Vlad the Impaler

Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431–1476), also known by his patronymic name Dracula (son of the Dragon, after his father Vlad II Dracul), and posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler (Romanian: Vlad Țepeș pronounced was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462, the period of the incipient Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. His father was a member of the Order of the Dragon (Dracul) which was founded to protect Christianity in Europe.

Vlad III spent much of his rule campaigning against the Ottoman Empire and its expansion.As the cognomen, 'The Impaler' suggests, his practice of impaling his enemies is central to his historical reputation. During his lifetime, his reputation for excessive cruelty spread abroad, to Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The total number of his victims is estimated in the tens of thousands. The name of the vampireCount Dracula in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula was inspired by Vlad's patronymic.

Vlad III Dracula
Prince of Wallachia
The Ambras Castle portrait of Vlad III, c. 1560, reputedly a copy of an original made during his lifetime.
Reign	1448; 1456–1462; 1476
Born	November 13 1431
Birthplace	Sighișoara, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary
Died	December 1476(?) (aged 45)
Place of death	Bucharest, Wallachia
Royal House	House of Drăculești (branch of theHouse of Basarab)
Father	Vlad II Dracul
Mother	Cneajna of Moldavia

During his life Vlad wrote his name in Latin documents as Wladislaus Dragwlya, vaivoda partium Transalpinarum (1475).

His Romanian patronymic Dragwlya (or Dragkwlya) Dragulea, Dragolea, Drăculea is a diminutive of the epithet Dracul "the Dragon" carried by his father Vlad II, who in 1431 was inducted as a member of the Order of the Dragon, a chivalric order founded by Sigismund of Hungary in 1408. Dracul is the Romanian definite form, the -ul being the suffigated definite article (deriving from Latin ille). The noun drac "dragon" itself continues Latin draco. In Modern Romanian, the word drac has adopted the meaning of "devil" (the term for "dragon" now being balaur). This has led to misinterpretations of Vlad's epithet as characterizing him as "devilish".

Vlad's moniker of Țepeș ("Impaler") identifies his favourite method of execution. It was attached to his name posthumously, in ca. 1550.

Internal policy

Vlad found Wallachia in a wretched state: constant war had resulted in rampant crime, falling agricultural production, and the virtual disappearance of trade. Regarding a stable economy essential to resisting external enemies, he used severe methods to restore order and prosperity.

Vlad had three aims for Wallachia: to strengthen the country's economy, its defense and his own political power. He took measures to help the peasants' well-being by building new villages and raising agricultural output. He understood the importance of trade for the development of Wallachia. He helped the Wallachian merchants by limiting foreign merchant trade to three market towns: Târgșor, Câmpulung and Târgoviște.

Vlad considered the boyars the chief cause of the constant strife as well as of the death of his father and brother. To secure his rule, he had many leading nobles killed and gave positions in his council, traditionally belonging to the greatest boyars, to persons of obscure origins, who would be loyal to him alone, and some to foreigners. For lower offices, Vlad preferred knights and free peasants to boyars. In his aim of fixing up Wallachia, Vlad issued new laws punishing thieves. Vlad treated the boyars with the same harshness, believing them guilty of weakening Wallachia through their personal struggles for power.

The army was also strengthened. He had a small personal guard, mostly made of mercenaries, who were rewarded with loot and promotions. He also established a militia or ‘lesser army’ made up of peasants called to fight whenever war came.

Vlad Dracula built a church at Târgșor (allegedly in the memory of his father and older brother who were killed nearby), and he contributed with money to the Snagov Monastery and to the Comana Monastery fortifications.Matthias Corvinus had received consistent financial support from the Pope to fight against the Turks. But he had spent the money on completely different purposes. He now had the Ottomans at his borders and needed someone to use as a scapegoat.

When Vlad came to him to ask for his help with fighting the war, Matthias Corvinus arrested him using false documents: a forged letter, in which Vlad supposedly pledged loyalty to Mehmed II and promised to strike an agreement with the Ottomans over Wallachia.

Vlad was imprisoned at Oratia, a fortress located at Podu Dâmboviței Bridge. A period of imprisonment in Visegrád near Buda followed, where the Wallachian prince was held for 10 years. Then he was imprisoned in Buda.

The exact length of Vlad's period of captivity is open to some debate, though indications are that it was from 1462 until 1474. Diplomatic correspondence from Buda seems to indicate that the period of Vlad's effective confinement was relatively short. Radu's openly pro-Ottoman policy as voivode probably contributed to Vlad's rehabilitation. Moreover, Ștefan ce Mare,Voievod of Moldavia and relative of Vlad intervened on his behalf to be released from prison as the Ottoman pressure on the territories north of Danube was increasing.After the sudden death of his brother Radu III the Fair in the year 1475, Vlad III declared his third reign in 26 November 1476. Vlad began preparations for the reconquest of Wallachia in 1476 with Hungarian support. Vlad’s third reign had lasted little more than two months when he was assassinated. The exact date of his death is unknown, presumably the end of December 1476, but it is known that he was dead by 10 January 1477. The exact location of his death is also unknown, but it would have been somewhere along the road between Bucharest andGiurgiu. Vlad's head was taken to Constantinople as a trophy, and his body was buried unceremoniously by his rival, Basarab Laiota, possibly at Comana, a monastery founded by Vlad in 1461. The Comana monastery was demolished and rebuilt from scratch in 1589.

Court Puts Dominique Strauss-Kahn Under Investigation

Court Puts Dominique Strauss-Kahn Under Investigation

Photo: AP

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (File)

A French court has placed former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn under formal investigation for alleged involvement in a prostitution ring.Strauss-Kahn posted a $133,000 bail to avoid sitting in jail while prosecutors pursue their case. A formal investigation in France is one step short of formal charges.

Prosecutors allege Strauss-Kahn helped supply prostitutes for business clients at a luxury hotel in the northern French city of Lille and had parties with the women.  

His lawyer accuses authorities of inventing the charges because of his fame.

Syria Accepts Annan Peace Plan

Syria Accepts Annan Peace Plan

Photo: AP

Former U.N. Secretary-General and special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, left, meets with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the Great Hall of People in Beijing March 27, 2012.

International peace envoy Kofi Annan says Syria has accepted his plan to end violence in the country.

A spokesman for Annan said Tuesday Syria's response came in a letter to the U.N.-Arab League envoy.

Annan met with Chinese officials Tuesday in Beijing, including Premier Wen Jiabao, as China pledged to support his mediation efforts.

The plan calls on Syrian government forces and rebels to agree on a cease-fire and engage in dialogue. Endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, the blueprint does not include a Western and Arab demand for President Bashar al-Assad to resign - a requirement that Russia and China oppose.

U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said Tuesday there is a basic structure in place to discuss with Russia and China what they can do to support Annan.

"I think we felt like we made some progress with regard to Syria in that, despite the differences that we've had -- and they continue with regard to Syria -- there is the framework for cooperation through the Kofi Annan initiative which, again, at the very least, provides a framework for stopping the violence, initiating greater humanitarian access to the people of Syria and initiating a transition in that country," Rhodes said. "Again, we believe very strongly that that transition has to involve Assad leaving power."

In Istanbul, Syrian opposition groups are meeting in an effort to forge a united front before a major conference April 1.  

Opposition member Bassam Jaara said Tuesday the meeting is an important dialogue between different sides of the opposition as they work to revise their structure.

"We want everyone to sign a declaration today produced by the Syrian National Council," he said. "It is a declaration that sets Syria's new identity after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, a Syria that is democratic, plural, civil and guarantees equality to all the Syrian people."

The goal, he said, is to agree to a declaration pledging a democratic Syria that guarantees equality to all Syrians.

Western and Arab nations calling themselves the "Friends of Syria" are due to meet Sunday in Istanbul to discuss support for the Syrian opposition's struggle to end decades of autocratic rule.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend the conference after meeting Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and foreign ministers of five Gulf Arab states in Riyadh later this week. The State Department said Clinton's efforts at both gatherings will focus on ending Syria's bloodshed.

In Syria, activists say fighting killed at least eight people across the country Tuesday, including in the Damascus suburb of Douma, the flashpoint city of Homs and northern Idlib province.  Their reports could not be independently confirmed because Syria tightly restricts foreign reporting.

Fighting was also reported along Syria's border with Lebanon.

Syria's state news agency SANA said the country's parliament has called on Assad to consider delaying parliamentary elections scheduled for May 7 in order to allow for the outcome of a "national dialogue."

The election is part of what the government calls a series of reforms based on a new constitution approved by referendum in February.

The United Nations says more than 8,000 people have been killed in the Syrian government's crackdown on the uprising during the past year. Damascus blames the violence on what it says are foreign-backed terrorists.