Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
land and tax incentives. He also granted the Székelys - a Hungarian ethnic group who had
earlier migrated to the region with the Magyars - autonomy in return for their military
support.
In the 14th century, Prince Basarab I (r
1310-52) united various political formations in
the region south of the Carpathians to create
the first Romanian principality - Wallachia,
dubbed Ţara Românească (Romanian Land).
Its indigenous peasantry became known as
Vlachs. Peasants dominated the populations of
these medieval principalities. In Wallachia and Moldavia peasants were subjugated as
serfs to the landed aristocracy (Boyars), a hereditary class. There were some free land-
owning peasants
(moşneni)
too. The two principalities were ruled by a prince who was
also the military leader. Most noblemen were Hungarian; the peasants were Romanians.
After a 1437 peasant uprising in Transylvania, Magyar nobles formed a political alliance
with the Székely and Saxon leaders.
The name 'Romania' supposedly comes from Ro-
manus (Latin for 'Roman') but others argue it's
also from
rumân
(dependent peasant).
WALLACHIA UNDER VLAD THE IMPALER
If you were a Boyar (nobleman), Saxon merchant, unchaste woman or Turk during the time of Vlad Ţepeş (r
1448, 1456-1462 and 1476), your life was in the balance. Throughout his reign Vlad finessed his torture methods
- which included flaying, strangulation, burning, blinding and amputation - to a frightening degree. Legend has it,
that as a test of respect to him, a gold cup could be placed in any town square; and while anyone could drink
freely of its contents, the cup had to remain. Not surprisingly, it never strayed.
In 1462 the famous 'Forest of the Impaled' incident occurred, which immortalised Vlad's infamy in history
books. In a daring bid to drive out Turkish invaders from the Danube River valley, Vlad burnt the crops and
poisoned the wells, while his soldiers, disguised as Turks, sneaked into their camp to surprise them. To add gore
to injury, when the Turkish sultan marched on Ţepeş' city, Târgovişte, he discovered 20,000 of his men impaled
outside the city walls in a forest of flesh. The wooden stakes were driven through the victims' anuses, emerging
from the body just below the shoulder, in such a way as not to pierce any vital organs. This ensured at least 48
hours of unimaginable suffering before death.
Tellingly, it transpires that many of Vlad's youthful years were spent in a Turkish prison, where he was al-
legedly raped by members of the Turkish court. Revenge? For an individual soaked in others' blood, it seems fit-
ting he himself was beheaded in 1462, his head preserved in honey and taken to the sultan in Constantinople.
