1 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: The battles of the past to find the present. This 2 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: is shields high. Who's the greatest monster in history? Some 3 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: names will come up right away, Hitler, Stalin, Mao pol Pot, 4 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: But that takes the question a very specific direction. I 5 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,880 Speaker 1: didn't say real monsters, did I? And then again, those 6 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: are also all figures in the twentieth century. Now, because 7 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: of the industrialized scale of the slaughter in the twentieth century, 8 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: clearly by sheer numbers, those evildoers will be in something 9 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: of a category by themselves, although if you look at 10 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: the body count of say Genghis Khan, it would rival, 11 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: including innocent women and children, anything done by the evildoers 12 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century. And is it really possible that 13 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: all of the worst, most fearsome evildoers in history were 14 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 1: alive in a one century period, in fact, doing their 15 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:19,199 Speaker 1: deeds within decades of each other. Probably not. But let's 16 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: return to the question. Those are all real people. And 17 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: when some people think monster, something very different comes to mind. 18 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: The locknest monster, the abominable snowman, the wolfman. Monster conjures 19 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: up horror stories of recent decades and myths and legends 20 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,479 Speaker 1: of the past. Now, what if I told you there 21 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: was a figure in the actual past who was a 22 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: very real monster in both senses, a remorseless, bloodthirsty killer 23 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: on a massive scale, as well as being the basis 24 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: for one of the most enduring monster myths monster legends 25 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: of all time, as well as, believe it or not, 26 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 1: being a national folk hero in Romania, a talented military commander, 27 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: a Christian crusader against the Jihad, an exceptional builder and administrator, 28 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: and a man who founded what became the capital of 29 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: Romania with the city of Bucharest. Well, all I have 30 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:28,559 Speaker 1: to do is say one word to answer this for you, Dracula. 31 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: I know what your mind goes to when you hear 32 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: that word, right, an elegantly dressed count with a thick 33 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:39,799 Speaker 1: Romanian accent, then slicked back hair with two prominent fangs, 34 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: who vaughns to drink your blood. And that's certainly part 35 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: of the Dracula mythology as represented in pop culture for 36 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,839 Speaker 1: say the last hundred years. Some of you might even 37 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: think about a chocolate sugary cereal or a beloved numerically 38 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: literate character on Sesame Street known simply as the Count. 39 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: But what about the actual guy, the actual man, not 40 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: the horror films with the comic strips, or even the 41 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: timeless classic novel written by an irishman named Bram Stoker 42 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety seven. Well, my friends, there was a 43 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: very real man named Dracula, and he's actually one of 44 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: the most fascinating and terrifying characters of the fifteenth century 45 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: Western world. He was a minor prince in Eastern Europe, 46 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: set in the middle of warring factions to include Hungary, Serbia, Moldovia, Germans, Saxons, Transylvanians, Greeks, 47 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: and yes, of course, the Ottoman a horde at his doorstep, 48 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: the Caliphate of Islam, seeking the ultimate conquest of all 49 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: of Christendom. His name was Vladcheppes or Vlad the Third, 50 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: better known as Vlad Dracula and later on Vlad the Impaler. 51 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: Have you heard about this prince of Wallachia, famous for 52 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: ordering the cruelest of tortures for thousands of his enemies 53 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: at a time. In fact, Vlad Chepesh or Vlad the 54 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: Third would become so expert in the utilization of this 55 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 1: impalement technique that he would become known as the Impaler. 56 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: Now this is a particularly brutal form of execution that 57 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: has been known in the historic text going back to 58 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 1: the time of Hammurabi in the eighteenth century BC, and 59 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: much like crucifixion for the Empire of Rome, this was 60 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: the means that the Ottoman Empire used to terrify anyone 61 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: who would stand in its way. In fact, during the 62 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 1: fifteenth century when our tale takes place, it was a 63 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: common fact of conquest and retribution, and there were two 64 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: main ways that impalement would take place. In the more 65 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: standard variation, the executioner would take a spear and insert 66 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,359 Speaker 1: the sharp and in or near the navel of the 67 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: poor victim, press all the way through the guts until 68 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: the spear tape came out the victim's back, and then 69 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: the spear would be planted in the ground, upright with 70 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: the ghoulish, ghastly sight of a victim atop the spear, 71 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: sliding down slowly, writhing to death in agony and bleeding out. 72 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 1: Believe it or not, this was considered the less awful 73 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: version of this form of execution, in order to generate 74 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: the absolute maximum of misery and suffering, and therefore spread 75 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: a message even further of the terror that awaited anyone 76 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 1: who stood athwart the Sultan's ambitions. Sometimes, impellment would involve 77 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: using the blunt end of the spear, inserting it in 78 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: the individual's rectum, and then planting the sharp part in 79 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,040 Speaker 1: the ground, and then the person would slowly, based on 80 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 1: their weight, have the blunt end of the spear driven 81 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,039 Speaker 1: through their abdomen over time, and they would bleed to 82 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: death in misery. It was an awful way to go, 83 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 1: and it was standard practice as a tool of execution 84 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 1: and terror for the most powerful regime in the world 85 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: in the fifteenth century, the Muslim Ottoman Empire based in 86 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: what is modern Turkey. In fact, to understand the world 87 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: of Dracula, the real Dracula, one has to first understand 88 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: the history, the context, politically militarily of Eastern Europe and 89 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: the Ottoman Empire in the early to mid fifteenth century. 90 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: Ever since the victory of the Seljuk Turks over the 91 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: Byzantine armies at Manzikert in ten seventy one, the nomadic 92 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: people known as the Turks continue to consolidate power in 93 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 1: what we call Asia Minor in historical studies, or just 94 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: in today's geography, Turkey. The Ottomans, named for Osman One 95 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: of their chieftains from the thirteenth century highly successful in 96 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: being a warlord and consolidating more and more power, and 97 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: by the fourteen hundreds had effectively taken all of the 98 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: major land of the Byzantine Empire east of Constantinople, and 99 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: Constantinople itself was next on the list. This was a 100 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: city whose strategic importance geographically is hard to overstate, and 101 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: despite the encroachments of the Muslim Turks, the Byzantine Empire 102 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: thought that its Theodosian walls could perhaps hold out indefinitely 103 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: around the city of Constantinople itself. And Constantinople was more 104 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 1: than just a massive base and an incredibly lucrative area 105 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: for trade, was also the heart of the Eastern Orthodox 106 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: Christian faith. The Byzantines thought of themselves not as Eastern 107 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: Orthodox or Byzantine, but as Romans, and so in many 108 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 1: ways the city of Constantinople was second to Christianity, only 109 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: to Rome and the Pope in terms of importance. While 110 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 1: in fourteen fifty three, right in the middle of Dracula's life, 111 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: Constantinople would fall to the Turks. This dramatically increased the 112 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: threat to all of Christendom of a direct Muslim invasion 113 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: of Europe, and our own Count Dracula was on the 114 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 1: very front line of that battle. Dracula's often thought of 115 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: as Transylvanian, but in truth he was the voivode or 116 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: prince of Wallachia. It's in what is today Romania in 117 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:59,040 Speaker 1: the center of the country. Transylvania, even more mountainous and rugged, 118 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: is just north of Wallachia, and this was a very 119 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: dangerous neighborhood to be a boyar their term for a noble. 120 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: Wallachia was surrounded by a hostile, intrusive and expansive powers 121 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: on all sides. The considerably more powerful Kingdom of Hungary 122 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: to the west was constantly setting up puppet rulers and 123 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: occasionally snagging pieces of what is today's Romania than Wallachia. 124 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:32,559 Speaker 1: Transylvania for itself. The Polish and Germanic kings were no better. 125 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,920 Speaker 1: Even the Moldovians would become involved, as well as the 126 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: Serbians and Bosnians, who, along with Wallachians. Lectrocula himself were 127 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: on the very front line of the battle against the 128 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: invading Ottoman Empire. Every year during the campaign season, the 129 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,679 Speaker 1: Ottoman Sultan would push deeper into what we think of 130 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 1: today as the Balkans seizing more fortresses, demanding tribute from 131 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: more Christian prince including the hated dev Shehrma, a system 132 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: of human tribute the Ottoman's demanded that would become infamous 133 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,600 Speaker 1: throughout the centuries. In the Devshrma, Christians, mostly Greeks, but 134 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:16,080 Speaker 1: many youths from the Balkans as well, would be offered 135 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: up by their localities by their nobles to be trained 136 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: in the Ottoman court. These Christian boys, taken from their 137 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: mothers and fathers, would be raised as the property of 138 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: the Sultan himself, fanatical Muslims who sought to use the 139 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,400 Speaker 1: power of the Ottoman state to expand the Caliphate, and 140 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: were the basis for the Janissary Corps, the most elite 141 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: of all of the Sultan's troops. Others became high administrators 142 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: in the Ottoman court, but all were forced to turn 143 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: upon the countries, the nationalities, the religion that they grew 144 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: up with. The dev Shehrma turned these young Christians into 145 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: warriors against their own faith. For Islam it was had 146 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:03,200 Speaker 1: by those who suffered under its yoke. Before we get 147 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: to Dracula himself must be understood that the history of 148 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: warring royal houses in the fifteenth century in this part 149 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: of Eastern Europe, right along the fringe of the Islamic Empire, 150 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: was straight out of a Game of Throne's storyline. There 151 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: were constant usurpations, assassinations, poisonings, ambushes during diplomatic calls. One 152 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: of the worst reasons for all of this mess was 153 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,959 Speaker 1: that bastards, those born out of wedlock, would often make 154 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,720 Speaker 1: claim to the throne, and in the Eastern Orthodox culture, 155 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: at least as it was practiced in Hungary and Serbia 156 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:47,440 Speaker 1: and Romania, anyone with any basis for a bloodline claim 157 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: who was bloody minded enough to murder all of his 158 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: rivals was very possibly the king or the prince, at 159 00:11:55,679 --> 00:12:01,719 Speaker 1: least for a time. The reign of Wallachi in Transylvania, Bulgarian, 160 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: Serbian Bosnia nobles was often only a few years, in 161 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: some cases only a few months, and these reigns did 162 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:14,200 Speaker 1: not end with a gentlemanly handshake and retirement, but a 163 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: beheading and sometimes a massacre of an entire family. It 164 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: was into this world that Vlad the third Vlad Sheppes 165 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 1: Dracula was born in about fourteen thirty one. They're not 166 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: exactly sure of the year, but they are sure that 167 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 1: it was in a house in Transylvania that still stands 168 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: to this day. Vlad's father, Vlad the Second, was a 169 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,960 Speaker 1: member of a holy order of Crusaders known as the 170 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: Order of the Dragon. The Romanian word for this is Drakul, 171 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 1: So Vlad the third are Dracula's dad was actually Vlad Drakul. 172 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: The man we're talking about now was called Dracula, as 173 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 1: in Little Drakul, son of Drakul, or the Dragon. Just 174 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 1: as Dracula would be later on, Vlad the Second would 175 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:09,880 Speaker 1: be drawn into the constant border wars and skirmishes between 176 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: princes in and around Wallachia. In fourteen forty two a d. 177 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:20,560 Speaker 1: The Sultan Murraud the second was very unhappy with the 178 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,840 Speaker 1: fact that Vlad the Second had not supported directly the 179 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: latest Ottoman invasion. Remember, these incursions by the Muslim Ottoman 180 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: Empire into Eastern Europe were happening yearly now, seizing more fortresses, 181 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: more territory, terrifying and often massacring the local Christian population. 182 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: But Vlad the seconds hold on power in Wallachia is weak. 183 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: He has to worry about the most powerful man and 184 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,120 Speaker 1: hungry at the time, John Hunyadi, and the last thing 185 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: Vlad the Second wants is then the most powerful ruler 186 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,560 Speaker 1: in the world, Murraud of the Ottoman Empire to engage 187 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: in a full scale invasion of Wallachia, or even to 188 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: just support one of Vlad's rivals to his throne. So 189 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: when the Sultan tells Vlad the Second to show up 190 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: in Gallipoli to pay homage and perhaps talk about the future, 191 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 1: lad shows up and brings his two sons, Vlad the 192 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: third Dracula and Radu, Dracula's younger brother, leaving behind in 193 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 1: Wallachia in the city of Targo Vista, the seat of 194 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: Lad the Second's power, his eldest son Murcia. Well, it 195 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: turns out the visit to the good old Sultan Murad 196 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: was a family trip that Dracula would never forget. He's 197 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 1: roughly ten years old at the time, and he shows 198 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 1: up expecting the pomp and circumstance of noble to noble discussions, 199 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: and Muraud promptly has Vlad the Second, Dracula and Radu 200 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: thrown into chains and placed in a dungeon. You have 201 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 1: to remember that at this time sultans were often known 202 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 1: to order the execution of all male relatives, brothers in particular, 203 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 1: and given the fact that the harems were well frequented 204 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: by the sultans, this could mean the execution of dozens 205 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: of small children and even babies, all to protect the 206 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: sultan's grip on power. So to say that the rulers 207 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: of the Ottoman Empire were willing to engage in vicious 208 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 1: brutality is an understatement. That was for their family members. 209 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: Imagine what they're willing to do to somebody who stands 210 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: in the way of their power, who's an enemy. So 211 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 1: Vlad the Second, Flad the Third, Dracula Radu are being 212 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: held in captivity, and a deal is struck, Vlad the 213 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: Second can return to Wallachia, returned to his main city 214 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: of Turgo Vista, and Dracula and Radu will stay behind 215 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,960 Speaker 1: in the Ottoman court as hostages. Now, to be fair, 216 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: the Ottomans did treat Vlad the Third and Radu as 217 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: nobles in the court. Dracula himself would become absolutely fluent 218 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: in Turkish as well as other languages, get an incredible 219 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: education from some of the most learned people in the 220 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: Western world at that time, as well as being instructed 221 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: in all the finest arts and tactics of the Ottoman military. 222 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 1: The Sultan did not know it at the time, but 223 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: his most senior, talented and gifted advisors and instructors were 224 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: rigorously training a man who would become among their most 225 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 1: vicious foes in the finer points of combat, artillery, horsemanship, archery, 226 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: leading men in battle, and all the internal intricacies of 227 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: the Ottoman culture and the Sultan's court. This would prove 228 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:57,680 Speaker 1: invaluable for Dracula later on. Radu, on the other hand, 229 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: Dracula's younger brother, would become known as Radu the Handsome. 230 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: He became a favorite of both the men and women 231 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 1: of the Ottoman court, and there are even contemporary chroniclers 232 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 1: who believe that he was the Sultan's lover for a time. 233 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 1: As we would see later, Radu turned Turk entirely and 234 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 1: would even fight against his own brother on the side 235 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:24,160 Speaker 1: of the Ottomans. Apart from the rigorous academic and military 236 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:29,199 Speaker 1: training that Dracula received during this period, it was terrifying 237 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:32,640 Speaker 1: for a preadolescent to be dropped off in a foreign culture. 238 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 1: In a famous incident, the sons of a Serbian ruler 239 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:40,159 Speaker 1: Brankovic were also being held hostage around this time, but 240 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,919 Speaker 1: they wrote what the Sultan considered treasonoist letters home, so 241 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,400 Speaker 1: the Sultan had their eyes gouged out with red hot pokers, 242 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 1: despite please from his wife, who was sister to his 243 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 1: two royal guests. If you crossed the Sultan, the price 244 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 1: was terrible, and as it turned out, Dracula most found 245 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,240 Speaker 1: this out the hard way. You see, while he was 246 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: being held captive in the High Court of the Ottomans, 247 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:14,120 Speaker 1: Christian forces back in Eastern Europe were actually undergoing another crusade. 248 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: In fourteen forty two, a crusade was declared by Pope 249 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 1: Eugenius the Fourth. Twenty five thousand men under Polish, Serbian, 250 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 1: Hungarian and other commanders beat the Turks, made it deep 251 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: into modern Bulgaria, capture the city of Sophia, and forced 252 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:36,440 Speaker 1: the Sultan Maraud to come to terms. He in fact 253 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: agreed to restore Basses to Christian control and release Dracula 254 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: and his brother, along with all other important royal captives 255 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: in the Ottoman court, back to their homes, but the 256 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:53,160 Speaker 1: Christian forces did not keep their word. In fact, Dracula's 257 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: father Drakkol in written correspondence, made it clear that he 258 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:03,400 Speaker 1: believed his continued assistance and alliance with the Crusading forces 259 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: against the Turks would result in the execution of two 260 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:10,440 Speaker 1: of his sons. This didn't seem to bother him too much. 261 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: In fact, it was a sacrifice he indicated he was 262 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: willing to make as long as his favorite son, Mercia, 263 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 1: was able to take up his line. And Marcia was 264 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:25,719 Speaker 1: part of these crusading efforts into modern Bulgaria, including the 265 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 1: disastrous Battle of Varna, where the Turks finally defeated the 266 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 1: Christian forces decisively. This Battle of Varna in fourteen forty 267 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:39,879 Speaker 1: four a d was a disaster for the allied Christian forces. 268 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: The King of Poland was killed in hand to hand combat, 269 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:48,439 Speaker 1: along with thousands of the finest knights of Christendom, and 270 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 1: just to make a point about what they do with 271 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 1: other captured nobles, the Turks cut off Ladislaw's head and 272 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: raised it on a pike for all to see, most 273 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: notably for Dracula. The Christian forces had betrayed their agreement, 274 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:08,280 Speaker 1: they had broken the treaty, and now the Sultan was 275 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 1: on the offensive. He very well could have had both 276 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:17,920 Speaker 1: Dracula and Radu executed, but he didn't. He saw value 277 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:21,360 Speaker 1: in them. It was just a question of how long 278 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,359 Speaker 1: he would hold them in court before deploying them for 279 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: his own purposes. But then word came down from Maraud 280 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: himself to Dracula that his father Led the Second and 281 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:38,959 Speaker 1: his son Murcia were ambushed and murdered by treasonous boyars 282 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: nobles in their home region of Wallachia, And after swearing 283 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 1: allegiance to the Sultan on a Bible and on the Quran, 284 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: Dracula was given leave to return home to Wallachia to 285 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: seize his birthright, become the voivode or prince, seek retribution 286 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 1: for his father and brother's murder, and become a useful 287 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 1: ally for the Sultan put in place to help with 288 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:10,439 Speaker 1: the Ottoman campaigns to come. Or so Murad thought. It 289 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: would not be quite so easy. As Dracula made his 290 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 1: way to Wallachia, you have to remember that back in 291 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: the Ottoman court, Radu, his younger brother, had stayed behind, 292 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 1: and one of his closest companions and yes believed to 293 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,439 Speaker 1: be his lover, was someone who would come to be 294 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: known as meh Met the Second or meth Met the conqueror, 295 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:37,960 Speaker 1: the Sultan who took Constantinople, and he absolutely in time 296 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,840 Speaker 1: would want Radu and not Dracula, to be the prince 297 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 1: of Wallachia. It's complicated at this time because Wallachia was 298 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 1: a vassal state both of the Turks officially as well 299 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 1: as of the Kingdom of Hungary, which would play a 300 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: large role in the politics and battles to come of 301 00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: Dracula's life. But in fourteen forty seven, Dracula returns home 302 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,680 Speaker 1: and he is now free, but also a Turkish officer 303 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 1: at the same time, somebody trained in the Ottoman ways 304 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: of warfare, their language, and their culture. Based on his 305 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,760 Speaker 1: connections and his family wealth, he's able to cobble together 306 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,639 Speaker 1: a force that is loyal enough to him that he 307 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 1: thinks he has a shot of pushing all of his 308 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 1: rivals in Ballachia out of the way. Remember, his father 309 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: was assassinated by boyars, who quickly divided up power and 310 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 1: spoils among themselves. Next door in Hungary, John Hunyadi, who 311 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,680 Speaker 1: was considered one of the great crusaders against the Ottomans 312 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: of his day, lost at the Battle of Kosovo. While 313 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 1: that's going on, Dracula decides that the time was perfect 314 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:53,520 Speaker 1: because Hunyadi had been backing the other side of the 315 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: Wallachian power structure. So while Hunyadi is trying to pull 316 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:03,000 Speaker 1: things together after a massive loss to the Turks, Dracula 317 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 1: stages a coup takes control of Wallachia with some help 318 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: from Turkish cavalry friends who came along with him, but 319 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: this period lasts only two months. Then he fled to 320 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:19,040 Speaker 1: Turkey and then finally to Moldavia, where he spent two 321 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:23,080 Speaker 1: years in the court there. But in fourteen fifty one, 322 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: bog Down of Moldavia, who was his ally that allowed 323 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,840 Speaker 1: him to stay there, was assassinated and Dracula once again 324 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:34,240 Speaker 1: had to flee, so he escaped through the Borgo Pass 325 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 1: to Transylvania. During this period, Dracula's trying to lay low, 326 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,600 Speaker 1: but John Hunyadi, who is the most powerful man not 327 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:46,680 Speaker 1: technically the king, but the most powerful man in neighboring Hungary, 328 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 1: who was involved at least in some way in supporting 329 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: the murder of Dracula's brother and dad, has heard the 330 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 1: Dracula is in fact in Transylvania and decides that he's 331 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 1: going to write letters to all city leaders that if 332 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: you have Dracula near you, if you have Dracula taking 333 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,840 Speaker 1: refuge with you, you must chase him out. Some even 334 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,200 Speaker 1: went further than this and tried to have Dracula assassinated. 335 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:16,199 Speaker 1: First in Brasov, the vice governor there tried to have 336 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:19,200 Speaker 1: Dracula killed, but as would be the case many times 337 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,960 Speaker 1: going forward, Dracula managed to escape the noose at the 338 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:25,880 Speaker 1: last minute and get away from an ambush that had 339 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:30,880 Speaker 1: been set for him. But then major change in the 340 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: Ottoman court brings about a change of heart for Hunyadi. 341 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: A new sultan rises to power. Me Met this second, 342 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: and as I said, he would become known as meth 343 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:44,639 Speaker 1: Met the Conqueror, and he had absolute designs on the 344 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: conquest not only of the Balkans, Wallachia, Hungary, but all 345 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: of Eastern Europe. And then he wanted to strike into 346 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,680 Speaker 1: the heart of Christian Europe itself, to Vienna and beyond. 347 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 1: John Hunyadi of Hungary is one of the few military 348 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: leaders who recognizes this, and he understands that Dracula will 349 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:12,160 Speaker 1: be a very powerful frontline defender of Christendom if only 350 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 1: he had the proper backing. So Hunyadi invites Dracula to 351 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 1: make peace with him in person, and gave him a 352 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 1: command position in his army. But of course the price 353 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,119 Speaker 1: of this was that it was up to Dracula to 354 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: be the front line of defense against the next Turkish invasion. 355 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:37,000 Speaker 1: Fortunately for Dracula, but for the detriment of all of Christianity. 356 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:41,080 Speaker 1: At the time, methmets sites were focused on a much 357 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:45,679 Speaker 1: bigger prize than the rugged and relatively poor area of 358 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,800 Speaker 1: Vallachia in what is today's Romania. He was going for 359 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:55,400 Speaker 1: Constantinople itself, and in fourteen fifty three the great calamity struck. 360 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,440 Speaker 1: In fact, there's another Shield's High podcast you can listen 361 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 1: to entirely on the fall of Constantinople. But Methmet took 362 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: fifty thousand Christian slaves and thousands more murdered in the streets. 363 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,879 Speaker 1: The Theodosian walls were not enough to prevent this invasion 364 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:17,280 Speaker 1: of the Turks against Constantinople from being successful, and in fact, 365 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 1: Venetian sailors who escaped told stories of mass impalements the 366 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:27,680 Speaker 1: Turks committed outside the city walls of Constantinople. The Christian 367 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: forces of Eastern Europe knew what was next Belgrade, then 368 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:37,640 Speaker 1: Buddha today's Budapest, then Vienna. The Battle of Belgrade put 369 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:43,159 Speaker 1: six thousand Christian defenders against an Aman force at least five, 370 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: perhaps ten times that size. But John Hunyadi, along with 371 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 1: John of Capistrano, somebody who had pulled together what was 372 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:57,119 Speaker 1: essentially a people's crusade of just those gathered together on 373 00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 1: the streets who wanted to wage war against the Turk, 374 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: were able to hold back the Turkish onslaught at Belgrade. 375 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,680 Speaker 1: Pope Eugenius the fourth called it the happiest event of 376 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,479 Speaker 1: his life. So for a time it seemed the direct 377 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:15,000 Speaker 1: route for an invasion into the heart of Christendom was 378 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: blocked for the Turks. But this would mean they would 379 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,960 Speaker 1: turn their sights on Volachia. In the background of the 380 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:27,280 Speaker 1: siege of Belgrade, Dracula had used a force of mercenaries 381 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:33,119 Speaker 1: and friendly boyars to hunt down Vladisla the Second in Turgovista, 382 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: the capital of Vallachia, and Dracula ended up killing him. 383 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,679 Speaker 1: This was the man who orchestrated directly the assassination of 384 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,159 Speaker 1: Dracula's brother and father, buried the brother alive. In fact, 385 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: Dracula killed Vladislav the second in single combat hand to hand, 386 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:57,120 Speaker 1: so at twenty five years old, Dracula once again became 387 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:02,200 Speaker 1: the Prince of Volachia. This would last for six years 388 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:04,680 Speaker 1: and would be the most important of the three periods 389 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,120 Speaker 1: of Dracula's reign, and it would be the time when 390 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:13,240 Speaker 1: Dracula used his most vicious and sadistic methods to wage 391 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 1: war on the quarreling and backstabbing nobles who had been 392 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: a constant threat in the background of his life. But 393 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,919 Speaker 1: during this period, Dracula also showed himself to be a 394 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:31,240 Speaker 1: great builder. He founded the fortress of Bucharest, which would 395 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,880 Speaker 1: later on become the capital of modern day Romania. He 396 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: rebuilt a foreboding castle near the Hungarian border that would 397 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:42,400 Speaker 1: come to be known as Castle Dracula, and he even 398 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 1: minted his own coins. It was his war on the 399 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: boyars inside Vallachia, however, that would begin the reputation of 400 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: Dracula as a bloodthirsty, evil, tyrant, demonic, and perhaps the 401 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:03,800 Speaker 1: devil himself. Once story well illustrates this. In fourteen fifty 402 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:11,160 Speaker 1: seven Easter Sunday, Dracula seized boyars and their wives at 403 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,960 Speaker 1: a celebration meal for the holiest day in all of Christianity. 404 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 1: Dracula immediately ordered the impalement of the older boyars and 405 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:25,000 Speaker 1: their wives. He marched the younger and healthier ones fifty 406 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 1: miles and forced them to help rebuild what would come 407 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 1: to be known as Castle Dracula. There was also a 408 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:37,480 Speaker 1: method to the sadism and madness. Dracula gave property to 409 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 1: peasants and elevated them so they would only be loyal 410 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:44,320 Speaker 1: to him. After executing one of these boyars, he would 411 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:48,640 Speaker 1: take their property and use it effectively as a bribe 412 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: to create a new boyar who owed everything to Dracula 413 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,720 Speaker 1: and knew that if he ever crossed Dracula, he himself 414 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:00,720 Speaker 1: would face impalement. Dracula also understood that he had to 415 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:05,160 Speaker 1: build a force that would be loyal entirely to him 416 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:12,240 Speaker 1: of cutthroats, mercenaries, and assassins. He pulled together gypsies, tatars, hungarians, serbs, 417 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 1: cutthroats from all across the region. He even gave gypsies 418 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 1: immunity from crimes that they committed so long as they 419 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 1: were willing to join the personal army of Dracula. And 420 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,720 Speaker 1: believe it or not, the peasants of this time. Despite 421 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 1: his severe and draconian approach to enforcing the law and 422 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 1: to dealing with his enemies, the peasants of this time 423 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,120 Speaker 1: liked Dracula. They thought that he was a builder, that 424 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: he was fair, that he was fierce and perhaps evil 425 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:48,800 Speaker 1: at heart, but that he maintained some degree of honor 426 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 1: in all of this. His word was good. It's just 427 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:55,400 Speaker 1: if you broke your word to him, he would have 428 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: you gutted, impaled, and perhaps lit on fire. And this 429 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,959 Speaker 1: the legends of Dracula, is where we get the beginnings 430 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 1: of the mythology of this monster who drinks blood and 431 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: who is part of the undead. Dracula was known to 432 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 1: go around to peasants and ask them about what was 433 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:18,280 Speaker 1: going on in their community, a kind of undercover boss 434 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: situation where he wanted to know what the ground truth was, 435 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:25,040 Speaker 1: but there was no amnesty for people who lied to him, 436 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:27,880 Speaker 1: even if they did not know who he was. There 437 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:32,320 Speaker 1: are stories told by some of those who hated Dracula, 438 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 1: the Saxons, who were German transplants into Wallachia merchants mostly 439 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:43,120 Speaker 1: who felt that Dracula was constantly trying to take more 440 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 1: from them and undermine them. But they spread stories far 441 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: and wide of his cruelty, as did Christian monks, who 442 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 1: Dracula felt were always trying to get in the way 443 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 1: of his power. It's tough to know how much of 444 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,040 Speaker 1: these stories are true, but they have been passed down 445 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:06,960 Speaker 1: over the centuries. In one case, Dracula supposedly called together 446 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:10,240 Speaker 1: a meal for all of the beggars in Turgo Vista, 447 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 1: the capital of Wallachia, and all the realm. They gathered 448 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:18,040 Speaker 1: together for a sumptuous feast, the most incredible food imaginable, 449 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 1: with endless amounts of ale and beer, all poured for 450 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:28,240 Speaker 1: them at no expense. Once they became completely satiated and 451 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:33,040 Speaker 1: drunk beyond words, they found out that Dracula had had 452 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:38,680 Speaker 1: the entirety of this great hall barricaded, set it on fire, 453 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 1: and burned everybody inside alive. When asked about this, Dracula 454 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 1: said that beggars were even worse than thieves, because at 455 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: least thieves showed some initiative, at least they were willing 456 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:53,960 Speaker 1: to do something to take money from you. Beggars just 457 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 1: took it from you, slowly and without action. In another 458 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 1: famous story passed down through thee a gypsy leader came 459 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:06,880 Speaker 1: to complain to Dracula that his constant use of impalement 460 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 1: was contrary to the law as it existed at the time. 461 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:16,240 Speaker 1: Dracula heard him, listened very respectfully, and then had this 462 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:21,480 Speaker 1: gypsy leader boiled alive and forced his followers to eat him. 463 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:25,880 Speaker 1: That's right, forced cannibalism while Dracula watched. In one of 464 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 1: the stories about his severity but also strange honesty, a 465 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 1: merchant passing through Dracula's territory had his goods parked outside 466 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:40,480 Speaker 1: of Wanner Dracula's palaces. Some of this merchant's gold duckets 467 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,200 Speaker 1: had gone missing over the course of the night. He 468 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:45,840 Speaker 1: went to complain to Dracula about this, as Dracula had 469 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,080 Speaker 1: given him his word that in his realm there would 470 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:52,200 Speaker 1: be no stealing. Dracula immediately put out that anybody who 471 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:56,120 Speaker 1: was involved in this theft would be impaled, and anyone 472 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,600 Speaker 1: who did not tell about who was involved in the 473 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,240 Speaker 1: theft would share the same fate. So the thieves were 474 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:05,360 Speaker 1: quickly found, but in the meantime, Dracula also had every 475 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:09,040 Speaker 1: single gold coin that was missing placed back among the 476 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:13,640 Speaker 1: merchant's belongings. Later in the day, Dracula asked the merchant 477 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:16,680 Speaker 1: if all had been made well, but he had made 478 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:19,200 Speaker 1: sure that there was one additional gold coin given to 479 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:23,600 Speaker 1: the merchant fortunately for him, He said everything was well, 480 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:27,759 Speaker 1: but he did find one additional gold coin among his belongings. 481 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:33,720 Speaker 1: Dracula laughed and said how fortunate this merchant was, because 482 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:36,760 Speaker 1: if he had not told Dracula about the extra gold coin, 483 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:40,360 Speaker 1: he would have had him impaled on the spot, and 484 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:45,080 Speaker 1: the merchant knew it was true. Dracula also savagely punished 485 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:50,120 Speaker 1: women for infidelity, with tortures and mistreatments that I can't 486 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,880 Speaker 1: even tell you here. Needless to say, he was not 487 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:58,040 Speaker 1: above mutilation and the worst and cruelest kinds of punishment. 488 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,120 Speaker 1: In his own courtyard of his p alice at Turgovista, 489 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:05,359 Speaker 1: Dracula had steaks laid out constantly so that people could 490 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:10,239 Speaker 1: see the most recent victims of his impalement frenzy. But 491 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:14,520 Speaker 1: it wasn't only impalement that Dracula had his minions engaged. 492 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:20,920 Speaker 1: He also blinded, burned, decapitated, strangled, roasted, skinned, and buried alive. 493 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:24,920 Speaker 1: He even had secret trapdoors in his palaces with sharp 494 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:29,160 Speaker 1: steaks placed below so he could throw unsuspecting people who 495 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:33,440 Speaker 1: displeased him down to their immediate death. As part of 496 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:36,960 Speaker 1: his war on the Saxon merchant class, who were constantly 497 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,480 Speaker 1: trying to back other people for the throne of Vallachia 498 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:47,239 Speaker 1: Vlad the Impaler Dracula, as he is now known, would overrun, 499 00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:52,000 Speaker 1: burn down entire cities, and then impale every man and 500 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:56,919 Speaker 1: woman that he captured. From fifteen sixty to fifteen sixty two. 501 00:35:57,120 --> 00:36:01,520 Speaker 1: His war on the Boyars caused thousands, perhaps tens of 502 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:07,120 Speaker 1: thousands of casualties, many of them impaled, but his campaign 503 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:12,200 Speaker 1: was successful. He managed to stay in power, and that 504 00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:16,239 Speaker 1: was why the Sultan meth Met the conqueror, decided to 505 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,480 Speaker 1: send some of his emissaries to pay Dracula a visit. 506 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:23,840 Speaker 1: The emissaries of the Sultan were welcomed into Dracula's court 507 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:27,759 Speaker 1: at first, although he recognized that there was no way 508 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 1: he was going to play out his youth again and 509 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:33,640 Speaker 1: go pay the tribute to the Sultan in person. He 510 00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:38,040 Speaker 1: also refused the five hundred boys of tribute for the 511 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:42,360 Speaker 1: janissary program of the Turks, and in one infamous episode, 512 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:47,640 Speaker 1: one of the Turkish intermediaries refused to take off his cap. 513 00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:52,360 Speaker 1: This offended Dracula, so he had the cap the Turban 514 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,120 Speaker 1: nailed into the Turk's head. Dracula also famously did this 515 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:00,960 Speaker 1: to two Genoese merchants who came to eat with him 516 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,960 Speaker 1: and did not remove their hats in his presence, nails 517 00:37:05,239 --> 00:37:08,560 Speaker 1: directly into their skulls, and as they were being murdered 518 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:11,040 Speaker 1: in this way, Dracula said that he wanted to help 519 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:15,839 Speaker 1: them respect their traditions forever. With the murder of an 520 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:20,239 Speaker 1: envoy and the rejection of the Sultan's request for an 521 00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:24,000 Speaker 1: in person audience, it was clear that the Sultan was 522 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:27,480 Speaker 1: going to have to take out this troublemaker, so he 523 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:31,120 Speaker 1: sent an initial force in fourteen sixty two to go 524 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:34,800 Speaker 1: after lured impaler. As Dracula was known to the Turks 525 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:39,640 Speaker 1: at that time sixty thousand men plus twenty thousand irregulars, 526 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:42,719 Speaker 1: but the Turks did not realize just who they were 527 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:47,480 Speaker 1: up against. Dracula was able to trap and murder the 528 00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:51,120 Speaker 1: first senior Turkish official who came after him with forces, 529 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,319 Speaker 1: and also was able to take the fortress of geer 530 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:58,719 Speaker 1: Yu by yelling to the Turks in perfect Turkish just 531 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:02,680 Speaker 1: to open the gate. They couldn't believe that somebody from 532 00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:08,400 Speaker 1: Wallachia spoke fluent Turkish. Dracula recognized the only way to 533 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:11,880 Speaker 1: deal with the vastly superior Turkish force was to go 534 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:16,680 Speaker 1: completely scorched earth. He even would send in sick people 535 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:20,120 Speaker 1: that had the plague or that had other diseases into 536 00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:23,000 Speaker 1: the Ottoman camp to see if they could spread the disease. 537 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:27,480 Speaker 1: He engaged in constant guerrilla tactics anything he could do, 538 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:33,680 Speaker 1: poisoning of wells, slaughtering of livestock, paying assassins and brigands 539 00:38:33,719 --> 00:38:36,879 Speaker 1: to pick off any Turkish forces that got separated from 540 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:39,800 Speaker 1: the main army. If it was a means to strike 541 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:43,719 Speaker 1: at his enemies, Dracula was willing to do it, no 542 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:48,640 Speaker 1: matter how vicious, no matter how cunning. And then one 543 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:53,280 Speaker 1: of the most famous of all instances of Dracula's life, 544 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:58,799 Speaker 1: the Sultan Methmet and his vastly larger force thought that 545 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:03,000 Speaker 1: it had boxed in Dracula and his forces in a 546 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:07,839 Speaker 1: mountainous area, while Dracula decided to turn the tables. This 547 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:11,280 Speaker 1: led to what is known on June seventeenth of fourteen 548 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:16,440 Speaker 1: sixty two as the Night Raid of Turgovista. This was 549 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:20,080 Speaker 1: a raid into the Ottoman camp with nothing but torches 550 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:23,880 Speaker 1: by Dracula and his cavalry and his army of irregulars 551 00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:30,120 Speaker 1: intended to kill the Sultan himself in his tent. It 552 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:35,279 Speaker 1: was a massacre. Dracula and his forces operated at night 553 00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:37,880 Speaker 1: as though they could see perfectly well. According to the 554 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,320 Speaker 1: chroniclers who observed the battle, they knew the terrain better. 555 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,480 Speaker 1: They were entirely at home, going from tent to tent, 556 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:49,120 Speaker 1: massacring members of the Turkish military who were caught completely unaware. 557 00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:55,480 Speaker 1: Thousands were hacked and bludgeoned to death, and Dracula almost 558 00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:59,560 Speaker 1: pulled off the incredible feat of killing the most powerful 559 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:02,479 Speaker 1: men the world met the second in his own tent. 560 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:06,239 Speaker 1: His most elite forces targeted one red tent that they 561 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:10,240 Speaker 1: believed belonged to the Sultan. They got inside massacred everyone, 562 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:14,720 Speaker 1: only to realize it was the wrong tent, a senior 563 00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:20,040 Speaker 1: verzier perhaps, but not the Sultan himself. Dracula and his forces, 564 00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:24,440 Speaker 1: after hours of massacre and mutilation of the Turks, pulled 565 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:30,600 Speaker 1: out before sun up. The Turkish forces were deeply demoralized, 566 00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:36,680 Speaker 1: but the Sultan would not stop. He ordered the continued 567 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:41,680 Speaker 1: march to Turgo Vista, and when they got to the city, 568 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:45,520 Speaker 1: they saw one of the most terrifying scenes described in 569 00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:51,439 Speaker 1: all the Dracula literature, the Forest of the Impaled, thousands 570 00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:57,040 Speaker 1: and thousands of bodies impaled high on stakes, arranged like 571 00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:02,560 Speaker 1: a forest just outside of Turgo Vista proper. The Turkish 572 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:07,440 Speaker 1: soldiers were horrified, and they just can't take it anymore. 573 00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:11,360 Speaker 1: With winter coming, they decide it's time to turn back. 574 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:17,799 Speaker 1: That's right, an entire Turkish invasion force turned around by 575 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:23,560 Speaker 1: the absolute ruthlessness of Dracula, Prince of Wallachia. It's hard 576 00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:27,200 Speaker 1: to fully gauge just what a seismic shift this was 577 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:30,880 Speaker 1: in the Ottoman plans for conquest. But for an army 578 00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:35,320 Speaker 1: led by the Sultan himself, with his crack troops, his janissaries, 579 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:39,400 Speaker 1: his spa he's, the elite nobles and the cavalry of 580 00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:44,840 Speaker 1: the Ottoman Empire, his cannons, his vastly superior forces was 581 00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:48,440 Speaker 1: a shock to the Ottoman system. Of course, they returned 582 00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:54,440 Speaker 1: home claiming victory, but people knew Lord Impaler had frightened 583 00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:59,440 Speaker 1: away the Sultan himself. It was not over for Dracula, 584 00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:03,680 Speaker 1: though his brother Radu was now the primary challenger for 585 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,000 Speaker 1: his throne and had the full backing of the Turks 586 00:42:07,080 --> 00:42:12,960 Speaker 1: behind him. It was then political intrigue that would undo Dracula, 587 00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 1: as he was taken prisoner by Matthias kor Venus, the 588 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:20,719 Speaker 1: son of John Hunyadi and the most powerful man in 589 00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:25,920 Speaker 1: Hungary at the time. Dracula was held as an elite 590 00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:29,080 Speaker 1: and a noble, but he was under house arrest in 591 00:42:29,239 --> 00:42:34,360 Speaker 1: various Hungarian palaces during this period, and Radu, his brother, 592 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:39,080 Speaker 1: with Hungarian connivance, was able to become the Prince of 593 00:42:39,239 --> 00:42:45,120 Speaker 1: Vallachia in Vlad's absence. It was said that during Dracula's 594 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:47,680 Speaker 1: captivity and Hungary, when some of the most well known 595 00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:51,319 Speaker 1: portraits of him were painted, that he had a very 596 00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:57,760 Speaker 1: strange habit of buying mice and birds and impaling them. 597 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:01,120 Speaker 1: But you have to remember that Dracula was a renowned 598 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:07,200 Speaker 1: crusader and incredibly able at warfare even with small forces, 599 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,040 Speaker 1: and that required the kind of mountain hit and run 600 00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:13,840 Speaker 1: tactics that he had used so successfully against the Turks. 601 00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:19,240 Speaker 1: So the Hunyadi family, with now Matthias Corvinus as its head, 602 00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:23,239 Speaker 1: officially became the royal family of Hungary. They took the 603 00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:29,280 Speaker 1: Hungarian crown and allowed Dracula to marry into their royal family. 604 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:34,759 Speaker 1: Dracula also converted officially to Catholicism at this time from 605 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:39,000 Speaker 1: his Eastern Orthodox Christianity, though this was clearly done for 606 00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:44,439 Speaker 1: political purposes, and during his captivity, his brother Radu ended 607 00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:47,120 Speaker 1: up fighting a war while he was Prince of Vallachia 608 00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:51,279 Speaker 1: against the Moldavians, which did not go well, and the 609 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:54,280 Speaker 1: sources of the time claimed that Radu ended up dying 610 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:58,520 Speaker 1: of a terrible case of syphilis. During this period, the 611 00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:02,919 Speaker 1: time was right for Dracula's backers in Hungary to put 612 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:06,240 Speaker 1: him once again for a third time, on the throne 613 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:11,279 Speaker 1: of Wallachia. As the prince, he took power, settled some 614 00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:15,080 Speaker 1: scores with old nemesses by impaling them, of course, and 615 00:44:15,160 --> 00:44:18,120 Speaker 1: then began yet another campaign against the Turks in fourteen 616 00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:22,000 Speaker 1: seventy six, this time centered on the area of Srebernitza, 617 00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:26,400 Speaker 1: where yes he defeated some Turkish forces, impaled all of 618 00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:30,720 Speaker 1: the survivors, and burned entire villages and forts to the ground. 619 00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:35,520 Speaker 1: But Dracula had made so many enemies at this point 620 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:39,640 Speaker 1: inside of Vallachia that when he returned, though the circumstances 621 00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:42,960 Speaker 1: of his actual death seem a bit murky. He was murdered, 622 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:46,240 Speaker 1: likely at the hands of an assassin who was posing 623 00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:50,160 Speaker 1: as one of his servants, paid by the Turks, but 624 00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:56,319 Speaker 1: also perhaps by the boyar nobles inside Vallachia, or Hungarian 625 00:44:56,760 --> 00:45:00,399 Speaker 1: or Serbian or other rivals, all of whom had come 626 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,200 Speaker 1: to hate Dracula with the fire of a thousand sons. 627 00:45:03,719 --> 00:45:09,359 Speaker 1: By legend, Dracula was buried at the Snagov Monastery, though 628 00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:13,440 Speaker 1: later on when they exhumed his tomb there was nobody 629 00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:17,120 Speaker 1: found inside. The myth of Dracula did not take long 630 00:45:17,239 --> 00:45:21,799 Speaker 1: to spread far and wide. His exploits, his mass impalements, 631 00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:27,480 Speaker 1: his murder of thousands and thousands coincided with the invention 632 00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:30,640 Speaker 1: of the printing press in the mid fifteenth century, and 633 00:45:30,719 --> 00:45:34,280 Speaker 1: in fact, Tales of Dracula would be among the first 634 00:45:34,719 --> 00:45:40,840 Speaker 1: for profit books ever published. The German Saxon sources of 635 00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:45,400 Speaker 1: the time particularly hated Dracula and told the most lurid 636 00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:50,200 Speaker 1: stories of his impalements and yes, his drinking of human blood. 637 00:45:50,560 --> 00:45:53,120 Speaker 1: The Russian sources, on the other hand, viewed him as 638 00:45:53,239 --> 00:45:57,520 Speaker 1: severe but fair, and over time, in Romania he would 639 00:45:57,560 --> 00:46:01,359 Speaker 1: come to be known mostly as a national hero who 640 00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:04,960 Speaker 1: defeated the Turks and prevented what is present day Romania 641 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:09,400 Speaker 1: from becoming a Turkish state. But it was the Romanian 642 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:14,279 Speaker 1: folklore over the centuries, taking the tale of Dracula and 643 00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:18,960 Speaker 1: through the oral tradition, beginning to mix it with the 644 00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:23,839 Speaker 1: folkloric demon known as the Strigoy, that set the basis 645 00:46:23,840 --> 00:46:27,760 Speaker 1: for the Dracula tale. We have come to know today 646 00:46:27,800 --> 00:46:31,520 Speaker 1: of a man undead who must drink the blood of 647 00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:35,280 Speaker 1: innocent victims in order to stay alive, and who has 648 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:39,200 Speaker 1: supernatural powers, can only be killed with a stake through 649 00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:42,920 Speaker 1: the heart, with silver, with garlic, and has a fear 650 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:47,040 Speaker 1: of crosses. All of this comes from the Romanian folklore, 651 00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:50,360 Speaker 1: which Braham Stoker relied on in large part for his 652 00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:55,560 Speaker 1: creation of the Dracula myth in his Timeless novel of 653 00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:59,680 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety seven. So now you know the story of 654 00:46:59,719 --> 00:47:03,680 Speaker 1: the real Dracula. He was a historical figure of great 655 00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:06,879 Speaker 1: importance in his day. But he was also in many 656 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:11,600 Speaker 1: ways far more terrifying than a sharp fanged vampire who 657 00:47:11,680 --> 00:47:17,200 Speaker 1: turns into a bat. Because this Dracula was real. This 658 00:47:17,280 --> 00:47:28,040 Speaker 1: has been shields high