Radu cel Frumos

Radu cel Frumos
Voivode of Wallachia, Beylerbeyi and Pasha of Wallachia
Born 1437 or 1439
Died 1475
Spouse Maria Despina
Issue Maria Voichiţa
House Drăculeşti
Father Vlad II Dracul
Mother Cneajna of Moldavia
Religion Orthodox Christianity, Islam

Radu III the Fair, Radu III the Handsome or Radu III the Beautiful (Romanian: Radu cel Frumos), also known by his Turkish name Radu Bey (1437-1439—1475), was the younger brother of Vlad Țepeș and voivode (prince) of the principality of Wallachia. They were both sons of Vlad II Dracul and his wife, Princess Cneajna of Moldavia. In addition to Vlad Țepeș, Radu also had two older siblings, Mircea II and Vlad Călugărul, both of whom would also briefly rule Wallachia.[1]

Life with the Ottomans

An artistic depiction of Radu from the 19th century.

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 tribute 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. Radu became an intimate friend and a favorite of the sultan's son, Mehmet II. According to Latin translation of Byzantine chronicles Radu was Sultan’s lover and male concubine,[2] and possibly, due to good looks and the amorous affairs with the sultan, Radu received a nickname "cel frumos" (the Beautiful). Their dangerously passionate relationships were described by a Greek chronicler Laonikos Chalkokondyles, who emphasized that the sultan 'nearly died at the boy's hands' when he tried to force himself upon the young prince. As the records report, the young Emperor (Mehmed) - wanting to have relations with the prince - called him to feasts and in one instance, passionately offering him a glass, he called him to the bedchamber. When the boy, not suspecting anything from the other came, the Emperor rushed to him; Radu resisted, not submitting to Mehmed's desire, and then the latter "kissed the boy against his will". Frightened, Radu then pulled out a dagger and cut Mehmed's thigh and ran away. It is further narrated, that while physicians took care of Mehmed's wound, the young boy climbed up a tree where he stayed hidden until the sultan left; he later descended from the tree and not long afterwards became the Emperor’s favorite.[3] Chalkokondyles adds that the sultan along with people of his nation had the custom of using favorite boys, and with such as Radu Mehmed "spends day and night together".[4] In the beginning of the chronicle it was noted that the incident happened when Mehmed came to the throne and had to go against the state of Caraman in 1451.[5]

While Vlad, probably on the other hand developed the dislike for Radu and for Mehmet II, who would later become the sultan. Vlad and Radu were later 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.[6]

While Vlad was eventually released to take his place on the Wallachian throne in 1448 after his father was killed by John Hunyadi, Radu converted to Islam and was allowed into the Ottoman imperial court. Radu later participated alongside Mehmet II, now Sultan, in the Ottoman siege which eventually led to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Radu was allowed to live in the newly built Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.

Personal life

Radu cel Frumos was a well-educated ruler who sought to advance the position of his countrymen within the Ottoman Empire. His converting to Islam is yet unattested and disputed, taking in account both facts: his entering in Ottoman service, and the large number of letters he wrote referring to himself as 'Christ-loving' and 'right-faithful'. According to the Serbian Janissary Konstantin Mihailović Radu was a commander of the Janissary; in the campaign against his brother Vlad Tepes, Radu was at the head of 4000 horsemen.[7] He is believed to have taken part in the operations that combined to be known as the Fall of Constantinople.

His wife was Maria Despina, considered to be a Serb or Albanian princess.[8] His daughter was Maria Voichita, who later married Prince Stephen III of Moldavia.

Struggles for the rule of Wallachia

Writ issued on 14 October 1465 by Radu cel Frumos, from his residence in Bucharest

In November, 1447, John Hunyadi launched an attack against Wallachia due to its alliance with the Ottomans by the treaties signed by Vlad Dracul and his duplicity in Varna Campaign (1444). Radu's father fled, but Mircea II was captured by boyars from Târgoviște 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 and the border with Persia. He became a successful Janissary commander in the Ottoman Empire. He also served during the Battle of Otlukbeli against Uzun Hassan.

Radu's brother Vlad III later went on to take the throne from Vladislav II in 1456 and began his second reign for which he was to become famous. Like his older brother Mircea II, Vlad Țepeș was an able military commander and now found himself opposing the Ottomans.

However, in 1462 a massive Ottoman army marched against Wallachia, with Radu at the head of the Janissary. Vlad retreated to Transylvania. During his departure, he practised a scorched earth 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 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 therefore they returned to Ottoman forces to regroup.

Vlad waged a guerrilla campaign against the Ottoman forces commanded by the Grand Vizier Mahmud Pasha in May 1462, pursuing them in their retreat as far as the Danube. On June 16 and 17, he again defeated a sizeable Ottoman force in what has become known as The Night Attack, which resulted in heavy casualties to the Ottoman army, as well as logistical losses.

Radu cel Frumos and his Janissary battalions were given the responsibility of repelling his brother's deadly raids after the Sipahis failed to subdue Vlad.[9] Radu was now given the task of leading the Ottoman Empire to victory. He was positioned north of the Danube, after most of the demoralized Ottoman Turks withdrew. There the brothers, known in Turkish as the Blood Brothers, fought lingering battles. Radu and his Janissary blended into the hinterlands well supplied with gunpowder and a continuous flow of Dinars. Radu had soon gained control of much of the country side.

Radu chased Vlad to his castle north of Curtea de Argeș and, finally, out of the Romania itself, which was incorporated under Ottoman control. Taking advantage of their fortune the Ottomans strengthened their commercial presence in the Danube against any Hungarian influence and intervention in the region.[10]

Meanwhile, his brother Vlad III, due to his harsh policies towards the boyars (whose power struggles he blamed for the state of the realm), was betrayed by them. 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 treason.

After the victorious campaign north of the Danube the Ottomans placed the young Radu (then 26 years of age) as the pasha of Wallachia. Soon after, the Janissary under his command began attacks and raids on Vlad III's mountain stronghold on the Argeș River, Poenari Castle. During his reign the Ottoman Sipahi's gained a strong foothold in the south of the country. In 1473, following an agreement with the Ottomans, Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân (Basarab Laiotă the Old) took over the throne. Between 1473 and 1475 Radu briefly returned twice to the throne.

Death

His sudden death in 1475 triggered the comeback of his brother, Vlad III.

Fictionalized versions

See also

References

  1. ↑ Florescu, Radu R. and McNally, Raymond T. (1989). Dracula: Prince of many faces. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-28656-7
  2. ↑ Laonicus Chalkondyles Joannes Oporinus, Conrado Clausero 1556,"De origine et rebus gestis Turcorum." "...regis eius concubinus factus est.p.158"
  3. ↑ Laonicus Chalcocondylus, Historiarum Libri X. 499
  4. ↑ Laonicus Chalkondyles, Conrado Clausero 1556:"De origine et rebus gestis Turcorum" p.158
  5. ↑ Tursun Beg, Tārīh. Historians of the Ottoman Empire. C. Kafadar H. Karate (Meḥmed II’s ascension to the throne in 855/1451. Meḥmed II’s campaign to Qaraman; 855/1451.)
  6. ↑ The Traveler: Ibn Battuta, Saudi Aramco World
  7. ↑ "Iar fratele lui mergea inaintea noastra" ("Călători străini despre Tările Române" Nicolae Iorga. p. 127, 128)
  8. ↑ George Marcu (coord.), Enciclopedia personalităţilor feminine din România, Editura Meronia, Bucureşti, 2012
  9. ↑ Where Thy Dark Eye Glances: Queering Edgar Allan Poe, p. 114, at Google Books
  10. ↑ An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire, p. 290, at Google Books
  11. ↑ "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter official site". Retrieved 11 March 2013.
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Vlad the Impaler		 Prince of Wallachia
1462–1473 		Succeeded by
Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân
Preceded by
Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân		 Prince of Wallachia
1473–1474
Prince of Wallachia
1474
Prince of Wallachia
1474–1475
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