Today's Romania was once the three grand duchies of the north, central and south in ancient times, and the Duchy of Wallachia was the southern one. When the Ottomans succeeded Byzantium as the new hegemon on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, Wallachia unfortunately bordered it, and the original enemy, the Hungarians, also felt threatened by the Ottoman Empire, so the two sides fought side by side against the Ottomans.
In 1394, the two armies fought a victorious battle and successfully resisted the Ottoman advance into Europe. However, as for the big and small battles at other times, Wallachia simply could not withstand it, losing land and population step by step. By 1417, the Grand Duke of Wallachia, who could no longer hold back, chose to submit in exchange for retaining the name of the principality, and from then on Wallachia was demoted to a principality and recognized the Ottoman Empire as its suzerainty.
Of course, during the period of rebellion is constantly emerging, the most worth mentioning is the period of Vlad the Grand Duke of Wallachia, why is it called the Grand Duke again? On the one hand, he explicitly opposed the Ottoman Empire and restored himself to the title of Grand Duchy of Wallachia; on the other hand, the figure of Vlad III was too important to Romania, and it can even be said that he was the most impressive figure in the entire history of Romania by Europe and the world.
What the? Haven't you heard of it? Don't rush to hear me. Vlad III was the title he gave after his ascension to the throne, his real name is Tepes, which means "piercing" in Romanian, please remember this name and its meaning. Tepesz was born in 1431, and at the age of five, his father Vlad II ascended the throne as Duke of Wallachia. Since Wallachia was under Ottoman rule, Tepesz and his brother were both sent to Constantinople as hostages.
Vlad II was assassinated in 1447, and with the support of the Ottomans, Tepesh returned to china to inherit the title, but was hindered by the neighboring principalities and was able to succeed to the throne as Vlad III. He proved to be an out-and-out tyrant, first killing domestic nobles who opposed him, and then publicly declaring that he would stop paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire. Is it possible to say that it is a tyrant? Of course not, the key is to see how he treats domestic opposition and the Ottoman army.
If you don't pay tribute to the Empire, you certainly don't do it, but the Ottomans didn't send troops directly, but first sent emissaries to investigate the situation and ask why you chose to rebel. Without saying a word, Vlad III crucified the Ottoman emissaries to death. What is a nail? Huge wooden stakes are buried in the earth and fixed, and on top of them are high sharpened pile heads, and the human frame is pierced from the chest or abdomen or any part. Those who are executed do not die immediately, but scream in pain on the stakes until the blood runs dry.
What is even more frightening is that Vlad III likes to sit in front of a stake and eat and drink while admiring torture, which is seen as his innate penchant for blood, and watching people bleed can bring him pleasure. This was true of the messenger, as was it with the dissenting nobles of the country, and even more so with the Ottoman soldiers he captured, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people were hung on stakes.
Remember the Romanian meaning of his name? Yes, he was called the Grand Duke of the Piercing. While the Ottomans feared his horror, the Hungarians preached Vlad III's torture, sometimes adding fuel to the fire. Later, these things slowly spread from Hungary to Western Europe, until the Irish novelist wrote a "Dracula the Vampire", and the image of Count Dracula began to spread all over the world.
Count Dracula was based on Vlad III, the "Grand Duke of The Piercing" of the Duchy of Wallachia in Romania.