Vlad Ţepeş (d. November / December 1431 - December 1476), also called Vlad Drăculea (or Dracula, by foreigners), reigned in Wallachia in 1448, 1456-1462 and 1476.
Whether we like it or not, the myth of "Dracula" and implicitly of the prince Vlad Ţepes, like a ferocious vampire, brings us on the map of "vowiri" countries. In reality, however, Romania has come to be known for vampirism much better than states that have a vampire-based culture. Vlad Ţepeş was and is a character that fascinates both the literary and the historical world. A character whose life we could not reconstruct without the help of legends, which are, in fact, very numerous. However, a legend should not be used only as a historical source, but at the same time it must be subjected to a rigorous critical examination.
Famous for his intolerance and cruelty, Vlad was at the same time respected by his subjects for campaigning against the Turks. He was respected both as a warrior and as a voivode who did not tolerate injustice, during his reign lifting a few monasteries. He was an adult hero, and he was afraid of his people.
Victor Hugo in Legends of Siecles shows how Vlad Tepes welcomed the army of Sultan Mahomed II to conquer Wallachia. Moving to Targoviste, the Turkish army's soldiers were horrified by the view of Tepes: burned houses, paralyzed plains, and poisoned water fountains.
Everything culminated with the image near the walls of the fortress where Vlad the Impaler was sheltered: a huge forest of corpses. Feared and terrified by the smell of the 20,000 corpses of Turkish prisoners infected in the throne, Mahomet himself retired, recognizing the victory of the voivode.
For the Romans, Vlad Tepes remained the voivode during which you could drink water from the fountain of Targoviste Fortress with a large golden goblet without anyone stealing it (historical sources confirm the existence of this cup which was used until the day when Vlad Tepes he died).
Death of Vlad
There are not enough details about Dracula's death, there are some incomplete versions. The most popular story is that he was killed in a battle against the Turks, near Bucharest in December 1476. Another claims he was killed by Wallachian boyars during the fight.
What happened to Vlad's inanimate body? This is another mystery, a fabric of legends, none of which could be confirmed
Most historians believe that Vlad was buried near the altar of Snagov Monastery, a monastery located on an island in the middle of Lake Snagov. Certainly, as a trophy, his head was taken to Instambulus, for the whole Ottoman world to see that the scowl of the voivode was indeed over.
