wallachia. The king of Hungary didn't trust Radu, who had become the voivode of Wallachia, and wanted Dracula to take his place as he had proven to be a true Christian man. 

Stephen the Great joined forces with Dracula to retake Wallachia in 1476. He was also joined by Transylvanian and Hungarian forces as he gathered all of his allies. With the help of Stephen the Great, Dracula and his forces easily retook Târgovişte and on November 26th of that year, he was crowned as the voivode of Wallachia for the third time. 

Dracula's third reign over Wallachia was short-lived as he died in battle only a month after he retook the throne. Dracula and his 2,000 troops were cornered by Ottoman forces in Wallachia and massacred. It is believed that Dracula's head was severed from his body and was put on a stake to be displayed all over Constantinople. 

Vlad Dracula is still an important figure in Romania and is considered to be one of the most prominent leaders during the Middle Ages despite his atrocities. Vlad's true story has been overshadowed by the Dracula that we think of today but that fictional story still has some truths behind it.