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Radu cel Frumos (or Radu the Handsome), (c. 1437/1439 – 1475), was the younger brother of Vlad Tepes (Dracula) and voivode (prince) of the principality of Wallachia. 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. He was the father of Mircea II, Vlad Calugarul, Vlad Tepes, and Radu cel Frumos....
 (Dracul : the dragon or devil), but by different mothers. They had two older 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 III Dracula and Radu cel Frumos....
 and Vlad Calugarul
Vlad Calugarul

Vlad IV. Calugarul, translated as Vlad the Monk, was the Piety half-brother of Vlad III , and one of many rulers of Wallachia during the 15th century....
, both of whom would also rule Wallachia for a short period.

Life with the Ottomans
In 1444 Radu went with his father and elder brother Vlad Tepes to visit the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
 Sultan Murad in Adrianople
Edirne

Edirne is a city in Thrace, the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. It is the capital of Edirne Province and its estimated population in 2002 was 128,400, up from 119,298 in 2000....
, where they were kept as hostages as a part of a treaty
Treaty

A Treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. A Treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc....
 signed by their father, while Mircea II ruled the kingdom in their absence.






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Radu cel Frumos (or Radu the Handsome), (c. 1437/1439 – 1475), was the younger brother of Vlad Tepes (Dracula) and voivode (prince) of the principality of Wallachia. 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. He was the father of Mircea II, Vlad Calugarul, Vlad Tepes, and Radu cel Frumos....
 (Dracul : the dragon or devil), but by different mothers. They had two older 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 III Dracula and Radu cel Frumos....
 and Vlad Calugarul
Vlad Calugarul

Vlad IV. Calugarul, translated as Vlad the Monk, was the Piety half-brother of Vlad III , and one of many rulers of Wallachia during the 15th century....
, both of whom would also rule Wallachia for a short period.

Life with the Ottomans


In 1444 Radu went with his father and elder brother Vlad Tepes to visit the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
 Sultan Murad in Adrianople
Edirne

Edirne is a city in Thrace, the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. It is the capital of Edirne Province and its estimated population in 2002 was 128,400, up from 119,298 in 2000....
, where they were kept as hostages as a part of a treaty
Treaty

A Treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. A Treaty may also be known as: agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, exchange of letters, etc....
 signed by their father, while Mircea II ruled the kingdom in their absence. However, when Hungarian hero John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi

John Hunyadi , nicknamed the White Knight, was a Rulers of Transylvania of Transylvania , captain-general and regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, with a distinguished military career....
 defeated the Ottomans in battle, he replaced Mircea II and his father with Basarab II
Basarab II

Basarab II was a ruler of the principality of Wallachia, , and the son of former Wallachian ruler Dan II of Wallachia. Basarab II ruled during a turbulent time in Wallachia, now part of present day Romania, with his rule falling between that of the father and son rule of Vlad Dracul and Mircea II of Wallachia....
, son to Dan II of Wallachia
Dan II of Wallachia

Dan II was a voivode of the principality of Wallachia in the 15th Century, ruling an extraordinary five times, and succeeded four times by Radu II Chelul, his rival for the throne....
.

The boys were taken to be held in the fortress at Egrigoz, but were not actually confined in a cell. However, it was still a delicate and potentially dangerous situation. Three years earlier, the sons of Serbia
Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country in Central Europe and Balkans Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkans....
n noble Šurad Brankovic had their eyes burned out for being suspected of plotting an escape. The two brothers were later taken to be educated in logic, the Qur'an
Qur'an

The Qur?an is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur?an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God....
 and the Turkish language. They were also trained in warfare
Warfare

Warfare refers to the conduct of conflict between opponents, and usually involves escalation of aggression from the proverbial "war of words" between politics and diplomacy to full-scale War, waged until one side accepts defeat or peace terms are agreed on....
 and riding horses. The boys father, Vlad Dracul, was released quickly, in 1443, and with the support of the Ottomans he returned to Wallachia and took back his throne from Basarab II.

Struggles for the rule of Wallachia


Radu's older brother Mircea II, a capable military commander, had recaptured the fortress at Giurgiu
Giurgiu

Giurgiu is the capital city of Giurgiu County, Romania, in the Greater Wallachia. It is situated amid mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Rousse on the opposite bank....
 in 1445, having the Ottoman prisoners executed by hacking them to death. Vlad Dracul did not take part in this campaign against the Ottomans so that he might retain the throne, but he was aware of it and had allowed his son Mircea II to lead the Wallachian forces. Later, Vlad Dracul had to sign yet another treaty with the Ottomans in which he had to return the fortress to the Ottomans in an effort to continue his rule as well as keep his captive sons safe.

In November, 1447, John Hunyadi 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 had his eyes burned out and was buried alive. A short time after their father was captured and killed. Vlad Tepes was released in 1448, and was the Turks' candidate for the throne of Wallachia, the first of a succession of times he would hold the throne, holding it this first time for only a matter of months. Radu, however, fell to the seductions of the Ottoman court, and remained with the Turks for the moment, apparently of his own volition, and willingly converted to Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
.

Radu's brother Vlad Tepes 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 Tepes was an able military commander, and now found himself opposing the Ottomans, but fought successfully against them for a number of years. This was due in part to the fact that the Ottomans feared him due to his brutal tactics. However, in 1462 a massive Ottoman army marched against Wallachia, and Vlad Tepes fled to Transylvania
Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountains, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical regions of Crisana, Maramures, and Banat....
. 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, it was said that thousands of men and women were found to have been impaled along the roadside.

Vlad then went into a guerilla campaign mode, destroying an Ottoman force commanded by Great Vizier
Vizier

A Vizier , is a term for a high-ranking political advisor or minister, often to a Muslim monarch such as a Caliph, or Sultan. It sometimes refers to ministers and advisors of the Persian Empire's Shahs....
 Mahmed-Pasha in May, 1462, pursuing them in their retreat as far as the Danube
Danube

The Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg River rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance...
. On June 16th and 17th, he again defeats a sizeable Ottoman force in what has become known as The Night Attack
The Night Attack

The Night Attack was a skirmish fought between forces of Vlad III the Impaler of Wallachia and Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire on June 17, 1462....
, which resulted in heavy casualties to the Ottoman army, as well as logistical losses. Until this time, Radu, by then 26 years of age, had been living in relative comfort in the Ottoman court.

The Ottomans placed Radu on the throne, and Vlad Tepes, with whom Radu was now an enemy, soon after began successful guerilla attacks against Radu's armies, launched from Vlad's mountain stronghold
Stronghold

A stronghold is a strongly fortified defensive structure.The history of fortified buildings extends from antiquity to modern times.From Celtic Europe, an example of a stronghold is the Hill fort, a large structure, with walls made of wooden stakes, and built on a steep hill....
 on the Arges River
Arges River

Arges is a river of Southern Romania. It starts at the junction of headwater Buda River and Capra River in the Fagaras Mountains, in the Southern Carpathians and flows into the Danube at Oltenita....
. Radu ruled from 1462 until 1473, with little to show for his reign. In 1473, Basarab Laiota cel Batrān
Basarab Laiota cel Batrān

Basarab Laiota cel Batr?n was a ruler of the principality of Wallachia in the 15th century, repeating the achievement of Dan II of Wallachia in being elected by the boyars as List of Wallachian rulers on five different occasions....
 (Basarab Laiota the Old) took over the throne for a year; in the same year Radu regained the throne and retained it until the following year. During the course of 1474 Radu was Prince three times, and Basarab twice; by the end of that year Radu was Prince once more, and remained so until the following year when he died of syphillis, and was naturally succeeded by Basarab. Vlad Tepes would take the throne one last time, for a period of only a month, in 1476. Radu left a daughter, Maria Voichita, who afterwards became the wife of Stephen III of Moldavia
Stephen III of Moldavia

Stephen III of Moldavia or Stephen III , also known as Stephen the Great was List of Moldavian rulers of Principality of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Musat....
.

Popular Culture

  • Radu features in the game Legendary Warriors, as the primary villain. He is portrayed as his brother Vlad's ultimate rival,and most hated adversary. He is shown to be young and headstrong, yet arrogant and proud, listening to nobody. He wields a pair of spears.
  • Radu appears as a character in the Doctor Who
    Doctor Who

    Doctor Who is a British Science fiction on television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien Time travel known as "Doctor " who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box....
     audio drama Son of the Dragon, played by Douglas Hodge
    Douglas Hodge

    Douglas Hodge is a United Kingdom actor, director, and musician who trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art .He 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 Theatre....
    .
  • Radu appears as a character in the film Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula
    Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula

    Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula is a film made in 2000. It is about Vlad III the Impaler, the historical figure who gave Bram Stoker's Dracula his name....
  • Radu features in the first novel of the "Cassandra Palmer" series by Karen Chance and the first novel of the 'Dorina Basarab' series, as a slightly effeminate young man.
  • A vampire character named Radu appears in the anime series Trinity Blood
    Trinity Blood

    is a series of Japanese light novels written by Sunao Yoshida with illustrations by Thores Shibamoto and originally serialized in The Sneaker. Set 900 years after an apocalyptic war between humans and vampires, the series focuses on the on-going cold war between the Vatican and the Empire....



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