Vlad the Impaler

Vlad the Impaler
Vlad III:
Vlad III, Prince of Walachia, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler was a Wallachian voivode. His three reigns were in 1448, 1456–1462, and 1476. He was also a defender of Walachia against Ottoman expansionism.

Origin of the surname:
His Romanian surname "Drăculea" means "Son of Dracul" and is derived from his father's title, Vlad the Dragon. The word "Dracul" means "the Devil" in modern Romanian but in Vlad's day also meant "Dragon". The suffix "Ulea" can be translated as "Son of".

Atrocities:
According to the pamphlets, he appears to have been particularly concerned with female chastity. Girls who lost their virginity, adulterous wives, and unchaste widows were all targets of Vlad's cruelty. Such women often had their sexual organs cut out or their breasts cut off. They were also often impaled through the vagina on red-hot stakes that were forced through the body until they emerged from the mouth.
One report tells of the execution of an adulterous wife. The woman's breasts were cut off, and then she was skinned and impaled in a square in Târgovişte with her skin lying on a table.
Another report tells that in 1459 in the day of San Bartholomew in Braşov Vlad invited some merchants that hate him. After the dinner when the merchants were replete he ordered to his to quarter the first and then he forced the second to eat the food that his friend had in his stomach. The last merchant was boiled and then Vlad gave his body to his dogs.
One day Vlad also arrested all the nobles of his reign. The older nobles and their families were impaled on the spot. The younger and healthier nobles and their families were marched north from Târgovişte to the ruins of Poienari Castle in the mountains above the Argeş River. Vlad the Impaler was determined to rebuild this ancient fortress as his own stronghold and refuge. The enslaved boyars and their families were forced to labour for months rebuilding the old castle with materials from another nearby ruin. According to the stories, they labored until the clothes fell off their bodies and then were forced to continue working naked. Very few of the old gentry survived the suffering of building Vlad's castle. Throughout his reign, Vlad systematically eradicated the old boyar class of Wallachia.
Vlad also viewed the poor, sick and beggars as thieves. One horrific tale tells of him inviting all the sick and poor in the area to a large dinner only to have them locked inside and the building burned.
However Vlad III was extremely generous with his servants but he was also extremely cruel with his enemies.

Death:
Vlad died in a battle in 1476, after some important victories against Turks, maybe betrayed also by his allies.

Leonardo D’Alessandro