Speaker 1: The battles of the past to find the present. This
Speaker 1: is shields high. Who's the greatest monster in history? Some
Speaker 1: names will come up right away, Hitler, Stalin, Mao pol Pot,
Speaker 1: But that takes the question a very specific direction. I
Speaker 1: didn't say real monsters, did I? And then again, those
Speaker 1: are also all figures in the twentieth century. Now, because
Speaker 1: of the industrialized scale of the slaughter in the twentieth century,
Speaker 1: clearly by sheer numbers, those evildoers will be in something
Speaker 1: of a category by themselves, although if you look at
Speaker 1: the body count of say Genghis Khan, it would rival,
Speaker 1: including innocent women and children, anything done by the evildoers
Speaker 1: of the twentieth century. And is it really possible that
Speaker 1: all of the worst, most fearsome evildoers in history were
Speaker 1: alive in a one century period, in fact, doing their
Speaker 1: deeds within decades of each other. Probably not. But let's
Speaker 1: return to the question. Those are all real people. And
Speaker 1: when some people think monster, something very different comes to mind.
Speaker 1: The locknest monster, the abominable snowman, the wolfman. Monster conjures
Speaker 1: up horror stories of recent decades and myths and legends
Speaker 1: of the past. Now, what if I told you there
Speaker 1: was a figure in the actual past who was a
Speaker 1: very real monster in both senses, a remorseless, bloodthirsty killer
Speaker 1: on a massive scale, as well as being the basis
Speaker 1: for one of the most enduring monster myths monster legends
Speaker 1: of all time, as well as, believe it or not,
Speaker 1: being a national folk hero in Romania, a talented military commander,
Speaker 1: a Christian crusader against the Jihad, an exceptional builder and administrator,
Speaker 1: and a man who founded what became the capital of
Speaker 1: Romania with the city of Bucharest. Well, all I have
Speaker 1: to do is say one word to answer this for you, Dracula.
Speaker 1: I know what your mind goes to when you hear
Speaker 1: that word, right, an elegantly dressed count with a thick
Speaker 1: Romanian accent, then slicked back hair with two prominent fangs,
Speaker 1: who vaughns to drink your blood. And that's certainly part
Speaker 1: of the Dracula mythology as represented in pop culture for
Speaker 1: say the last hundred years. Some of you might even
Speaker 1: think about a chocolate sugary cereal or a beloved numerically
Speaker 1: literate character on Sesame Street known simply as the Count.
Speaker 1: But what about the actual guy, the actual man, not
Speaker 1: the horror films with the comic strips, or even the
Speaker 1: timeless classic novel written by an irishman named Bram Stoker
Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety seven. Well, my friends, there was a
Speaker 1: very real man named Dracula, and he's actually one of
Speaker 1: the most fascinating and terrifying characters of the fifteenth century
Speaker 1: Western world. He was a minor prince in Eastern Europe,
Speaker 1: set in the middle of warring factions to include Hungary, Serbia, Moldovia, Germans, Saxons, Transylvanians, Greeks,
Speaker 1: and yes, of course, the Ottoman a horde at his doorstep,
Speaker 1: the Caliphate of Islam, seeking the ultimate conquest of all
Speaker 1: of Christendom. His name was Vladcheppes or Vlad the Third,
Speaker 1: better known as Vlad Dracula and later on Vlad the Impaler.
Speaker 1: Have you heard about this prince of Wallachia, famous for
Speaker 1: ordering the cruelest of tortures for thousands of his enemies
Speaker 1: at a time. In fact, Vlad Chepesh or Vlad the
Speaker 1: Third would become so expert in the utilization of this
Speaker 1: impalement technique that he would become known as the Impaler.
Speaker 1: Now this is a particularly brutal form of execution that
Speaker 1: has been known in the historic text going back to
Speaker 1: the time of Hammurabi in the eighteenth century BC, and
Speaker 1: much like crucifixion for the Empire of Rome, this was
Speaker 1: the means that the Ottoman Empire used to terrify anyone
Speaker 1: who would stand in its way. In fact, during the
Speaker 1: fifteenth century when our tale takes place, it was a
Speaker 1: common fact of conquest and retribution, and there were two
Speaker 1: main ways that impalement would take place. In the more
Speaker 1: standard variation, the executioner would take a spear and insert
Speaker 1: the sharp and in or near the navel of the
Speaker 1: poor victim, press all the way through the guts until
Speaker 1: the spear tape came out the victim's back, and then
Speaker 1: the spear would be planted in the ground, upright with
Speaker 1: the ghoulish, ghastly sight of a victim atop the spear,
Speaker 1: sliding down slowly, writhing to death in agony and bleeding out.
Speaker 1: Believe it or not, this was considered the less awful
Speaker 1: version of this form of execution, in order to generate
Speaker 1: the absolute maximum of misery and suffering, and therefore spread
Speaker 1: a message even further of the terror that awaited anyone
Speaker 1: who stood athwart the Sultan's ambitions. Sometimes, impellment would involve
Speaker 1: using the blunt end of the spear, inserting it in
Speaker 1: the individual's rectum, and then planting the sharp part in
Speaker 1: the ground, and then the person would slowly, based on
Speaker 1: their weight, have the blunt end of the spear driven
Speaker 1: through their abdomen over time, and they would bleed to
Speaker 1: death in misery. It was an awful way to go,
Speaker 1: and it was standard practice as a tool of execution
Speaker 1: and terror for the most powerful regime in the world
Speaker 1: in the fifteenth century, the Muslim Ottoman Empire based in
Speaker 1: what is modern Turkey. In fact, to understand the world
Speaker 1: of Dracula, the real Dracula, one has to first understand
Speaker 1: the history, the context, politically militarily of Eastern Europe and
Speaker 1: the Ottoman Empire in the early to mid fifteenth century.
Speaker 1: Ever since the victory of the Seljuk Turks over the
Speaker 1: Byzantine armies at Manzikert in ten seventy one, the nomadic
Speaker 1: people known as the Turks continue to consolidate power in
Speaker 1: what we call Asia Minor in historical studies, or just
Speaker 1: in today's geography, Turkey. The Ottomans, named for Osman One
Speaker 1: of their chieftains from the thirteenth century highly successful in
Speaker 1: being a warlord and consolidating more and more power, and
Speaker 1: by the fourteen hundreds had effectively taken all of the
Speaker 1: major land of the Byzantine Empire east of Constantinople, and
Speaker 1: Constantinople itself was next on the list. This was a
Speaker 1: city whose strategic importance geographically is hard to overstate, and
Speaker 1: despite the encroachments of the Muslim Turks, the Byzantine Empire
Speaker 1: thought that its Theodosian walls could perhaps hold out indefinitely
Speaker 1: around the city of Constantinople itself. And Constantinople was more
Speaker 1: than just a massive base and an incredibly lucrative area
Speaker 1: for trade, was also the heart of the Eastern Orthodox
Speaker 1: Christian faith. The Byzantines thought of themselves not as Eastern
Speaker 1: Orthodox or Byzantine, but as Romans, and so in many
Speaker 1: ways the city of Constantinople was second to Christianity, only
Speaker 1: to Rome and the Pope in terms of importance. While
Speaker 1: in fourteen fifty three, right in the middle of Dracula's life,
Speaker 1: Constantinople would fall to the Turks. This dramatically increased the
Speaker 1: threat to all of Christendom of a direct Muslim invasion
Speaker 1: of Europe, and our own Count Dracula was on the
Speaker 1: very front line of that battle. Dracula's often thought of
Speaker 1: as Transylvanian, but in truth he was the voivode or
Speaker 1: prince of Wallachia. It's in what is today Romania in
Speaker 1: the center of the country. Transylvania, even more mountainous and rugged,
Speaker 1: is just north of Wallachia, and this was a very
Speaker 1: dangerous neighborhood to be a boyar their term for a noble.
Speaker 1: Wallachia was surrounded by a hostile, intrusive and expansive powers
Speaker 1: on all sides. The considerably more powerful Kingdom of Hungary
Speaker 1: to the west was constantly setting up puppet rulers and
Speaker 1: occasionally snagging pieces of what is today's Romania than Wallachia.
Speaker 1: Transylvania for itself. The Polish and Germanic kings were no better.
Speaker 1: Even the Moldovians would become involved, as well as the
Speaker 1: Serbians and Bosnians, who, along with Wallachians. Lectrocula himself were
Speaker 1: on the very front line of the battle against the
Speaker 1: invading Ottoman Empire. Every year during the campaign season, the
Speaker 1: Ottoman Sultan would push deeper into what we think of
Speaker 1: today as the Balkans seizing more fortresses, demanding tribute from
Speaker 1: more Christian prince including the hated dev Shehrma, a system
Speaker 1: of human tribute the Ottoman's demanded that would become infamous
Speaker 1: throughout the centuries. In the Devshrma, Christians, mostly Greeks, but
Speaker 1: many youths from the Balkans as well, would be offered
Speaker 1: up by their localities by their nobles to be trained
Speaker 1: in the Ottoman court. These Christian boys, taken from their
Speaker 1: mothers and fathers, would be raised as the property of
Speaker 1: the Sultan himself, fanatical Muslims who sought to use the
Speaker 1: power of the Ottoman state to expand the Caliphate, and
Speaker 1: were the basis for the Janissary Corps, the most elite
Speaker 1: of all of the Sultan's troops. Others became high administrators
Speaker 1: in the Ottoman court, but all were forced to turn
Speaker 1: upon the countries, the nationalities, the religion that they grew
Speaker 1: up with. The dev Shehrma turned these young Christians into
Speaker 1: warriors against their own faith. For Islam it was had
Speaker 1: by those who suffered under its yoke. Before we get
Speaker 1: to Dracula himself must be understood that the history of
Speaker 1: warring royal houses in the fifteenth century in this part
Speaker 1: of Eastern Europe, right along the fringe of the Islamic Empire,
Speaker 1: was straight out of a Game of Throne's storyline. There
Speaker 1: were constant usurpations, assassinations, poisonings, ambushes during diplomatic calls. One
Speaker 1: of the worst reasons for all of this mess was
Speaker 1: that bastards, those born out of wedlock, would often make
Speaker 1: claim to the throne, and in the Eastern Orthodox culture,
Speaker 1: at least as it was practiced in Hungary and Serbia
Speaker 1: and Romania, anyone with any basis for a bloodline claim
Speaker 1: who was bloody minded enough to murder all of his
Speaker 1: rivals was very possibly the king or the prince, at
Speaker 1: least for a time. The reign of Wallachi in Transylvania, Bulgarian,
Speaker 1: Serbian Bosnia nobles was often only a few years, in
Speaker 1: some cases only a few months, and these reigns did
Speaker 1: not end with a gentlemanly handshake and retirement, but a
Speaker 1: beheading and sometimes a massacre of an entire family. It
Speaker 1: was into this world that Vlad the third Vlad Sheppes
Speaker 1: Dracula was born in about fourteen thirty one. They're not
Speaker 1: exactly sure of the year, but they are sure that
Speaker 1: it was in a house in Transylvania that still stands
Speaker 1: to this day. Vlad's father, Vlad the Second, was a
Speaker 1: member of a holy order of Crusaders known as the
Speaker 1: Order of the Dragon. The Romanian word for this is Drakul,
Speaker 1: So Vlad the third are Dracula's dad was actually Vlad Drakul.
Speaker 1: The man we're talking about now was called Dracula, as
Speaker 1: in Little Drakul, son of Drakul, or the Dragon. Just
Speaker 1: as Dracula would be later on, Vlad the Second would
Speaker 1: be drawn into the constant border wars and skirmishes between
Speaker 1: princes in and around Wallachia. In fourteen forty two a d.
Speaker 1: The Sultan Murraud the second was very unhappy with the
Speaker 1: fact that Vlad the Second had not supported directly the
Speaker 1: latest Ottoman invasion. Remember, these incursions by the Muslim Ottoman
Speaker 1: Empire into Eastern Europe were happening yearly now, seizing more fortresses,
Speaker 1: more territory, terrifying and often massacring the local Christian population.
Speaker 1: But Vlad the seconds hold on power in Wallachia is weak.
Speaker 1: He has to worry about the most powerful man and
Speaker 1: hungry at the time, John Hunyadi, and the last thing
Speaker 1: Vlad the Second wants is then the most powerful ruler
Speaker 1: in the world, Murraud of the Ottoman Empire to engage
Speaker 1: in a full scale invasion of Wallachia, or even to
Speaker 1: just support one of Vlad's rivals to his throne. So
Speaker 1: when the Sultan tells Vlad the Second to show up
Speaker 1: in Gallipoli to pay homage and perhaps talk about the future,
Speaker 1: lad shows up and brings his two sons, Vlad the
Speaker 1: third Dracula and Radu, Dracula's younger brother, leaving behind in
Speaker 1: Wallachia in the city of Targo Vista, the seat of
Speaker 1: Lad the Second's power, his eldest son Murcia. Well, it
Speaker 1: turns out the visit to the good old Sultan Murad
Speaker 1: was a family trip that Dracula would never forget. He's
Speaker 1: roughly ten years old at the time, and he shows
Speaker 1: up expecting the pomp and circumstance of noble to noble discussions,
Speaker 1: and Muraud promptly has Vlad the Second, Dracula and Radu
Speaker 1: thrown into chains and placed in a dungeon. You have
Speaker 1: to remember that at this time sultans were often known
Speaker 1: to order the execution of all male relatives, brothers in particular,
Speaker 1: and given the fact that the harems were well frequented
Speaker 1: by the sultans, this could mean the execution of dozens
Speaker 1: of small children and even babies, all to protect the
Speaker 1: sultan's grip on power. So to say that the rulers
Speaker 1: of the Ottoman Empire were willing to engage in vicious
Speaker 1: brutality is an understatement. That was for their family members.
Speaker 1: Imagine what they're willing to do to somebody who stands
Speaker 1: in the way of their power, who's an enemy. So
Speaker 1: Vlad the Second, Flad the Third, Dracula Radu are being
Speaker 1: held in captivity, and a deal is struck, Vlad the
Speaker 1: Second can return to Wallachia, returned to his main city
Speaker 1: of Turgo Vista, and Dracula and Radu will stay behind
Speaker 1: in the Ottoman court as hostages. Now, to be fair,
Speaker 1: the Ottomans did treat Vlad the Third and Radu as
Speaker 1: nobles in the court. Dracula himself would become absolutely fluent
Speaker 1: in Turkish as well as other languages, get an incredible
Speaker 1: education from some of the most learned people in the
Speaker 1: Western world at that time, as well as being instructed
Speaker 1: in all the finest arts and tactics of the Ottoman military.
Speaker 1: The Sultan did not know it at the time, but
Speaker 1: his most senior, talented and gifted advisors and instructors were
Speaker 1: rigorously training a man who would become among their most
Speaker 1: vicious foes in the finer points of combat, artillery, horsemanship, archery,
Speaker 1: leading men in battle, and all the internal intricacies of
Speaker 1: the Ottoman culture and the Sultan's court. This would prove
Speaker 1: invaluable for Dracula later on. Radu, on the other hand,
Speaker 1: Dracula's younger brother, would become known as Radu the Handsome.
Speaker 1: He became a favorite of both the men and women
Speaker 1: of the Ottoman court, and there are even contemporary chroniclers
Speaker 1: who believe that he was the Sultan's lover for a time.
Speaker 1: As we would see later, Radu turned Turk entirely and
Speaker 1: would even fight against his own brother on the side
Speaker 1: of the Ottomans. Apart from the rigorous academic and military
Speaker 1: training that Dracula received during this period, it was terrifying
Speaker 1: for a preadolescent to be dropped off in a foreign culture.
Speaker 1: In a famous incident, the sons of a Serbian ruler
Speaker 1: Brankovic were also being held hostage around this time, but
Speaker 1: they wrote what the Sultan considered treasonoist letters home, so
Speaker 1: the Sultan had their eyes gouged out with red hot pokers,
Speaker 1: despite please from his wife, who was sister to his
Speaker 1: two royal guests. If you crossed the Sultan, the price
Speaker 1: was terrible, and as it turned out, Dracula most found
Speaker 1: this out the hard way. You see, while he was
Speaker 1: being held captive in the High Court of the Ottomans,
Speaker 1: Christian forces back in Eastern Europe were actually undergoing another crusade.
Speaker 1: In fourteen forty two, a crusade was declared by Pope
Speaker 1: Eugenius the Fourth. Twenty five thousand men under Polish, Serbian,
Speaker 1: Hungarian and other commanders beat the Turks, made it deep
Speaker 1: into modern Bulgaria, capture the city of Sophia, and forced
Speaker 1: the Sultan Maraud to come to terms. He in fact
Speaker 1: agreed to restore Basses to Christian control and release Dracula
Speaker 1: and his brother, along with all other important royal captives
Speaker 1: in the Ottoman court, back to their homes, but the
Speaker 1: Christian forces did not keep their word. In fact, Dracula's
Speaker 1: father Drakkol in written correspondence, made it clear that he
Speaker 1: believed his continued assistance and alliance with the Crusading forces
Speaker 1: against the Turks would result in the execution of two
Speaker 1: of his sons. This didn't seem to bother him too much.
Speaker 1: In fact, it was a sacrifice he indicated he was
Speaker 1: willing to make as long as his favorite son, Mercia,
Speaker 1: was able to take up his line. And Marcia was
Speaker 1: part of these crusading efforts into modern Bulgaria, including the
Speaker 1: disastrous Battle of Varna, where the Turks finally defeated the
Speaker 1: Christian forces decisively. This Battle of Varna in fourteen forty
Speaker 1: four a d was a disaster for the allied Christian forces.
Speaker 1: The King of Poland was killed in hand to hand combat,
Speaker 1: along with thousands of the finest knights of Christendom, and
Speaker 1: just to make a point about what they do with
Speaker 1: other captured nobles, the Turks cut off Ladislaw's head and
Speaker 1: raised it on a pike for all to see, most
Speaker 1: notably for Dracula. The Christian forces had betrayed their agreement,
Speaker 1: they had broken the treaty, and now the Sultan was
Speaker 1: on the offensive. He very well could have had both
Speaker 1: Dracula and Radu executed, but he didn't. He saw value
Speaker 1: in them. It was just a question of how long
Speaker 1: he would hold them in court before deploying them for
Speaker 1: his own purposes. But then word came down from Maraud
Speaker 1: himself to Dracula that his father Led the Second and
Speaker 1: his son Murcia were ambushed and murdered by treasonous boyars
Speaker 1: nobles in their home region of Wallachia, And after swearing
Speaker 1: allegiance to the Sultan on a Bible and on the Quran,
Speaker 1: Dracula was given leave to return home to Wallachia to
Speaker 1: seize his birthright, become the voivode or prince, seek retribution
Speaker 1: for his father and brother's murder, and become a useful
Speaker 1: ally for the Sultan put in place to help with
Speaker 1: the Ottoman campaigns to come. Or so Murad thought. It
Speaker 1: would not be quite so easy. As Dracula made his
Speaker 1: way to Wallachia, you have to remember that back in
Speaker 1: the Ottoman court, Radu, his younger brother, had stayed behind,
Speaker 1: and one of his closest companions and yes believed to
Speaker 1: be his lover, was someone who would come to be
Speaker 1: known as meh Met the Second or meth Met the conqueror,
Speaker 1: the Sultan who took Constantinople, and he absolutely in time
Speaker 1: would want Radu and not Dracula, to be the prince
Speaker 1: of Wallachia. It's complicated at this time because Wallachia was
Speaker 1: a vassal state both of the Turks officially as well
Speaker 1: as of the Kingdom of Hungary, which would play a
Speaker 1: large role in the politics and battles to come of
Speaker 1: Dracula's life. But in fourteen forty seven, Dracula returns home
Speaker 1: and he is now free, but also a Turkish officer
Speaker 1: at the same time, somebody trained in the Ottoman ways
Speaker 1: of warfare, their language, and their culture. Based on his
Speaker 1: connections and his family wealth, he's able to cobble together
Speaker 1: a force that is loyal enough to him that he
Speaker 1: thinks he has a shot of pushing all of his
Speaker 1: rivals in Ballachia out of the way. Remember, his father
Speaker 1: was assassinated by boyars, who quickly divided up power and
Speaker 1: spoils among themselves. Next door in Hungary, John Hunyadi, who
Speaker 1: was considered one of the great crusaders against the Ottomans
Speaker 1: of his day, lost at the Battle of Kosovo. While
Speaker 1: that's going on, Dracula decides that the time was perfect
Speaker 1: because Hunyadi had been backing the other side of the
Speaker 1: Wallachian power structure. So while Hunyadi is trying to pull
Speaker 1: things together after a massive loss to the Turks, Dracula
Speaker 1: stages a coup takes control of Wallachia with some help
Speaker 1: from Turkish cavalry friends who came along with him, but
Speaker 1: this period lasts only two months. Then he fled to
Speaker 1: Turkey and then finally to Moldavia, where he spent two
Speaker 1: years in the court there. But in fourteen fifty one,
Speaker 1: bog Down of Moldavia, who was his ally that allowed
Speaker 1: him to stay there, was assassinated and Dracula once again
Speaker 1: had to flee, so he escaped through the Borgo Pass
Speaker 1: to Transylvania. During this period, Dracula's trying to lay low,
Speaker 1: but John Hunyadi, who is the most powerful man not
Speaker 1: technically the king, but the most powerful man in neighboring Hungary,
Speaker 1: who was involved at least in some way in supporting
Speaker 1: the murder of Dracula's brother and dad, has heard the
Speaker 1: Dracula is in fact in Transylvania and decides that he's
Speaker 1: going to write letters to all city leaders that if
Speaker 1: you have Dracula near you, if you have Dracula taking
Speaker 1: refuge with you, you must chase him out. Some even
Speaker 1: went further than this and tried to have Dracula assassinated.
Speaker 1: First in Brasov, the vice governor there tried to have
Speaker 1: Dracula killed, but as would be the case many times
Speaker 1: going forward, Dracula managed to escape the noose at the
Speaker 1: last minute and get away from an ambush that had
Speaker 1: been set for him. But then major change in the
Speaker 1: Ottoman court brings about a change of heart for Hunyadi.
Speaker 1: A new sultan rises to power. Me Met this second,
Speaker 1: and as I said, he would become known as meth
Speaker 1: Met the Conqueror, and he had absolute designs on the
Speaker 1: conquest not only of the Balkans, Wallachia, Hungary, but all
Speaker 1: of Eastern Europe. And then he wanted to strike into
Speaker 1: the heart of Christian Europe itself, to Vienna and beyond.
Speaker 1: John Hunyadi of Hungary is one of the few military
Speaker 1: leaders who recognizes this, and he understands that Dracula will
Speaker 1: be a very powerful frontline defender of Christendom if only
Speaker 1: he had the proper backing. So Hunyadi invites Dracula to
Speaker 1: make peace with him in person, and gave him a
Speaker 1: command position in his army. But of course the price
Speaker 1: of this was that it was up to Dracula to
Speaker 1: be the front line of defense against the next Turkish invasion.
Speaker 1: Fortunately for Dracula, but for the detriment of all of Christianity.
Speaker 1: At the time, methmets sites were focused on a much
Speaker 1: bigger prize than the rugged and relatively poor area of
Speaker 1: Vallachia in what is today's Romania. He was going for
Speaker 1: Constantinople itself, and in fourteen fifty three the great calamity struck.
Speaker 1: In fact, there's another Shield's High podcast you can listen
Speaker 1: to entirely on the fall of Constantinople. But Methmet took
Speaker 1: fifty thousand Christian slaves and thousands more murdered in the streets.
Speaker 1: The Theodosian walls were not enough to prevent this invasion
Speaker 1: of the Turks against Constantinople from being successful, and in fact,
Speaker 1: Venetian sailors who escaped told stories of mass impalements the
Speaker 1: Turks committed outside the city walls of Constantinople. The Christian
Speaker 1: forces of Eastern Europe knew what was next Belgrade, then
Speaker 1: Buddha today's Budapest, then Vienna. The Battle of Belgrade put
Speaker 1: six thousand Christian defenders against an Aman force at least five,
Speaker 1: perhaps ten times that size. But John Hunyadi, along with
Speaker 1: John of Capistrano, somebody who had pulled together what was
Speaker 1: essentially a people's crusade of just those gathered together on
Speaker 1: the streets who wanted to wage war against the Turk,
Speaker 1: were able to hold back the Turkish onslaught at Belgrade.
Speaker 1: Pope Eugenius the fourth called it the happiest event of
Speaker 1: his life. So for a time it seemed the direct
Speaker 1: route for an invasion into the heart of Christendom was
Speaker 1: blocked for the Turks. But this would mean they would
Speaker 1: turn their sights on Volachia. In the background of the
Speaker 1: siege of Belgrade, Dracula had used a force of mercenaries
Speaker 1: and friendly boyars to hunt down Vladisla the Second in Turgovista,
Speaker 1: the capital of Vallachia, and Dracula ended up killing him.
Speaker 1: This was the man who orchestrated directly the assassination of
Speaker 1: Dracula's brother and father, buried the brother alive. In fact,
Speaker 1: Dracula killed Vladislav the second in single combat hand to hand,
Speaker 1: so at twenty five years old, Dracula once again became
Speaker 1: the Prince of Volachia. This would last for six years
Speaker 1: and would be the most important of the three periods
Speaker 1: of Dracula's reign, and it would be the time when
Speaker 1: Dracula used his most vicious and sadistic methods to wage
Speaker 1: war on the quarreling and backstabbing nobles who had been
Speaker 1: a constant threat in the background of his life. But
Speaker 1: during this period, Dracula also showed himself to be a
Speaker 1: great builder. He founded the fortress of Bucharest, which would
Speaker 1: later on become the capital of modern day Romania. He
Speaker 1: rebuilt a foreboding castle near the Hungarian border that would
Speaker 1: come to be known as Castle Dracula, and he even
Speaker 1: minted his own coins. It was his war on the
Speaker 1: boyars inside Vallachia, however, that would begin the reputation of
Speaker 1: Dracula as a bloodthirsty, evil, tyrant, demonic, and perhaps the
Speaker 1: devil himself. Once story well illustrates this. In fourteen fifty
Speaker 1: seven Easter Sunday, Dracula seized boyars and their wives at
Speaker 1: a celebration meal for the holiest day in all of Christianity.
Speaker 1: Dracula immediately ordered the impalement of the older boyars and
Speaker 1: their wives. He marched the younger and healthier ones fifty
Speaker 1: miles and forced them to help rebuild what would come
Speaker 1: to be known as Castle Dracula. There was also a
Speaker 1: method to the sadism and madness. Dracula gave property to
Speaker 1: peasants and elevated them so they would only be loyal
Speaker 1: to him. After executing one of these boyars, he would
Speaker 1: take their property and use it effectively as a bribe
Speaker 1: to create a new boyar who owed everything to Dracula
Speaker 1: and knew that if he ever crossed Dracula, he himself
Speaker 1: would face impalement. Dracula also understood that he had to
Speaker 1: build a force that would be loyal entirely to him
Speaker 1: of cutthroats, mercenaries, and assassins. He pulled together gypsies, tatars, hungarians, serbs,
Speaker 1: cutthroats from all across the region. He even gave gypsies
Speaker 1: immunity from crimes that they committed so long as they
Speaker 1: were willing to join the personal army of Dracula. And
Speaker 1: believe it or not, the peasants of this time. Despite
Speaker 1: his severe and draconian approach to enforcing the law and
Speaker 1: to dealing with his enemies, the peasants of this time
Speaker 1: liked Dracula. They thought that he was a builder, that
Speaker 1: he was fair, that he was fierce and perhaps evil
Speaker 1: at heart, but that he maintained some degree of honor
Speaker 1: in all of this. His word was good. It's just
Speaker 1: if you broke your word to him, he would have
Speaker 1: you gutted, impaled, and perhaps lit on fire. And this
Speaker 1: the legends of Dracula, is where we get the beginnings
Speaker 1: of the mythology of this monster who drinks blood and
Speaker 1: who is part of the undead. Dracula was known to
Speaker 1: go around to peasants and ask them about what was
Speaker 1: going on in their community, a kind of undercover boss
Speaker 1: situation where he wanted to know what the ground truth was,
Speaker 1: but there was no amnesty for people who lied to him,
Speaker 1: even if they did not know who he was. There
Speaker 1: are stories told by some of those who hated Dracula,
Speaker 1: the Saxons, who were German transplants into Wallachia merchants mostly
Speaker 1: who felt that Dracula was constantly trying to take more
Speaker 1: from them and undermine them. But they spread stories far
Speaker 1: and wide of his cruelty, as did Christian monks, who
Speaker 1: Dracula felt were always trying to get in the way
Speaker 1: of his power. It's tough to know how much of
Speaker 1: these stories are true, but they have been passed down
Speaker 1: over the centuries. In one case, Dracula supposedly called together
Speaker 1: a meal for all of the beggars in Turgo Vista,
Speaker 1: the capital of Wallachia, and all the realm. They gathered
Speaker 1: together for a sumptuous feast, the most incredible food imaginable,
Speaker 1: with endless amounts of ale and beer, all poured for
Speaker 1: them at no expense. Once they became completely satiated and
Speaker 1: drunk beyond words, they found out that Dracula had had
Speaker 1: the entirety of this great hall barricaded, set it on fire,
Speaker 1: and burned everybody inside alive. When asked about this, Dracula
Speaker 1: said that beggars were even worse than thieves, because at
Speaker 1: least thieves showed some initiative, at least they were willing
Speaker 1: to do something to take money from you. Beggars just
Speaker 1: took it from you, slowly and without action. In another
Speaker 1: famous story passed down through thee a gypsy leader came
Speaker 1: to complain to Dracula that his constant use of impalement
Speaker 1: was contrary to the law as it existed at the time.
Speaker 1: Dracula heard him, listened very respectfully, and then had this
Speaker 1: gypsy leader boiled alive and forced his followers to eat him.
Speaker 1: That's right, forced cannibalism while Dracula watched. In one of
Speaker 1: the stories about his severity but also strange honesty, a
Speaker 1: merchant passing through Dracula's territory had his goods parked outside
Speaker 1: of Wanner Dracula's palaces. Some of this merchant's gold duckets
Speaker 1: had gone missing over the course of the night. He
Speaker 1: went to complain to Dracula about this, as Dracula had
Speaker 1: given him his word that in his realm there would
Speaker 1: be no stealing. Dracula immediately put out that anybody who
Speaker 1: was involved in this theft would be impaled, and anyone
Speaker 1: who did not tell about who was involved in the
Speaker 1: theft would share the same fate. So the thieves were
Speaker 1: quickly found, but in the meantime, Dracula also had every
Speaker 1: single gold coin that was missing placed back among the
Speaker 1: merchant's belongings. Later in the day, Dracula asked the merchant
Speaker 1: if all had been made well, but he had made
Speaker 1: sure that there was one additional gold coin given to
Speaker 1: the merchant fortunately for him, He said everything was well,
Speaker 1: but he did find one additional gold coin among his belongings.
Speaker 1: Dracula laughed and said how fortunate this merchant was, because
Speaker 1: if he had not told Dracula about the extra gold coin,
Speaker 1: he would have had him impaled on the spot, and
Speaker 1: the merchant knew it was true. Dracula also savagely punished
Speaker 1: women for infidelity, with tortures and mistreatments that I can't
Speaker 1: even tell you here. Needless to say, he was not
Speaker 1: above mutilation and the worst and cruelest kinds of punishment.
Speaker 1: In his own courtyard of his p alice at Turgovista,
Speaker 1: Dracula had steaks laid out constantly so that people could
Speaker 1: see the most recent victims of his impalement frenzy. But
Speaker 1: it wasn't only impalement that Dracula had his minions engaged.
Speaker 1: He also blinded, burned, decapitated, strangled, roasted, skinned, and buried alive.
Speaker 1: He even had secret trapdoors in his palaces with sharp
Speaker 1: steaks placed below so he could throw unsuspecting people who
Speaker 1: displeased him down to their immediate death. As part of
Speaker 1: his war on the Saxon merchant class, who were constantly
Speaker 1: trying to back other people for the throne of Vallachia
Speaker 1: Vlad the Impaler Dracula, as he is now known, would overrun,
Speaker 1: burn down entire cities, and then impale every man and
Speaker 1: woman that he captured. From fifteen sixty to fifteen sixty two.
Speaker 1: His war on the Boyars caused thousands, perhaps tens of
Speaker 1: thousands of casualties, many of them impaled, but his campaign
Speaker 1: was successful. He managed to stay in power, and that
Speaker 1: was why the Sultan meth Met the conqueror, decided to
Speaker 1: send some of his emissaries to pay Dracula a visit.
Speaker 1: The emissaries of the Sultan were welcomed into Dracula's court
Speaker 1: at first, although he recognized that there was no way
Speaker 1: he was going to play out his youth again and
Speaker 1: go pay the tribute to the Sultan in person. He
Speaker 1: also refused the five hundred boys of tribute for the
Speaker 1: janissary program of the Turks, and in one infamous episode,
Speaker 1: one of the Turkish intermediaries refused to take off his cap.
Speaker 1: This offended Dracula, so he had the cap the Turban
Speaker 1: nailed into the Turk's head. Dracula also famously did this
Speaker 1: to two Genoese merchants who came to eat with him
Speaker 1: and did not remove their hats in his presence, nails
Speaker 1: directly into their skulls, and as they were being murdered
Speaker 1: in this way, Dracula said that he wanted to help
Speaker 1: them respect their traditions forever. With the murder of an
Speaker 1: envoy and the rejection of the Sultan's request for an
Speaker 1: in person audience, it was clear that the Sultan was
Speaker 1: going to have to take out this troublemaker, so he
Speaker 1: sent an initial force in fourteen sixty two to go
Speaker 1: after lured impaler. As Dracula was known to the Turks
Speaker 1: at that time sixty thousand men plus twenty thousand irregulars,
Speaker 1: but the Turks did not realize just who they were
Speaker 1: up against. Dracula was able to trap and murder the
Speaker 1: first senior Turkish official who came after him with forces,
Speaker 1: and also was able to take the fortress of geer
Speaker 1: Yu by yelling to the Turks in perfect Turkish just
Speaker 1: to open the gate. They couldn't believe that somebody from
Speaker 1: Wallachia spoke fluent Turkish. Dracula recognized the only way to
Speaker 1: deal with the vastly superior Turkish force was to go
Speaker 1: completely scorched earth. He even would send in sick people
Speaker 1: that had the plague or that had other diseases into
Speaker 1: the Ottoman camp to see if they could spread the disease.
Speaker 1: He engaged in constant guerrilla tactics anything he could do,
Speaker 1: poisoning of wells, slaughtering of livestock, paying assassins and brigands
Speaker 1: to pick off any Turkish forces that got separated from
Speaker 1: the main army. If it was a means to strike
Speaker 1: at his enemies, Dracula was willing to do it, no
Speaker 1: matter how vicious, no matter how cunning. And then one
Speaker 1: of the most famous of all instances of Dracula's life,
Speaker 1: the Sultan Methmet and his vastly larger force thought that
Speaker 1: it had boxed in Dracula and his forces in a
Speaker 1: mountainous area, while Dracula decided to turn the tables. This
Speaker 1: led to what is known on June seventeenth of fourteen
Speaker 1: sixty two as the Night Raid of Turgovista. This was
Speaker 1: a raid into the Ottoman camp with nothing but torches
Speaker 1: by Dracula and his cavalry and his army of irregulars
Speaker 1: intended to kill the Sultan himself in his tent. It
Speaker 1: was a massacre. Dracula and his forces operated at night
Speaker 1: as though they could see perfectly well. According to the
Speaker 1: chroniclers who observed the battle, they knew the terrain better.
Speaker 1: They were entirely at home, going from tent to tent,
Speaker 1: massacring members of the Turkish military who were caught completely unaware.
Speaker 1: Thousands were hacked and bludgeoned to death, and Dracula almost
Speaker 1: pulled off the incredible feat of killing the most powerful
Speaker 1: men the world met the second in his own tent.
Speaker 1: His most elite forces targeted one red tent that they
Speaker 1: believed belonged to the Sultan. They got inside massacred everyone,
Speaker 1: only to realize it was the wrong tent, a senior
Speaker 1: verzier perhaps, but not the Sultan himself. Dracula and his forces,
Speaker 1: after hours of massacre and mutilation of the Turks, pulled
Speaker 1: out before sun up. The Turkish forces were deeply demoralized,
Speaker 1: but the Sultan would not stop. He ordered the continued
Speaker 1: march to Turgo Vista, and when they got to the city,
Speaker 1: they saw one of the most terrifying scenes described in
Speaker 1: all the Dracula literature, the Forest of the Impaled, thousands
Speaker 1: and thousands of bodies impaled high on stakes, arranged like
Speaker 1: a forest just outside of Turgo Vista proper. The Turkish
Speaker 1: soldiers were horrified, and they just can't take it anymore.
Speaker 1: With winter coming, they decide it's time to turn back.
Speaker 1: That's right, an entire Turkish invasion force turned around by
Speaker 1: the absolute ruthlessness of Dracula, Prince of Wallachia. It's hard
Speaker 1: to fully gauge just what a seismic shift this was
Speaker 1: in the Ottoman plans for conquest. But for an army
Speaker 1: led by the Sultan himself, with his crack troops, his janissaries,
Speaker 1: his spa he's, the elite nobles and the cavalry of
Speaker 1: the Ottoman Empire, his cannons, his vastly superior forces was
Speaker 1: a shock to the Ottoman system. Of course, they returned
Speaker 1: home claiming victory, but people knew Lord Impaler had frightened
Speaker 1: away the Sultan himself. It was not over for Dracula,
Speaker 1: though his brother Radu was now the primary challenger for
Speaker 1: his throne and had the full backing of the Turks
Speaker 1: behind him. It was then political intrigue that would undo Dracula,
Speaker 1: as he was taken prisoner by Matthias kor Venus, the
Speaker 1: son of John Hunyadi and the most powerful man in
Speaker 1: Hungary at the time. Dracula was held as an elite
Speaker 1: and a noble, but he was under house arrest in
Speaker 1: various Hungarian palaces during this period, and Radu, his brother,
Speaker 1: with Hungarian connivance, was able to become the Prince of
Speaker 1: Vallachia in Vlad's absence. It was said that during Dracula's
Speaker 1: captivity and Hungary, when some of the most well known
Speaker 1: portraits of him were painted, that he had a very
Speaker 1: strange habit of buying mice and birds and impaling them.
Speaker 1: But you have to remember that Dracula was a renowned
Speaker 1: crusader and incredibly able at warfare even with small forces,
Speaker 1: and that required the kind of mountain hit and run
Speaker 1: tactics that he had used so successfully against the Turks.
Speaker 1: So the Hunyadi family, with now Matthias Corvinus as its head,
Speaker 1: officially became the royal family of Hungary. They took the
Speaker 1: Hungarian crown and allowed Dracula to marry into their royal family.
Speaker 1: Dracula also converted officially to Catholicism at this time from
Speaker 1: his Eastern Orthodox Christianity, though this was clearly done for
Speaker 1: political purposes, and during his captivity, his brother Radu ended
Speaker 1: up fighting a war while he was Prince of Vallachia
Speaker 1: against the Moldavians, which did not go well, and the
Speaker 1: sources of the time claimed that Radu ended up dying
Speaker 1: of a terrible case of syphilis. During this period, the
Speaker 1: time was right for Dracula's backers in Hungary to put
Speaker 1: him once again for a third time, on the throne
Speaker 1: of Wallachia. As the prince, he took power, settled some
Speaker 1: scores with old nemesses by impaling them, of course, and
Speaker 1: then began yet another campaign against the Turks in fourteen
Speaker 1: seventy six, this time centered on the area of Srebernitza,
Speaker 1: where yes he defeated some Turkish forces, impaled all of
Speaker 1: the survivors, and burned entire villages and forts to the ground.
Speaker 1: But Dracula had made so many enemies at this point
Speaker 1: inside of Vallachia that when he returned, though the circumstances
Speaker 1: of his actual death seem a bit murky. He was murdered,
Speaker 1: likely at the hands of an assassin who was posing
Speaker 1: as one of his servants, paid by the Turks, but
Speaker 1: also perhaps by the boyar nobles inside Vallachia, or Hungarian
Speaker 1: or Serbian or other rivals, all of whom had come
Speaker 1: to hate Dracula with the fire of a thousand sons.
Speaker 1: By legend, Dracula was buried at the Snagov Monastery, though
Speaker 1: later on when they exhumed his tomb there was nobody
Speaker 1: found inside. The myth of Dracula did not take long
Speaker 1: to spread far and wide. His exploits, his mass impalements,
Speaker 1: his murder of thousands and thousands coincided with the invention
Speaker 1: of the printing press in the mid fifteenth century, and
Speaker 1: in fact, Tales of Dracula would be among the first
Speaker 1: for profit books ever published. The German Saxon sources of
Speaker 1: the time particularly hated Dracula and told the most lurid
Speaker 1: stories of his impalements and yes, his drinking of human blood.
Speaker 1: The Russian sources, on the other hand, viewed him as
Speaker 1: severe but fair, and over time, in Romania he would
Speaker 1: come to be known mostly as a national hero who
Speaker 1: defeated the Turks and prevented what is present day Romania
Speaker 1: from becoming a Turkish state. But it was the Romanian
Speaker 1: folklore over the centuries, taking the tale of Dracula and
Speaker 1: through the oral tradition, beginning to mix it with the
Speaker 1: folkloric demon known as the Strigoy, that set the basis
Speaker 1: for the Dracula tale. We have come to know today
Speaker 1: of a man undead who must drink the blood of
Speaker 1: innocent victims in order to stay alive, and who has
Speaker 1: supernatural powers, can only be killed with a stake through
Speaker 1: the heart, with silver, with garlic, and has a fear
Speaker 1: of crosses. All of this comes from the Romanian folklore,
Speaker 1: which Braham Stoker relied on in large part for his
Speaker 1: creation of the Dracula myth in his Timeless novel of
Speaker 1: eighteen ninety seven. So now you know the story of
Speaker 1: the real Dracula. He was a historical figure of great
Speaker 1: importance in his day. But he was also in many
Speaker 1: ways far more terrifying than a sharp fanged vampire who
Speaker 1: turns into a bat. Because this Dracula was real. This
Speaker 1: has been shields high