What was vlad the impaler known for

Share Flipboard Email. Robert Wilde. History Expert. Robert Wilde is a historian who writes about European history. He is the author of the History in an Afternoon textbook series. Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Wilde, Robert. Biography of Vlad the Impaler, Inspiration for Dracula. The Sultans of the Ottoman Empire: to Military History Timeline From to Biography of Bram Stoker, Irish Author.

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His battle to protect his homeland was victorious: Legend holds that he personally beheaded his opponent, Vladislav II, in one-on-one combat. Though he was now ruler of the principality of Wallachia, his lands were in a ruinous state due to constant warfare and the internal strife caused by feuding boyars. To consolidate power, Vlad invited hundreds of them to a banquet.

Knowing his authority would be challenged, he had his guests stabbed and their still-twitching bodies impaled. What is impaling? Impaling is a particularly gruesome form of torture and death : A wood or metal pole is inserted through the body either front to back, or vertically, through the rectum or vagina. The exit wound could be near the victim's neck, shoulders or mouth. In some cases, the pole was rounded, not sharp, to avoid damaging internal organs and thereby prolong the suffering of the victim.

The pole was then raised vertically to display the victim's torment — it could take hours or days for the impaled person to die.

Though Vlad is widely credited with bringing order and stability to Wallachia, his rule was undisputedly vicious: Dozens of Saxon merchants in Kronstadt, who were once allied with the boyars, were also impaled in The Ottoman Turks were never far from Vlad's thoughts — or his borders. His first attempt at the throne relied on the military support of the Ottoman governors of the cities along the Danube River in northern Bulgaria, according to Curta.

Vlad also took advantage of the fact that Vladislav was absent at the time, having gone to the Balkans to fight the Ottomans for the governor of Hungary at the time, John Hunyadi.

Vlad won back his father's seat, but his time as ruler of Wallachia was short-lived. He was deposed after only two months, when Vladislav II returned and took back the throne of Wallachia with the assistance of Hunyadi, according to Curta.

Little is known about Vlad III's whereabouts between and But it is known that he switched sides in the Ottoman-Hungarian conflict, giving up his ties with the Ottoman governors of the Danube cities and obtaining military support from King Ladislaus V of Hungary, who happened to dislike Vlad's rival — Vladislav II of Wallachia — according to Curta.

Vlad III's political and military tack truly came to the forefront amid the fall of Constantinople in After the fall, the Ottomans were in a position to invade all of Europe. Vlad, who had already solidified his anti-Ottoman position, was proclaimed voivode of Wallachia in One of his first orders of business in his new role was to stop paying an annual tribute to the Ottoman sultan — a measure that had formerly ensured peace between Wallachia and the Ottomans.

To consolidate his power as voivode, Vlad needed to quell the incessant conflicts that had historically taken place between Wallachia's boyars. According to legends that circulated after his death, Vlad invited hundreds of these boyars to a banquet and — knowing they would challenge his authority — had his guests stabbed and their still-twitching bodies impaled on spikes. This is just one of many gruesome events that earned Vlad his posthumous nickname, Vlad the Impaler.

This story — and others like it — is documented in printed material from around the time of Vlad III's rule, according to Miller. Whether or not these stories are wholly true or significantly embellished is debatable, Miller added. It would often take hours, if not days, for the victim to finally die. His reputation continued to grow as he inflicted this type of torture on foreign and domestic enemies alike. When the Sultan Mehmed II came across the field of the dead being picked apart by crows, he was so horrified that he retreated to Constantinople.

On another occasion, Vlad met with a group of Ottoman envoys who declined to remove their turbans, citing religious custom. As the Italian humanist Antonio Bonfini described:. Now long after the infamous impalement of Ottoman prisoners of war, Vlad was forced into exile and imprisoned in Hungary. He returned in to reclaim his rule of Wallachia, however his triumph was short-lived. While marching to battle with the Ottomans, he and his soldiers were ambushed and killed.

Vlad the Impaler was an undeniably brutal ruler. However he is still considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania.