Brothers Vlad and Radu, sons of the former Wallachian
prince Vlad II Dracul, grew up in the Ottoman court as princely hostages, educated in the
same Muslim spirit as their friend, young Mehmed II, the future Ottoman Sultan. As he matured, Vlad served with distinction
with the elite Janissaries and was praised for his soldierly qualities, but his roughness
and fearless resistance to becoming a Muslim made him subject to brutal punishments. Vlad hasn't forgotten this even years after
he deserted the Ottoman court to join the Hungarian ranks. Wishing to dominate the last increment of
the Danube River, the crescent of Islam clashes with the cross of Christianity at Belgrade,
in July of 1456. Led by Sultan Mehmed II, the Ottomans are
defeated and forced to make a humiliating retreat. But after years of conflict the Hungarian
army also suffers great losses in men and materials. This creates a window of opportunity for young
Vlad. Placed in charge of protecting the Transylavian
border by the Hungarian king, Vlad uses his position to exploit the military power vacuum left by the decimated
armies and marches into Wallachia ahead of a small mercenary force, but is soon opposed
by the incumbent Vladislav II near Targsor. The two leaders choose to decide the battle
with a knightly duel and, amidst cheers from the two armies, Vlad wins the duel and kills
Vladislav, then proceeds to march unopposed to the Wallachian capital of Targoviste. There, he crowns himself as voivode of Wallachia
in August 1456. His divine right to the throne is confirmed
the following night by a spectacular comet in the night sky. Wasting no time, Vlad hires his own uniformed
mercenary army and moves to consolidate his power, and reform the country. He enforces taxes on the boyars, who were previously all but free from taxation. Furthermore, he eliminates those plotting
to kill him, and even goes after powerful boyars responsible for the killing of his
father and brother. Their estates are confiscated and given to
the peasants who, in exchange, are to be trained during post-harvest months for military service. Vlad rids Wallachia of people who "pollute"
the land. Thieves are impaled, beggars, homeless and
the plague-infested are burned alive in barns. In Vlad's opinion, they "depart earthly sufferings
for a better afterlife". He further centralizes his realm by building
fortresses and churches and expands the capital of Targoviste, and other cities. He also creates a princely Order by naming
best soldiers Viteaz (meaning "Brave"). These knights become the new nobility who
support only Vlad. He undertakes road construction to enhance
domestic and international trade revenue. Gives subsidies to handymen to open their
businesses and encourages the middle class with partial tax exemption. Installs customs posts at the borders, forcing
foreign merchants to pay taxes when traveling through or doing business in Wallachia, which greatly enriches the treasury. For all intents and purposes Vlad rules his
realm with confidence and an iron fist and he soon goes after his rivals. By 1458, Vlad's Wallachian army beings raiding
Saxon-dominated Transylvania, bringing carnage to communities which shelter many of Vlad's
rivals to the crown. He orders suspected traitors to be impaled
in full view of the residents and attempts to burn the monumental Black Church of Brasov. He also regains posession of Bran Castle,
once owned by his grandfather. Needless to say, by 1460 the Saxon establishment
in Transylvania is furious, but their bitter complaints about Vlad's cruelty fall on deaf ears of King Matthias. The unhappy merchants seek their own justice by deciding to eliminate
the Wallachian voivode and replace him with Dan III, one of the men behind the murder
of Vlad's father and brother. But it soon proves to be a doomed venture
as Vlad gets word of their operation and ambushes their army. Again rising to the occasion, Vlad humiliates
Dan III in a spectacular duel. Then, he forces him to dig his own grave in full view of his men, before he is decapitated and his followers impaled. Further raids into duchies which refused Vlad's
rule, lead to the massacre of tens of thousands of civilians. And by now the greatly displeased
King Matthias realizes that his Transylvanian province is threatened. An agreement is reached with Vlad. The Saxons agree to return all of Vlad's rivals
and dissidents , pay 15,500 forints and supply soldiers. In exchange Vlad promises to stop
the Ottomans from entering Transylvania. With most of his rivals dead and his northwestern
border secured, the Wallachian voivode projects his power further by building a new Wallachian
capital closer to the Danube. Located in the marshes of the Dambovita river,
Bucharest is surrounded by natural moats infested with leeches, snakes and mosquitoes, good
natural deterrents for any invading army. From his new capital Vlad hopes to unite all
Wallachians into one kingdom and, confident of his power, he provides military aid to
Prince Stefan who is attempting to take the throne of Moldavia, dutifully keeping the
oath of loyalty he had given to his cousin. In response to Vlad's collaboration with Stefan,
a fast moving Ottoman force embarks on a campaign of pillage and rape in southern Wallachia. After their raid, the Ottoman retreat is slowed
by the plunder and prisoners. Before they can reach the Danube, the Ottomans
are intercepted by Vlad's cavalry. Only a few Turks live to cross the Danube and tell
the tale. Considering the Ottoman raid to be a violation
of the treaty he has with Sultan Mehmed , Vlad refuses to pay yearly tribute and to pledge
vassalage. Now he faces the mighty Ottoman army, but
he hopes that the crusade called by Pope Pious against the Ottomans will relieve some of
the pressure on Wallachia. But with European Kingdoms embroiled in intrigue
and warfare against each other , hardly anyone commits to the Christian cause, and by 1461
the Pope's call for a crusade rings hollow. Left to face the Ottomans alone, Vlad agrees
to pay tribute and to send young boys to be trained as Janissaries. Around this time, one of Vlad's most trusted
and valuable allies, Michael Szilágyi, is captured in Bulgaria by the Ottomans. Considered to be a spy, he is brought to Constantinople
where he is tortured and eventually sawed in half. Soon after, a 10,000-strong Ottoman contingent
enters Wallachia to collect the tribute and the new recruits , lead by the commander of
Nicopolis, Hamza Pasha. Seeing the large force, Vlad suspects that Hamza's real mission
is to capture him. The Wallachian voivode reacts and attacks the approaching Ottoman
contingent with full force, decimating them down to a man. He impales thousands of dead Turks around
Targoviste and sends Hamza's head in a jar to King Matthias as proof of the Wallachian
commitment to fight the Ottomans, but despite this he receives no reply and no help from
the Hungarian king. Vlad spends the rest of 1461 training his
army for war and fortifies Bucuresti with heavy palisades and brick bastions , installing
cannons along the fortification perimeter. Aware that Mehmed's armies are fighting in
Anatolia, Vlad prepares to raid Ottoman territory. And in early 1462, while on route to cross
the frozen Danube, Wallachian cavalry stops not far from Giurgiu, one of the strongest
heavily fortified northern Ottoman military bases. Dressed as a high ranking Ottoman official
ahead of his entourage, Vlad approaches the fortress on a snowy day and, speaking in perfect
Turkish, orders the garrison commander to open the gates. The sentries let him in , believing he must
be an important official as he is traveling with many bodyguards. Upon entering, Vlad's men silence the sentries
and open the gates wide for the rest of the Wallachian cavalry to rush in and take over
the fortress . They slaughter the Ottoman garrison and set their quarters ablaze after
looting them . What followed next would fuel the legend of
"Vlad the Impaler". Over the next two weeks his cavalrymen engage
in raids that cover 800km (500miles) along the frozen Danube, all the way to the Black
sea. Aiming to destroy bridgeheads that the
Ottomans use to cross into Wallachia, Vlad's army sacks Ottoman and other non-Christian
settlements on the Bulgarian Danube riverbank, and continue to raid south into Ottoman
territory over the next few months . For the Wallachians living in Bulgaria since
Dacian times, these are blessed days. At least for a time they regained their freedom
from the Ottoman yoke. Countless numbers of them join the fight , either
seeking revenge or because they believe in Vlad's mission. The news spreads like wildfire about the carnage
left in the wake of Vlad's mini-crusade. The Wallachian voivode now hopes that more
Christians will rally to his banner to fight off the mighty Ottomans... Big thanks to Calin Cretu, the coolest Romanian ever, for helping us with pronunciations.
Vlad later also joined the Dragon order, a Christian crusader knight order that murdered and hunted every Pagan in the country, as well as anyone else who wasn't Christian.
Single combat was a thing from as far back as David and Goliath.
Weirdly all duels had to take place after sunset.