Was Dracula Real? Dracula - Real Untold Story

Ever since the 1897 novel, Dracula, by Bram Stoker, we've been captivated by the idea of vampires. But was the character of Dracula based on a real person? And does Dracula's castle in Romania, along with the other castles related to him, have any real connection? My name is Jalees Butt. I'm an adventure-seeking world traveler. And today, we're going to Transylvania to find out the real untold story behind Dracula.

Over the past century, the story of Dracula and vampires has been retold dozens of times, each with its own twist and some more accurate than others. With all the confusion in pop culture, it's hard to know what's real. So who was Dracula? (screaming faintly) (cross clatters on the stone floor) (exciting music)Bram Stoker's Dracula is most commonly said to be based on a man named Vlad Tepes, also known as Vlad the Impaler. (shouts faintly)Although it's said that Bram didn't have as much(soldiers shouting) historical knowledge as we do today and didn't actually know the real name of Dracula, we're gonna focus on Vlad the Impaler for this video.

In 1431, Vlad III was born into what is now Transylvania, and at the time was part of the Hungarian Empire. That same year, his father, Vlad II, who was the war leader of Wallachia, was inducted into a knightly order called the Order of the Dragon by the king of the Hungarian Empire. The order was created to defeat the Turkish Ottoman Empire who were frequently trying(soldiers shouting) to move from their lands into the Christian European lands.(swords clanging) Joining the Order of the Dragon gave Vlad the second and new name of Dracul, meaning dragon, his son later being known as Dracula or son of the dragon. And in modern Romanian, the word drac meant devil, so Bram Stoker named the book Dracula to mean the devil. During the time that Vlad lived, Wallachia was in constant war. They were stuck in between the war in Hungarian and Ottoman Empires and were constantly used by both sides in the war. Vlad's father was initially on the side of the Hungarian Empire until the death of the king in 1437, causing the Hungarian Empire to weaken.

The Ottoman sultan asked the war leader, Vlad, to come to Turkey for a diplomatic meeting in 1442. This is where the young Dracula, at the age of 12, and his brother, Radu, were brought along with his father to the diplomatic meeting which turned out to be a trap. All three were arrested and held hostage. Father Vlad was released under the condition that he would leave his sons behind. The sultan held Vlad and his brother as hostages to ensure that their father would behave himself in the ongoing war. After his father's death, young Dracula was released by the Turks and they made him an officer of a Turkish army in order to help take back the throne at age 17. But this was only for a brief two-month span as the current war leader was away and retook it as soon as he came back. Not much is known about Vlad the Impaler between the years of 1448 and 1456, but he did switch sides again, gaining support from the King of Hungary who helped him retake the war leader title of Wallachia in 1456. One of the first things that Vlad had done when he retook the throne was to stop the annual tribute of children to the Ottoman army, which had previously ensured peace between Wallachia and the Ottomans. He had also invited all of the noblemen suspected in the death of his father to a banquet where he then had them all stabbed and impaled on spikes.

In Romania, the government has titled Bran Castle Dracula's Castle because it's the only castle in the area that fits Bram Stoker'sdescription of Dracula's castle. This place where we're in right now, Bran Castle, was originally created in 1211 by the Order of the Teutonic Knights which were a German Catholic order founded in Palestine. They actually moved here in 1211, which was called Burzenland at the time, and the King of Hungary at the time gave them a bunch of money to create the settlement. They created a bunch of fortresses; this was one of them, here in Bran. Bran actually means gate in Turkish. So they created a much smaller version of what we are in right now and they used it. But in 1225, they were actually forced out. And in 1388, this full castle was completed as you see it right now. And it was actually used as a customs trading route in and out of Transylvania, so 3% of all goods were taxed and held here. It was also used as a soldier and mercenary fortress and sleeping quarters when they were fighting off the Ottoman Empire. (exciting music)But during his reign in 1459, his army passed through Bryan to attack Brasov in order to settle a conflict with the Saxons. He went to go impale a couple of thousand Saxons who were supporting his rival's claim to the throne, as well as Saxon merchants who were requesting higher customs taxes in order to make more money.

At this time, the printing press had been invented which helped circulate the gruesome stories of Vlad the Impaler, leading to the Saxonsto later seek revenge. Vlad's first castle was in the capital city of Targoviste. But in 1457, he rebuilt the crumbling castle of Poenari. This is another one of the castles related to Dracula's name but in this case, it was a place that he had actually lived. He had realized its potential as a major stronghold with an amazing vantage point. The Turkish armies began to march with much greater numbers to stop Vlad, and in 1462, they made it all the way to Targoviste. But they were met with an empty city and 20,000 Turkish prisoners of war impaled before them. The Turkish army was led by Vlad's brother, Radu, who eventually made it to the Poenari castle where Vlad's wife was said to have jumped off the tower during a siege, not wanting to become a captive of the Turkish army. Vlad had escaped and sought help from the Hungarian king but Wallachian nobles and Saxon merchants conspired against him and spread rumors that he had been talking with the Ottoman sultan. Because of this, he was arrested and thought to be a traitor. So now we have made it out to Corvin Castle, also known as Hunyadi Castle. This is the last castle in the area strongly related to Dracula and is named after John Hunyadi and his son, Matthias Corvinus, who was the King of Hungary at the time. When Vlad was imprisoned by King Corvinus, he was sent to Visegrad, just north of Budapest. But because Corvin Castle was named after the king and it was a prison as well, many believe that it's the place that Dracula was imprisoned.

During Vlad's captivity, KingCorvinus made a deal with Vlad to give him his freedom back. He had to convert to Catholicism and marry a member of the Hungarian royal family. So he did, and Vlad had taken back his position of Prince of Wallachia. And soon after, in 1476,(exciting music) he led a war against the Turkish armies again with King Corvinus. - We will not be defeated! - His third reign on the throne was short-lived when later that year, he was killed in an ambush walking to another battle with the Ottomans. So was Dracula based on Vlad the Impaler? I think just a few parts, such as Dracula having to be killed with a stake to the heart, as well as his thirst for blood like Vlad's, but in a different way. It was most likely a combination of characters and the region, which is home to many large bat caves and gothic castles. And lastly, are the castles in Romania related to Vlad? Well, only Poenari Castle, really, the others being fortress and prisons that have capitalized on the name of Dracula. But they are still amazing to visit, nonetheless, and I would highly recommend seeing them. If you haven't seen my last video, I went to Dracula's Castle at night, so go check that out. And if you're new here, click the subscribe button for more videos all around the world. That is it, Rogue Nation. Thank you for watching. And until next time, explore the world.