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In Sighisoara, Transylvania stands a three-story building with the distinction of being Dracula's birthplace. Born in 1431 to a Transylvanian father and a Moldavian mother of royal descent, Vlad Dracula spent his early years in a decidedly unusual state of Germanic, Moldavian, and Transylvanian influences. He was educated by his mother and her ladies-in-waiting. His military edcuation was provided by his father and an old boyar who had trained with the Turks.
At the time of Dracula's birth, Transylvania was ruled by Hungary. Dracula was later to use his knowledge of Hungary to marry a member of the royal family.
In 1444 when Vlad was 13, he and his brother Radu were taken hostage by the Turks. They spent the next four years in Turkey, where Vlad received his political and military training. In 1448 when he was 17, Vlad was freed by the Turks and given his own army. He ruled Wallachia for 2 months before fleeing to Moldavia. His father and older brother Mircea had been assassinated in 1447 by the family's enemies, the Hunyadi family. Dracula had received word that Hunyadi assassins had entered Wallachia.
In 1456, following the death of Dracula's mortal enemy, John Hunyadi, Vlad regained the Wallachian throne. He set up his capital in the city of Tirgoviste, which can still be seen today. Tirgoviste became the center of political power, as well as the home of the Orthodox Church.
Vlad Dracula was deposed in 1462 by the Turks.
For the next twelve years, from 1462-1474, Dracula remained a prisoner of King Matthius in Hungary. It was during this time Vlad married a member of the royal family. He also became a Catholic.
Briefly in 1476, Vlad regained his Wallachian throne. He was only able to retain it for two months, as he was killed fighting the Turks near Bucharest.
Vlad Dracula is known today as a hero of Romania. He is respected for fighting the Turks. He unified Wallachia and created a strong sense of pride in its native people. He felt strongly that Wallachians deserved all the rights previously given to foreigners in his land. He was the last Wallachian prince to remain independent of the Ottoman Empire.
The legend of Dracula has outlived the man himself. Among his many detractors were the Turks, the German Saxons living in Tirgoviste, the Orthodox Church, and the Catholic Church. The folklore of Romania is full of stories about his horrific treatment of his enemies.
The author Bram Stoker read travel guides and histories of Romania during his research for the novel "Dracula". The folklore of Romania is full of the legends of Dracula the Impaler, as Vlad was known. Three stories remain strong in establishing Vlad as a bloodsucking, cruel tyrant.
Vlad was strolling the streets of a Wallachian city one day when he became aware of the vast number of beggars milling about. He had no quarrel with the poor of his princedom who tried to earn a living by working. His quarrel was with the families of beggars who never attempted to earn an honest day's living. Stories say he invited the beggars and their families to his castle. There he fed them one of the fanciest meals they had ever seen. Near the end of the dinner, at a signal from Vlad, the servers existed the building. Soldiers boarded up the exits and Vlad ordered them to set fire to the castle. No one escaped.
Another story concerns Vlad and his alleged mistress. The woman was afraid she was losing Vlad's affections. She told him she was carrying his child. Vlad became suspicious and asked her to tell him the truth. She insisted she was pregnant. Vlad had her cut open to see if she was truthful. She was not.
The strongest case for Vlad's cruelty occurred during an invasion of Wallachia by the Turkish army. The Turks had decided to enter Wallachia from the Danube in a surprise attack. The Wallachian army was outnumbered 10 to 1. Seeing a possible defeat on his hands, Vlad led his army back to the capitol at Tirgoviste. Along the way, he burned down entire villages, sending residents into the mountains for safekeeping. He slaughtered the animals and burned the fields. He also poisoned the water. When the Turks came through, they would find no food and no shelter. (One surviving legend is that Vlad drank the blood of slaughtered animals to stay alive. This has never been proven.) As they entered the boundaries of the capitol, they were met with a horrific site. The road to Tirgoviste was strewn on either side with the bodies of 20,000 Turkish captives. Every one had been impaled. The Turks were so sickened by this site and the fear that worse punishment was in store for them, they fled Wallachia.
There are many other stories describing Dracula's cruelty to his enemies. These were exaggerated by his detractors to the point Vlad Dracula's heinous actions outlived his politcal genius.
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