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Historians claim to have tracked down remains of Vlad the Impaler

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A team of Estonian scholars believe they have finally discovered the long-lost location of Vlad the Impaler, the 15 th century Prince upon which Bram Stoker based his 1897 gothic novel ‘Dracula’.  According to the report in Hurriyet Daily News, his remains are in the Piazza Santa Maria la Nova graveyard in Naples, and not the Romanian Transylvanian Alps as first thought.

Vlad III, the Prince of Wallachia, was born sometime between 1428 and 1431, probably in Sighişaora, Transylvania. His patronymic, ‘Dracul’, means Dragon, derived from the membership of his father, Vlad II Dracul, in the Order of the Dragon, an order of chivalry for the defence of Christianity in Eastern Europe against the Ottomans, so the young Vlad became known as Dracula, or “son of Dragon”.  

Although Vlad was infamous throughout Europe for his cruelty, it was his favourite method of execution that ensured his place in history and gave him the name Vlad Tepes (‘Vlad the Impaler’).  It is said that as Vlad retreated from a battle against the Ottomans in 1462, he impaled and put on display some 20,000 people outside the city of Targoviste as a deterrent to the pursuing Ottoman forces. This psychological attack worked, as it is claimed that the sight was so repulsive that the Ottomans, after seeing the scale of Vlad's carnage and the thousands of decaying bodies being picked apart by crows, turned back and retreated to Constantinople.         

Vlad III dining among the impaled corpses

Woodcut from the title page of a 1499 pamphlet published by Markus Ayrer in Nuremberg. It depicts Vlad III dining among the impaled corpses of his victims. Source: Wikipedia

The exact date, cause, and location of Vlad’s death is unknown, but is believed to have taken place between October and December 1476, when he disappeared in battle. It is known, however, that his head was taken to Constantinople as a trophy.  His daughter Maria was meanwhile brought to the Neapolitan court, whose ruling family was allied with her own family, where she was adopted and eventually married to a Neapolitan nobleman. 

Scholars from the University of Tallinn say they have discovered evidence that suggests the count was taken prisoner, ransomed to his daughter in Italy and then buried in a church in Naples. Evidence comes from an ancient headstone uncovered in Naple’s Piazza Santa Maria la Nova, the same graveyard where his daughter and son-in-law were buried, which is covered in images and symbols of the House of the Transylvanian ‘Carpathians’. 

“When you look at the bas-relief sculptures, the symbolism is obvious. The dragon means Dracula and the two opposing sphinxes represent the city of Thebes, also known as Tepes. In these symbols, the very name of the count Dracula Tepes is written,” said Medieval history scholar Raffaello Glinni.

Further research is needed to confirm the identity of the tomb’s occupant, but if it is indeed Vlad the Impaler, it will no doubt go down as one of the most significant historical discoveries of this year.

Featured image: Vlad Dracul. Credit: KejaBlank

By April Holloway

 

Comments

This might be true as he went to Rome to see The Pope who at that time was Catholic. He promised he would leave his religion in order to wipe out the vermin of muslim invaders if only he would give him reinforcements, an army huge as Ottoman Empire to lead it against them.The Pope refused, probably betrayed by Catholics, by boyars, by Habsurgic Empire, and now by Pope. The whole Europe was at stake with inaction of these, Vlad The Impaler knew them, better than anyone. The whole Europe will see in these days the real face of muslim mind in their society!

Although the modern translation of the Romanian word 'dracul' is 'devil', and the Romanian word for 'dragon' is 'balaur', 'devil' and 'dragon' are also cited as synonyms, so both translations can be regarded as correct. However, it's a matter of historical record that Vlad Tepes's father, Vlad II, was known as Vlad Dracul - "Vlad the Dragon" - due to his membership of the Order of the Dragon: 'Ordo Draconum' in Latin.

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That is a very wrong translation. 'Dracul' means any of these: satan, demon, devil enity from a Christian Ortodox perspective.
Dragon, on the other hand, means a huge flying (or not) lizard.
'Dracul' patronymic has nothing to do with any form of dragon lizards.

I really don't understand why this is not clear. Maybe it's only a marketing annoying thing.

UMMMM Vlad the impaler was a HERO in his country he kept the peace and the Romanians were greatful for him..... and it is known that till this day the Romanians were hoping for his return.... "Murderous" or not HE DID THE RIGHT THING TO SAVE HIS PEOPLE!

Vlad was a true hero and should be remembered for his fight against the oppressors of Eastern Europe. he used methods that were only reasonable and after all the Ottoman Empire was currently employed in barbecuing Bulgarian and Romanian babies and feeding the flesh to their own mothers yes indeed they were terrible times and it takes fire to fight fire. if only we had politicians today that shared the same dedication

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April

April Holloway is a Co-Owner, Editor and Writer of Ancient Origins. For privacy reasons, she has previously written on Ancient Origins under the pen name April Holloway, but is now choosing to use her real name, Joanna Gillan.

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