Vlad II, Dracul (c. 1390 - 1447) was a ruler of Wallachia (located in present day Romania) from 1436 to 1442 and again from 1443 to 1447. He was a member of the royal House of Basarab and son of Mircea cel Bătrân. The ruler of Wallachia was officially a vassal of the King of Hungary. He was also Frontier Commander with the responsibility of protecting commerce and trade routes from Transylvania to Wallachia for the Roman Catholic Church. Although Vlad II was in favor with the Roman Catholic Church, he is known to have murdered members of the rival royal House of Dăneşti , a not-so-distant relation to his own father's House of Basarab. The House of Basarab was founded by Basarab I. This is of course how he gained power in Wallachia, upon returning from exile in Transylvania in 1436.

Vlad II Dracul received his title "Dracul" from his induction into the Order of the Dragon. In 1431, he was titled into the "Order of the Dragon" by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, a creed designed to gain political favor for the church and to protect the Hungarian-Romanian royal family from the Ottoman Empire of the Turks. The Order of the Dragon was founded on December 13, 1408, with Sigismund (then King of Hungary) as an original founding member.

In 1444, the King of Hungary, Ladislaus III of Poland, broke the peace with the Ottoman Empire and launched the Varna campaign under the command of John Hunyadi in an effort to drive the Turks out of Europe. Hunyadi demanded that Vlad II fulfill his oath as a member of the Order of the Dragon and a vassal of Hungary. Vlad II was commanded to join the crusade against the Turks, but declined. The Pope absolved Dracul of his Turkish oath but demanded that he send his son Mircea instead. Perhaps he hoped the sultan would spare his younger sons if he himself did not join the crusade.

The results of the Varna Crusade are well known. The Christian army was utterly destroyed in the Battle of Varna. John Hunyadi managed to escape the battle under conditions that add little glory to the White Knight's reputation. Many, apparently including Mircea and his father, blamed Hunyadi for the debacle. From this moment forth John Hunyadi was bitterly hostile toward Vlad Dracul and his eldest son. In 1447 Vlad Dracul was assassinated along with his son Mircea. Mircea was apparently buried alive by the boyars and merchants of Târgovişte. Hunyadi placed his own candidate, a member of the Dăneşti clan, on the throne of Wallachia. This member would latter be assassinated, prompting Vlad III to once again begin the battle his father could not win, the battle for the throne of Wallachia.

Although Vlad II was a successful general, accomplished ruler, and ordained medieval royalty, he is best known for the exploits of his son, Vlad III. Vlad III is better known as Dracula or Vlad the Impaler. Vlad II had at least two other sons, Mircea, Dracula's elder brother, and Radu the Handsome, Dracula's younger brother. Little is known of Radu.

Translation Note: "Dracula" loosely translates as "Son of Dracul," although ironically, history will no doubt most remember Vlad II as "Father of Dracula" which literally translates into "Father of the Son of Dracul."

An alternative translation of Dracul is devil, in addition to dragon. During his time Vlad II was also known as the Vlad II, the Devil. This connotation was not meant to be demeaning, but to be similar to the aura of fierceness granted to Edward, son of Edward III of England, by his nickname, "The Black Prince".

External link

• A pedigree of him