If the crusades of the West were fought in the name of, the Christian Church as an excuse for European establishment of one of the great powers of that time, if the majority of these battles were fuelled more or less by the spiritual ideal of rebuilding the Byzantine Empire, as much as the desire for control over the strategical and economical positions that were under the domination of the Turk Empire that had already arrived at the Danube or if sometimes the crusaders fought bloody battles over some utopias, such as getting back the Holy Graal, the participation of the Romanians at the war against the Turks was motivated by some more practical reasons.
Thus, being very near to the “Romanian Country” – Wallachia (one of the three provinces of the future state), the Turks were constantly threatening its independence as well as Moldavia’s and Transylvania’s, the more so as through their duplicitous policy they found permanent allies (as interested in subordinating these provinces, even if only economically, as much as the Turks), like Hungary (in the West) and Poland (in the North and East).
Therefore, it can be said that after the death of Iancu of Hunedoara (voivode of Transylvania and one of the greatest orthodox crusaders), the involvement of the Romanians in the anti-Turkish front was continued by the son of Vlad Dracul (the Devil), voivode of Wallachia – Vlad the Impaler or Vlad the Devil, who will reign in 3 periods: (1448; 1456 – 1462; 1476).
Descendant of the Draci’s dynasty, named not only after the terrible ugliness of Ţepeş’s father but also because of the symbol of the dragon represented on a cloak brought by Vlad Dracul from his journeys to the East. Vlad Ţepeş will enjoy – in that age, but mostly nowadays – a strange international celebrity. They give to the Romanian voivode the features of a madman thirsty of blood and power, of a human being born to bring evil, a devil – Dracul (Devil), how became the name of the Draci’s dynasty because of the confusion, manipulation and defamation.
The far–off source of this legend is in the German Tales spread by the propaganda of Matei (Mathias) Corvin, King of Hungary, as well as the Saxon living in Transylvania, both very interested in the distorsion of the truth. Matei Corvin (the son of Iancu de Hunedoara) had left Ţepeş alone in a really hard moment, when the Turcs’ army threatened the independence of the little Romanian state. And the rich Saxon towns from behind the Carpathians – specially Braşov – had been seriously affected by the new politics of Ţepeş, which protected the Romanian merchants first. It must be said that Matei Corvin had engaged in front of Europe’s Powers to support Ţepeş against the Turcs, and because he didn’t do it, he risked to loose his credibility and the possibles alliances.
Among all those exagerations, Vlad Ţepeş proved to be a powerful personality, a declared enemy of disorder and dishonesty and a protector of the independence of his country.
His short and eventful life had known numerous moments of distress and just a short moment of filling, which climaxed with the big anti-ottoman campaign from 1461-1462.He had been taken as a prisoner by the Turcs (1442-1448), outcast in Moldavia and in Transylvania (1462-1475). Actually, from his 45 years of life (born probably in 1431, killed in 1476), the chance bestowed upon him just 6 years, much lesser than upon Iancu de Hunedoara (15) and upon the cousin of Ţepeş, Ştefan cel Mare – the ruler of Moldavia (47).
There aren’t known the concrete circumstances about when it was taken over the throne by Vlad, being sure just that his predecessor – Vladislav – was eliminated and killed in the summer of 1456 and that the reign of Vlad Dracul’s son was at the end of July-at the beginning of August, the same year. Even there are enough testimonies that are harmonized with Iancu de Hundedoara’s help, who just was defeated the Turks at Belgrad, his relations with Magyar crown and with the successor of the great anti-ottoman fighter remain contradictories.
So, in 1456,at 6 September, he was notifying the people from Braşov that he is loyal to the Magyar king, Ladislau, ”because of the Turks’ fear”, who puts about the country “big tasks with no way of supporting”, as it results from other sources. But just 3 months later, at 16 December 1456, Ladislau de Hunedoara, Iancu’s son is complaining about the troubles, the dangers and the angers caused by Vlad, reason for which it was already preparing a claimant at Braşov.
Vlad Ţepeş’s internal policy had been determined by the fact that Wallachia was dominated by endless struggles for power, repeated changes of voivode, internal anarchy and brutal intervention of grasping neighbours. He understood that order and political stability are indestructible connected with the consolidation of the central power, with the voivode’s celebration as “great sovereign” and with the drastic punishing of all the ones who contested it.
The annihilation of a very important part of the nobility takes part in the new reign’s political programme, which has in view the discouragement of the factions which contended for supremacy in state.
Therefore, Ţepeş enslaved the council in which the majority will be held by high officials having no connection with the country’s great nobiliary families. But, they would be permanently changing, some of them Transylvanians or Moldavians, others old faithful ones of his father or persons acquainted during his long wandering about Transylvania and Moldavia.
Another dimension of the voivod’s authority, the one which strongly impressed the contemporaries, is the excessive authority and severity with which Ţepeş punished the breaking of the law – the injustice, the dishonour and stealing. Thus, indifferently of the social category which the malefactors took part in, the punishment was the same: the impaling, “none of them remained alive”. The history of the golden cup abandonned near to a well in a deserted region, which nobody dared to take possession of, is exemplifying for the way in which, during his short reign, Vlad had understood to impose respect for the great values of the social life: honesty and dignity. A pattern and an occasion of reflection for all the times that followed.
His economical policy surprised too: Vlad cancelled the prerogatives of the Brasonean and Sibien merchants and compelled them to respect the native’s rights. So, in the spring of 1459, he banned the Transylvanian merchants to buy goods directly from the producers in the Romanian Country, so the changes to be made in bargains from the boundaries, with the Wallachian merchants. These quite protectionist actions represented a part of the recovery and stopping the principal prosperity sources of the country program. These were especially explained as measures of reprisals against the Saschs boroughs from Transylvania, which permanently sustained the madshipmen to the Romanian throne.
Subordinating the intern consolidation of the great goal of the fight for independence, the hospodar has looked after the organization of the army too. Due to the tradition, “the little army” consisted of aristocrats, the servants and courtsmen of the hospodar and the servants of the great aristocracy, that constituted the administration in peaceful times, and “the big army”: the whole armed people, ready to fight in the rough times in the years 1461-1462.
Ţepeş enlarged the number of troops both by hiring mercenaries for his personal guard and by raising to the rank of Valiant Horsemen- title equivalent to that of “knight” used in the western world- a number of pedestrians for their bravery in combat. He personally led these troops, whose loyalty he had no doubt of.
Therefore we may conclude that through his internal politics put to the service of the country and to that of the prosperity of his people Vlad Ţepeş proved to be a realistic and efficient ruler both at a national and international scale by imposing rules and principles. The exemplary way in which these were respected marked the era. What amazed most were the extremely drastic methods through which Ţepeş (from the Romanian “ţeapă” meaning: long sharp pole used as a torture instrument) tried to bring order to Wallachia, a country torn by chaos. Unfortunately, the true facts remained distorted because of the actions of ill-willed chroniclers of those times- who speculated upon this disparaging the Wallachian ruler and transforming his image into that of the insipid character created by the Irish writer Bram Stoker- Dracula.
What we must admit, is the fact that his strategy was literally the only efficient one at that time. The results were immediate and although Ţepeş’s reign was extremely short, order, faith and loyalty were never appreciated as much as they had been then.