Category: History

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The Lonely Return of Vlad III to Târgoviște, Reclaiming the Wanted Throne 1448, Part 3

We’re following Vlad III to Târgoviște, his father’s princely court that, at least this time, proved to be a cold and lonely space when young Vlad arrived to reclaim its most-wanted throne.

To understand Vlad Dracula we should visit more than his fortresses. We should search the Ottoman courts as well as the Wallachian and Transylvanian cities that harbored him. Additionally, the roads, mountain passes, and foreign paths that influenced his life.

The places where he lived tell part of his story. But the places where he was held, fought, fled and returned to – tell the rest.

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Young Vlad III, Part 2: Captive in the Ottoman World – Where He Lived

Istanbul new mosque near Galata Bridge on the Golden Horn, photo by MF

How did the boy born in Sighișoara, Transylvania, come to spend most of his youth among the people who threatened his homeland?

1442 – 1448: Captive in the Ottoman world, while his life hung in balance, young Vlad’s fate depended not only on the actions of his older brother and father, but also on the shifting alliances and ambitions of European powers beyond his reach.

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Where Did Vlad the Impaler Live? Part 1: Sighișoara, Târgoviște, Gallipoli, and Eğrigöz

Following young Vlad Dracula through 15th century Transylvania and Wallachia to: Sighișoara, Târgoviște, Gallipoli and Eğrigöz.

When we picture Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula, we tend to picture him in a castle: dark stone, narrow windows, a throne, perhaps the mountains rising behind him. Vlad did not spend his life in one castle, one principality, or even one political world. Not even on one continent.

To follow Vlad’s life is to follow a landscape of shifting power: Târgoviște, the princely capital; Transylvania and its fortified towns; the roads crossing the Carpathians; the Ottoman world where he was held hostage; the Hungarian royal court; and, eventually, the battlefields and forests through which he fought his way, always back to Wallachia.

Each left something behind: a language, an allegiance, a military lesson, a memory of captivity, or an enemy who would later become an ally.

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