Count Vladislav Dracula biography. Vlad III Tepes: biography, interesting facts and legends

Since the beginning of the 20th century, interest in the personality of Vlad III Basarab, the ruler of the Principality of Wallachia, better known in modern times as Count Dracula, a character in Bram Stoker’s novel, has not waned. Throughout the world, Dracula is recognized as one of the most brutal medieval rulers, but in Romania he is considered national hero. Who really was the ruler of Wallachia?

Why Dracula?

The legendary nickname "Dracula" was inherited by young Vlad from his father, Vlad II, due to his membership in the Order of the Dragon. This order of chivalry was founded by King Sigismund I of Luxembourg of Hungary in 1408. The task of the order was to protect catholic church from various pagans and heretics, as well as the protection of the Hungarian royal house. According to the order's charter, knights had to wear garters and shields with the image of a golden dragon. Vlad II joined the order in 1431, shortly before its decline, and this gave him the nickname "Dracul" (the Romanian form of the word "dragon"). Soon the image of the dragon appeared on gold coins issued by Vlad II and on numerous heraldic images. Vlad III adopted the nickname from his father, but after some time he added the particle “a” to it at the end, since among the people it was best known in this form.

Life of Dracula

Vlad of the Basarab dynasty was born sometime between 1429 and 1431. Exact date has not survived, but historians have established the approximate period based on indirect data, such as the age of his older brother, who is known to have been 13 years old in 1442. In addition, the beginning of Dracula's first reign was established as November 1448, therefore, at that moment he was already of age, since he ruled without a regent. He spent the period from birth until 1436 in the city of Sighisoara, Transylvania. The house has survived to this day and has been turned into a museum. It is located at st. Zhestyanshchikov, 5.

At that time, the Principality of Wallachia, like the rest European countries, waged endless wars with the Turkish Sultan, as well as with each other. From time to time, alliances and truces were concluded, which did not last long. The closest strategic ally, and, at the same time, rival, was the kingdom of Hungary. King Janos Hunyadi tried to make his protege, Basarab II, ruler of Wallachia. Vlad II did not then have the military ability to interfere with his plans, and resorted to the traditional method for Christian Europe, turning to the Turkish Sultan Murat II for help. Of course, medieval kings and rulers hated the “infidel” Turks, and religious leaders sent curses to them from church pulpits. However, the traditional hatred of their co-religionists was also strong. When there was a threat of loss of power or influence from their Christian "brothers", an alliance with the Turks (if it was possible at that time) was a completely justified decision.

“Differentiated by great fear of God, Dracula, who tirelessly built churches, said that “My service to him before the Almighty is exceptionally great - not a single predecessor of his sent so many saints and great martyrs to God.”
―Vlad III Tepes

Vlad II also could not allow the loss of the throne, even if it would have been taken by the completely Christian ruler Basarab II. In the summer of 1442, Vlad II went for help to the Turkish Sultan Murat II. However, negotiations dragged on for 8 months. At this time, the power of Basarab II was sufficiently strengthened in Wallachia, and little Dracula, along with the rest of the family of Vlad II, was forced to hide. Negotiations with the Sultan ended only in the spring of 1443. Fortunately, Vlad II received the long-awaited opportunity to expel his Christian brethren from Wallachia. Turkish troops helped remove the hated Basarab II, and restore the power of Vlad II. It is clear that the Sultan expected to benefit from such a short-term alliance.

At the same time, another crusade, conducted by Janos Hunyadi against the Turks. Dracula's father also participated in peace negotiations. János Hunyadi admitted that Wallachia remained under Turkish influence. In the Middle Ages, such contracts were very often concluded “eternal”, but in this case we were talking about only 10 summer period actions. It is not surprising that already on August 4, just a few days after the signing of the treaty, the Hungarians began preparing a new crusade against the Turks.

Of course, no sane king or emperor would trust his military and political partners, and predatory expediency dictated the need to immediately begin planning actions against his allies. Therefore, any union had to be supported by something more than just paper, even sealed with numerous official seals and oaths of eternal friendship. Thus, the tradition of "pledge" arose. At the end of July 1444, Vlad III, together with his younger brother Radu had to go to Turkey as hostages, ensuring the fulfillment of allied obligations on the part of his father. During this period he was approximately 12 years old.

Young Vlad stayed in Turkey for about 4 years, until the fall of 1448. Most historians agree that it was during this period that his famous character was formed. There are several theories about what exactly influenced him in Turkey. They say he was tortured or tried to force him to convert to Islam. There is also a version that his younger brother Radu was subjected to sexual violence from Mehmed, the heir to the Turkish Sultan. All this could have made Vlad extremely bitter. But most likely these are myths, since there is no documentary evidence. The temperament of the medieval Turks was indeed harsh, and Vlad received practice from the Turks in effectively strengthening the vertical state power. In fact, rotten liberalism was not characteristic of Vlad from infancy, so the training turned out to be successful, as his political opponents were to see.

At this time, the Hungarians, as usual, thirsty for territorial acquisitions, violated the peace treaty, deciding to combine the useful (another crusade against the “infidels” in the person of the Turkish Sultan) with the pleasant (remove Vlad II, installing in his place another puppet, a prince who ironically also named Vladislav II). The original plan of Janos Hunyadi was a success. Dracula's father and his older brother were beheaded, and thus removed from active political activity. But then the Turkish Sultan finally decided to help the Slav brothers, during the general battle on Kosovo on October 18, 1448, defeating the troops of the Hungarian king. It was this battle that became key point in the biography of Vlad II, leading him to success. In November, he became a Wallachian prince, replacing his Hungarian protege (whose further fate is of no interest).

First reign of Dracula

The first period of the reign of the young prince of Wallachia turned out to be relatively short-lived. Returning to Targovishte, the capital of the principality, Vlad showed himself truly good ruler, and carried out political purges among the boyars who supported the Hungarian puppet ruler. During the purges, traditional methods of strengthening centralized power, learned from the Turks, were widely used. Presumably, it was at this time that the decisive character traits of the future Dracula first appeared.

However, the Hungarian king Janos still sought to regain his lost positions in the Wallachian Principality, and Vlad III was forced to leave Targovishte in the same 1448. Political asylum was found in Moldavia, where he remained until about 1455.

“There is a well-known episode when, at the beginning of his reign, Dracula, having called up to 500 boyars, asked them how many rulers each of them remembers. It turned out that even the youngest remembers at least seven reigns. Dracula’s answer was a kind of attempt to put an end to the “unworthy” order, when the boyars turned out to be so much more durable than their overlords: all five hundred “decorated” the stakes dug around Dracula’s castle.”

In 1456, Vlad went to Transylvania, where the opportunity arose to prepare political revenge. At this time, another crusade was going there, this time under the auspices of the Franciscan monks. The basis of the Christian army was to be made up of militias flocking from all over Europe. However, for ideological reasons, the crusaders did not accept Orthodox Christians into their close-knit ranks. It was from among these rejected militias that Vlad recruited his first army. At this time, the Sultan's troops began to blockade Belgrade, and the Franciscan troops went there in order to prevent them. A series of battles that took place in July 1456 between the Turks and the Crusaders allowed Vlad's militia to break into Wallachia unhindered. Some of the Wallachian boyars, led by Mane Udrische, sensed the change in the political situation in time and created a faction supporting Vlad III. Largely thanks to their help, on August 20, 1456, Vlad became the prince of Wallachia for the second time. Thus began the second reign of Dracula, which lasted 6 years. It was during this period that Dracula accomplished most of his exploits, which ensured his immortality in the popular literature of the 20th century.

Second reign of Dracula

Having taken a high position, Vlad again began to cleanse the noble class. The opposition, which at one time contributed to the execution of his father and older brother, was physically eliminated. To add solemnity to this event, a traditional Easter feast was convened, at which agents of Vlad III arrested the short-sighted oppositionists. Some Romanian sources report that their execution took place right during the feast.

The next step that the far-sighted Vlad took was a campaign in Transylvania, which was then an autonomous principality within the Kingdom of Hungary. The campaign, which took place in 1457, had two goals. In addition to the robbery and devastation dear to the hearts of the medieval kings, it was necessary to teach a lesson to the residents of the cities of Sibiu and Brasov, who were making insidious plans to remove Vlad III from his position. They planned to place Vlad’s younger brother, nicknamed “The Monk,” in this place, a weak ruler inclined to an alliance with the Ottoman imperialists. Dracula stopped these anti-state plans, simultaneously destroying 4 large settlements and an unspecified number of small ones in Transylvania.

Separatist tendencies, however, were strong in Brasov, a major regional center in eastern Transylvania. There was a certain Dan, another contender for the Wallachian throne, who, as usual, was supported by the Hungarian king. This position was now occupied by Laszlo Hunyadi, the eldest son of Janos, who died under suspicious circumstances in 1456.

From 1456 to 1458, Dracula was forced to maneuver between the Hungarian kingdom and the Turkish Sultanate, and limited himself to diplomatic pressure on Brasov. During this period, the outskirts of the city were ravaged several times, but Dracula had not yet reached the regional capital itself. The conflict continued to escalate, and in April 1460 a battle finally took place between the troops of Dracula and Dan. The latter was defeated and captured by Dracula. Further fate Dana was quite predictable. Subsequently, Dracula showed weakness unworthy of a true monarch and statesman, limiting itself to just the massive impalement of prisoners of war and civilians, including the elderly and children. The center of the opposition, the city of Brasov, was neither destroyed nor burned. Perhaps this weakness is explained by the fact that Dracula's troops were weakened by losses suffered during the entire previous campaign.

In the fall of 1460, Dracula concluded a peace treaty with Brasov, and some other regions of Transylvania. As usual, the signing of the treaty was accompanied by vows of peaceful cooperation and eternal, unbreakable friendship between peoples. Dracula pledged to defend Transylvania both from Turkish aggressors and from the fraternal Moldovan people. At the same time, Dracula was promised similar support.

During the entire period of Dracula's second reign, his collaboration with Orthodox Church. Thanks to the efforts of Vlad III, several monasteries were founded in Wallachia and temples were built. Some villages, such as Troeneshi and Tisman, were exempted from any duties and assigned to nearby monasteries. Obviously, this was done by the compassionate Vlad in order to alleviate the backbreaking work of the peasants, weakened by the unbearable volume of taxes that were required to provide numerous liberation campaigns its ruler. However, the monasteries immediately imposed new duties on the delighted peasants, but this no longer had anything to do with Dracula’s activities.

Dracula's politics in the Middle East

Subsequently, the focus of Vlad's foreign policy interests finally shifted to the Ottoman Empire. Suppressing separatist tendencies among the nobility, Vlad continued to strengthen the vertical of state power. At the same time, the army of the Wallachian state grew and became stronger. Free peasants and townspeople were recruited into the ranks of the armed forces. Despite the formally existing vassal relations, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II was waiting for an opportunity to invade Wallachia and finally liberate its population from their oppressors. The people willingly joined Dracula’s army, because everyone understood what such liberation would mean for ordinary people.

When the number of troops reached approximately 500 tons, Vlad began to act, plus intelligence reported that the potential number of Ottoman troops ready for invasion was no more than 150 thousand. In 1461, a diplomatic demarche was made - Vlad refused to pay tribute to the Sultan. An army of 150 thousand Turks immediately invaded Wallachia. However, Dracula, in addition to being a skilled diplomat, also proved himself to be an outstanding field commander. In 1462, in a night battle on June 17, Dracula's troops suddenly attacked the Turks, killing about 15,000. Those Ottoman soldiers who were lucky enough to be captured were executed by traditional impalement, and Mehmed II himself managed to escape to Turkey.

Ironically, shortly after the night's battle, a faction of opposing nobles fabricated charges against Dracula that he was a Turkish spy. The accusation was falsified with the help of another Hungarian king, who traditionally disliked Dracula. Thus ended the second reign of Vlad III, he was thrown behind bars, where he spent the next 12 years.

End of career

The long-awaited liberation took place in 1475. The Hungarian king needed Dracula's military talents. Leading one of the units of the Hungarian army, Dracula fought several more battles with the Turks. In November 1476, Vlad returned to Wallachia, where he overthrew Prince Lajota. Grateful residents elected Vlad as their ruler. However, soon after this, the hand of a hired killer ended the life of an outstanding politician Wallachia.

Facts about Dracula

There are several historical anecdotes that expressly characterize Vlad and the authority of the power he established. A golden bowl was installed on the fountain in the central square of Targovishte. Any citizen could use it and drink water, but for many years, no one tried to steal it.

One day two wandering monks came to see Vlad. Vlad asked what people were saying about him. One of the monks said that Vlad was praised everywhere, and the second reported numerous curses against him. The first monk was immediately executed by traditional impalement, since Vlad did not like it when people were hypocrites in his presence.

According to another legend, Vlad solved the problem of the poor population in Wallachia. Gathering the above-mentioned contingent in the capital, Vlad gave them a luxurious feast. When the guests had eaten well, Vlad asked them if they wanted to get rid of hunger once and for all. The guests, of course, agreed. After this, Vlad ordered all exits from the building to be locked and burned it down.

Origin of the nickname Tepes

Vlad's second most famous nickname, "The Impaler", actually appeared after his death. It means "Kol" and was given to him by the Turks. And it comes from his favorite type of execution, most often used by Vlad to strengthen power and the state. Impalement had been used before, but Vlad introduced a certain variety to it. For example, the shape of the stake could change. The stake could also be inserted into the defendant through the throat or navel. When to the utmost social justice a nobleman or a high-ranking opposition figure was subjected to, his stake was always higher than ordinary peasants.

Tales of Dracula

In the information vacuum that characterized the Middle Ages, fairy tales and legends about Dracula are often the only source of information about his deeds. The very first legends about Dracula arose among ordinary people, Romanian peasants, for whom he was a hero who freed them from the Turks. Fairy tales were passed down from generation to generation, gradually growing incredible details. Nowadays, it is no longer possible to determine what is real facts and what is outright folk art.

Dracula in cinema

Nowadays, it is estimated that about 270 films have been made about the Wallachian ruler, a figure worthy of the Guinness Book of Records. This number includes approximately 150 full-length films. Most of them are third-rate horror films, created for an audience unencumbered by intelligence and knowledge of history. However, there are films that have been favored by critics and Hollywood.

Dracula's Castle

Bran Castle, nicknamed "Dracula's Castle", is located 30 kilometers from Brasov, being one of the attractions for tourists. According to local legends, Dracula spent a lot of time here from 1456 to 1458. Another, completely implausible, legend tells about the torture to which Dracula was subjected to by the Turks in this castle. Due to the lack of documents, none of the legends can be confirmed. Most likely, cunning Romanian peasants simply invented them to force stupid tourists to leave some of their money in hospitable Bran.

Dracula today

A sober analysis of the facts reliably known about Vlad III leads to clear conclusions. Vlad the Impaler was a typical medieval ruler, brought up according to his time. Perhaps he was excessively cruel to prisoners, peasants and opposition nobles, but this was typical for the vast majority of the then rulers. Times were cruel, and power must be retained at any cost. It would seem that he would remain one of the insignificant, albeit bloody, figures medieval history. But it was not there!

The interest of the poorly educated masses in the most base and animal manifestations of human nature has long been known, and an accident on the street instantly gathers a crowd of onlookers. Modern pop culture clearly captures this need and encourages it. In the early 20th century, writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker and Robert Bloch pioneered such exploitation of the popular consciousness by creating the first horror novels. This is where a medieval prince of a small-town scale came in handy, instantly turning into an icon. After the first works about Dracula, a real stream of frankly base literature poured in, with no end in sight. Until the bloody appetite of the public is satisfied, films and books about Dracula will appear, and writers will create more and more perverted and bloody stories about the Wallachian prince, leaving far behind the Romanian peasants who frightened their children with tales of the terrible Vlad the Impaler.

In 1386, in Sighisoara, a small town located in Transylvania, a man was born who left an indelible mark on history. Vlad the Impaler, better known as Count Dracula, a descendant of the ruler of Wallachia, Basarab the Great, became famous not so much for his talent as a commander, but for his gloomy cruelty, unprecedented even for.

Vlad III, about whom numerous bloody legends were formed, became the prototype of one of the main characters in Bram Stoker's novel - he is known as Count Dracula, whose biography is to some extent similar to the fate of Tepes.

It cannot be said that his youth was easy and cloudless, which would be quite predictable for a real prince of the blood - the future ruler of Wallachia. At the age of twelve, Vlad III, together with his younger brother, was sent as hostages to the Turkish Sultan, where he was kept until he was 17 years old, which in all likelihood negatively affected his psyche.

At the age of 17, after his release, Vlad the Impaler, whose biography has since become very changeable, with the help of the Turks, for the first time seizes power and reigns in Wallachia under the name of Vlad III. The Middle Ages were distinguished by numerous wars, and the young ruler failed to hold the throne for a long time - the protege of Janos Hunyadi, the ruler of Hungary, overthrew him. But he shows excessive independence, loses the patronage of his Hungarian overlord, and Vlad Tepes regains the throne with the support of Hunyadi himself.

Of course, this turn of events did not suit Turkey, and in 1461 a war began, in which Vlad III fully demonstrated his talent as a commander. But, despite all his courage and cruelty (and by that time there were numerous bloody legends about him), Tepes was defeated - mainly because the Turkish army significantly outnumbered his troops. Vlad III abandons the defeated army and wants to find refuge in the possessions of the Hungarian king, but he accuses his former ally of conspiring with the Turks and imprisons him.

Vlad III is released more than 10 years later, and he even manages to recapture the capital of Wallachia, but after some time, Vlad Tepes, whose biography is associated with many deaths, dies in mysterious circumstances... Surely someone had saved an aspen stake for him :) Tepes’s life was cut short in 1476.

Bloody legends or terrible reality?

It should be noted that Bram Stoker's character, Count Dracula, whose biography is very mysterious, is only a weak resemblance of his prototype. Vlad Tepes embodies all the atrocities of the Middle Ages - from the dungeons of the Spanish Inquisition to the sophisticated Turkish torture.

His contemporaries feared him no less than Even if a small part of the bloody legends composed about him are reality, then Vlad III earned the right to be called a vampire, because in order to be one it is not necessary to drink blood - it is enough to shed it copiously...

Vlad the Impaler carried out the most grandiose massacre in 1460 - then in one of the cities of Transylvania about 30,000 people were simultaneously impaled. This massacre took place on the feast of St. Bartholomew. Over this holiday, apparently - just remember the confrontation between Catholics and Huguenots in France and the famous St. Bartholomew's Night.

There is also a legend about one of Tepes’ mistresses, who tried to deceive him by declaring her pregnancy. One can only be surprised at the courage of the woman who continued to insist on her own, after Vlad warns her that he does not tolerate lies. The ending of the story is tragic - Tepes rips open her stomach and shouts “I warned you that I don’t like lies!”

Count Dracula, whose biography gave rise to numerous bloody legends, did not complain about the lack of imagination; his methods of dealing with enemies were varied - cutting off heads, boiling, burning, skinning or ripping open bellies was commonplace for Vlad the Impaler. But to all of the above, the ruler preferred to impale those he disliked, which is why he received his nickname - Tepes - “impaler”. But the perverted methods of execution were due not only to the sadistic inclinations of the ruler; such executions also pursued other goals. For example, there is a legend that near the fountain in the very center of the capital of Wallachia stood a bowl made of gold. Anyone could drink from it, but no one dared to steal the cup - the subjects knew that Tepes dealt with thieves especially cruelly.

Sometimes the count liked to joke...

Vlad Tepes also had a certain semblance of a sense of humor. Just as he loved hoaxes - he drank steaming mulled wine in the cold, which scared his courtiers to death, who believed that the ruler was drinking warm human blood...

Count Dracula, whose biography inspired Bram Stoker, gave rise to more than just bloody legends. The Lord was no stranger to some justice. One day, a passing merchant complained to Tepes that his van had been robbed at night, and a significant amount of gold was missing. Naturally, Vlad Tepes could not tolerate such insolence - theft was punished very cruelly, and all efforts were thrown into searching for the criminal, who was discovered overnight.

The stolen gold was thrown to the merchant, and along with it one extra coin was planted. I think it’s clear what happened to the thief, considering Dracula’s habits. In the morning, the merchant came to thank the ruler - he said that the thieves not only returned all the gold, but even tossed one extra coin. Tepes smiled gloomily and said that if the merchant had kept silent about this coin, he would have been sitting on a stake next to the thief. Presumably, after such a statement, the merchant hastened to leave hospitable Wallachia.

Many bloody legends about Dracula tell that Vlad the Impaler had a habit of having breakfast among dead and dying people impaled on stakes. These stakes differed in both colors and geometric shapes - by these signs it was always possible to distinguish a commoner from a noble nobleman (noblemen were seated somewhat higher). It was not enough for Dracula to simply deal with the undesirables; he carefully ensured that the stakes were not sharpened, which would lead to heavy blood loss and quick death. A blunt stake provided his victim with painful agony, which could last for 4 to 5 days.

Vlad Tepes, whose biography is varied, sought to show everyone his independence. One day, envoys of the Turkish Sultan arrived at the court. The unlucky Turks completely refused to take off their hats (faith does not allow it or something else). The angry ruler ordered his subjects to nail turbans to the heads of the Turks, which was immediately carried out. However, small nails were used for this procedure.

How did bloody legends about vampires appear?

An aspen stake, a bunch of garlic and, of course, crucifix - what movie about vampires would be complete without this paraphernalia? A good remedy the fight against evil spirits is also positioned by sunlight, but few people have thought about why.

Origins for creation, as well as their fear sunlight served as one mysterious disease of the Middle Ages. It manifested itself in the fact that a person could not bear direct sun rays, from the effects of which the skin became covered age spots, which caused quite a lot of pain.

The disease is called “porphyria” - the human body affected by this disease is not able to independently produce red blood cells. The disease is rare, and in those days representatives of the aristocracy were susceptible to it - that’s where the thread reaches to Count Dracula (who, by the way, did not suffer from porphyria). In order not to experience pain, a person was forced to appear on the street only at night or eat raw meat in order to restore the blood balance of the body.

Another source attributes the origin of vampire legends to a medieval aristocrat who believed that her youth would last forever if she took regular baths filled with the blood of young girls. These girls were taken to her castle and killed. This continued until one victim managed to escape and tell the ruler of those lands about what was happening in the gloomy castle. The Countess was imprisoned in her apartments and doomed to starvation.

By the way, in the Middle Ages there was a belief that those who drink young blood restore their strength and prolong their life. Who knows how many representatives of the aristocracy of those times resorted to this method of rejuvenation? They had plenty of opportunities...

admin this clip will probably be on topic... especially if you like the group ARIA

Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler or simply Dracula, was a legendary military prince of Wallachia. He ruled the principality three times - in 1448, from 1456 to 1462 and in 1476, during the beginning of the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. Dracula has become a popular folklore character in many countries of Eastern Europe thanks to his bloody battles and protection Orthodox Christianity from the Ottoman invasion. And at the same time he is one of the most popular and bloody figures in the history of pop culture. The blood-chilling legends of Dracula are known to almost everyone, but what was the real Vlad the Impaler like?

1. Small Motherland

The real historical prototype of Dracula was Vlad III (Vlad the Impaler). He was born in Sighisoara, Transylvania in 1431. Today on his former place birth, a restaurant was built, which annually attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world.

2. Order of the Dragon

Dracula's father was called Dracul, which means "dragon". Also, according to other sources, he had the nickname "devil". He received a similar name because he belonged to the Order of the Dragon, which fought the Ottoman Empire.

3. Father was married to the Moldavian princess Vasilisa

Although nothing is known about Dracula's mother, it is assumed that his father was married to the Moldavian princess Vasilisa at the time. However, since Vlad II had several mistresses, no one knows who Dracula's real mother was.

4. Between two fires

Dracula lived in a time of constant war. Transylvania was located on the border of two great empires: the Ottoman and Austrian Habsburgs. As a young man he was imprisoned, first by the Turks and later by the Hungarians. Dracula's father was killed, and his older brother Mircea was blinded with red-hot iron stakes and buried alive. These two facts greatly influenced how vile and vicious Vlad later became.

5.Constantine XI Palaiologos

It is believed that the young Dracula spent some time in Constantinople in 1443 at the court of Constantine XI Palaiologos, a legendary character in Greek folklore and the last emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Some historians suggest that it was there that he developed his hatred of the Ottomans.

6. Son and heir Mikhnya is evil

It is believed that Dracula was married twice. His first wife is unknown, although she may have been a Transylvanian noblewoman. She bore Vlad a son and heir, the evil Mikhny. Vlad married a second time after serving his prison sentence in Hungary. Dracula's second wife was Ilona Szilágyi, the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman. She bore him two sons, but neither of them became a ruler.

7. Nickname "Tepes"

The nickname "Tepes" translated from Romanian means "piercer". It appeared 30 years after Vlad's death. Vlad III earned his nickname "Tepes" (from the Romanian word țeapă 0 - "stake") because he killed thousands of Turks in a grisly manner - impalement. He learned about this execution back in adolescence, when he was a political hostage of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople.

8. The worst enemy of the Ottoman Empire

It is believed that Dracula is responsible for the deaths of more than one hundred thousand people (most of them Turks). It made him worst enemy Ottoman Empire.

9. Twenty thousand rotting corpses frightened the Sultan

In 1462, during the war between the Ottoman Empire and Dracula's Wallachia, Sultan Mehmed II fled with his army, horrified by the sight of twenty thousand rotting Turkish corpses impaled on stakes on the outskirts of Vlad's capital, Targovishte. During one battle, Dracula retreated into the nearby mountains, leaving behind him imprisoned prisoners. This forced the Turks to stop their pursuit, since the Sultan could not stand the stench of decaying corpses.

10. Birth of a legend

Impaled corpses were usually displayed as a warning to others. At the same time, the corpses were white, because the blood completely flowed out from the wound on the neck. This is where the legend came from that Vlad the Impaler was a vampire.

11. Scorched earth tactics

Dracula also became known for the fact that during his retreat, he burned villages along the way and killed all the local residents. Such atrocities were committed so that the soldiers of the Ottoman army had no place to rest and so that there were no women whom they could rape. In an attempt to cleanse the streets of the Wallachian capital Targovishte, Dracula invited all the sick, vagabonds and beggars to one of his houses under the pretext of a feast. At the end of the feast, Dracula left the house, locked it from the outside and set it on fire.

12. Dracula's head went to the Sultan

In 1476, 45-year-old Vlad was eventually captured and beheaded during the Turkish invasion. His head was brought to the Sultan, who put it on public display on the fence of his palace.

13. Remains of Dracula

It is believed that archaeologists who were searching for Snagov (a commune near Bucharest) in 1931 found the remains of Dracula. The remains were transferred to the historical museum in Bucharest, but later they disappeared without a trace, leaving the secrets of the real Prince Dracula unanswered.

14. Dracula was very religious

Despite his cruelty, Dracula was very religious and surrounded himself with priests and monks throughout his life. He founded five monasteries, and his family founded more than fifty monasteries over 150 years. He was initially praised by the Vatican for defending Christianity. However, the church subsequently expressed its disapproval of Dracula's brutal methods and ended its relationship with him.

15. An enemy of Turkey and a friend of Russia.

In Turkey, Dracula is considered a monstrous and vile ruler who executed his enemies in a painful way purely for his own pleasure. In Russia, many sources consider his actions to be justified.

16. Transylvanian subculture

Dracula enjoyed enormous popularity in the second half of the twentieth century. More than two hundred films featuring Count Dracula have been made, more than any other historical figure. At the center of this subculture is the legend of Transylvania, which has become almost synonymous with the land of vampires.

17. Dracula and Ceausescu

Strange sense of humor. | Photo: skachayka-programmi.ga

According to the book "In Search of Dracula", Vlad had a very strange sense of humor. The book tells how his victims often twitched on the stakes “like frogs.” Vlad thought it was funny, and once said of his victims: “Oh, what great grace they show.”

20. Fear and the Golden Cup

In order to prove how much the inhabitants of the principality feared him, Dracula placed a golden cup in the middle of the city square in Targovishte. He allowed people to drink from it, but the golden cup had to remain in its place at all times. Surprisingly, during the entire reign of Vlad, the golden cup was never touched, although sixty thousand people lived in the city, most in conditions of extreme poverty.

Predecessor: Vladislav II Successor: Radu III Frumos November December Predecessor: Basarab III Old Successor: Basarab III Old Religion: Orthodoxy, Romanian Church Birth: 1431 ( 1431 )
Chassbourg, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary Death: 1476 ( 1476 )
Bucharest, Principality of Wallachia Buried: Snagovsky Monastery Genus: Basarabi (Draculesti) Father: Vlad II Dracul Mother: Snezhna (?) Spouse: 1) Elizabeth
2) Ilona Zhilegay Children: sons: Mikhnya, Vlad

Vlad III Basarab, also known as Vlad Tepes(Rum. Vlad Țepeș - Vlad Kolovnik, Vlad the Impaler, Vlad the Piercer) and Vlad Dracula(Rum. Vlad Drăculea (November or December - December) - ruler of Wallachia in, - and. The nickname "Tepesh" ("Impaler", from Roman. ţeapă [tsyape] - "stake") received for cruelty in dealing with enemies and subjects , whom he impaled. A veteran of the wars against Turkey. The residence of Vlad III was located in Targovishte. Vlad received the nickname Dracula (Son of the Dragon or Dragon the Younger) in honor of his father, who was (since 1431) in the elite knightly Order of the Dragon, created by Emperor Sigismund in 1408. year . Members of the order had the right to wear a medallion with the image of a dragon on their necks. Vlad III’s father not only wore the sign of the order, but also minted it on his coins and depicted it on the walls of the churches being built, for which he received the nickname Dracul - the Dragon (or the Devil).

Biography

As a result of the “Night Attack” on June 17, 1462, he forced the 100-120 thousand Ottoman army led by Sultan Mehmed II to retreat into the principality.

In the same year, as a result of the betrayal of the Hungarian monarch Matthias Corvinus, he was forced to flee to Hungary, where he was imprisoned on false charges of collaboration with the Turks and served in prison for 12 years.

Anonymous German document from 1463

The basis of all future legends about the unprecedented bloodthirstiness of the ruler was a document compiled by an unknown author (presumably on the orders of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary) and published in 1463 in Germany. It is there that descriptions of the executions and torture of Dracula, as well as all the stories of his atrocities, are first found.

From a historical point of view, there is extremely great reason to doubt the accuracy of the information presented in this document. In addition to the obvious interest of the Hungarian throne in replicating of this document(the desire to hide the fact that King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary stole a large sum allocated by the papal throne for the crusade), not a single earlier mention of these “pseudo-folklore” stories has been found.

I came to him once from the Turkic poklisariy<послы>, and when she went down to him and bowed according to her custom, and<шапок, фесок>I didn’t take off my chapters. He asked them: “Why did you inflict such a shame on the great sovereign and commit such disgrace?” They answered: “This is our custom, sir, and this is our land.” He said to them: “And I want to confirm your law, so that you stand strong,” and he commanded them to nail the caps to their heads with a small iron nail and let them go, telling them: “As you go, tell your sovereign, he has learned to endure that shame from you, we but not with skill, but do not send his custom to other sovereigns who do not want to have it, but let him keep it for himself.”

This text was written by the Russian ambassador to Hungary Fyodor Kuritsyn in 1484. It is known that in his “The Tale of Dracula the Voivode” Kuritsyn uses information from precisely that anonymous source, written 21 years earlier.

Below are some of the stories written by an unknown German author:

There is a known case when Tepes called together about 500 boyars and asked them how many rulers each of them remembers. It turned out that even the youngest of them remembers at least 7 reigns. Tepes's response was an attempt to put an end to this order - all the boyars were impaled and dug in around Tepes' chambers in his capital Targovishte.

The following story is also given: a foreign merchant who came to Wallachia was robbed. He files a complaint with Tepes. While the thief is being caught and impaled, the merchant is given, on Tepes’ orders, a wallet containing one coin more than it was. The merchant, having discovered the surplus, immediately informs Tepes. He laughs and says: “Well done, I wouldn’t say it - you’d be sitting on a stake next to the thief.”

Tepes discovers that there are many beggars in the country. He convenes them, feeds them to the full and asks the question: “Wouldn’t they like to get rid of earthly suffering forever?” In response to a positive response, Tepes closes the doors and windows and burns everyone gathered alive.

There is a story about a mistress who tries to deceive Tepes by talking about her pregnancy. Tepes warns her that he does not tolerate lies, but she continues to insist on her own, then Tepes rips open her stomach and shouts: “I told you that I don’t like lies!”

An incident is also described when Dracula asked two wandering monks what people were saying about his reign. One of the monks replied that the population of Wallachia reviled him as a cruel villain, and another said that everyone praised him as a liberator from the threat of the Turks and a wise politician. In fact, both testimonies were fair in their own way. And the legend, in turn, has two endings. In the German "version", Dracula executed the former because he did not like his speech. In the Russian version of the legend, the ruler left the first monk alive and executed the second for lying.

One of the creepiest and least believable pieces of evidence in this document is that Dracula liked to have breakfast at the site of his execution or the site of a recent battle. He ordered a table and food to be brought to him, sat down and ate among the dead and people dying on stakes. There is also an addition to this story, which says that the servant who served Vlad food could not stand the smell of decay and, clutching his throat with his hands, dropped the tray right in front of him. Vlad asked why he did this. “I can’t stand it, the terrible stench,” answered the unfortunate man. And Vlad immediately ordered to put him on a stake, which was several meters longer than the others, after which he shouted to the still living servant: “You see! Now you are taller than everyone else, and the stench does not reach you.”

Dracula asked the ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire who came to him demanding recognition of vassalage: “Why didn’t they take off their hats to him, the ruler.” Hearing the answer that they would bare their heads only in front of the Sultan, Vlad ordered the caps to be nailed to their heads.

Literary and screen image of Dracula

The reign of Dracula had a great influence on his contemporaries, who shaped his image in the folklore tradition of the Romanians and their neighboring peoples. An important source in this case, there is a poem by M. Behaim, who in the 1460s lived at the court of the Hungarian king Matthew Corvinus; German pamphlets are known, distributed under the title “About one great monster.” Various Romanian legends tell about Tepes, both directly recorded by the people and processed by the famous storyteller P. Ispirescu.

Vlad III became a literary hero soon after his death: it was written about him in Church Slavonic (which was used as a literary language in Romania at that time), after the Russian embassy of Ivan III visited Wallachia, very popular in Rus'.

The emergence of a connection between the image of Vlad Tepes and Count Dracula is usually explained by the fact that Bram Stoker heard the legend that Tepes became a vampire after his death. It is unknown whether he heard such a legend; but there were grounds for its existence, since the killer Tepes was cursed more than once by the dying, and, in addition, changed his faith (although this fact is questioned). According to the beliefs of the Carpathian peoples, this is quite enough for posthumous transformation into a vampire. However, there is another version: after the death of Vlad the Impaler, his body was not found in the grave...

On his instructions, the victims were impaled on a thick stake, the top of which was rounded and oiled. The stake was inserted into the vagina (the victim died almost within a few minutes from profuse blood loss) or anus (death occurred from rupture of the rectum and developed peritonitis, the person died within a few days in terrible torment) to a depth of several tens of centimeters, then the stake was installed vertically. The victim, under the influence of the weight of his body, slowly slid down the stake, and death sometimes occurred only after a few days, since the rounded stake did not pierce the vital organs, but only went deeper into the body. In some cases, a horizontal crossbar was installed on the stake, which prevented the body from sliding too low and ensured that the stake did not reach the heart and other vital organs. In this case, death from loss of blood did not occur very soon. The usual version of execution was also very painful, and the victims writhed on the stake for several hours.

Tepes sought to compare the height of the stakes with the social rank of those executed - the boyars were impaled higher than the commoners, so by the forests of those impaled one could judge social status executed.

Copycats

The dubiousness of the scale of Dracula’s atrocities did not prevent later rulers from “adopting” similar methods of conducting internal and foreign policy. For example, when John Tiptoft, Earl of Worchester, probably having heard a lot about effective "draculistic" methods during diplomatic service at the papal court, began to impale Lincolnshire rebels in 1470, he himself was executed for actions - as the sentence read - "contrary to the laws of this countries".