The failed Crusades left European knights bitter and determined to reclaim the Holy Lands from the Ottoman Empire. The Order of the Dragon emerged, with a solemn vow to fight against the enemies of Christianity, particularly the Ottoman Turks. Among its members was Vlad II, a Romanian warlord, who joined the order and was renamed Vlad Dracul, or Vlad the Dragon.
Vlad Dracul betrayed his Order and the Holy Roman Empire by assisting the Ottoman forces in their invasion of Transylvania. As a consequence, he lost his right to Wallachia. However, the Ottomans conquered Wallachia and reinstated Vlad as its ruler, turning it into a vassal state. To ensure Vlad's loyalty, the sultan took his teenaged son, Vlad Dracula, as a hostage.
During his time with the Ottomans, Vlad Dracula witnessed the ruthless rule of the sultan, who maintained control through cruelty and severe consequences for disobedience. Despite his captivity, Vlad never converted to Islam. At 19, he learned of Transylvanian conquest of Wallachia and turned to Hungary for support, initiating a plan to reclaim his homeland.
After six years of preparation, Vlad Dracula invaded Wallachia, overthrowing the Transylvanian-backed ruler and personally killing his father's murderer. However, Vlad's reign was marked by extreme brutality. Known as Vlad the Impaler, he purged the Wallachian nobility, invaded Transylvania, and spread terror with his frequent use of impalement as a form of execution.
In 1462, facing demands from the Ottomans, Vlad Dracula adopted a proactive strategy and attacked Ottoman territory in Bulgaria. The sultan retaliated, leading to a conflict where Vlad employed guerrilla warfare, environmental tactics, and even germ warfare. Despite these efforts, the Ottomans advanced, prompting Vlad to devise a final strike against the sultan.
In a daring nighttime assault, Vlad Dracula and his horsemen stormed the Ottoman encampment with torches, aiming to kill Sultan Mehmed. However, the plan went awry, and the sultan escaped. The following day, the Ottoman army encountered the ghost city of Targoviste, filled with the impaled bodies of 20,000 Muslims.
The Ottomans faced the choice between hunger and continued attacks by Vlad Dracula or retreat. They chose the latter, leaving a small force behind and enslaving Wallachians. Though victorious, Vlad's nation was in ruins, and he became a refugee with a small band of fighters.
In an attempt to rebuild Wallachia, Vlad Dracula turned to the King of Hungary, only to be betrayed and imprisoned. Released thirteen years later, he resumed his fight against the Ottomans but met an unclear demise, either killed during an Ottoman attack or betrayed by Wallachian nobles.
The story of Vlad Dracula, with its mix of brutality and cunning, inspired Bram Stoker's fictional vampire Count Dracula in 1897, creating a character far more frightening than the fictionalized version.
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