I was born in November 1431, in the fortress of Sighisoara, Romania. My father, Vlad Dracul, at that time appointed military governor of Transylvania by the emperor Sigismund, had been inducted into the Order of the Dragon about one year before. The order - which could be compared to the Knights of the Hospital of St. John or even to the Teutonic Order of Knights - was a semimilitary and religious society, originally created in 1387 by the Holy Roman Emperor and his second wife, Barbara Cilli. The main goals of such a secret fraternal order of knights was mainly to protect the interests of Catholicism, and to crusade against the Turks. There are different reasons why this society is so important to us. First, it provides an explanation for the name "Dracula;" "Dracul," in Romanian language, means "Dragon", and the boyars of Romania, who knew of Vlad Tepes' father induction into the Order of the Dragon, decided to call him "Dracul." "Dracula," a diminutive which means "the son of Dracul," was a surname to be used ultimately by me. A second major role of this Order as a source of inspiration for Stoker's evil character is the Order's official dress - a black cape over a red garment - to be worn only on Fridays or during the commemoration of Christ's Passion.
In the winter of 1436-1437, Dracul became prince of Wallachia (one of the three Romanian provinces) and took up residence at the palace of Tirgoviste, the princely capital. I followed my father and lived six years at the princely court. In 1442, for political reasons, I and my younger brother Radu were taken hostage by the Sultan Murad II; I was held in Turkey until 1448, while my brother Radu decided to stay there until 1462. This Turkish captivity surely played an important role in my upbringing; it was at this period that I adopted a very pessimistic view of life. Indeed, the Turks set me free after informing me of my father's assassination in 1447 - organized by Vladislav II. I also learned about my older brother's death - Mircea was the eldest legitimate son of Dracul - and how he had been tortured and buried alive by the boyars of Tirgoviste.
At 17 years old, I, supported by a force of Turkish cavalry and a contingent of troops lent to me by pasha Mustafa Hassan, made my first major move toward seizing the Wallachian throne. But another claimant, no other than Vladislav II himself, defeated me only two months later. In order to secure my second and major reign over Wallachia, I had to wait until July of 1456, when I had the satisfaction of killing my mortal enemy and my father's assassin. I then began my longest reign - 6 years - during which I committed many cruelties, and hence established my controversed reputation.
My first major act of revenge was aimed at the boyars of Tirgoviste for the killing of my father and my brother Mircea. I became quite known for my brutal punishment techniques; I often ordered people to be skinned, boiled, decapitated, blinded, strangled, hanged, burned, roasted, hacked, nailed, buried alive, stabbed, etc. I also liked to cut off noses, ears, sexual organs and limbs. But my favorite method was impalement on stakes, hence the surname "Tepes" which means "The Impaler" in the Romanian language. Even the Turks referred to me as "Kaziglu Bey," meaning "The Impaler Prince." It is this technique that I used in 1457, 1459 and 1460 against Transylvanian merchants who had ignored my trade laws. The raids I led against the German Saxons of Transylvania were also acts of proto-nationalism in order to protect and favour the Wallachian commerce activities.
There are many anecdotes about my philosophy to see more visit VLAD'S TALES in my blog.During my reign, the laws regarding honesty and order were very effective, mostly because breaking them usually lead to death. Thieves seldom dared practice their trade within my domain - they knew that the stake awaited any who were caught. In the beginning of 1462, I launched a campaign against the Turks along the Danube river. It was quite risky, the military force of Sultan Mehmed II being by far more powerful than the Wallachian army. However, during the winter of 1462, I was very successful and managed to gain many victories. To punish me, the Sultan decided to launch a full-scale invasion of Wallachia. Of course, his other goal was to transform this land into a Turkish province and he entered Wallachia with an army three times larger than mine. Finding myself without allies, I, forced to retreat towards Tirgoviste, burned my own villages and poisoned the wells along the way, so that the Turkish army would find nothing to eat or drink. Moreover, when the Sultan, exhausted, finally reached the capital city, he was confronted by a most gruesome sight: thousands of stakes held the remaining carcasses of some 20,000 Turkish captives, a horror scene which was ultimately nicknamed the "Forest of the Impaled." This terror tactic deliberately stage-managed by me was definitely successful; the scene had a strong effect on Mehmed's most stout-hearted officers, and the Sultan, tired and hungry, admitted defeat (it is worth mentioning that even Victor Hugo, in his Legende des Siecles, recalls this particular incident). Nevertheless, following his retreat from Wallachian territory, Mehmed left the next phase of the battle to my younger brother Radu, the Turkish favorite for the Wallachian throne. At the head of a Turkish army and joined by my detractors, Radu pursued me to Poenari castle on the Arges river.
This is when my wife, in order to escape Turkish capture, committed suicide by hurling herself from the upper battlements, her body falling down the precipice into the river below - a scene exploited by Francis Ford Coppola's production. I, being definitely not the kind of man to kill myself, managed to escape the siege of my fortress by using a secret passage into the mountain. Helped by some peasants of the Arefu village, I was able to reach Transylvania where I met the new king of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus. However, instead of providing some help, Matthias arrested me and imprisoned me at the Hungarian capital of Visegrad. It was not until 1475 that I was again recognized as the prince of Wallachia, enjoying a very short third reign. In fact, i staged my own assassination in December 1476. I left a decapitated body that resembled my own with my signet ring on the hand in the forest and entered into the eternal night.
music
Dracula-Iced Earth
artists
Currency Converter byOANDA.com, The Currency Site.
Hobby
Impaling
Book
Dracula-Bram Stoker
Website
http://photocasket.ning.com/profile/VladislovTsepeshIII
Favorite holiday
St. George's Eve
Favorite quote
Go safely and leave some of the happiness you bring.
Looking for...
Friends
Languages
English, Romanian, Turkish
Occupation
Prince of Wallachia
Hidden talent
Hypnosis
Movie
Dracula 2000
Relationship status
Married
Destination
Your hometown
Sport/Activity
Impalement
