Although for centuries it was assumed that Vlad the Impaler was enthroned by Hunyadi before the great battle of Belgrade, the remaining documents from that period reveal a different scenario.
While the battle raged, Vlad was in Brasov where he was charged with defending the city against Vladislav the 2nd [ruler of Wallachia at that time – true to the sultan].
When John died, not at the hands of the Turks but because of the plague that regularly swept over Europe, Vlad the Impaler seized the opportunity and using the general confusion he crossed the Carpathians and took back his father’s throne.
In 1456, the coronation ceremony took place in the Monastery of Arges, in the presence of the major landowners.
Out of 77,000 km ², half were covered with forests – something that he used during the war.
The population was estimated at 350,000 to 400,000, organized in 17 cities and markets – the most important being: Targoviste, Arges, Campulung, Chilia, Braila, Giurgiu, Bucharest, Turnu [Magurele].
The capital was Targoviste, where Dracula was to strengthen a region now known as the tower or city of Chindia comprising: a manor that would serve as a castle, a church and a space for a market.
The great army numbered about 30,000 people [maximum].
The economy was based on the export of salt, wine, honey, wax, furs, timber, grain and fish.
The first coins included besides the dragon symbolizing the Order of the Dragon, a shooting star – identified as Halley’s comet, visible in Europe for almost a month in June of 1456.
๑۞๑ Related:๑۞๑
† Vlad the Impaler
† Count Dracula