Vlad The Impaler and the Bulgarian War of 1461 - 1462.

Introduction.

It is 1461. With his northern border with Transylvania now secure, and the trade war with Brasov over, Vlad Dracula turned his attention to the Ottoman question. What would a war with the Sultan look like, how could a small principality like Wallachia take on the giant Turkish war machine with any chance of success.

Vlad III Dracula

Vlad and his brother Radu had grown up in the court of the Ottoman Sultan Murad II. They had been handed over by their father Vlad Dracul as hostages to make sure he stayed loyal to the Sultan. 

Both boys knew Murad's son Mehmed, they played, trained and were educated together. It was Mehmed as Sultan who put Vlad on the throne of Wallachia after the murders of his father and older brother Micrea in 1448.

 Even though this reign only lasted a couple of months he was only in this position due to his friendship with Mehmed.

Because of this time he spent with the Ottomans, and in particular Mehmed II, he knew how they thought and also how they fought. 

It was obvious that Vlad did not enjoy his six years with the Turks, he finally gained the throne properly in 1456 with Hungarian support. In 1460 a treaty was drawn up with the Turks restricting their entry into Wallachia, and any Wallachian adopting Islam would have to revert to Christianity when crossing back over the border, he had already stopped the yearly tribute payment to the Sultan in 1458. 

Sultan Mehmed II

This frustrated Mehmed, he ordered Vlad to come to Constantinople and pay homage to him, Vlad refused saying that his throne was at risk if he was to stay away from it for any length of time.

Part of the 1460 treaty was for the Turkish envoy to travel north from Giurgiu to Târgoviște to receive the tribute, when, in 1461, the tribute was still not forthcoming three envoys were sent to Dracula's court. 

While these envoys were in Vlad's presence he asked why they did him the dishonour of not removing their turbans, they remarked that they could only bare their heads in front of God, this, of course he knew all too well. 

Flying into a rage he executed his plan, the envoys were seized and their turbans were nailed to their heads, the message to Mehmed was loud and clear. 

Invasion.

Over the winter relations soured even further, Sultan Mehmed II sent his chief envoy Admiral Hamza Bey and Byzantine Turkophile Thomas Katabolenos with approximately 1,500 soldiers to Giurgiu on the Danube. Giurgiu was a border fortress built by Vlad's grandfather Mircea Cel Batran (The Old), it had been conquered by the Ottomans in 1419.

The Unfortunate Turkish Envoys.

Hamza Bey's mission was, on the face of it, a diplomatic entreaty to persuade Vlad to pay homage to Mehmed and smooth over their differences, in reality their mission was to capture the Impaler and take him to Constantinople in chains. Vlad found out their true purpose and came up with a plan that would shake the Ottoman empire to its core.

A meeting was arranged between Dracula and the Turkish envoy near Giurgiu, knowing this to be an ambush Dracula turned the tables, the Turkish force was decimated in a surprise attack, Hamza Bey and Thomas Katabolenos were captured along with many soldiers.

Chindia Tower, Targoviste.

They were taken as prisoners to Targoviste, there they were all impaled, Hamza Bey was impaled on a taller stake as became his exalted position as chief envoy. Meanwhile Vlad and his men had taken the uniforms and clothes of the Ottoman soldiers and rode for Giurgiu.

At the gates Vlad used his experience at the Ottoman court to trick the guards into thinking they were talking to an Ottoman officer and his men returning from the Hamza Bey expedition, they opened the gates and the garrison was slaughtered in a short sharp battle.

Through the January and February of 1462 in the freezing cold temperatures on the south side of the Danube Vlad's army went on the rampage. Splitting into smaller groups of raiders they spread terror across approximately 800 kilometres of Ottoman held territory. 

Singling out Ottoman settlements and garrisons the army laid waist to town after town, burning, mutilating and impaling all they could capture and recording their gruesome death tolls to specially appointed officials.

They raided the southern bank of the Danube from Giurgiu to Nicopolis, and laid siege to the fortress of Zishtova. They destroyed potential crossing points for any Ottoman army in pursuit, many Christian Bulgarians were given sanctuary in Wallachia while all Ottoman sympathisers and soldiers were impaled.

Soon the Wallachian army was back on home ground and preparations were made for the inevitable Ottoman attack. Vlad Dracula was very satisfied with his campaign, he had struck a blow for Christianity against the dreaded Ottomans, surely this must show the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus and the Kings and Emperors of Europe that the long awaited and Papal financed crusade had finally begun.

King Matthias Corvinus

A letter sent to King Matthias from Dracula, dated the 11th February 1462 states;

"At Giurgiu the Turks opened the gates at the shouts from our men, thinking that only their men would get inside, but ours, mixing together with them, entered and conquered the fortress, which we burned down. 

..... and we killed the men and women, old and young, who lived from Oblucita to Novoselo, where the Danube flows into the sea, to Rahova, which is near Chilia, down to the villages of Samovit and Ghigen, 23,884 Turks and Bulgarians in all, not including those who were burned in their houses and those whose heads were not presented to our officials."

Next Dracula lists the death toll for each place visited by his Wallachian host;

"First, in the places called Oblucita and Novoselo there were killed 1,350 and 6,840 at Darstor, Cartal and Dridopotrom; likewise, 343 at Orsova and 840 were killed at Vectrem; 630 were killed at Turtucaia; likewise, 210 were killed at Marotin; 6,414 were killed at Giurgiu on both sides of the river, and the fortress taken.

An Artists Impression Of Guirgui

The commander of the fortress was killed and Hamza Beg was captured, the commander of Nicopolis was captured and beheaded and most of the Turks there were killed with him.

Likewise, 384 were killed at Turnu, Batin and Novigrad; at Shistov and in two other villages near it 410 were killed, the crossing point at Nicopolis was burned and completely destroyed, the same at Samnovit; and at Ghighen 1,138 were killed; at Rahova 1,460 were killed, and the crossing point destroyed.

All the above places where there were crossing points, they were burned and destroyed, the people, men, women, and children, and babies were killed, and in all these places nothing remained. And in the above are included only those whose heads or signs were brought to our officials who were everywhere, but those who were not presented to them, or who were burned in their houses, could not be counted, because there were so many."

Sultan Mehmed II the conqueror of Constantinople in 1453 had set his eye on an invasion of Italy, the Papal States had grave concerns and by 1462 they were convinced an invasion was imminent. Money was pouring into the war coffers of King Matthias II, the black army of Hungary was one of the most up to date forces in the world at that time. 

Now that the Sultan had been distracted by Vlad Dracula the Italians could breathe a little easier, this would be the optimum time for a crusade, Dracula was depending on it, the Ottoman war machine now had its sights on Wallachia.

Postscript.

In 2019 an archeological dig at Zishtova Fortress in Svishtov, Bulgaria uncovered several cannon balls dated to the siege in 1462, these balls were fired from small culverine cannons that typically saw service in the 15th century.