Dracula, Son of the dragon

Last week we left off with Vlad slowly building up his power for his eventual reconquest of Walachia. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire was on the warpath. Mehmed the second had just finished conquering Constantinople, ending the long decaying Byzantine Empire. John Hunyadi (remember him from the last episode), sensing that Mehmed wasn't the type of person to be satisfied with conquering one city, readied Belgrade's defences. And just as he expected, the Sultan was quick to march on the frontiers gate between the two mighty nations. On the other hand, Vlad was tasked to guard the frontier with Walachia, which he was pretty successful at. As the siege of Belgrade turned sour for both sides, with the Ottoman being repealed with massive causalities and Hunyadi and most of his forces dying of the plague short after, the exiled prince decided that now was the time.

Taking back the throne

Vlad's forces marched through Walachia and met the usurper's Vladislav forces not far from the capital itself. We don't really know how the battle took place, but one certain thing is that Vlad's victory was total. Vladislav was killed, and Vlad finally took back his rightful place on the throne of Walachia. The newly crowned King was quickly met with a problem. Most boyars (Slavic nobility) weren't fond of Vlad. Most of them supported his cousin and weren't too happy to see Vlad on the throne. Some of them had even taken part in the massacre of the previous King when the Hungarians invaded. As expected in such a situation, they soon mounted a coup. However, the new King wasn't to be undone so easily, and after a swift battle where the rebels got crushed, he executed the leaders and their families. And Vlad's method of execution would be all too familiar to you thanks to his alias, and it was impalement. Some of the Boyars were not even dead when impaled and died after a long agony!

Taking back the people's support, by all means

After this failed uprising, the remaining Boyars quickly pledged loyalty to him. They hoped to avoid his wrath regarding their betrayal of his father by doing so. Unfortunately for them, Vlad did not forget this painful event. He lured the Boyars into a banquet at the capital, Targoviste, to strip off their lands, title, and powers. He executed many and enslaved the rest to build the new castle for the King, which you can still visit today. I don't think I need to tell you how the 'lucky ones' (those who got executed) died. It involved sharp pieces of wood shoved up where the sun doesn't shine. Most of them died, but all this was part of Vlad's plans of purging the nobility of Walachia. A small note, though: none of this was really personal. Vlad did officially massacre the current Boyars for killing his father. However, it had more to do with them betraying the previous King rather than his father. After all, politics is never personal, and Vlad valued loyalty and power above all.

The new fearful kingdom

The following years were not better. Vlad was tired of seeing Walachia controlled by anyone that wasn't the King, and he wanted UNLIMITED POWER (please insert Palpatine's tone when reading!) After electing new Boyars, who received the lands and wealth from their predecessors. After all, they suffered a mild case of being dead! He then reformed the country. Anyone not loyal enough was immediately put to death; most of the time by the good old impalement method. He didn't get the nickname 'Impaler' for nothing. Though, sometimes, other methods were used. Those included decapitation, being skinned and even boiled alive.

Vlad in the public opinion at the time

Most in Europe would demonize him for his actions, and even the people most favourable to him thought that he was a bit crazy. What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that all this took place in the 15th century. For those who are not familiar with this period of history, life generally sucked. Public executions were commonplace to keep the population in place, and the all too memetic Spanish inquisition was in the blood path. But don't take this as a way to justify Vlad's actions, as even people back them told him to chill down. However, no one would really tell him in the face unless they wanted a one-way ticket to the spikes.

Next to come!

Next week, let's finish the story of this tyrant with his fall in favour with the Hungarian deprived him of his only ally and war with the Ottoman, led by Mehmet and Radu the Handsome.