Vlad the Impaler
The historical name of Vlad the Impaler might sound familiar to you, however do you know the story behind Vlad?
Vlad (Vlad III) was the 15th ruler of Wallachia, which is now in Romania. Wallachia was a small principality squeezed between Christian Hungary and the expanding Ottoman Empire. The dualling religions made for very contentious living conditions, threats or war, raiding parties, war. Vlad is regarded as a Christian hero in Romania due to his opposition to the Ottoman Empire and he is considered an important ruler in Wallachian history.
His youth
In 1442, Vlad accompanied his father and his 7-year-old brother Radu on a diplomatic mission in the heart of the Ottoman Empire. However, the three were captured and held hostage by the Ottoman diplomats. Upon his return, Vlad II was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by local war lords. Upon hearing this news Vlad III was freed shortly after his family’s death. However by then he had already developed a taste for violence.
Vlad turns the tables (literally)
To consolidate power and assert his dominance after he took the throne as the legit ruler of Wallachia. Vlad decided to hold a banquet and invited hundreds of members of his rival families (War lords, etc). He used this dinner to catch his guests (enemies) off guard. They were slaughtered. Vlad quickly consolidated regional power some of which came from brutal tactics.
Vlad goes deeper
Vlad dove deeper into the depravity, his cruel acts and brutal punishments are part of his legacy. I am not going to linger on these points as history covers his torture acts well. You could summarize them as:
- brutal torture and killing of enemies,
- Vlad ordered his men to poison wells and burn crops.
- He also paid diseased men to infiltrate and infect the enemy armies.
- His victims were often disemboweled,
- Vlad also was fond of beheading and skinning or boiling alive.
Vlad's most severe punishment was impaling
Impaling involved a long wooden or metal pole inserted through the genitals to the victim’s mouth, shoulders or neck. The poles were greased to aid in pushing into the human cavity, great care was taken to avoid hitting major organs. It would often take hours, if not days, for the victim to finally die. Vlad used impaling as a warning to his enemies.
His most celebrated military achievement came in the summer of 1462, when Sultan Mehmed II — the conqueror of Constantinople, led an army estimated at 60,000–90,000 men into Wallachia. Vlad, commanding a force a fraction of that size, refused surrender. Vlad turned his warriors upon the larger force and defeated them and took vast numbers of prisoners. Then Vlad ordered 20,000 defeated Ottomans to be impaled on wooden stakes outside the city of Târgoviște. Which is historically known as "The Forest of The Impaled!" When the Sultan Mehmed II (1432-1481) came across the field of the dead being picked apart by crows, he was so horrified that he retreated to Constantinople. The message traveled not only thru the Ottoman Empire but thru the sands of time.
His nickname was not used until after his death
His nickname “Tepes” (pronounced Tsep-esh), meaning “the Impaler,” was not used during his lifetime. Historical sources state the name Vlad the Impaler only appear in Romanian sources only after his death. Oddly enough what drove me to write this blog was that Roman deadlifts have been showing up in Insta feeds not sure if this is mocking or admiration? Thanks for going down this historical journey with me.
Summary
Vlad the Impaler was an undeniably brutal ruler. However he is still considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania. Oddly enough, Vlad didn't start to impale people until his mid-30's (rather a late bloomer for that era or dying young).
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