You know about Cumans strange i thought nobody know about my ancestors were Asian race from Central Asia we mixed with Eastern Romans my ancestors we look like Altay Türkic people, and you Italians don't look different from my ancestors from Asia Minor and Levant we look like each other expect i am half Asian
Vlad the Impaler was of Cuman desenentant and also Mediterranean maybe even European he look mixed he is a Basarab dynasty Cuman dynasty of 11 century Cumans rule the Dacians
@@HPLovesCraftsCat he was Basarab Cuman Mongoloid Türkic mixed with Anatolian J2 Roman and only very few Dacian ancestry he look brunette rather completely white like his brother who his brother look pale and more European
As a Romanian, I would like to add the following piece of trivia: Vlad is remembered here as a tough but fair ruler, who mostly impaled bandits, thieves, and corrupt officials. A commonly repeated story says that, during Vlad's reign, one could leave a bag of gold at a crowded crossroad and still find it there days later. His enduring image as a castigator of wrongdoers serves as ispiration for a scene every Romanian has witnessed more than once: when a story of high-placed corruption breaks, more often than not there will be at least one person in the room who will sigh and (mis)quote a verse written by our national poet, "Unde ești tu, Țepeș doamne?" ("Where are you, Lord Impaler?", as in "I wish you would come back from the dead and impale a few of these pieces of ***"). That's how enduring his legacy is in Romania, not requiring any help from Bram Stoker's character.
I've heard a story about how Vlad left a magnificent golden, jewel-encrusted goblet at a public fountain for everyone to drink from, nobility, common folk, and beggars alike. And anyone who tried to STEAL that goblet for themselves faced impalement as punishment. Suffice to say, NOBODY tried to steal it. Is this story an accurate one?
@@alex.profi27 I think "Where are you, lord Tepes?" might be more accurate. Lord here is lower case because it is addressing Vlad, not The Lord with the "tu" (you).
That's cuz Transylvania is just some place. Bram Stoker just decided that to be the place where his monster lives and pop culture turned that into a big thing.
@ibrahimihsan2090 Actually, Transylvania already had this sort of reputation, at least in Britain, thanks to the work of Emily Gerard, who wrote the 1885 book "Transylvanian Superstitions." It's why Stoker chose the region in the first place.
And that's why - as a historian - it is so satisfying to watch a Metatron video. The research is immaculate, the delivery is interesting and the entertainment is still a big part. Thanks for uploading. Again. It's pure pleasure to watch.
Yet he got wrong that they should make a movie about it... When it's already been carefully made. th-cam.com/video/VqbagKqtbAQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=NIYmEt3OSPILarTB
As a romanian, I appreciate this video. Worthy to mention that Bram Stoker loosely inspired his book from the short story Carmilla as well, who is probably the first female vampire story in literature and does not get the recognition that it deserves.
@@micahkeren-zvi9208others responded to that comment elsewhere with details about the regions and language of the area that validates using the term Romanian. (Also my babysitter as a child was a Romanian exchange student at the college where my mother taught night classes who had no problems with him being referred to us such and shared some of the information I've seen in this video and in the comments).
I have a Romanian family friend that escaped from behind the iron curtain. She said that prior to escaping, she had never heard anything about Vlad being a vampire. He was regarded as an old historical hero.
In ny country there are lots of negative stereotypes about eastern Europeans. The more I know about those people the more I realise those stereotypes exist for a reason
@GabiBrooks I get the vampire thing probably wouldn't have been very known, but Vlad already had a, let's say, less than stellar reputation in neighboring countries.
@@DimitrisGenn Certainly. The Russians wrote 'The Tale of Dracula the Voivode' in 1490. Apparently the book speculated that Vlad's family were involved with the supernatural, as well as being formidable and potent military leaders. Back in those times, religious superstition controlled how the public thought about topics such as death, decay, potential resurrection, and military power. It was only natural they would make that connection.
Hey my friend, Serbian guy here. (You know, a little southeast European country next to Romania, the word "Vampir" originally comes from our language as you may know, etc., but thats not important here.) The important thing is that countless you tubers did, (or at least they tried to process this historical topic), I don't know how many, but a lot. But as an historian and anthropologist myself, I can say that you're the only one who tried and managed to get and present our Balkan history approximately right and precisely. And for that, I'm thanking you from my heart. Cheers mate. Igor🙏🍻🌄
@@marius3115 Nope, those a wraiths you're thinking of. The modern vampire that rises from the dead and drinks blood came from a small village in Serbia in the 1600's around the same time as the Salem Which trials in USA. Supposedly the story has some level of truth to it as the village priest actually wrote to the church asking for assistance.
Hands down Vlad the Third is one of the most fascinating figures in history. I've studied him and his family and went to his palaces, churches when I was in Romania. It was amazing
Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula (/ˈdrækjʊlə, -jə-/; Romanian: Vlad Drăculea [ˈdrəkule̯a]; 1428/31 - 1476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania.He fought victorious battles with the Ottoman Empire. He impaled thieves and traitors as punishment. The existing method in other countries, in the Middle Ages. As the crucifixion existed in antiquity.
@@Bayard1503 yes Poenari is the one I meant. I never went to Bran Castle. I know that it existed during Vlads time but that he never actually lived there. I'm not sure why it's branded Draculas Castle except to profit from fans of the book and popular vampire myths
@@rosemartasgaminghoard It was placed in the mountains near Borgo Pass, but was simply referred to as, 'Castle Dracula.' People think Stoker was clueless about the real Vlad and the link with blood and dark energy, but I suspect it was just the opposite. He deliberately created a story that was sensational and dramatic because of the link with Vlad, but he kept the setting and historical details just vague and mysterious enough that he could get away it. An absolutely brilliant author when you think about it, he managed to encapsulate the religious fervor and superstition that had long been alive in Europe without giving too many details that could be questioned or criticized politically later on.
@@FireflowerDancer oh I don't think Stoker was clueless. He certainly did some research, I can't say how much. He certainly probably could have benefitted from more but he crafted a great story with what he had and deserves to have his work praised. His work is part of the reason why I've learned what I have about Vlad the Third, the meaning of Dracula and Romania itself.
9:19 Mircea the Elder (the one in the picture) was already dead for almost 30 years at that point. The one killed alongside Vlad II was his son Mircea II.
Vald Dracula is probably one of the most impressive guerrilla warfare fighter and tactian of his time fighting armies almost incomparable in size and leaving them broken and battered
for clarification, correction or addition to what was said above, I recommend the channel of professional historians in Romanian medieval history called "Corpus Draculianum". Everything you want to know about Vlad Tepes.
One thing we know for sure about Vlad the Impaler is that he was one of the ballsiest men to ever walk this earth. Killed multiple men in single combat and slaughtered countless armies with his cavalry even when he was outnumbered
@@danak9594 shut up you little witch... Vlad was actually really tamed when it came to Valahian rulers... and many other rulers from that time were much more blood thirsty than he was. Vlad was an extraordinary man of arms and sometimes he needed to do what he need to do.
@@danak9594 Why do you think Vlad was fighting the ottomans with such ferosity? It was to prevent them from taking over the entirety of Europe. Where do you think he learned this cruelty? It was from the Ottomans themselves. He was using their own tactics against them. The guy was a hero. You really shouldn't judge historical figures with modern day standards either.
@@THEOZZYFUL In Polish book "Świry u władzy" (Nutjobs in power) there is a whole chapter about Vlad and author says, that one time, a peasant went to Vlad to complain about stink of all this dead bodies on pales was to much, beacause of this, he and others couldn't breath. Vlad listened him and he ordered this peasant to be paled as well.
I started learning about Vlad as a Dracula fan but find the real Vlad to be fascinating in his own right. I think Vlad III was, for his time, not much more brutal than the norm (I mean, lots of kingdoms utilized brutal torture and led campaigns of slaughter and pillaging etc). It's interesting the difference in how he's seen in the Anglosphere and how some Romanian natives often see him as a patriotic figure.
I don't buy it. Show me evidence of e.g. kings of England, or the Holy Roman Emperors, or the Popes, publically torturing infant children to death. If Vlad was not any crueler than most rulers of his time then there should be countless of incidents like that in Europe's history
I think a lot of his negative points owe a lot to the book and subsequent films, I read a biography of him back in the 70s when I was a teen and have always thought him to have been an admirable person. Unlike Elizabeth Bathory - who simply killed because she enjoyed it and thought bathing in blood was anti aging - Vlad Dracul had a GOOD reason for his actions and were no more violent for the times he lived than many others were, including those who made him out to be a horror.
@@MayYourGodGoWithYou Bathory's blood baths were themselves a folklore addition added later, and there's a compelling body of evidence (or rather, lack of evidence supporting her crimes) that suggests she might have been framed so that her political opponents could acquire her considerable holdings. The Knights Templar had phony charges brought so that the King of France wouldn't have to pay his debt to them, it's entirely possible there was a similar situation with Bathory.
@@initial_C I know abut the Knights Templars which was as much about power and influence as money. Elizabeth Bathory though not so sure. Especially as her ''holdings'' would have belonged to her husband rather than her [as was normal at the time] and while I'm fairly certain the 'crimes' were grossly exaggerated there is probably a grain of truth in them if you could dig deeply enough. She was a thoroughly unpleasant woman when all's said and done and she was never as well known [internationally] as Dracul was until fairly recently. But in those days life was hard and it was brutal and you HAD to be brutal towards your enemies as showing any sign of kindness or leniency was asking to be invaded. Plus Dracul was actually [in my PERSONAL opinion] rather good looking for that time period going by the images I've seen. He was certainly brave and it was also a time when peasants [and this goes for both him and Elizabeth Bathory] weren't considered of much note. I could see how the tales grew up around her but I could also see there being a grain of truth to them at the start even if they have since been embroidered for publicity and shock value.
Highlighting his wrong is probably some kind of diversion for other leaders, as much brutal, that wanted to be seen as good christians, supported by the pope, other leaders and avoid rebellion.
There's a pretty underrated adaptation of Bram Stoker's book, the 1970 Spanish film "Count Dracula", directed by Jesús Franco. That film stands out for being the adaptation that most faithfully tries to adapt the novel, being more faithful than even Coppola's film. Furthermore, Dracula (who appears as the old mustachioed man that the novel describes) is played here by none other than Christopher Lee, who at the time was still acting as the Count for the Hammer films. Lee was already fed up with those movies due to their absolute lack of respect to the novel's themes, so he did not hesitate to participate enthusiastically in that faithful adaptation. The cast also includes the insane Klaus Kinski as a mute Renfield (my favorite portrayal of the character) and Herbert Lom as Van Helsing. The movie is not a masterpiece at all, especially because of its low budget, but it definitely deserves to be watched by every single Dracula fan!
The legend says that in his time you could let a bag full of gold in the middle of a crossroads and you would find it untouched weeks later. My great grandfather used to say "where are u Tepes(Impaler), my lord, to come and clear the country of thugs?".A symbol of justice, merciless with his enemies, he impaled thousands of thugs and evil noblemen that oppressed the peasants, and defended the country from the ottomans that where "as many as leaves and grass"(quote from oral traditions , so Metatron you must check your numbers mate :D ). I don't know how true the legends are , of course, but this is the common view of Vlad the Impaler almost 6 Century's later in our tradition.
I think a lot of Vlads' cruelty is exaggerated by his political enemies. He waged war against the Ottomans, was hated by Saxon merchants and his own nobles, the boyars, and was even arrested and held under house arrest by King Mathias of Hungary. The woodcuts and pamphlets that Stoker drew much inspiration from were published by the Saxons and spread throughout Europe.
There's a Romanian-German group of historians called Corpus Draculianum that focus on researching everything related to Vlad. One of their members is a Phd in Osman history and runs their youtube channel (called corpus draculianum) and he made a video reacting to this one. He had an overall positive impression but made some corections that I think you'll find interesting.
Hi! I want to make some observations if i might. 8:29 slip of tongue i think. Hunyadi was never imprisoned by the turks. 9:10 Vlad II betrayed Hunyadi after the battle of Varna and captured him for personal gains. 9:28 declared war on the kingdom of Hungary not on Hunyadi. 11:25 between him and the king of Hungary. The king of Hungary’s grandmother was Barbara von Cilli. The Cilli/Cillei family were the arch rivals for Hunyadi in Hungary. Hunyadi had support from many nobble familys, like the (Horoghszeghi) Silagyis. (Remember this name.) 11:55 Hunyadi, the Cillei faction did not participate, but the Silagyis (Szilagyi Mihaly) did. (Silagyi Mihalys sister was the wife of Hunyadi. And Mihalys wife was a Bathori, yes, from the same ecsedi line as Elisabeth Bathori). The same troops and ships that conquered Constantinaple were destroyed there. Even Murad II. was injured. (You could make a video about the not known, but legendary (Doria) Giovanni Giustiniani, the Genoese hero of the last defense of Constantinople.) 17:53 Ottomans lost a lot of Constantinople veteran troops at Belgrad. 18:28 In 1462 Matthias did sent some troops, however not enough. He was with war with the Holy Roman Emperor, the Hussites and with Venice at the same time… Also Stephen Tomasevic the king of Bosnia requested for help also at 1462. He was in weaker position than Vlad. 1463 Matthias went war with the turks at Bosnia and captured Jajca. There were multiple fronts against the turks that time… Corvinus was avoiding war with the turks? He WAS in war with the turks! 22:53 No. It was not him, not the first. See the answer later. Corvinus betrayed him? No. He helped as much as he could. The saxons hated Vlad because of his activities. So he become the „prisoner” of Corvinus and not a „guest”. Around 1470, he married Szilagyi Justina. He become close relative with Corvinus. Corvinus did not tolerate betrayal. When Silagyi Mihaly, his uncle, who also betrayed him, was captured by the turcs later on, he did not ransom him, and he was beheaded at Constantinople. He lived at Buda, Visegrad and Vac at Hungary. He also had a mansion at the central square of Pecs/Sopiane/Ecclesie Quinqueecclesiensis/Fünfkirchen, (same city) called Drakwlyahaza (house of Drakula). (It was not far away from the statue of Hunyadi in Pecs, at 9:14 in the video. Around 100 meters.) Search: „Drakwlyahaza_House_of_Dracula_” Janus Pannonius, the renesance comet, lover of Italy (Firense), bishop of Pecs from 1459 (yes, the same city), wrote a poem from his capture (I think, yur frend, who i also like, Ranieri, will be happy to help with.) De captivitate Dragulae waivodae Transalpinae 1462 Dicite, Io Paean! captus fert vincla tyrannus, Si modo non falsum publica fama sonat. Dicite rursus, Io Paean! et carmina festis, Pierides Nymphae, iungite festa choris. At tu, cui nullo decus hoc cum sanguine venit, Ut quid iam medio frigore victor abes? Hoc unum cuncti te supplice voce rogamus, Redde tuos vultus, rex venerande, tuis. Sin populi nil vota movent; hoc sponsa precatur, Hoc genetrix; an et his, dure, negare potes? Janus Pannonius was extremely popular in his time all over Europe. I think, it was him, who first started the international rumors about Vlad. But i also think that the bad reputation is because his quarrel with the saxon citys in the Fairy Garden. (as Transilvanya was called). Janus also betrayed Corvinus later on and fled, and suffered, but that is an another story… Also a source about Vlad who hate the turks and was warlike, who „is” a captain of king Mathias: 1476. december 8. a letter to pope IV Sictus from Matthias mentions: „…Dragula capitaneus meus, vir imprimis thurcis infestissimus et admodum bellicosus, de mea voluntate et dispositione per incolas regni illius Transalpini in waivodam cum solita solamnitate est assumptus.” As you can see, Corvinus did not need to defend his actions against his captain he had to introduce to the pope… Also a leter to Ernest (Ernst) Elector of Saxony at 1476. november 15. about restoring Vlad: „…Imperatore itaque in fugam converso, jussimus capitaneos nostros regnum Transalpinum ingredi, infidelem Bozorad excludi, et Draguliam, virum armorum et turcis infestissimum, in wayvodam erigi, quod favente altissimo jam effectum est.” My arguement is, that Mathias always made revenge on those, who betrayed him. But with Vlad, it was different. Jan Giskra the famous hissite (who was the enemy of Corvinus first but later joined him) imprisoned Vlad. There are multiple reasons for that, but the most reasonable was the constant complaint from the saxon citys against him. The „imprisonment” was to appease the saxons of Transylvania whom Corvinus needed. They were rich, and that time the saxon citys started to act as one, and not individualy anymore (universorum Saxonum nostrorum partium regni nostri Transsilvanorum). Corvinus also gave a Silagyi family member to him by marriage. Trough his wife had many assets in Hungary, and travelled the country. You can't find any writen evidence about Corvinus defaming Vlad his relative and ally! But you can find plenty from the enemys of Corvinus. I give some interesting primary sources and not some biasd, nationalist sentimented opinions projected back to the past. The problem is, that the hungarian-romanian argue about Transilvania taints the historical narrations all the time. (Sorry for remarking this, but i know this topic is always full with it.) Keep up the good work! Thank you for your videos! (I love them.)
Funnily enough there is still a German saying, jemanden in die Walachei schicken (to send someone to Wallachia). It basicly means sending someone to the end of the world or in the middle of nowhere.
"Drac" indeed means "Devil" in modern Romanian, however "Balaur" and "Zmeu" (although still used in many old fairy tales) are quite archaic words themselves, the most common word for dragons is now "Dragon". Although Vlad's rule was particularly brutal, the definition shift of the word "Drac" might have started before him since in the Bible, Satan is said to emerge in the shape of a dragon.
299 / 5 000 I was 17 when I first heard that Count Dracula was a historical figure. These were the days before the internet. I went to the public library and pulled out books and information one by one. Who, what region, history of the region, wars, myths and fairy tales, atlases. It was an amazing experience :)
Wonderful video Metatron! Love from Romania 🇷🇴. A small correction regarding the Romanian word "zmeu". It doesn't mean dragon, it refers to another creature from Romanian mythology. Granted, the "zmeu" shares some features with the dragon, so some people use it interchangeably, but most of the time it refers to another creature. The Zmeu is like a crossbreed between the Japanese Oni, the European Dragon and the Vampire. The zmeu is a humanoid creature larger than a man. He is strong, intelligent (not smarter than a human though), tough skin and he can fly and shape-shift in people, animals and objects (sometimes buildings or forests). He lives in big and luxurious castles and owns large territories. He eats and drinks a lot (humans are part of his diet). He loves fighting and will display warrior honor by letting you choose the means of combat (usually either swords, or maces or hand to hand combat). His signature weapon is the mace and he usually sends it home after a battle, by throwing it across multiple kingdoms, until it lands on his weapon rack at home. Their species is mostly males, although females exist, but are extremely rare. They have the bad habit, some may call it an addiction, of constantly kidnapping human princesses to marry. That's what they do in most stories. I thought I needed to explain the differences between dragons and zmei, hope I didn't bore with details. Fun fact: the Romanian word for kite is also zmeu!
let's not forget about the theory (not supported by the majority) that "zmeu" is a pan-slavic word borrowed from dacian times... the rule being: if it contains "z" is dacian :)
@@aruaceva8396 Can't really call upon a rule when Thracians and Dacians' language are an enigma, also, when it comes to these theories (I come across them a lot as a Bulgarian) a reasonable guide is if you can find it in Czech or Polish, it probably isn't Balkan in origin, since there isn't much historical overlap for major linguistic movements to happen. Provided you can find a word ideally in Bulgarian, Polish and Russian, it's a pretty safe bet it is natively Slavic.
In the large paragraph you are basically describing the "zmeu" from the popular tales of Petre Ispirescu collected in the volumes called "Legende sau basmele românilor". That "zmeu" is an euphemism and a metaphor for the local boyars of the 19th century. But even in those tales the zmeu, at one point, can and does change shape from a balaur/dragon (his/hers natural form) to that of a man or a woman.
Corpus Draculianum did a pretty good job at correcting this video, i recommend people give it a watch, its a romanian scholar who is part of a society that centers around Țepeș, he has english subtitles on his video.
@@olgagaming5544 watch his video because most of this video was pretty much corrected. It has been 2 weeks so I can't necessarily bring up what he said, just look up his video, if you find a Romanian man in a suit with a mustache and a glass of wine it's him. There's to many corrections in the video he's the official scholar on Vlad Țepeș im just an engineering student and currently recovering from a hangover
bored at work, here you go tl&dr of that Corpus Draculianum dude who wrote/ is still writing dictionary sized books just on Dracula and events related to him for some university in Germany : - no historical record of birthdate, only speculation and approximations - no historical records of his signature, some Italians confused the royal monogram with a signature, Ladislaus being his post Christianization name in his last years - Hunyadi didn't drive him off in 1448, Vladislav the 2nd did - no evidence of him allows turk to raid the Hungarians, but speculation that he had in his own army ottomans so could be a reason for accusations of siding with the enemy of Christianity - the 200 nobles were actually townfolk who were guilty of betraying their lord ( Dracula's father ) so well within his rights ( for that period ). Also he never spiked nobles, only decapitation which was the way to execute nobles back then. - no real evidence of his plans and whether he really intended to get close to the west from the start and fight the ottomans, given that the ottomans were stronger than the Christians, he turned against them when they endangered his life and crown, as he did before that when the Christians did the same - no historical record of the name of his first wife - 'devastated Bulgaria' is an exaggeration he raided mostly close to the Danube - Matthias Corvinus sending aid or not is not really known, there is a record that Metatron also mentions from a papal emissary that in a different document talks about having direct account from participants of the night raids while at the Hungarian court which could indicate some Hungarian soldiers, but just speculation, or they could have just been eating shit - there never was a general mobilization before the world wars and gypsies were slaves, they had nothing to do with the army - army size 30k impossible, the entire fighting able population was not even 100k and just only during www1 has a country managed to mobilize more than 10% of its entire fighting population - nothing in Laonikos Chalkokondyles about sending bubonic plague zombies in the Ottoman camps, that's from a Netflix series - the Sultan withdrawing was more because he had previous plans to invade Lesbos island and less because of intimidation or ferocity, Dracula did fight competently but he neither lost or won the war, and ultimately he did lose politically - his brother most likely beat him sometimes in battle considering he ended up taking Dracula's crown - the centralization point is a bit of a modernism and it would be more accurate to consider it a network of authority, and again the cruelty against the nobility is from his opponent propaganda - the origin of the pamphlets Corvinus passed around with propaganda is not conclusive, he said it was from the Saxons because they were in german, but the oldest are in latin, and they only appear in 30% of the stories, it being more of a compendium - no medieval record that can even suggest he ate/drank blood
Nothing new (to me) in the video, but it's always good to see the historical Vlad get some love. Metatron just happens to be one of the best people to do it. Edit: Regarding the afterword... it's also where "Vlach" comes from.
@@AnubisMRM oh not that long. just a few years of randomly scouring libraries and the internet for trivia (you didn't think we hold any useful knowledge, did you?). and having an interest in games and history
Do you wanna know something I find really funny? People assume Stoker named the Count after Vlad because of his reputation, but that's not actually true. What happened was that Stoker happened to be reading a book on Romanian history in the middle of writing the novel, came across a passage about the Voivode named Dracula, and because he really liked the name he named his character after him and tweaked his backstory. He had no idea about his reputation, and the few times his human past is discussed in the book, he's described almost like a fallen hero. Basically, the guy could have been the nicest person to ever live, and it wouldn't have made a difference lol.
Yes, I take issue with it being said repeatedly in the video that Dracula the vampire was 'based on' Vlad. That's not really true. Stoker wasn't a historian and knew next to nothing about the real man. He just went 'that's a cool name' and used it. Otherwise the two are not really related. It's questionable whether Stoker really intended them to be the same.
@StraitKnopfler There is definitely an indication that they are supposed to be the same (it is mentioned that he first fought against the turks on their turf and was later betrayed "by his own unworthy brother", which is clearly a reference to Vlad and Radu) but beyond that, yeah, there doesn't seem that he knew much about him, at least at the time he wrote the novel. Where Stoker majorly fucked up was keeping the Count a szekely after deciding to go with the Dracula connection.
@@DimitrisGenn and what does that indicate exactly? Let's use some critical thinking: did Stoker purposefully malign the memory of Vlad Tepes and why? History is more complicated than we all know / taught. Let's just say Vlad is the reason why some of us remain Christian, but were we the wrong type of Christians? And what does all this have to do with trade agreements at the time of the novel being written? Food for thought. But this fictitious novel was definitely a punishment... So some might say Stoker knew what was he was doing...
@@totallynuts7595Pretty much. Their leader picks, abilities, etc. were excessively weird in my opinion this last time around. Don't get me wrong: I still think it's a ton of fun. I just think certain things are weird and portrayed pretty ridiculously.
Vlad Dracul,Vlad the son of the Dragon,National Hero. For an alternate view try "The Hunt for Vlad the Impaler", a Turkish film that has history,action and no vampires.
1:06 as someone who speaks a Slavic language, I think there's a mistake here. It should be "possessor of glory", not "professor". "Vlad" is the part that means dominion, possession, and "slav" is responsible for glory, fame.
@@karolsloboda7798 That's ridiculous, since 1) there was no Vladislav who would be considered "The Ruler of the Slavs" 2) The English word "slav" with meaning "slavic" doesn't exist in Slavic languages. They have words like Slovan, Slowjen, Slowian, Sloven or similar. 3) How would this explanation work with the names like Jaroslav or Miroslav? "The Spring of the Slavs"? "The Peace of the Slavs"?
@@cooks37 It exist in old Slavic. I’m Slovak and in the old Slovakian we refer them as Sláv. We have a quote from one famous book: Slavme slavne slávu Slávuv slavnych… teanslated: Celebrate the fame of the famous Slavs. So check more in details the history. And your example could be also double meeting. Jaroslav and Vladislav doesn’t need to have the same root of word. The same as Fat and Fat-her. Bot have the same part Fat, but doesn’t men the same.
@@FelixstoweFoamForgeVlad may have lost in the long run, but without people like him Romania would not exist today. And that's a win in an even longer run.
@@DukeOfTheYard Point is, Wallachia remained an Ottoman dependency until about the mid18th century, When the Ottoman Empire began to collapse. Vlad, for all his courage, brutality and military ability, achieved absolutely nothing. Rule by fear never works.
@@FelixstoweFoamForgeHow does that conclude that rule by fear never works? Vlad simply didn't have enough support from his neighboring allies. There is so much a man can do alone. If he had an army as big as the sultan's, he would have won.
I spent a few weeks driving through Romania last year, mostly in Transylvania and the Carpathian mountains. Amazing country. I went to Vlad's childhood home in the beautiful Citadel of Sighișoara. I also visited Bran Castle, which was an insliration for Stoker when he saw a picture of it. Although the castle is mistakenly called 'Dracula's Castle' for tourism reasons, it was never actually Vlad's castle.
That is true. Like the video says, the original Vlad castle is Poenari Castle. Bran castle has an authentic name: Törcsvár Castle. The castle was built in 1377 with the permission of King Louis I of Hungary to control the important trade route passing by and against the invasions of the Romanian voivodes of Wallachia. Due to its location, it was one of the hard-to-take castles. Presumably there was some strength here before, however, after the consolidation of the voivodship of Wallachia it could no longer perform its task satisfactorily.
As a Romanian history nerd, though I very much appreciate ur video, I cannot stop noticing some mistakes. The first mistake that I noticed is about the name of the Principality/Kingdom [depending on how you would translate "domn"]. The name "Wallachia" which is in English, [the names in other languages include Valahia, Transalpinae, Voloskia, Vlaska etc] was an exonym, which indeed comes from the term "Walhaz" and yes meant "foreigner", but was deliberately used for mostly Romans by Germanics. In turn, the name _Wallachia/Vlachia_ means "Land of the Wallachs/Vlachs". The latter name [Vlach] in this period would mean "someone who speaks in the Roman tongue" or "Romance-speaker". Now you are an Italian, and personally one thing I have noticed and find funny and that you Italians don't know is; You Italians were [and still are] called also by this exonym. Take for example the Hungarians, they still call u Italians for "Olasz" [for Romanians: Oláh], meanwhile Poles call you "Włoski" [same for Romanians] and South-Slavs as "Lehi" [Romanian: Vlas]. So this term is used for any Romance-speaker/Neo-Latin speaker. But the ethnonym of Wallachia is in Old Romanian: _Țeara Rumânească,_ this one means "Land of Român" the latter comes from Latin "Romanus" meaning "of Rome", thus Romans as you stated. Now this name proves the realm being Romanian. And that goes to another mistake and that's ur statement that Wallachia had "Bulgarian and Slavic elements", but that's not really the case. If you mean the official administrative and church language which indeed was Old Slavonic/Bulgarian, it still doesn't make your statement right. That's like saying Hungary had Roman elements for having Ecclesiastical Latin as its administrative language, or Poland. The Romanian Principalities [Moldavia and Wallachia] used this language because it was the standard norm of an Orthodox country. Latin was also used by _cancelaria domnească_ so it doesn't mean we had "Roman elements" all the sudden. Our Principalities copied the Byzantine (Roman) style of administration, political and social services and even were granted various privileges. Before Russia even became the power maker in the region, the Romanian Lords were the defenders of the Orthodox's for Constantinople (i.e Vasile Lupu). This gave the reason of publication of the book "Byzantium after Byzantium". And that's something the Vlach's (Româns) knew, or at least the more educated high born people (priest's, nobles and lords) about their Roman heritage and origin. Meanwhile peasants knew rural myths about it, such as the founding eponymous fathers of our people, Roman and Vlăhiță [representing the ethnonym and exonym] probably from Remus and Romulus. According to the myth, they originally came from Venice/Italy and founded the Byzantine Empire until the crusade of 1204 who forced them to find refuge in Maramureș together with the Old Romans (Romanians). Another mistake is at 9:17 where you show a picture of Mircea the Great. But referring to Vlad II Draculs son, Mircea II. Now Vlad Dracu was actually killed in battle. While Mircea ruled for a brief time, then betrayed and buried alive. Edit: Vlad Țepeș never sent a full stack of ears to Matthias Corvinus. He just sent him a letter telling him what he did in Ottoman-Bulgaria. About the "plague" thing that Vlad sent to the Ottoman camp, I recommend _Corpus Draculianum_ who are a research team that have researched Vlads life and reacted to that theory. Another thing is about his name. Vlad is mentioned [as far as I know from official documents issued by his chancellery] as Vlad and Ladislau, I have zero idea where "Vladimir" comes from or if it is ironically used in reference to Putins name, which in this case seems unnecessary to bring in modern politics. "Ladislau" is the Catholic/Latin version of the Orthodox name "Vladislav" but could at the same time be of "Vlad". Now I don't know any source where Vlad refers to himself by it.
He does actually explain at the end of the video the meaning of "walhaz" and how it evolved to mean "people of latin tongue". And regarding the plague patients, he only mentions the greek chronicles of Ottoman campaign. It may have happened or it may not. We can't know for sure but he was only presenting what his sources claimed.
I hate to be that person, but here: “Țeara” >> Țara ( coming from Latin Terra) means land Mircea the Great >>> Mircea the Elder (has nothing to do with age btw, you see here Roman tradition of naming kids “the Elder” and “the Younger”, for example Pliny (Plinius) the Elder.)
@@DukeOfTheYard Not of what the CP research team of scholar's said when reacting to the Netflix series about Vlads war against the Ottomans. He only sent a letter, via _cancelaria domnească_
Despite its inaccuracies, the Coppola's Dracula film deserves a lot of recognition for trying to be genuinely faithful to Stoker's novel and respect its themes, especially if we consider the fact the Hammer Company previously made 500 films in which Dracula is killed by a random lightning bolt, ends up in the 70s, forms a James Bond-type terrorist organization, etc.
It's a shame too, cause Christopher Lee, Hammer's Dracula, always wished to just make a faithful adaptation of the book. And despite all he did for that company, that was the only adaptation they DIDN'T do, lol
Neat. It's more faithful to silent-era film tropes. More relevant here would be the 2000 TV movie Dark Prince. In pure fiction I prefer derivation over adaptation, like the Mounte Cristo trappings of Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter or Vampire hunter D.
No matter what outsiders have to say about Vlad the Impaler, to us he is a national hero who helped in the historical timeline to create a possibility (a stepping stone) for a future total unification of Walachia, Moldova and Transylvania to become what we have today, Romania. Standing tall and proud in the Romanian historical heroes pantheon as a forefather to our nation. His faith, dedication and passion for his people to rule justly(yeah I know..) And create a better future or all the more evident in his actions, attitude and policies as to forge a path forward to prosperity and unity of the common people. P.S a little fun fact that is not known about the deployment of the impalement method. It was directed, for the people who were thieves, covenant breakers(the 10 Commandments) and infidel to the cross(practitioners of occultist, pagan and Muslim traditions) all for religious purposes, and to install as much fear in to the hearts of the enemies of the cross.
This was simply wonderful. I really appreciate the amount of research put into this. I have been fascinated by Vlad III since I was in high school. He's the reason I travel to România as frequently as possible and why I learned to speak Romanian. Îmi place Vlad III. Este bărbatul cel mai fascinant.
26:48 one additional language point on Wallachia: In certain parts of Germany we still use the term "Walachei" to this very day. Its use is mainly colloquial and is a term that describes a remote region with more rural or dark features. For example, you'd often here this phrase used by people traveling and ending up in less scenic or inviting places to describe their trip in a negative way. The more you know...
Zmeu is not a dragon. Its more like a very wealthy Balrog with a big castle and big appetite...if we stay in Tolkien terms😊. But i think you are right: the way Tolkien describes the nature of Smaug(greedy, rich, gluttonous, charming, well spoken) is very close to the nature of Zmeu!
As a Hungarian with family originating from Transylvania, I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I only like to point out that while you used the correct map of Hungary at the beginning of your video, you switched at 21.35 to the modern day map of Hungary (post World War map) all the way to the end of your video. However, the Kingdom of Hungary (from 986 - until the Wold Wars) looked very different from what we have today. Please correct that, other than that, great video. 💖
@@Arnyh0ld I can only attribute it to the fact, he is a bit less familiar with Eastern European and Balkan history. But hopefully the more research he does in this direction, the more familiar he gets.
There was no kindgom after 1526. A country has borders, a ruler, an army, can sign treaties and declare war and peace. The province called hungary had none of the above-mentioned characteristics. yes, yes, personal union blablabla. It was meant to keep the hungarians calm.
Thank you for telling the true story of the beloved, brave leader of the land which is today Romania. He did what needed to be done to defend his land against a bigger army. And I hate when I see the majority of media puts him at the same level with evil dictators from history
Eastern Europe doesn't get enough spotlight as the West. I am South African, and we don't get enough exposure in Eastern European history as Rome, France, England etc. Thank you for this video. Please consider doing a video on the "Blood Countess" Elizabeth Bathory"...
Part of that will have been down to most of the sources being in A. A language that is not widespread B. in an old version of that language. Then we have the translation of a translation of a translation issue. It still an issue for other branches of History too. WWII Imperial Japan. Most of the surviving sources have still not been translated, or poorly at best, into other languages.
That would be a little problematic. On one side there is the legend of Elisabeth Báthory. This is the mass murdering, blood bathing / drinking one. On the other side the newest research shows that she was simply a noble woman, a widow. Her husband died early so she inherited a great estate. One which fellow lords in the area were eager to capture. So they fabricated these stories about her and then conspired to get her before a court. The witnesses were tortured or intimidated by the lords and the court sentenced to take away her estate.
There's this Romanian movie called "Vlad Tepes" released in 1979 about the life of Vlad III, it's on TH-cam. Really good movie. Nice to see a movie about Dracula's real story without any of the vampire stuffs.
I recently finished reading Bram Stoker's Dracula for the first time (10/10 book btw), the timing of this video was perfect. Awesome to see the history of the real Vlad is just as interesting as the book!
Amazing video! Would love to have one of Báthory Erzsébet at some point, if we are in the area and speaking of blood! (Also your pronounciation of Hunyadi is really good!)
King Charles is the great-grandson 16 times removed of Vlad III, through Queen Mary. He embraces it, he has land in Romania and is restoring a house there. In 2017, the mayor of Alba Iulia even invited him to accept the honorary title of Prince of Transylvania.
It has been reported that King Charles loves to visit his castle in Romania. He alleged loves to dress up in proper attire including a cape and sinisterly rome the castle grounds. Oh, those royals are a different breed.
In my personal opinion, this was one of the most interesting video you made recently!! ( not trying to diminish the value of the other video by any means...)
Thank you so damn much for the dragon/devil explanation for the word "dracul". I'vs been questioning myself for a very long time about this topic Much love, from Brazil Brânză arsă
I could be nitpicking in a few places, if I really wanted to do so, but overall a great presentation. Good job! The only thing I would like to add, as a Romanian, is that in Romanian folklore Vlad is (and always was) seen as a hero: tough but just and fighting for a noble cause.
Not really. Vampire stories have existed for thousands of years, and the modern notion of vampires originates in the 1819 novel "The Vampyre" which had nothing to do with Vlad III. The Dracula novel drew little to no inspiration from Vlad either apart from the name, Stoker came up with the story before even learning of him in the first place and chose the name because he liked it
I am so digging your latest historical lectures! This is just another excellent class professor! Love your content, entertaining, informative, and educational. Yours remain among my favorite channels!
There's a documentary I saw years ago where researchers investigated the method of impaling as it was done during the time of Vlad the 3rd. They came to a very disturbing theory that Vlad's army may have perfected the practise of impaling where, if done with a certain precision, could limit the damage to the vital organs with such success that it could drastically postpone death. Imagine that, not only do you see 1000s impaled before you, but many of them still living.....
2 หลายเดือนก่อน +1
Yeah, the same show i believe made a scene of Mehmet comming to see, just to flee in fear after seeing the bodies twitch, pretty brutal
That is indeed true, they impaled people slowly and gradually so to avoid perforating major organs, in the most gruesome cases they would get the shape all the way and out through the victims throat, then raise the stake up with them still alive.
As a Romanian, this video is great! In our culture, he is seen as a fierce, strong and good ruler. Some of the people i know in my family even revere him as a changer in the quality of life, through some of his rules and some of the ways he done things. Not to mention that a lot of his "victims" were corrupt individuals, thieves or other bad people, hence in our day to day life we dont really see the impaling part as an injust form of justice, in fact sometimes people even joke about it.
True fact. King Charles III and his siblings are direct descendants of Vlad the Monk, Vlad the Impaler’s brother, through their Great Grandmother, Queen Mary (Queen Consort of King George V). His Majesty owns a private property in Transylvania and, whilst Prince of Wales, would visit every spring. Not sure about now though.
Thank you for this video! It's so funny I should be gifted this from a friend of mine this eve, because I told a friend who I'm in the play THE MOUSETRAP with this whole story of Vlad this very eve - this confirmed about 95 percent of what I told her. The study of history is amazing - the 15th century in particular for me - so many sources I've been privy to. I've been studying Vlad III since 2001 - I've put him in plays and series I've written. Fasciunating it is to hear or read as many sources, because each one has a different way of telling the same story, facts from one that someone else doesn't reticulate and vice-versa. I'll always be open to more sources - the story of Vlad is a very intricate one. Once more, many thanks!
Finding out as a kid that Dracula was an historical figure is what led me to my love of 14th-16th century Eastern European history. So fascinating! Thank you for this sir.
I'm very, very firmly in the camp of "guilty." It's where all the actual dang evidence points, and the fact that there was external political motivation to start looking into him (annoying the Burgundians) isn't, in-and-of-itself, refutation. Because in general they really didn't care that much about what was happening to the peasants, who were complaining well before the inquiries actually started to matter, but as it turns out being a cereal thriller (I apologize, I'm being extra cautious because of how trigger-happy the algorithm can be) is a really spicy skeleton to just find in someone's closet who you don't like.
A really good description, but there are some minor things you could improve: - Might me worth mentioning that it is Bram Stalker who connected vampire lore with Transylvania, probably because that name sounded more mysterious than Wallachia. Vlad had not much to do with Transylvania, which was part of Hungary back then. But vampire lore is not really part of local folklore anyway. - You mentioned the battle of Belgrade, but did not mention that Hunyadi was present there, and played a crucial role. - At 21:35 there is a modern map of Europe, maybe a 15th century map would be better?
I am in the editing stage of a novel. During my research for this, I needed to look into Vlad and the very history you present here. It was great to see all this laid out with illustrations and maps. The time I could have saved if I’d only waited for you to post. One thing that did not make sense to me in my original research was, the sources I was referencing implied that the fields of the impaled outside Târgoviște had been set up as a response to Mehmed's approach. But there hardly seemed time for that. Your insight that it was done over a longer period to intimidate his own people makes much more sense. My novel is a contemporary fantasy, however not historical, so I think I’ll just wave my artistic license at it and say my characters made the misinterpretation and not me. I have heard that Vlad III is considered a national hero in Romania.
- Born in 1431, not 1428. Strike one, in the first minute. - Vlad, though raised as legitimate (which did not matter, to either Romanians or Turks) was likely conceived at the tournament, following Vlad Dracul's induction into the Order of the Dragon, with an unnamed widow of the Imperial family. The buckle she gave Vlad Dracul upon his victory, was later found in Dracula's grave. - I find instances of Hunyadi being captured by the Serbs, and by Vlad Dracul, after the disastrus Battle of Varna. I find nowhere where he was ever captured by the Turks. - Vlad Dracul was already Prince of Wallachia, when he was trapped by Turkish forces, and his sons, Vlad and Radu, were forcibly taken from him. - It was Hunyadi's proxy, Vladislav II (Danesti-- who you really should have named), who murdered Dracula's father and brother. Hunyadi, though bitter enemies with Dracul after the Battle of Varna, had little to do with it. Mercia was blinded and buried alive (confirmed when Vlad unearthed his grave). Dracul was chased down and slaughtered, outside Targoviste. His body was never found. - Vlad was on the run from Hunyadi, along with his cousin, Stephen of Moldavia, who was in the same situation. Their year as "knights-errant" took them as far as Germany. - Hunyadi learned that Vladislav II was planning to sell out Wallachia to the Turks. He also didn't approach Vlad, as much as he was confronted by him... in his own castle... having to talk his way out of certain death. - The Battle of Belgrade was the lifting of a Turkish siege, where a crusader force of 8,000 of Hunyadi's mercenaries, and 8,000 peasants, led by Friar John of Capistrano, defeated a Turkish force of over 90,000-- later to be deemed a certified miracle. Both men would die of the plague in Belgrade that winter. - Vlad Dracula did indeed kill Vladislav II in single combat, forcing him into a duel, after surrounding his army. He beat him to death, with his bare hands. - At Vlad's "Easter Feast" -- the term later borrowed by Anne Rice-- Vlad first tricks the Boyars into confessing to multiple regicides (over 40, between Vlad's grandfather, to the present!). 15:14 - Ilona was the daughter of Vlad's closest friend, Mihaly Szilagy, who was captured by the Turks and sawed in half, when he refused to betray Dracula. 15:46 - Vlad ambushed and slaughtered the Turkish envoy, then, dressed in their uniforms, he and his men gained entry to the fortress of Giurgiu, where they began their slaughter (FYI: they stole the "Were they dressed like this?" line for Braveheart). The (very decomposed) Turkish pasha would later be placed on the highest stake of Vlad's "forest of the Impaled". - Sultan Mehmed II personally led his forces into Wallachia, considering Dracula to be his greatest threat, even though the Turks were far more engaged on their Eastern front, with the Armenians and Persians. They had actually pledged their troops to Pope Pius II's call for crusade, when Europe did not. - Vlad's night attack would have killed Mehmed II, had his vizir's tent not looked exactly like his. The Sultan himself fled the camp, and had to be dragged back by his own troops. Even the Turkish historians failed to downplay this act of cowardice. Overall evaluation: Meh, good enough.
Looking forward to this video. One of my favourite novels is 'The Historian' by Elizabeth Kostova, a story about finding the vampire Dracula by researching and following the real historical figure.
Please make a Vlad III MOVIE! I'd especially love for you to play the part of Vlad. I love the work you do! And I trust that you would make sure the movie ends up being perfect. Especially with that gorgeous hair.
@@alinaanto That settles it. @metatronyt you are obligated for the sake of the common good to both play the part and detect the movie. Maybe Chad could be your co-director after his SOTC series and get you started.
This is why I like Metatrons videos so much: After having read and watched videos about the subject Dracula for so many years, it feels really good to learn so many new things, in a way that's neither speculative or unnecessary dramatic. Also, this is one of the few channels that I trust to be truthful.
I've watched a lot of videos on Vlad but yours is the only one that made comprehensive sense of the political situation of the time. Now I truly feel that I am fairly informed on this historical figure.
Oh hey Dracula, the historical figure, hah nice, I'm Romanian, nice to see him be a subject of discussion Edit: thank you for the video, very nice and informative. Also, as little piece of information that I remember, while I haven't consulted lately much historical evidence, I'm convinced that I correctly can tell that Matthias Corvinus was cousin in law with Vlad, and Stephen the Great was a cousin of Vlad as well. Also from what I can remember, his "death" wasn't really known, it was presumed to be, because he was overthrown from power and support and he went into hiding, which produced literally everyone saying "no, I killed him, I killed the devil" to try to boost the moral of their armies, but from I remember he tried to raise to power again after about 3 year but he was caught by his countrymen and allegedly he either ran again into hiding or killed in secret by the Hungarian forces, in total it gives him just about extra 4 years that no one really knows what happened.
For clarifications or additions to what was said above, I recommend "Corpus draculianum" on youtube. The dramatic life of Vlad Tepes exposed in the chronicles of the time, his correspondence, the administrative documents from his period. All presented by professional historians, who, like Sherlock Holmes, try to bring Vlad to light, beyond legends and vicious propaganda.
Great to see a new video from Metatron which is about history. Yes, Vlad Tepes is the inspiration for Dracula however, where is any mention of Jure Grando in Stoker’s building of the vampire count? As you’re delving into the medieval period- check out Hildegard von Blingin’s version of We didn’t start the fire.
Firstly, he was not a count, but a ruler, more like a prince. Second, Vlad is short from Vladislav, not Vladimir. Although Vlad never called himself Vladislav, but either Vlad or the Catholic Ladislaus. Separate the fictional Dracula from the historical one, please.
Yep this confirms it, they can keep discovery and history channels. You and your team offer some of the most balanced telling of history I've come across.
Bram Stoker never had read about Vlad the impaler before publishing his novel. He just found the name Dracula and thought it sounded diabolically cool. And let's face it. It does sound like a cool villain name. And now it is iconic.
What an excellent video! I am Romanian, and I find the level of detail and linguistic insight in this video truly impressive. There are many sources in English that talk about Vlad the Impaler, but few can boast of this attention to detail. Bravo! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
The best resource on Vlad the Impaler is the Romanian team Corpus Draculianum. They are on the way to publish all sources regarding Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes). You have their reaction on this clip here (has English subtitles): th-cam.com/video/oJnM4yF6Hcg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=AKHzF0gXFQ214xGG
You overlooked one nice detail... when ottoman envoys came to him, they refused to remove their turbans with words they don do it even in front of sultan, So Vlad ordered to nail the turbans to their heads to help them not removing the turbans anymore...
I wish someday we had a historically accurate movie about Dracula. The real story is so much more interesting than pop-culture vampires IMO ! Pop-culture vampire stories are so shallow...
Awesome video it’s great so see vlad the third getting a proper historical perspective not just the Dracula nonsense that most people today associated him with because he’s far more interesting than just some fictional story that’s been made up about him and I think what he achieved was truly remarkable and should be remembered as a historical figure in history.
Τhey already did. Check out "Dark prince. The true story of Vlad Dracula". Not a masterpiece by any means, but a decent little movie nonetheless. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Prince:_The_True_Story_of_Dracula
@@totallynuts7595 i am but im talking a modern interpretation would be cool considering advancements. Plus lets be honest the 1979 film is a propaganda film.
@@nightking0130Would be cool, not happening in today's pathetic, prudish, hyper moral society. Just look at the absolute furore Terrifier 1 and 2 created, now imagine how much gore would have to be in it, nobody would fund it unfortunately.
There are several English language movies, even with reputable historians as consultants, but didn't get high end directors. It is much more profitable to go for horror vampire movies.
Great detailed account of Vlad Tepes. If you haven’t done one, an account of Elizabeth Bathory would be cool. She wasn’t a war leader but had an interesting life and it seems she may have been smeared by opponents’ vicious rumors and accusations even more so than Vlad.
18:00 I'm not sure how historically accurate it is to reference Laonikos Chalkokondyles about any issue relating the Turks. Since for example, he was the "historian" who wrote that Mehmet the Conqueror had feelings for Radu (Vlad Dracula's little brother). Even going as far as saying he tried to force himself on him! Modern historians don't even accept his source of being true! (Btw, it is speculated that Mehmet the Conqueror was most possibly bisexual, judging from his poems, but literally there is NO other source involving him and Radu aside from Laonikos'!) So, using a source of him to learn about Turkish History (no matter if that source is close to the historical fact shown by other sources or not); when we know he exaggerated and even most possibly made up stuff to belittle the Turks (favourite activity of the greeks only second to swimming the Aegean Sea) is not a very professional move now is it. Also, it is funny that what REALLY happened to Vlad is left out, you know, about his head being offered a free Istanbul Tour 😊
Click my trainwell (formerly CoPilot) link go.trainwell.net/Metatron to get 14 days FREE with your own personal trainer!
You know about Cumans strange i thought nobody know about my ancestors were Asian race from Central Asia we mixed with Eastern Romans my ancestors we look like Altay Türkic people, and you Italians don't look different from my ancestors from Asia Minor and Levant we look like each other expect i am half Asian
as someone who has studied vlad for a year this was a interesting video
Vlad the Impaler was of Cuman desenentant and also Mediterranean maybe even European he look mixed he is a Basarab dynasty Cuman dynasty of 11 century Cumans rule the Dacians
@@HPLovesCraftsCat he was Basarab Cuman Mongoloid Türkic mixed with Anatolian J2 Roman and only very few Dacian ancestry he look brunette rather completely white like his brother who his brother look pale and more European
@@HPLovesCraftsCat Vlad the Impaler was of Türkic descendant but he heart was a heart of a traitor and i am Cuman and a Christian as well
As a Romanian, I would like to add the following piece of trivia: Vlad is remembered here as a tough but fair ruler, who mostly impaled bandits, thieves, and corrupt officials. A commonly repeated story says that, during Vlad's reign, one could leave a bag of gold at a crowded crossroad and still find it there days later. His enduring image as a castigator of wrongdoers serves as ispiration for a scene every Romanian has witnessed more than once: when a story of high-placed corruption breaks, more often than not there will be at least one person in the room who will sigh and (mis)quote a verse written by our national poet, "Unde ești tu, Țepeș doamne?" ("Where are you, Lord Impaler?", as in "I wish you would come back from the dead and impale a few of these pieces of ***"). That's how enduring his legacy is in Romania, not requiring any help from Bram Stoker's character.
I've heard a story about how Vlad left a magnificent golden, jewel-encrusted goblet at a public fountain for everyone to drink from, nobility, common folk, and beggars alike. And anyone who tried to STEAL that goblet for themselves faced impalement as punishment. Suffice to say, NOBODY tried to steal it. Is this story an accurate one?
Up, as a romanian, i confirm.
That, is a very cool tradition.
The translation is slightlt wrong. Its " Where are you, Tepes, oh my lord" where by lord we are referring to God, not Vlad Tepes.
@@alex.profi27 I think "Where are you, lord Tepes?" might be more accurate. Lord here is lower case because it is addressing Vlad, not The Lord with the "tu" (you).
Vladislav
Baby don't hurt me
Don't hurt me
No more
Hehe...I see what you did there😂😂
looooooooooooooool🤣
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
Please don't impale me,
Impale me
No more
😂😂😂
I am from Transylvania and in all 300 years i lived here i have never seen a vampire
Well, that's because you've only ever looked for one in the mirror.
I love that joke.
That's cuz Transylvania is just some place.
Bram Stoker just decided that to be the place where his monster lives and pop culture turned that into a big thing.
@@ibrahimihsan2090 the joke flew over your head
@ibrahimihsan2090 Actually, Transylvania already had this sort of reputation, at least in Britain, thanks to the work of Emily Gerard, who wrote the 1885 book "Transylvanian Superstitions." It's why Stoker chose the region in the first place.
And that's why - as a historian - it is so satisfying to watch a Metatron video. The research is immaculate, the delivery is interesting and the entertainment is still a big part.
Thanks for uploading. Again. It's pure pleasure to watch.
It is! Metatron knows how to present history!
@@NyctophoraThis is one of the more factual corners of TH-cam, certainly ❤
Yet he got wrong that they should make a movie about it... When it's already been carefully made. th-cam.com/video/VqbagKqtbAQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=NIYmEt3OSPILarTB
how does a video about vampires that focuses on its fake inspirational characters (vlad) and propagates fake vampire history satisfy you?
@@slXD100What do you seek, for satiation? Are ya thirstin? Sorry, I shouldn't joke about such things
As a romanian, I appreciate this video. Worthy to mention that Bram Stoker loosely inspired his book from the short story Carmilla as well, who is probably the first female vampire story in literature and does not get the recognition that it deserves.
This! ^
Maybe she's one of Dracula's three wifes?
Absolutely, Stoker even wanted his story to take place in Austria too at first.
Castlevania definitely did a good job covering how blood thirsty the character of Camilla was in the story
Was Carmilla based upon Elizabeth Bathory? She murdered a whole lot of girls, and it was rumored she bathed in their blood to keep her youth.
As a Romanian, thank you for doing this. It was very informative!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Kurmanjan Datka would be cool. 'cause she's got that hat. And she rides horsies.
Vlad was Wallachian and its people were mixed central and eastern european. Calling him rumanian is like calling an apache indian an american.
@@sinfinity383 what's wrong with that?
@@micahkeren-zvi9208others responded to that comment elsewhere with details about the regions and language of the area that validates using the term Romanian. (Also my babysitter as a child was a Romanian exchange student at the college where my mother taught night classes who had no problems with him being referred to us such and shared some of the information I've seen in this video and in the comments).
I have a Romanian family friend that escaped from behind the iron curtain. She said that prior to escaping, she had never heard anything about Vlad being a vampire. He was regarded as an old historical hero.
Makes sense. Only in more recent years we Romanians became aware of how Vlad is seen outside of our borders.
In ny country there are lots of negative stereotypes about eastern Europeans. The more I know about those people the more I realise those stereotypes exist for a reason
@GabiBrooks I get the vampire thing probably wouldn't have been very known, but Vlad already had a, let's say, less than stellar reputation in neighboring countries.
@@DimitrisGenn no wonder 🤣
@@DimitrisGenn Certainly. The Russians wrote 'The Tale of Dracula the Voivode' in 1490. Apparently the book speculated that Vlad's family were involved with the supernatural, as well as being formidable and potent military leaders. Back in those times, religious superstition controlled how the public thought about topics such as death, decay, potential resurrection, and military power. It was only natural they would make that connection.
Hey my friend, Serbian guy here. (You know, a little southeast European country next to Romania, the word "Vampir" originally comes from our language as you may know, etc., but thats not important here.) The important thing is that countless you tubers did, (or at least they tried to process this historical topic), I don't know how many, but a lot. But as an historian and anthropologist myself, I can say that you're the only one who tried and managed to get and present our Balkan history approximately right and precisely. And for that, I'm thanking you from my heart. Cheers mate. Igor🙏🍻🌄
Vampir form slavic? From what I saw it has an germanic origin. In romanian we also have "moroi" form the old slavic "mora".
@@marius3115 Nope, those a wraiths you're thinking of. The modern vampire that rises from the dead and drinks blood came from a small village in Serbia in the 1600's around the same time as the Salem Which trials in USA. Supposedly the story has some level of truth to it as the village priest actually wrote to the church asking for assistance.
Hands down Vlad the Third is one of the most fascinating figures in history. I've studied him and his family and went to his palaces, churches when I was in Romania. It was amazing
Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula (/ˈdrækjʊlə, -jə-/; Romanian: Vlad Drăculea [ˈdrəkule̯a]; 1428/31 - 1476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania.He fought victorious battles with the Ottoman Empire. He impaled thieves and traitors as punishment. The existing method in other countries, in the Middle Ages. As the crucifixion existed in antiquity.
By that I hope you don't mean Bran. Did you visit Poenari fortress? The one he actually build?
@@Bayard1503 yes Poenari is the one I meant. I never went to Bran Castle. I know that it existed during Vlads time but that he never actually lived there. I'm not sure why it's branded Draculas Castle except to profit from fans of the book and popular vampire myths
@@rosemartasgaminghoard It was placed in the mountains near Borgo Pass, but was simply referred to as, 'Castle Dracula.' People think Stoker was clueless about the real Vlad and the link with blood and dark energy, but I suspect it was just the opposite. He deliberately created a story that was sensational and dramatic because of the link with Vlad, but he kept the setting and historical details just vague and mysterious enough that he could get away it. An absolutely brilliant author when you think about it, he managed to encapsulate the religious fervor and superstition that had long been alive in Europe without giving too many details that could be questioned or criticized politically later on.
@@FireflowerDancer oh I don't think Stoker was clueless. He certainly did some research, I can't say how much. He certainly probably could have benefitted from more but he crafted a great story with what he had and deserves to have his work praised. His work is part of the reason why I've learned what I have about Vlad the Third, the meaning of Dracula and Romania itself.
9:19 Mircea the Elder (the one in the picture) was already dead for almost 30 years at that point. The one killed alongside Vlad II was his son Mircea II.
Yes, he got that one wrong (too).
Vald Dracula is probably one of the most impressive guerrilla warfare fighter and tactian of his time fighting armies almost incomparable in size and leaving them broken and battered
Not to be confused with Vladislav the Poker.
for clarification, correction or addition to what was said above, I recommend the channel of professional historians in Romanian medieval history called "Corpus Draculianum". Everything you want to know about Vlad Tepes.
One thing we know for sure about Vlad the Impaler is that he was one of the ballsiest men to ever walk this earth. Killed multiple men in single combat and slaughtered countless armies with his cavalry even when he was outnumbered
Ballsiest? Horrible cruelty, and today we have Isis and Hamas and who knows how many more.
@@danak9594Give Thanks To Vlad the 3rd, FOR Repelling The, OTTOMAN-Turks, Otherwise, Europe, Would Be, MUSLIM.!
Namaste.
💫☠️💫
@@danak9594 shut up you little witch... Vlad was actually really tamed when it came to Valahian rulers... and many other rulers from that time were much more blood thirsty than he was. Vlad was an extraordinary man of arms and sometimes he needed to do what he need to do.
@@danak9594 Why do you think Vlad was fighting the ottomans with such ferosity? It was to prevent them from taking over the entirety of Europe. Where do you think he learned this cruelty? It was from the Ottomans themselves. He was using their own tactics against them. The guy was a hero. You really shouldn't judge historical figures with modern day standards either.
@@THEOZZYFUL In Polish book "Świry u władzy" (Nutjobs in power) there is a whole chapter about Vlad and author says, that one time, a peasant went to Vlad to complain about stink of all this dead bodies on pales was to much, beacause of this, he and others couldn't breath. Vlad listened him and he ordered this peasant to be paled as well.
I started learning about Vlad as a Dracula fan but find the real Vlad to be fascinating in his own right. I think Vlad III was, for his time, not much more brutal than the norm (I mean, lots of kingdoms utilized brutal torture and led campaigns of slaughter and pillaging etc). It's interesting the difference in how he's seen in the Anglosphere and how some Romanian natives often see him as a patriotic figure.
I don't buy it. Show me evidence of e.g. kings of England, or the Holy Roman Emperors, or the Popes, publically torturing infant children to death. If Vlad was not any crueler than most rulers of his time then there should be countless of incidents like that in Europe's history
I think a lot of his negative points owe a lot to the book and subsequent films, I read a biography of him back in the 70s when I was a teen and have always thought him to have been an admirable person. Unlike Elizabeth Bathory - who simply killed because she enjoyed it and thought bathing in blood was anti aging - Vlad Dracul had a GOOD reason for his actions and were no more violent for the times he lived than many others were, including those who made him out to be a horror.
@@MayYourGodGoWithYou Bathory's blood baths were themselves a folklore addition added later, and there's a compelling body of evidence (or rather, lack of evidence supporting her crimes) that suggests she might have been framed so that her political opponents could acquire her considerable holdings. The Knights Templar had phony charges brought so that the King of France wouldn't have to pay his debt to them, it's entirely possible there was a similar situation with Bathory.
@@initial_C I know abut the Knights Templars which was as much about power and influence as money. Elizabeth Bathory though not so sure. Especially as her ''holdings'' would have belonged to her husband rather than her [as was normal at the time] and while I'm fairly certain the 'crimes' were grossly exaggerated there is probably a grain of truth in them if you could dig deeply enough. She was a thoroughly unpleasant woman when all's said and done and she was never as well known [internationally] as Dracul was until fairly recently.
But in those days life was hard and it was brutal and you HAD to be brutal towards your enemies as showing any sign of kindness or leniency was asking to be invaded. Plus Dracul was actually [in my PERSONAL opinion] rather good looking for that time period going by the images I've seen. He was certainly brave and it was also a time when peasants [and this goes for both him and Elizabeth Bathory] weren't considered of much note. I could see how the tales grew up around her but I could also see there being a grain of truth to them at the start even if they have since been embroidered for publicity and shock value.
Highlighting his wrong is probably some kind of diversion for other leaders, as much brutal, that wanted to be seen as good christians, supported by the pope, other leaders and avoid rebellion.
There's a pretty underrated adaptation of Bram Stoker's book, the 1970 Spanish film "Count Dracula", directed by Jesús Franco. That film stands out for being the adaptation that most faithfully tries to adapt the novel, being more faithful than even Coppola's film. Furthermore, Dracula (who appears as the old mustachioed man that the novel describes) is played here by none other than Christopher Lee, who at the time was still acting as the Count for the Hammer films. Lee was already fed up with those movies due to their absolute lack of respect to the novel's themes, so he did not hesitate to participate enthusiastically in that faithful adaptation. The cast also includes the insane Klaus Kinski as a mute Renfield (my favorite portrayal of the character) and Herbert Lom as Van Helsing. The movie is not a masterpiece at all, especially because of its low budget, but it definitely deserves to be watched by every single Dracula fan!
Klaus Kinski kicked ass in 1979's Nosferatu: Phantom Der Nacht!
No one yet has filmed the novel as Bram Stoker wrote it.
We are not discussing Irish literature 😂
@@laurahubbard6906The closest we've come is the BBC miniseries from 1977, almost %100 faithful.
@@christopherellis2663You're not, we are.
As a Romanian i am proud of hearing about my heretige from one of the best creators on this platform. Thank you, Rafaello!
Metatron, the Romanian pronunciation is much much closer to the Italian than the Spanish pronunciation, including ce, ci, ge, gi, che, chi, ghe, ghi.
It’s all Latin regardless also Romania has such a connection to Rome hence the name. Many have Roman Blood. As it was Romans Favorites to mix with.
@@undergroundriptiles7005 Roman blooood!
The legend says that in his time you could let a bag full of gold in the middle of a crossroads and you would find it untouched weeks later. My great grandfather used to say "where are u Tepes(Impaler), my lord, to come and clear the country of thugs?".A symbol of justice, merciless with his enemies, he impaled thousands of thugs and evil noblemen that oppressed the peasants, and defended the country from the ottomans that where "as many as leaves and grass"(quote from oral traditions , so Metatron you must check your numbers mate :D ). I don't know how true the legends are , of course, but this is the common view of Vlad the Impaler almost 6 Century's later in our tradition.
I thought it was a golden chalice left at the city’s well 🤷
I think a lot of Vlads' cruelty is exaggerated by his political enemies. He waged war against the Ottomans, was hated by Saxon merchants and his own nobles, the boyars, and was even arrested and held under house arrest by King Mathias of Hungary. The woodcuts and pamphlets that Stoker drew much inspiration from were published by the Saxons and spread throughout Europe.
There's a Romanian-German group of historians called Corpus Draculianum that focus on researching everything related to Vlad. One of their members is a Phd in Osman history and runs their youtube channel (called corpus draculianum) and he made a video reacting to this one. He had an overall positive impression but made some corections that I think you'll find interesting.
Why can't history class be as entertaining as this and Forgotten History's
Because you are supposed to learn actual history in history class instead of this larp fantasy bs.
Hi! I want to make some observations if i might.
8:29 slip of tongue i think. Hunyadi was never imprisoned by the turks.
9:10 Vlad II betrayed Hunyadi after the battle of Varna and captured him for personal gains.
9:28 declared war on the kingdom of Hungary not on Hunyadi.
11:25 between him and the king of Hungary. The king of Hungary’s grandmother was Barbara von Cilli. The Cilli/Cillei family were the arch rivals for Hunyadi in Hungary. Hunyadi had support from many nobble familys, like the (Horoghszeghi) Silagyis. (Remember this name.)
11:55 Hunyadi, the Cillei faction did not participate, but the Silagyis (Szilagyi Mihaly) did. (Silagyi Mihalys sister was the wife of Hunyadi. And Mihalys wife was a Bathori, yes, from the same ecsedi line as Elisabeth Bathori). The same troops and ships that conquered Constantinaple were destroyed there. Even Murad II. was injured.
(You could make a video about the not known, but legendary (Doria) Giovanni Giustiniani, the Genoese hero of the last defense of Constantinople.)
17:53 Ottomans lost a lot of Constantinople veteran troops at Belgrad.
18:28 In 1462 Matthias did sent some troops, however not enough. He was with war with the Holy Roman Emperor, the Hussites and with Venice at the same time…
Also Stephen Tomasevic the king of Bosnia requested for help also at 1462. He was in weaker position than Vlad. 1463 Matthias went war with the turks at Bosnia and captured Jajca. There were multiple fronts against the turks that time… Corvinus was avoiding war with the turks? He WAS in war with the turks!
22:53 No. It was not him, not the first. See the answer later. Corvinus betrayed him? No. He helped as much as he could. The saxons hated Vlad because of his activities. So he become the „prisoner” of Corvinus and not a „guest”.
Around 1470, he married Szilagyi Justina. He become close relative with Corvinus. Corvinus did not tolerate betrayal. When Silagyi Mihaly, his uncle, who also betrayed him, was captured by the turcs later on, he did not ransom him, and he was beheaded at Constantinople.
He lived at Buda, Visegrad and Vac at Hungary. He also had a mansion at the central square of Pecs/Sopiane/Ecclesie Quinqueecclesiensis/Fünfkirchen, (same city) called Drakwlyahaza (house of Drakula). (It was not far away from the statue of Hunyadi in Pecs, at 9:14 in the video. Around 100 meters.) Search: „Drakwlyahaza_House_of_Dracula_”
Janus Pannonius, the renesance comet, lover of Italy (Firense), bishop of Pecs from 1459 (yes, the same city), wrote a poem from his capture (I think, yur frend, who i also like, Ranieri, will be happy to help with.)
De captivitate Dragulae waivodae Transalpinae
1462
Dicite, Io Paean! captus fert vincla tyrannus,
Si modo non falsum publica fama sonat.
Dicite rursus, Io Paean! et carmina festis,
Pierides Nymphae, iungite festa choris.
At tu, cui nullo decus hoc cum sanguine venit,
Ut quid iam medio frigore victor abes?
Hoc unum cuncti te supplice voce rogamus,
Redde tuos vultus, rex venerande, tuis.
Sin populi nil vota movent; hoc sponsa precatur,
Hoc genetrix; an et his, dure, negare potes?
Janus Pannonius was extremely popular in his time all over Europe. I think, it was him, who first started the international rumors about Vlad. But i also think that the bad reputation is because his quarrel with the saxon citys in the Fairy Garden. (as Transilvanya was called).
Janus also betrayed Corvinus later on and fled, and suffered, but that is an another story…
Also a source about Vlad who hate the turks and was warlike, who „is” a captain of king Mathias:
1476. december 8. a letter to pope IV Sictus from Matthias mentions: „…Dragula capitaneus meus, vir imprimis thurcis infestissimus et admodum bellicosus, de mea voluntate et dispositione per incolas regni illius Transalpini in waivodam cum solita solamnitate est assumptus.”
As you can see, Corvinus did not need to defend his actions against his captain he had to introduce to the pope…
Also a leter to Ernest (Ernst) Elector of Saxony at 1476. november 15. about restoring Vlad: „…Imperatore itaque in fugam converso, jussimus capitaneos nostros regnum Transalpinum ingredi, infidelem Bozorad excludi, et Draguliam, virum armorum et turcis infestissimum, in wayvodam erigi, quod favente altissimo jam effectum est.”
My arguement is, that Mathias always made revenge on those, who betrayed him. But with Vlad, it was different. Jan Giskra the famous hissite (who was the enemy of Corvinus first but later joined him) imprisoned Vlad. There are multiple reasons for that, but the most reasonable was the constant complaint from the saxon citys against him. The „imprisonment” was to appease the saxons of Transylvania whom Corvinus needed. They were rich, and that time the saxon citys started to act as one, and not individualy anymore (universorum Saxonum nostrorum partium regni nostri Transsilvanorum). Corvinus also gave a Silagyi family member to him by marriage. Trough his wife had many assets in Hungary, and travelled the country. You can't find any writen evidence about Corvinus defaming Vlad his relative and ally! But you can find plenty from the enemys of Corvinus.
I give some interesting primary sources and not some biasd, nationalist sentimented opinions projected back to the past. The problem is, that the hungarian-romanian argue about Transilvania taints the historical narrations all the time. (Sorry for remarking this, but i know this topic is always full with it.)
Keep up the good work! Thank you for your videos! (I love them.)
Thank you for this comment! I knew there were things I remembered differently.
Funnily enough there is still a German saying, jemanden in die Walachei schicken
(to send someone to Wallachia).
It basicly means sending someone to the end of the world or in the middle of nowhere.
"Drac" indeed means "Devil" in modern Romanian, however "Balaur" and "Zmeu" (although still used in many old fairy tales) are quite archaic words themselves, the most common word for dragons is now "Dragon".
Although Vlad's rule was particularly brutal, the definition shift of the word "Drac" might have started before him since in the Bible, Satan is said to emerge in the shape of a dragon.
@@NoName-uz5ry Kifflom
@@zuraorokamono204 Your A Very, NASTY PERSON.!
@@NoName-uz5ry no u
299 / 5 000
I was 17 when I first heard that Count Dracula was a historical figure. These were the days before the internet. I went to the public library and pulled out books and information one by one. Who, what region, history of the region, wars, myths and fairy tales, atlases. It was an amazing experience :)
Wonderful video Metatron! Love from Romania 🇷🇴. A small correction regarding the Romanian word "zmeu". It doesn't mean dragon, it refers to another creature from Romanian mythology. Granted, the "zmeu" shares some features with the dragon, so some people use it interchangeably, but most of the time it refers to another creature.
The Zmeu is like a crossbreed between the Japanese Oni, the European Dragon and the Vampire.
The zmeu is a humanoid creature larger than a man. He is strong, intelligent (not smarter than a human though), tough skin and he can fly and shape-shift in people, animals and objects (sometimes buildings or forests). He lives in big and luxurious castles and owns large territories. He eats and drinks a lot (humans are part of his diet). He loves fighting and will display warrior honor by letting you choose the means of combat (usually either swords, or maces or hand to hand combat). His signature weapon is the mace and he usually sends it home after a battle, by throwing it across multiple kingdoms, until it lands on his weapon rack at home. Their species is mostly males, although females exist, but are extremely rare. They have the bad habit, some may call it an addiction, of constantly kidnapping human princesses to marry. That's what they do in most stories.
I thought I needed to explain the differences between dragons and zmei, hope I didn't bore with details.
Fun fact: the Romanian word for kite is also zmeu!
Not at all, I found it very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
let's not forget about the theory (not supported by the majority) that "zmeu" is a pan-slavic word borrowed from dacian times... the rule being: if it contains "z" is dacian :)
@@aruaceva8396 Can't really call upon a rule when Thracians and Dacians' language are an enigma, also, when it comes to these theories (I come across them a lot as a Bulgarian) a reasonable guide is if you can find it in Czech or Polish, it probably isn't Balkan in origin, since there isn't much historical overlap for major linguistic movements to happen. Provided you can find a word ideally in Bulgarian, Polish and Russian, it's a pretty safe bet it is natively Slavic.
@@its_dey_matesounds logical.
In the large paragraph you are basically describing the "zmeu" from the popular tales of Petre Ispirescu collected in the volumes called "Legende sau basmele românilor". That "zmeu" is an euphemism and a metaphor for the local boyars of the 19th century. But even in those tales the zmeu, at one point, can and does change shape from a balaur/dragon (his/hers natural form) to that of a man or a woman.
Corpus Draculianum did a pretty good job at correcting this video, i recommend people give it a watch, its a romanian scholar who is part of a society that centers around Țepeș, he has english subtitles on his video.
What did he say to corret it?
@@olgagaming5544 watch his video because most of this video was pretty much corrected. It has been 2 weeks so I can't necessarily bring up what he said, just look up his video, if you find a Romanian man in a suit with a mustache and a glass of wine it's him.
There's to many corrections in the video he's the official scholar on Vlad Țepeș im just an engineering student and currently recovering from a hangover
bored at work, here you go tl&dr of that Corpus Draculianum dude who wrote/ is still writing dictionary sized books just on Dracula and events related to him for some university in Germany :
- no historical record of birthdate, only speculation and approximations
- no historical records of his signature, some Italians confused the royal monogram with a signature, Ladislaus being his post Christianization name in his last years
- Hunyadi didn't drive him off in 1448, Vladislav the 2nd did
- no evidence of him allows turk to raid the Hungarians, but speculation that he had in his own army ottomans so could be a reason for accusations of siding with the enemy of Christianity
- the 200 nobles were actually townfolk who were guilty of betraying their lord ( Dracula's father ) so well within his rights ( for that period ). Also he never spiked nobles, only decapitation which was the way to execute nobles back then.
- no real evidence of his plans and whether he really intended to get close to the west from the start and fight the ottomans, given that the ottomans were stronger than the Christians, he turned against them when they endangered his life and crown, as he did before that when the Christians did the same
- no historical record of the name of his first wife
- 'devastated Bulgaria' is an exaggeration he raided mostly close to the Danube
- Matthias Corvinus sending aid or not is not really known, there is a record that Metatron also mentions from a papal emissary that in a different document talks about having direct account from participants of the night raids while at the Hungarian court which could indicate some Hungarian soldiers, but just speculation, or they could have just been eating shit
- there never was a general mobilization before the world wars and gypsies were slaves, they had nothing to do with the army
- army size 30k impossible, the entire fighting able population was not even 100k and just only during www1 has a country managed to mobilize more than 10% of its entire fighting population
- nothing in Laonikos Chalkokondyles about sending bubonic plague zombies in the Ottoman camps, that's from a Netflix series
- the Sultan withdrawing was more because he had previous plans to invade Lesbos island and less because of intimidation or ferocity, Dracula did fight competently but he neither lost or won the war, and ultimately he did lose politically
- his brother most likely beat him sometimes in battle considering he ended up taking Dracula's crown
- the centralization point is a bit of a modernism and it would be more accurate to consider it a network of authority, and again the cruelty against the nobility is from his opponent propaganda
- the origin of the pamphlets Corvinus passed around with propaganda is not conclusive, he said it was from the Saxons because they were in german, but the oldest are in latin, and they only appear in 30% of the stories, it being more of a compendium
- no medieval record that can even suggest he ate/drank blood
Nothing new (to me) in the video, but it's always good to see the historical Vlad get some love. Metatron just happens to be one of the best people to do it.
Edit: Regarding the afterword... it's also where "Vlach" comes from.
Yeah, nothing new to me either, still good to hear it all again and refresh.
Congrats for knowing everything, not everyone is as learned as you guys :))
Off topic question: how long should my stick be to reach your high horse?
@@AnubisMRM oh not that long. just a few years of randomly scouring libraries and the internet for trivia (you didn't think we hold any useful knowledge, did you?). and having an interest in games and history
Do you wanna know something I find really funny? People assume Stoker named the Count after Vlad because of his reputation, but that's not actually true. What happened was that Stoker happened to be reading a book on Romanian history in the middle of writing the novel, came across a passage about the Voivode named Dracula, and because he really liked the name he named his character after him and tweaked his backstory. He had no idea about his reputation, and the few times his human past is discussed in the book, he's described almost like a fallen hero. Basically, the guy could have been the nicest person to ever live, and it wouldn't have made a difference lol.
Yes, I take issue with it being said repeatedly in the video that Dracula the vampire was 'based on' Vlad. That's not really true. Stoker wasn't a historian and knew next to nothing about the real man. He just went 'that's a cool name' and used it. Otherwise the two are not really related. It's questionable whether Stoker really intended them to be the same.
@StraitKnopfler There is definitely an indication that they are supposed to be the same (it is mentioned that he first fought against the turks on their turf and was later betrayed "by his own unworthy brother", which is clearly a reference to Vlad and Radu) but beyond that, yeah, there doesn't seem that he knew much about him, at least at the time he wrote the novel. Where Stoker majorly fucked up was keeping the Count a szekely after deciding to go with the Dracula connection.
@@DimitrisGenn and what does that indicate exactly? Let's use some critical thinking: did Stoker purposefully malign the memory of Vlad Tepes and why? History is more complicated than we all know / taught. Let's just say Vlad is the reason why some of us remain Christian, but were we the wrong type of Christians? And what does all this have to do with trade agreements at the time of the novel being written? Food for thought. But this fictitious novel was definitely a punishment...
So some might say Stoker knew what was he was doing...
True.
@@DimitrisGenn hmm... critical thinking: @ 22:44. @22:53 @26:08
I hope we get Wallachia and Vlad III as a civ in Civilization VII
I wish ;-;
Sounds like dlc
@@totallynuts7595Pretty much. Their leader picks, abilities, etc. were excessively weird in my opinion this last time around.
Don't get me wrong: I still think it's a ton of fun. I just think certain things are weird and portrayed pretty ridiculously.
and bring Corvinus back so vlad can kick his ass
Vlad Dracul,Vlad the son of the Dragon,National Hero.
For an alternate view try "The Hunt for Vlad the Impaler", a Turkish film that has history,action and no vampires.
1:06 as someone who speaks a Slavic language, I think there's a mistake here. It should be "possessor of glory", not "professor". "Vlad" is the part that means dominion, possession, and "slav" is responsible for glory, fame.
I agree! It could be that "vlad" comes from "vladati" - to rule, but no way it means "professor".
Metatron, pin this guys comment!
I have been learned that the name Vladislav means "The Ruler of the Slavs". Because slav could be glory or also Slav as a member of slavic nation.
@@karolsloboda7798 That's ridiculous, since 1) there was no Vladislav who would be considered "The Ruler of the Slavs" 2) The English word "slav" with meaning "slavic" doesn't exist in Slavic languages. They have words like Slovan, Slowjen, Slowian, Sloven or similar. 3) How would this explanation work with the names like Jaroslav or Miroslav? "The Spring of the Slavs"? "The Peace of the Slavs"?
@@cooks37 It exist in old Slavic. I’m Slovak and in the old Slovakian we refer them as Sláv. We have a quote from one famous book: Slavme slavne slávu Slávuv slavnych… teanslated: Celebrate the fame of the famous Slavs. So check more in details the history. And your example could be also double meeting. Jaroslav and Vladislav doesn’t need to have the same root of word. The same as Fat and Fat-her. Bot have the same part Fat, but doesn’t men the same.
@@karolsloboda7798 I doubt it. Ruler of the Slavs would be something like Vladislov in both Slovak and Ukrainian
*Vlad Tepes (1979) is a romanian movie that presents him like a national hero, maybe cruel but worried about the independence of his country🧐*
Being stuck between 2-3 empires, we don't really have much choice in our national heroes. Most of them were political pragmatists.
Seen it, It's ok, if the viewer remembers that a) it's propaganda, and b), Vlad III lost in the long run.
@@FelixstoweFoamForgeVlad may have lost in the long run, but without people like him Romania would not exist today. And that's a win in an even longer run.
@@DukeOfTheYard Point is, Wallachia remained an Ottoman dependency until about the mid18th century, When the Ottoman Empire began to collapse. Vlad, for all his courage, brutality and military ability, achieved absolutely nothing. Rule by fear never works.
@@FelixstoweFoamForgeHow does that conclude that rule by fear never works? Vlad simply didn't have enough support from his neighboring allies. There is so much a man can do alone. If he had an army as big as the sultan's, he would have won.
This channel remains one of the best and most accurate historical informative sources on TH-cam's platform. Please never stop what you're doing
Do i need a sicc moustache to join the 'Order of the Dragon'?
No but it certainly helps. 😊
They didn't have it before, but one gets attached to their face as part of the initiation ceremony
Obviously
Yes. Yes you do.
No.
I spent a few weeks driving through Romania last year, mostly in Transylvania and the Carpathian mountains. Amazing country. I went to Vlad's childhood home in the beautiful Citadel of Sighișoara. I also visited Bran Castle, which was an insliration for Stoker when he saw a picture of it. Although the castle is mistakenly called 'Dracula's Castle' for tourism reasons, it was never actually Vlad's castle.
That is true. Like the video says, the original Vlad castle is Poenari Castle. Bran castle has an authentic name: Törcsvár Castle. The castle was built in 1377 with the permission of King Louis I of Hungary to control the important trade route passing by and against the invasions of the Romanian voivodes of Wallachia. Due to its location, it was one of the hard-to-take castles. Presumably there was some strength here before, however, after the consolidation of the voivodship of Wallachia it could no longer perform its task satisfactorily.
As a Romanian history nerd, though I very much appreciate ur video, I cannot stop noticing some mistakes. The first mistake that I noticed is about the name of the Principality/Kingdom [depending on how you would translate "domn"]. The name "Wallachia" which is in English, [the names in other languages include Valahia, Transalpinae, Voloskia, Vlaska etc] was an exonym, which indeed comes from the term "Walhaz" and yes meant "foreigner", but was deliberately used for mostly Romans by Germanics. In turn, the name _Wallachia/Vlachia_ means "Land of the Wallachs/Vlachs". The latter name [Vlach] in this period would mean "someone who speaks in the Roman tongue" or "Romance-speaker". Now you are an Italian, and personally one thing I have noticed and find funny and that you Italians don't know is; You Italians were [and still are] called also by this exonym. Take for example the Hungarians, they still call u Italians for "Olasz" [for Romanians: Oláh], meanwhile Poles call you "Włoski" [same for Romanians] and South-Slavs as "Lehi" [Romanian: Vlas]. So this term is used for any Romance-speaker/Neo-Latin speaker. But the ethnonym of Wallachia is in Old Romanian: _Țeara Rumânească,_ this one means "Land of Român" the latter comes from Latin "Romanus" meaning "of Rome", thus Romans as you stated. Now this name proves the realm being Romanian. And that goes to another mistake and that's ur statement that Wallachia had "Bulgarian and Slavic elements", but that's not really the case. If you mean the official administrative and church language which indeed was Old Slavonic/Bulgarian, it still doesn't make your statement right. That's like saying Hungary had Roman elements for having Ecclesiastical Latin as its administrative language, or Poland. The Romanian Principalities [Moldavia and Wallachia] used this language because it was the standard norm of an Orthodox country. Latin was also used by _cancelaria domnească_ so it doesn't mean we had "Roman elements" all the sudden. Our Principalities copied the Byzantine (Roman) style of administration, political and social services and even were granted various privileges. Before Russia even became the power maker in the region, the Romanian Lords were the defenders of the Orthodox's for Constantinople (i.e Vasile Lupu). This gave the reason of publication of the book "Byzantium after Byzantium".
And that's something the Vlach's (Româns) knew, or at least the more educated high born people (priest's, nobles and lords) about their Roman heritage and origin. Meanwhile peasants knew rural myths about it, such as the founding eponymous fathers of our people, Roman and Vlăhiță [representing the ethnonym and exonym] probably from Remus and Romulus. According to the myth, they originally came from Venice/Italy and founded the Byzantine Empire until the crusade of 1204 who forced them to find refuge in Maramureș together with the Old Romans (Romanians).
Another mistake is at 9:17 where you show a picture of Mircea the Great. But referring to Vlad II Draculs son, Mircea II. Now Vlad Dracu was actually killed in battle. While Mircea ruled for a brief time, then betrayed and buried alive.
Edit: Vlad Țepeș never sent a full stack of ears to Matthias Corvinus. He just sent him a letter telling him what he did in Ottoman-Bulgaria. About the "plague" thing that Vlad sent to the Ottoman camp, I recommend _Corpus Draculianum_ who are a research team that have researched Vlads life and reacted to that theory. Another thing is about his name. Vlad is mentioned [as far as I know from official documents issued by his chancellery] as Vlad and Ladislau, I have zero idea where "Vladimir" comes from or if it is ironically used in reference to Putins name, which in this case seems unnecessary to bring in modern politics. "Ladislau" is the Catholic/Latin version of the Orthodox name "Vladislav" but could at the same time be of "Vlad". Now I don't know any source where Vlad refers to himself by it.
Actually Vlad DID send those ears. He sent them in barrels, preserved in salt.
He does actually explain at the end of the video the meaning of "walhaz" and how it evolved to mean "people of latin tongue".
And regarding the plague patients, he only mentions the greek chronicles of Ottoman campaign. It may have happened or it may not. We can't know for sure but he was only presenting what his sources claimed.
I hate to be that person, but here:
“Țeara” >> Țara ( coming from Latin Terra) means land
Mircea the Great >>> Mircea the Elder (has nothing to do with age btw, you see here Roman tradition of naming kids “the Elder” and “the Younger”, for example Pliny (Plinius) the Elder.)
@@DukeOfTheYard Not of what the CP research team of scholar's said when reacting to the Netflix series about Vlads war against the Ottomans. He only sent a letter, via _cancelaria domnească_
@@alinaanto I know
Despite its inaccuracies, the Coppola's Dracula film deserves a lot of recognition for trying to be genuinely faithful to Stoker's novel and respect its themes, especially if we consider the fact the Hammer Company previously made 500 films in which Dracula is killed by a random lightning bolt, ends up in the 70s, forms a James Bond-type terrorist organization, etc.
I always appreciate that Gary Oldman actually put in a good effort to speak a few lines in Romanian.
my lady its one my countrys favorite vampire film, I watch it ever Halloween,
It's a shame too, cause Christopher Lee, Hammer's Dracula, always wished to just make a faithful adaptation of the book. And despite all he did for that company, that was the only adaptation they DIDN'T do, lol
no
Neat. It's more faithful to silent-era film tropes. More relevant here would be the 2000 TV movie Dark Prince.
In pure fiction I prefer derivation over adaptation, like the Mounte Cristo trappings of Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter or Vampire hunter D.
No matter what outsiders have to say about Vlad the Impaler, to us he is a national hero who helped in the historical timeline to create a possibility (a stepping stone) for a future total unification of Walachia, Moldova and Transylvania to become what we have today, Romania. Standing tall and proud in the Romanian historical heroes pantheon as a forefather to our nation. His faith, dedication and passion for his people to rule justly(yeah I know..) And create a better future or all the more evident in his actions, attitude and policies as to forge a path forward to prosperity and unity of the common people.
P.S a little fun fact that is not known about the deployment of the impalement method.
It was directed, for the people who were thieves, covenant breakers(the 10 Commandments) and infidel to the cross(practitioners of occultist, pagan and Muslim traditions) all for religious purposes, and to install as much fear in to the hearts of the enemies of the cross.
The replica of those from "Corpus Draculianum" is on youtube. The battle has begun and it's hot!
Fact: The current capital of Romania, *București* (Bucharest ,in english) , was founded by Vlad III "Draculea" in 1459.
This was simply wonderful. I really appreciate the amount of research put into this. I have been fascinated by Vlad III since I was in high school. He's the reason I travel to România as frequently as possible and why I learned to speak Romanian. Îmi place Vlad III. Este bărbatul cel mai fascinant.
26:48 one additional language point on Wallachia: In certain parts of Germany we still use the term "Walachei" to this very day. Its use is mainly colloquial and is a term that describes a remote region with more rural or dark features. For example, you'd often here this phrase used by people traveling and ending up in less scenic or inviting places to describe their trip in a negative way. The more you know...
3:11 Makes me wonder whether language enthusiast Tolkien named a dragon "Smaug" as a phonetic relative to "Zmeu".
Zmeu is not a dragon. Its more like a very wealthy Balrog with a big castle and big appetite...if we stay in Tolkien terms😊. But i think you are right: the way Tolkien describes the nature of Smaug(greedy, rich, gluttonous, charming, well spoken) is very close to the nature of Zmeu!
Magistral, Remarcabil-Felicitări pentru acuratețea istorică și etimologică-Mulțumesc! Grazie!
As a Hungarian with family originating from Transylvania, I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I only like to point out that while you used the correct map of Hungary at the beginning of your video, you switched at 21.35 to the modern day map of Hungary (post World War map) all the way to the end of your video. However, the Kingdom of Hungary (from 986 - until the Wold Wars) looked very different from what we have today. Please correct that, other than that, great video. 💖
I wanted to mention the same and a modern map picture is cut in multiple time which is a bit meh for an otherwise great historic video. :)
@@Arnyh0ld I agree, and was surprise by this inconsistency by our beloved Metatron. He is usually excellent in his historical research.
@@Arnyh0ld I can only attribute it to the fact, he is a bit less familiar with Eastern European and Balkan history. But hopefully the more research he does in this direction, the more familiar he gets.
There was no kindgom after 1526.
A country has borders, a ruler, an army, can sign treaties and declare war and peace. The province called hungary had none of the above-mentioned characteristics.
yes, yes, personal union blablabla. It was meant to keep the hungarians calm.
God bless you and your work sir Metatron ❤❤❤❤ love from CROATIA-EUROPE ❤❤❤
Thank you for telling the true story of the beloved, brave leader of the land which is today Romania. He did what needed to be done to defend his land against a bigger army. And I hate when I see the majority of media puts him at the same level with evil dictators from history
Eastern Europe doesn't get enough spotlight as the West. I am South African, and we don't get enough exposure in Eastern European history as Rome, France, England etc.
Thank you for this video. Please consider doing a video on the "Blood Countess" Elizabeth Bathory"...
Part of that will have been down to most of the sources being in A. A language that is not widespread B. in an old version of that language. Then we have the translation of a translation of a translation issue.
It still an issue for other branches of History too. WWII Imperial Japan. Most of the surviving sources have still not been translated, or poorly at best, into other languages.
I am romanian ,we never learned anything but european history and a bit about the foundation of America 🥲
That would be a little problematic. On one side there is the legend of Elisabeth Báthory. This is the mass murdering, blood bathing / drinking one. On the other side the newest research shows that she was simply a noble woman, a widow. Her husband died early so she inherited a great estate. One which fellow lords in the area were eager to capture. So they fabricated these stories about her and then conspired to get her before a court. The witnesses were tortured or intimidated by the lords and the court sentenced to take away her estate.
There's this Romanian movie called "Vlad Tepes" released in 1979 about the life of Vlad III, it's on TH-cam. Really good movie. Nice to see a movie about Dracula's real story without any of the vampire stuffs.
Should not be regarded as a factual movie. It is filled with communist nationalist propaganda.
Now this is a subject I NEVER thought I'd see you cover on your channel, Metatron. Hearing you talk about Vlad Tepes was a very welcome surprise!
As a native speaker of a Slavic language (Ukrainian), I believe that Vladislav means "the one that possesses glory"
I recently finished reading Bram Stoker's Dracula for the first time (10/10 book btw), the timing of this video was perfect. Awesome to see the history of the real Vlad is just as interesting as the book!
12:16 that definitely deserves a movie! I would watch the hell out of it.
Me too!
Col. 3
They actually did its called “Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula”. It was made in 2000.
Vlad Ţepeş (1979) Vlad the Impaler - The True Life of Dracula UNCUT [English subtitles]
Amazing video! Would love to have one of Báthory Erzsébet at some point, if we are in the area and speaking of blood! (Also your pronounciation of Hunyadi is really good!)
King Charles is the great-grandson 16 times removed of Vlad III, through Queen Mary. He embraces it, he has land in Romania and is restoring a house there. In 2017, the mayor of Alba Iulia even invited him to accept the honorary title of Prince of Transylvania.
It has been reported that King Charles loves to visit his castle in Romania. He alleged loves to dress up in proper attire including a cape and sinisterly rome the castle grounds. Oh, those royals are a different breed.
?????
Most of them come from Dracula.
@@thethreadedtarot777 no joke. romanian here (duh). Members of the british royal family has been visiting Transylvania since as far as I can remember
@@DeltaHorse22 Jesus Christ. That explains a lot 🥸🧐 (no offense to Romanian people, I think you're a beautiful country)
In my personal opinion, this was one of the most interesting video you made recently!! ( not trying to diminish the value of the other video by any means...)
Thank you so damn much for the dragon/devil explanation for the word "dracul". I'vs been questioning myself for a very long time about this topic
Much love, from Brazil
Brânză arsă
Burnt cheese? You ok bro?
@@poiumty 🤫
I could be nitpicking in a few places, if I really wanted to do so, but overall a great presentation. Good job!
The only thing I would like to add, as a Romanian, is that in Romanian folklore Vlad is (and always was) seen as a hero: tough but just and fighting for a noble cause.
Ah yes one of the mad lads of history. So crazy that he inspired an entire niche of fantasy and fel undead creatures
Not really. Vampire stories have existed for thousands of years, and the modern notion of vampires originates in the 1819 novel "The Vampyre" which had nothing to do with Vlad III. The Dracula novel drew little to no inspiration from Vlad either apart from the name, Stoker came up with the story before even learning of him in the first place and chose the name because he liked it
I am so digging your latest historical lectures! This is just another excellent class professor! Love your content, entertaining, informative, and educational. Yours remain among my favorite channels!
There's a documentary I saw years ago where researchers investigated the method of impaling as it was done during the time of Vlad the 3rd. They came to a very disturbing theory that Vlad's army may have perfected the practise of impaling where, if done with a certain precision, could limit the damage to the vital organs with such success that it could drastically postpone death. Imagine that, not only do you see 1000s impaled before you, but many of them still living.....
Yeah, the same show i believe made a scene of Mehmet comming to see, just to flee in fear after seeing the bodies twitch, pretty brutal
That is indeed true, they impaled people slowly and gradually so to avoid perforating major organs, in the most gruesome cases they would get the shape all the way and out through the victims throat, then raise the stake up with them still alive.
As a Romanian, this video is great! In our culture, he is seen as a fierce, strong and good ruler. Some of the people i know in my family even revere him as a changer in the quality of life, through some of his rules and some of the ways he done things. Not to mention that a lot of his "victims" were corrupt individuals, thieves or other bad people, hence in our day to day life we dont really see the impaling part as an injust form of justice, in fact sometimes people even joke about it.
True fact. King Charles III and his siblings are direct descendants of Vlad the Monk, Vlad the Impaler’s brother, through their Great Grandmother, Queen Mary (Queen Consort of King George V).
His Majesty owns a private property in Transylvania and, whilst Prince of Wales, would visit every spring. Not sure about now though.
Thank you for this video! It's so funny I should be gifted this from a friend of mine this eve, because I told a friend who I'm in the play THE MOUSETRAP with this whole story of Vlad this very eve - this confirmed about 95 percent of what I told her. The study of history is amazing - the 15th century in particular for me - so many sources I've been privy to. I've been studying Vlad III since 2001 - I've put him in plays and series I've written. Fasciunating it is to hear or read as many sources, because each one has a different way of telling the same story, facts from one that someone else doesn't reticulate and vice-versa. I'll always be open to more sources - the story of Vlad is a very intricate one. Once more, many thanks!
Awesome that you got a fitness sponsor. Love that it's fitness associated.
Finding out as a kid that Dracula was an historical figure is what led me to my love of 14th-16th century Eastern European history. So fascinating! Thank you for this sir.
Would really love to know about Gilles de Rais and the conclusion you come to about his case, guilty, or innocent.
Definitely. And Elizabeth Bathory. I also understand Sir John Tiptoft learned impalement from Dracula and took it back to England with him.
I'm very, very firmly in the camp of "guilty." It's where all the actual dang evidence points, and the fact that there was external political motivation to start looking into him (annoying the Burgundians) isn't, in-and-of-itself, refutation. Because in general they really didn't care that much about what was happening to the peasants, who were complaining well before the inquiries actually started to matter, but as it turns out being a cereal thriller (I apologize, I'm being extra cautious because of how trigger-happy the algorithm can be) is a really spicy skeleton to just find in someone's closet who you don't like.
I found this thoroughly fascinating. I appreciate the note on use of language at the end of this video. Thanks so much, keep up the great work!
A really good description, but there are some minor things you could improve:
- Might me worth mentioning that it is Bram Stalker who connected vampire lore with Transylvania, probably because that name sounded more mysterious than Wallachia. Vlad had not much to do with Transylvania, which was part of Hungary back then. But vampire lore is not really part of local folklore anyway.
- You mentioned the battle of Belgrade, but did not mention that Hunyadi was present there, and played a crucial role.
- At 21:35 there is a modern map of Europe, maybe a 15th century map would be better?
I am in the editing stage of a novel. During my research for this, I needed to look into Vlad and the very history you present here. It was great to see all this laid out with illustrations and maps. The time I could have saved if I’d only waited for you to post. One thing that did not make sense to me in my original research was, the sources I was referencing implied that the fields of the impaled outside Târgoviște had been set up as a response to Mehmed's approach. But there hardly seemed time for that. Your insight that it was done over a longer period to intimidate his own people makes much more sense. My novel is a contemporary fantasy, however not historical, so I think I’ll just wave my artistic license at it and say my characters made the misinterpretation and not me. I have heard that Vlad III is considered a national hero in Romania.
- Born in 1431, not 1428. Strike one, in the first minute.
- Vlad, though raised as legitimate (which did not matter, to either Romanians or Turks) was likely conceived at the tournament, following Vlad Dracul's induction into the Order of the Dragon, with an unnamed widow of the Imperial family. The buckle she gave Vlad Dracul upon his victory, was later found in Dracula's grave.
- I find instances of Hunyadi being captured by the Serbs, and by Vlad Dracul, after the disastrus Battle of Varna. I find nowhere where he was ever captured by the Turks.
- Vlad Dracul was already Prince of Wallachia, when he was trapped by Turkish forces, and his sons, Vlad and Radu, were forcibly taken from him.
- It was Hunyadi's proxy, Vladislav II (Danesti-- who you really should have named), who murdered Dracula's father and brother. Hunyadi, though bitter enemies with Dracul after the Battle of Varna, had little to do with it. Mercia was blinded and buried alive (confirmed when Vlad unearthed his grave). Dracul was chased down and slaughtered, outside Targoviste. His body was never found.
- Vlad was on the run from Hunyadi, along with his cousin, Stephen of Moldavia, who was in the same situation. Their year as "knights-errant" took them as far as Germany.
- Hunyadi learned that Vladislav II was planning to sell out Wallachia to the Turks. He also didn't approach Vlad, as much as he was confronted by him... in his own castle... having to talk his way out of certain death.
- The Battle of Belgrade was the lifting of a Turkish siege, where a crusader force of 8,000 of Hunyadi's mercenaries, and 8,000 peasants, led by Friar John of Capistrano, defeated a Turkish force of over 90,000-- later to be deemed a certified miracle. Both men would die of the plague in Belgrade that winter.
- Vlad Dracula did indeed kill Vladislav II in single combat, forcing him into a duel, after surrounding his army. He beat him to death, with his bare hands.
- At Vlad's "Easter Feast" -- the term later borrowed by Anne Rice-- Vlad first tricks the Boyars into confessing to multiple regicides (over 40, between Vlad's grandfather, to the present!).
15:14 - Ilona was the daughter of Vlad's closest friend, Mihaly Szilagy, who was captured by the Turks and sawed in half, when he refused to betray Dracula.
15:46 - Vlad ambushed and slaughtered the Turkish envoy, then, dressed in their uniforms, he and his men gained entry to the fortress of Giurgiu, where they began their slaughter (FYI: they stole the "Were they dressed like this?" line for Braveheart). The (very decomposed) Turkish pasha would later be placed on the highest stake of Vlad's "forest of the Impaled".
- Sultan Mehmed II personally led his forces into Wallachia, considering Dracula to be his greatest threat, even though the Turks were far more engaged on their Eastern front, with the Armenians and Persians. They had actually pledged their troops to Pope Pius II's call for crusade, when Europe did not.
- Vlad's night attack would have killed Mehmed II, had his vizir's tent not looked exactly like his. The Sultan himself fled the camp, and had to be dragged back by his own troops. Even the Turkish historians failed to downplay this act of cowardice.
Overall evaluation: Meh, good enough.
he meant that Vlad II was captured by the Turks, he said Hunyadi by mistake
@@zuraorokamono204 - Good point. Thanks.
Looking forward to this video. One of my favourite novels is 'The Historian' by Elizabeth Kostova, a story about finding the vampire Dracula by researching and following the real historical figure.
Please make a Vlad III MOVIE! I'd especially love for you to play the part of Vlad. I love the work you do! And I trust that you would make sure the movie ends up being perfect. Especially with that gorgeous hair.
Actually he could!!! His physiognomy is quite close to the historical portrait
@@alinaanto That settles it. @metatronyt you are obligated for the sake of the common good to both play the part and detect the movie. Maybe Chad could be your co-director after his SOTC series and get you started.
This is why I like Metatrons videos so much: After having read and watched videos about the subject Dracula for so many years, it feels really good to learn so many new things, in a way that's neither speculative or unnecessary dramatic.
Also, this is one of the few channels that I trust to be truthful.
Metatron, vampire look kinda suits you on the thumbnail 😅
I've watched a lot of videos on Vlad but yours is the only one that made comprehensive sense of the political situation of the time. Now I truly feel that I am fairly informed on this historical figure.
Oh hey Dracula, the historical figure, hah nice, I'm Romanian, nice to see him be a subject of discussion
Edit: thank you for the video, very nice and informative. Also, as little piece of information that I remember, while I haven't consulted lately much historical evidence, I'm convinced that I correctly can tell that Matthias Corvinus was cousin in law with Vlad, and Stephen the Great was a cousin of Vlad as well. Also from what I can remember, his "death" wasn't really known, it was presumed to be, because he was overthrown from power and support and he went into hiding, which produced literally everyone saying "no, I killed him, I killed the devil" to try to boost the moral of their armies, but from I remember he tried to raise to power again after about 3 year but he was caught by his countrymen and allegedly he either ran again into hiding or killed in secret by the Hungarian forces, in total it gives him just about extra 4 years that no one really knows what happened.
Thanks for the good show.I’ve read some stories about Vlad III but yours is the most entertaining & informative.
we need a docudrama series called "Vlad" or "the Impaler" This sounds like it'd be a more entertaining show than most of the stuff we're getting now.
There was one docudrama made in the UK about him a few years back
@@barbara-annperry5941is it Vlad the Impaler true story of Dracula?
For clarifications or additions to what was said above, I recommend "Corpus draculianum" on youtube. The dramatic life of Vlad Tepes exposed in the chronicles of the time, his correspondence, the administrative documents from his period. All presented by professional historians, who, like Sherlock Holmes, try to bring Vlad to light, beyond legends and vicious propaganda.
Loving reading Bram Stoker's Dracula currently. Nice timing.
Hell yeah! Thank you for this one! :)
Never thought I’d enjoy a history lesson this much. Thank you Metatron
Love You Metatron!
Great to see a new video from Metatron which is about history. Yes, Vlad Tepes is the inspiration for Dracula however, where is any mention of Jure Grando in Stoker’s building of the vampire count? As you’re delving into the medieval period- check out Hildegard von Blingin’s version of We didn’t start the fire.
Hey a video about Count Dracule Vladimir Tepesh The III. This is one of my all-time favorite people in history.
A man of principle I think he was exactly what he had to be in his time an place in history.
Vladislav, not Vladimir.
Firstly, he was not a count, but a ruler, more like a prince. Second, Vlad is short from Vladislav, not Vladimir. Although Vlad never called himself Vladislav, but either Vlad or the Catholic Ladislaus. Separate the fictional Dracula from the historical one, please.
Yep this confirms it, they can keep discovery and history channels. You and your team offer some of the most balanced telling of history I've come across.
Bram Stoker never had read about Vlad the impaler before publishing his novel. He just found the name Dracula and thought it sounded diabolically cool. And let's face it. It does sound like a cool villain name. And now it is iconic.
What an excellent video! I am Romanian, and I find the level of detail and linguistic insight in this video truly impressive. There are many sources in English that talk about Vlad the Impaler, but few can boast of this attention to detail. Bravo! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Corpus Draculianum se ocupa istoric cu Vlad Tepes la nivel international.
The best resource on Vlad the Impaler is the Romanian team Corpus Draculianum. They are on the way to publish all sources regarding Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes). You have their reaction on this clip here (has English subtitles): th-cam.com/video/oJnM4yF6Hcg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=AKHzF0gXFQ214xGG
Your videos are always so in depth and so well researched!
Very good work!
You overlooked one nice detail... when ottoman envoys came to him, they refused to remove their turbans with words they don do it even in front of sultan, So Vlad ordered to nail the turbans to their heads to help them not removing the turbans anymore...
How is this a "nice" detail?
@@SirAtesh punishment of arrogant pride of Turks
@@SirAtesh How is it not?
Dracula has an awesome sense of humour!
He wanted to enforce their tradition of never taking them off
Wow
I was just thinking about this the other day
Thank you
I wish someday we had a historically accurate movie about Dracula. The real story is so much more interesting than pop-culture vampires IMO ! Pop-culture vampire stories are so shallow...
There is one. 2000 Dark Prince, Robocop is in it.
There is a romanian one from the 70s.
@@liber_mundithis one is top.
th-cam.com/video/VqbagKqtbAQ/w-d-xo.html There is one.
Vlad Ţepeş (1979) Vlad the Impaler - The True Life of Dracula UNCUT [English subtitles]
Beautifull video. The quality as always is at the top. I hope to see many more of this kind of documentaries.
Haven’t yet watched the video, but I hope he does go into Romanian history ! Actually really excited about this video !
Awesome video it’s great so see vlad the third getting a proper historical perspective not just the Dracula nonsense that most people today associated him with because he’s far more interesting than just some fictional story that’s been made up about him and I think what he achieved was truly remarkable and should be remembered as a historical figure in history.
They need to make a movie about this. That would be nuts.
Τhey already did. Check out "Dark prince. The true story of Vlad Dracula". Not a masterpiece by any means, but a decent little movie nonetheless. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Prince:_The_True_Story_of_Dracula
Hope you're ironic (only if you are Romanian). There's many films about Vlad the Impaler, but most are Romanian productions afaik
@@totallynuts7595 i am but im talking a modern interpretation would be cool considering advancements. Plus lets be honest the 1979 film is a propaganda film.
@@nightking0130Would be cool, not happening in today's pathetic, prudish, hyper moral society. Just look at the absolute furore Terrifier 1 and 2 created, now imagine how much gore would have to be in it, nobody would fund it unfortunately.
There are several English language movies, even with reputable historians as consultants, but didn't get high end directors. It is much more profitable to go for horror vampire movies.
Great detailed account of Vlad Tepes. If you haven’t done one, an account of Elizabeth Bathory would be cool. She wasn’t a war leader but had an interesting life and it seems she may have been smeared by opponents’ vicious rumors and accusations even more so than Vlad.
18:00
I'm not sure how historically accurate it is to reference Laonikos Chalkokondyles about any issue relating the Turks. Since for example, he was the "historian" who wrote that Mehmet the Conqueror had feelings for Radu (Vlad Dracula's little brother). Even going as far as saying he tried to force himself on him!
Modern historians don't even accept his source of being true!
(Btw, it is speculated that Mehmet the Conqueror was most possibly bisexual, judging from his poems, but literally there is NO other source involving him and Radu aside from Laonikos'!)
So, using a source of him to learn about Turkish History (no matter if that source is close to the historical fact shown by other sources or not); when we know he exaggerated and even most possibly made up stuff to belittle the Turks (favourite activity of the greeks only second to swimming the Aegean Sea) is not a very professional move now is it.
Also, it is funny that what REALLY happened to Vlad is left out, you know, about his head being offered a free Istanbul Tour 😊
What a fantastic and informative video! I learned so much from this. Thanks, Metatron!
This makes me so proud to be born in the same place as Dracula in Transylvania's town of Sighisoara. Thank you Metatron