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Vlad Tepes - the legend of Dracula


Vlad Tepes - (1431-1477) prince (voïvode) Rumanian called Vlad Empaleur, personality of the fight of the Christians against the Ottoman Empire of the XV- ème century, recognized for its important alliances with princes who reigned at the time the countries close and for his spirit to dispenser of justice, by punishing the incorrect and miserly aristocrats.

Very respected for its courage to attack the Ottoman armies even in situations of numerical inferiority.

Born (probably) in the medieval city from Sighisoara in Transylvania (or in the German city Nuremberg), in 1430 (or 1431), wire of Prince Vlad Dracul, Knight about the Dragon and “recognized” as prince of Valachia by the Sigismund emperor of Luxemburg.

But his/her father becomes in 1436, in fact, prince reigning of Valachiaa, also recognized by the Rumanian aristocrats of Valachiaa, the Magyar king and the Ottoman Empire.

The blazon of the family was the dragon, named in Latin Draco-Onis. In Rumanian the word “drac” means “devil”.
In 1437 in a first documentary certificate Prince Vlad is named in an official paper, like “wire of Prince Vlad Dracul”, which had three wire.

Vlad Tepes is the downward one of the family of the “Basarabes”, the founders of the Principality Valachiaa “Tara Romaneasca” During its childhood and are adolescence, Vlad was the hostage of the Ottoman Empire, to prove the fidelity of his/her father towards the Sultan.

It goes up on the throne of Valachia in October 1448 for a very short period, but it is obliged to flee and leave in Moldavie.

Its relation with the reigning prince of Transylvania, Iancu de Hunedoara is paradoxical in 1452 Iancu de Hunedoara requires of the citizens of Brasov to stop it and exile it in Moldavie, but three years later, the same prince, indicates it like Grand ordering armies of border in the south of Transylvania.

Thus Vlad Tepes succeeds in overcoming the armies of Voïvode of Valachia of the time, Vladislav II and becoming reigning prince. Its princely Court was in the town of Targoviste.

While he was a reigning prince, Vlad Tepes supported arrived on the throne of Moldavia of prince stéfan cel Mare March-April 1457) by sending armies to him.


It tested moderated the requests of Turkish who wanted to increase the taxes and the debts of the principality of Valachia; in 1459 it ceases paying the tribute with the Turks.

In 1461 the Turks asks him to break his marriage (his wife was of the family of King d' Hungary Matei Corvin) and to give up alliances with the Kingdom of Hungary by sending commanders of the army Turkish to kill the prince.

Vlad Tepes refuses to break alliances and it reacts, considering its very courageous character, it captures the commanders Turkish and the fact of impaling.

NB (it is qualified by its contemporaries as bloody) but it should not be forgotten that are practices current in all Europe of this time! torture by impalement, the wheel, quartering, it to rough-hew and this in place public.

In 1461 Vlad Tepes continues its punitive forwardings against the Turkish armies in the south of the Danube and conquered the territory of Dobrogea which is attached to Valachia.

Its military efforts ensure a wall of protection for all the Central Europe against the Othoman danger, but Christian alliances of the time were fragile and the prince was to also oblige to fight against his own brother for the throne of Valachia.

In 1462 the prince is stopped and to imprison by his beautiful brother. It is in 1475 that it is released by Prince Matei Corvin and it starts to make build a house in the city of Brasov.

It tests, by the diplomacy and by its tiller of strategist to always make alliances while trying to create a common face of Christian fight against the Othoman danger.

It is into 1476 that Vlad Tepes goes up for the last time on the throne of Valachia, following its participation in the fight against Turkish.

On November 26, 1476 Vad Tepes is re-elected prince of Valachia by the assembly” of the country, it makes an alliance with Etienne the Large one, the prince of Moldavie but it is assassinated by a plot carried out by Turkish in December 1476 (or January 1477).

Its bloody and cruel character, reflected by its nickname, was indeed the expression of the current practices of the time when it was a question of defending the own territory and of defending Christianity against the Othoman danger.

Dracula
The literary character Dracula was creates by the Irish writer Bram Stocker in 1897 and uses prince Vlad Tepes like prototype. The book which was a great success (and films that it inspired) generated a new legend which is rather a later creation, influenced by Irish myths and Hungarian influences.

Let us say that the legend of Dracula is a “mixtum compositum” like Latin said between a historical character and the effect of imagination. The name of” Dracula” comes from the name of prince Vlad Dracul, the father of Vlad Tepes and the Irish writer characterizes it like “most skilful, most malicious but also most valiant of wire of the country beyond the forest”.

Many cities and of quoted Romania preserves the traces of Prince Vlad Tepes:

Thus Bucharest, the current capital of the country knows its first documentary certificate in an official paper dating from the period of its reign (1459).

Targovist, the old capital of Valachia, with his keep, was the capital during his reign.

The medieval citadel of Sighisoara preserves also the house of his/her father, Vlad Dracul.

The city of Poienari is located at the edge of the river Arges and it was rebuilt during the reign of Vlad Tepes. It is here, probably the true “Castle of Carpates”.

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