Radu cel Frumos
Encyclopedia
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
name Radu Bey (1435–1475), was the younger brother of Vlad Ţepeş and voivode (prince) of the principality of Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
, of the four brothers he converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and entered Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
service. They were both sons of Vlad II Dracul
Vlad II Dracul
Vlad II , known as Vlad Dracul , was a voivode of Wallachia. He reigned from 1436 to 1442, and again from 1443 to 1447...
(Dracul : the dragon) and his wife, Princess Cneajna of Moldavia. In addition to Vlad Ţepeş, Radu also had two older half-brothers, Mircea II
Mircea II of Wallachia
Mircea II was a one time ruler of the principality of Wallachia, in the year 1442. He was the oldest son of Vlad II Dracul and brother of Vlad Ţepeş and Radu the Handsome...
and Vlad Călugărul
Vlad Calugarul
Vlad IV Călugărul, translated as Vlad the Monk, was the pious half-brother of Vlad III , and one of many rulers of Wallachia during the 15th century...
, both of whom would also briefly rule Wallachia.
Life with the Ottomans
In 1436, Vlad II Dracul ascended the throne of Wallachia. He was ousted in 1442 by rival factions in league with Hungary, but secured Ottoman support for his return by agreeing to pay tributeTribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
to the Sultan and also send his two legitimate sons, Vlad III and Radu, to the Ottoman court, to serve as hostages of his loyalty.
The boys were taken to the various garrisons at Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
. Vlad suffered much at the hands of the Ottomans and was locked up in an underground prison; however, Radu caught the eye of the sultan's son, Mehmet II. These years had a great influence on Vlad, as he was often whipped and beaten by the Turks for being stubborn and rude. He developed a well-known hatred for Radu and for Mehmet II, who would later become the sultan. Vlad was later released, corrected and taken to be educated in logic, the Quran and the Turkish and Persian language and literature. The boys' father, Vlad Dracul, with the support of the Ottomans, returned to Wallachia and took back his throne from Basarab II.
While Vlad was eventually released to take his place on the Wallachian throne after his father was killed by the Hungarian king, John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: Ioannes Corvinus or Ioannes de Hunyad, Romanian: Iancu (Ioan) de Hunedoara, Croatian: Janko Hunjadi, Serbian: Сибињанин Јанко / Sibinjanin Janko, Slovak: Ján Huňady) John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: ...
, Radu was too released but converted to Islam, and he was allowed into the Ottoman royal court. Radu later participated alongside the now sultan Mehmet II in the Ottoman siege which eventually led to the Fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
in 1453, and was since then given command of the Janissaries.
Struggles for the rule of Wallachia
In November, 1447, John HunyadiJohn Hunyadi
John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: Ioannes Corvinus or Ioannes de Hunyad, Romanian: Iancu (Ioan) de Hunedoara, Croatian: Janko Hunjadi, Serbian: Сибињанин Јанко / Sibinjanin Janko, Slovak: Ján Huňady) John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János , Medieval Latin: ...
launched an attack against Wallachia due to its being allied with the Ottomans by the treaties signed by Vlad Dracul. Radu's father fled, but Mircea II was captured by boyars from Tirgoviste and was blinded with a red hot poker before being buried alive. A short time after their father was captured and killed by the forces of John Hunyadi, Vlad III was released in 1448 and was the Ottoman Turks' candidate for the throne of Wallachia, the first of a succession of times he would hold the throne, this first time for only a matter of months.
Radu, at the age of 22, became a leading figure at the Ottoman court. He was sent by Mehmed to suppress the rebellion and subdue Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and the border with Persia. He became a successful Janissary
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
commander in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. He also served during the Battle of Otlukbeli
Battle of Otlukbeli
The Battle of Otlukbeli or Otluk Beli was a battle between Ak Koyunlu and the Ottoman Empire that was fought on August 11, 1473.- Reasons for the conflict :...
against Uzun Hasan.
Radu's brother Vlad III later went on to take the throne from Vladislav II in 1456 and began his reign of terror for which he would become best known following this period. Like his older brother Mircea II, Vlad Ţepeş was an able military commander and now found himself opposing the Ottomans. He fought against them for a number of years. The Ottomans feared him for his brutal tactics.
However, in 1462 a massive Ottoman army marched against Wallachia, with Radu at the head of the Janissary
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
. Vlad retreated to Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. During his departure, he practiced a scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
policy, leaving nothing of importance to be used by the pursuing Ottoman army. When the Ottoman forces approached Tirgoviste, they encountered over 20,000 of their kind impaled
Impalement
Impalement is the traumatic penetration of an organism by an elongated foreign object such as a stake, pole, or spear, and this usually implies complete perforation of the central mass of the impaled body...
by the forces of Vlad III, creating a "forest" of dead or dying bodies on stakes. This atrocious, gut-wrenching sight was too much even for them to bear and frightened them into retreating.
Vlad waged a guerrilla campaign against the Ottoman forces commanded by the Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
Mahmed-Pasha in May, 1462, pursuing them in their retreat as far as the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. On June 16 and 17, he again defeats a sizable Ottoman force in what has become known as The Night Attack
The Night Attack
The Night Attack of Târgovişte was a skirmish fought between forces of Vlad III the Impaler of Wallachia and Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire on Thursday, June 17, 1462. The conflict initially started with Vlad's refusal to pay the Jizya to the Sultan and intensified when Vlad Ţepeş invaded...
, which resulted in heavy casualties to the Ottoman army, as well as logistical losses.
Radu cel Frumos and his Janissary
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
battalion was given the responsibility of repelling his brothers deadly raids after the Sipahi
Sipahi
Sipahi was the name of several Ottoman cavalry corps...
s failed to subdue Vlad. Radu was now given the task of leading the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
to victory. He was positioned north of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, after most of the demoralized Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
withdrew. There the brothers, known in Turkish as the Blood Brothers, fought lingering battles. Radu and his Janissary
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
blended into the hinterlands well supplied with gunpowder and a continuous flow of Dinar
Dinar
The dinar is the official currency of several countries.The history of the dinar dates to the gold dinar, an early Islamic coin corresponding to the Byzantine denarius auri...
s. Radu had soon gained control of much of the country side.
Meanwhile, his brother Vlad III, due to his harsh policies towards the Boyars (who's power struggles he blamed for the state of the realm) abandoned him. Vlad III traveled to Hungary to ask for help from his former ally, Matthias Corvinus. But instead of receiving help he found himself arrested and thrown into the dungeon over false charges of high treason.
After the victorious campaign north of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
the Ottomans placed the young Radu (then 26 years of age) as the pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
of Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
, during his brief reign order was restored in Romania and Ottoman Sipahi's ained a strong foothold in the south of the country. Radu ruled from 1462 until 1473, soon after the Janissary under his command began attacks and raids on Vlad III's mountain stronghold on the Arges River
Arges River
Argeș is a river of Southern Romania. It starts at the junction of headwaters Buda and Capra in the Făgăraș Mountains, in the Southern Carpathians and flows into the Danube at Oltenița.The main city on the Argeş is Piteşti...
, Poenari
Poenari
Poenari may refer to several places in Romania:* Poenari, a village in Ulmi Commune, Giurgiu County* Poenari, a district in the city of Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County* Poenari Castle, Vlad III the Impaler's castle...
. In 1473, according to a treaty with the Ottomans Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân
Basarab Laiota cel Batrân
Basarab III cel Bătrân , also known as Laiotă Basarab or Basarab Laiotă was domnitor of the principality of Wallachia in the 1470s, repeating the achievement of his father Dan II in being elected by the boyars as Prince on five different occasions. Moreover, he succeeded the same domnitor on four...
(Basarab Laiotă the Old) took over the throne. Radu's sudden death at the age of 40 in the year 1475 caused the return of his brother Vlad III Dracula.
Popular culture
- It is revealed in "Karl Vincent: Vampire Hunter" comic books issue number two that Sebastian Vasilis is actually Radu Cel Fromos. He changed his name after being resurrected in 1825 to escape the shadow of his older brother, Vlad Tepes, Dracula. "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" is available on Indyplanet and Comicsmonkey.
- Radu appears as a character in the Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
audio drama Son of the Dragon, played by Douglas HodgeDouglas HodgeDouglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Hodge is a council member of the National Youth Theatre for whom, in 1989, he co-wrote Pacha Mama's Blessing about the Amazon rain forests staged at the Almeida...
. - Radu appears as a character in the film Dark Prince: The True Story of DraculaDark Prince: The True Story of DraculaDark Prince: The True Story of Dracula is a horror-war television film, which premiered in the United States on the USA Network on Halloween, October 31, 2000...
, played by Michael SuttonMichael SuttonMichael Sutton is an American actor who is best known for playing the HIV-positive teenager and AIDS victim Stone Cates on the daytime serial General Hospital. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1996 for that role. Mr...
. - Radu features in the first novel of the "Cassandra Palmer" series by Karen ChanceKaren ChanceKaren Chance is an urban fantasy novelist. She grew up in Orlando, Florida. She has lived in France, Great Britain, Hong Kong and New Orleans, where she has taught history...
and the first novel of the 'Dorina Basarab' series, as a slightly effeminate young man. - Radu is also present as a vampire in the European comicbook I Am LegionI Am LegionI Am Legion is French comic book series written by Fabien Nury, drawn by John Cassaday and published by Les Humanoïdes Associés, then in English by Humanoids Publishing/DC Comics and later by Humanoids/Devil's Due Productions.-Publication history:The series was originally published by Les...
.