• The Bloody Reign of Dracula
    “How many princes have you known?” (Florescu and McNally 91) Vlad Dracula inquired of his boyars. The Romanian upper class knew many. Even the youngest thought that there had been seven. This scene was later followed by Dracula impaling and working to death the boyars and their families. This was one of the more minor atrocities committed by Vlad the Impaler, who Bram Stoker based his famous Dracula book on. But Dracula was also a military tactical leader, simply trying to retain his rule. Was Vlad Dracula a maniac, obsessed with torturing or a leader using painful methods to stay in control? After all, his tactics were standard for the time, not that different from the methods of the Turks or Louis XI of France, the (the Spider King, who had a habit of hanging young boys on trees). Perhaps Dracula was a bit of both.
    Dracula was born to Vlad Dracul in 1431. His father was a powerful lord of Transylvania. He was a vassal of Emperor Fredrick III. Later, Fredrick granted Dracul Wallachia and the duchies of Amlas and Fagaras. Dracula lived in a castle, and from an early age showed an unusual interest in the hangings of criminals. Dracul formed a peace treaty with the powerful Turks, and was later assassinated by men working for John Hunyadi, an enemy of the Turks, who ruled Transylvania. Control of Wallachia was given to Vladislav II. Later, when Dracula was older, he was invited to serve as a warrior in Hunyadi’s forces. Dracula seized Wallachia (and Amlas and Fagaras) and had influence in Transylvania after the death of Hunyadi.
    And so began a period of blood and wine, war and peace, love and hate. Dracula replaced the boyars with a loyal militia consisting of peasants from Romania and adventurers from a variety of places, who would carry out Dracula’s grotesque commands without question. Dracula used terror methods to keep his land under control. A huge amount of people were impaled, though numerous others were boiled, skinned, buried alive, roasted, decapitated, burned, and beat. Nearly all were tortured and publicly displayed.
    Rebellion later happened during his rule. Dan III, a member of the rival Danesti clan, and Vlad the Monk (Dracula’s half brother) raised armies to defeat Dracula. The two German towns housing the would-be rulers were cut off from trade until agreeing to hand over the men. Dracula could then turn to the east, where the Ottoman Turks, under Memhed the Conqueror, were an ominous threat. Furious of Dracula’s impudence to him, he raised a huge army. Using speed attacks and guerilla warfare, as well as the infamous “forest of the impaled”, Dracula drove the vastly superior army out of Wallachia, saving Romania and the rest of Europe from annihilation at the hands of the Turks.
    But after Dracula had driven out the invaders, the people felt threatened. Though the war was over, Dracula continued to use terror tactics. No one was safe. So when Radu the Handsome, Dracula’s brother, in league with the Turks, offered no fear, Romanians quickly accepted. The Turks returned to Wallachia, and Vlad ran to Castle Dracula. The Turks were preparing to bombard the castle when a janissary loyal to Dracula warned him. Dracula escaped, and fled to Brasov, where the Hungarian king Matthias was waiting. After several weeks, the king sent an ambush to capture him. Matthias had formed an alliance with the Turks. Dracula was jailed for 12 years. However, the ruler treated him as an exulted guest, and used Dracula as a reserve weapon if the Turks broke the treaty. When the Turks did, Dracula was helped regained the throne from the substitute, Basarab Laiota. Unfortunately for him, Dracula was murdered by a Turkish assasin soon after. His body was buried in the Snagov chapel. However, when the grave was unearthed in 1931, his body was nowhere to be found. So Dracula remains an enigma even today. Dracula was a hero, a villain, and a leader; a unique figure in the history of Europe.