Ruler of Wallachia, not Transylvania
Bram Stoker’s version of Tepes, Count Dracula, is a native of Transylvania. It is likely that this transportation is due to the influence of Emily Gerard’s 1885 essay, ‘Transylvania Superstitions’, on Stoker. The historical Dracula, however, was voivode of Wallachia, and a frequent enemy of Transylvania, despite being born there. Wallachia was first established as a state in the early 14th century by Basarab I, though legend attributes its foundation several decades earlier to Radu the Black. Rebel landowners were certainly operating in the Wallachia area in the late 13th century, however, which makes its origins hard to determine.
The geographical location of Wallachia placed it at the forefront of confrontations between East and West. Wallachia was historically bounded by the Black Sea, across which is Turkey, making it the obvious point of invasion for the Ottomans entering Europe. The Order of the Dragon was founded in Hungary for the very purpose of fighting the Muslim armies that invaded from the East, for these confrontations represented not merely a territorial challenge but a religious conflict. Consequently, Wallachia contained many fortresses in the uplands, and few were brave enough to live in the southern area, from fear of Ottoman invasion.
Targoviste was made the capital of Wallachia in 1385, and became an important stronghold for Vlad Dracul and his successors. Wallachia itself was chiefly populated by peasants and boyars (those of upper class or free origin), who had feudal rule over their subjects on behalf of the voivode. During times of war, the boyars would follow the ruling voivode into battle, bringing peasants who worked on their estates. In Dracul’s day, the Wallachian army numbered around 50, 000 men. The position of Wallachia on the borders of Christendom bred patriotism amongst its people, and thus a fearsome army awaited invaders.