Weekly Romanian Facts: Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad the Impaler)

Vlad III (Also known as Vlad Ţepeş /'TSE-pesh/ in Romanian or Vlad the Impaler), November/December, 1431– December 1476, and reigned as Prince of Wallachia 1448, 1456-1462 and 1476. His post-mortem nickname Ţepeş (Impaler) comes from the method of execution by impalement. His sobriquet is connected to the impalement that was his favorite method of execution.

He was born in Sighişoara, a small town in Transylvania. Vlad and his younger brother, Radu were held as hostages in the Ottoman Empire in 1442 to secure their father's loyalty. Vlad's eldest brother Mircea and their father were murdered after John Hunyadi, regent-governor of Hungary, invaded Wallachia in 1447. Hunyadi installed Vlad's second cousin, Vladislav II, as the new Voivode (ruler, governor). Upon the death of his father and elder brother, Vlad became a potential claimant to Wallachia. Vlad then embarked upon the first of a lifelong series of campaigns to regain his father’s seat. His opponents included the boyars (aristocracy) as well as his younger brother, who was supported by the Ottoman sultan. He emerged briefly victorious in 1448 but was deposed after only two months. After an eight-year struggle, Vlad again claimed the voivodate.

He is known as "the Impaler Prince", and is a popular folk hero in Romania and Moldova even to-day. However, abroad, he is popularly associated with the title of vampire - a character of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula - to the point where he is thought to be the inspiration for it. His name had its origin in the sobriquet of his father, Vlad Dracul ("Vlad the Dragon" in medievel Romania), who received it after he became a member of the Order of the Dragon.The Order of the Dragon was dedicated to halting the Ottoman advance into Europe. Dracula is the Slovanic genitive form of Dracul, meaning "[the son] of Dracul (or the Dragon)". In modern Romanian, dracul means "the devil".

Vlad was a crucial player in the defense of Christendom in Europe. At times, he and his army would pass over the frozen Danube and invade Ottoman territory (mainly in present-day Bulgaria) and cause great mayhem. In one of his invasions, he is supposedly to have killed more than 20,000 Turks. He freed convicted criminals and encouraged those who were afflicted with leprosy and the bubonic plague to mingle among the Turks. It became widely known that Wallachian justice was harsh and Vlad had many criminals impaled, regardless of their crimes. 

Another story accounts that there once was a foreign merchant who was in Vlad's capital city. The merchant left his wagon out, knowing the strict punishment for breaking the law. When he came back to the wagon in the morning he found that 16 ducants (gold coins) were missing. He went to Dracula and told him of the stolen money. Vlad told him he would have his money by sundown. He then told the people that if they did not find the thief, then he (Vlad), would burn down the city. He then told one of his servants to place 17 ducats in the merchant's wagon. After the merchant discovered the ducats, he went to Dracula and told him that there was an extra ducat. At this point the thief was brought to Dracula who ordered him impaled, and Dracula also told the merchant that if he had not returned the extra ducat, he would have been impaled along with the thief.

On a kinder note, another story tells that Vlad placed a golden cup at a well-travelled spring so travelers could drink. Not once during his entire reign was the cup ever stolen.

Vlad the Impaler died either in late December 1476 or early January 1477. He was fighting a battle against the Turkish Ottoman Empire and Basarab Laiotă, who had laid claim to Wallachia. Vlad the Impaler, also known as Vlad III, ruled Wallachia, today’s Romania, in the 15th century.