Vlad Dracul: Military governor of Transylvania, vaivode of Wallachia, father of Lada and Radu, father of Mircea, husband of Vasilissa Vasilissa: Mother of Lada and Radu, princess of Moldova Mircea: Oldest son of Vlad Dracul and his first, deceased wife Lada: Daughter and second legitimate child of Vlad Dracul Radu: Son and third legitimate child of Vlad Dracul Vlad: Illegitimate son of Vlad Dracul with a mistress Alexandru: Brother of Vlad Dracul, vaivode of Wallachia
Wallachian Court and Countryside Figures
Nurse: Mother of Bogdan, caretaker of Lada and Radu Bogdan: Son of the nurse, friend of Lada
Andrei: Boyar child from rival Danesti family Aron: Boyar child from rival Danesti family Costin: A boy without shoes at the frozen river Danesti family: Rival family for the Wallachian throne Lazar: A Janissary soldier serving in Wallachia, friend of Radu
Edirne Court Figures
Murad: Ottoman sultan, father of Mehmed
Halima: One of Murad’s wives, mother of the infant Ahmet Ahmet: Mehmed’s infant half brother
Mara Brankovic: One of Murad’s wives, the daughter of the Serbian king Huma: One of of Murad’s concubines, the mother of Mehmed Mehmed: The third and least favorite son of the sultan Sitti Hatun: Daughter of an important emir, Mehmed’s first wife Gulsa: Mehmed’s concubine, the mother of his second son Beyazit: Mehmed’s firstborn son
Molla Gurani: Mehmed’s tutor
Halil Pasha: An important advisor in the Ottoman court Salih: The second son of Halil Pasha, friend of Radu Kumal: Devout vali of a small area outside of Edirne Nazira: Kumal’s youngest sister
Fatima: Nazira’s maid
Amal: A young servant in the palace
Military Figures in the Ottoman Empire
Ilyas: A Janissary commander
Kazanci Dogan: Military leader of the Janissaries Ivan: A Janissary with a nasty disposition Matei: An experienced Wallachian Janissary Nicolae: A Wallachian Janissary and Lada’s closest friend Petru: A young Wallachian Janissary
Stefan: A mysterious Wallachian Janissary
Tohin: A gunpowder expert
Political Figures in Opposition to the Sultan
Constantine: The emperor of Constantinople Orhan: A false heir to the Ottoman throne, used by Constantinople as leverage Skanderberg: Iskander Bey, also known as Skanderberg, a former Janissary and favorite of Murad, now holding the Albanian city of Kruje against the Ottomans
bey: A governor
beylerbey: Governors of the largest and most important provinces boyars: Wallachian nobility
concubine: A woman who belongs to the sultan and is not a legal wife but could produce legal heirs dervish: Religious ascetics (mostly from the Sufi branch of Islam) who take vows of poverty dracul: Dragon, also devil, as the terms were interchangeable emir: A leader of the Turkmen tribes, Ottoman allies to the east eunuch: A man who has been castrated, highly valued as a servant and a prestigious slave hajj: Religious pilgrimage taken to Mecca as one of the Five Pillars of Islam harem: A group of women, consisting of wives, concubines, and servants, that belongs to the sultan Janissary: A member of an elite force of military professionals, taken as boys from other countries, converted to Islam, educated, and trained to be loyal to the sultan Order of the Dragon: Order of Crusaders anointed by the pope pasha: A noble in the Ottoman Empire, appointed by the sultan pashazada: A son of a pasha spahi: Military commander in charge of local Ottoman soldiers called up during wars vaivode: Warlord prince of Wallachia
vali: A local governor, appointed by the sultan
valide sultan: The mother of the sultan
vassal state: Country allowed to retain rulership but subject to the Ottoman Empire, with taxes of both money and slaves for the army vilayet: Small area of land governed by a vali
vizier: A high ranking noble, usually adviser to the sultan Wallachia: Vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, bordered by Transylvania, Hungary, and Moldavia
While the book is based on actual historical figures, I have taken massive liberties, filling in gaps, creating characters and events, shifting time lines, and most particularly, changing Vlad the Impaler to Lada the Impaler.
Any book based in history is a vast and ultimately impossible undertaking. Because history is written by the victors—and those who are quite unhappy with those victors—major figures tend to be canonized or demonized in the records that make it through to our day.
Vlad the Impaler was a national hero, a freedom fighter, a brilliant military mind. Or he was a deeply disturbed psychopath, a vicious despot who murdered tens of thousands and literally sustained himself on their flesh.