[pennypincher]

Oh Geeze! I forgot that i was discussing something on here:
I find it hard to belive that you've mistaken the "methods {that} were typical for his period" for anything short of barbaric and inhumane. These people did rule by fear, and the Romans were often very little different.. At least at first. People often turned their understanding around when they started getting roads, hopsitals and education.
At an amazingly young age, Vlad was tourturing and killing invaders and traitors alike. At the time, no doubt, this was a thing of beauty, but it makes me blink to think that there are people on her trying to convince us of the fact that being slid down a wooden pole alive by a 10 year old is anything short of brutal and bloodthirsty and a tactic to enspire fear in your enemies. Lord knows -I- don't mess with 10 year olds that can order that done to me... And DO!
Nor would this be the first instance of violence for the sake of what was right in a manner so desperatly vile that it became almost as bad as the crime it was meant to be stopping. I'm sure the Spanish Inquisition springs to a lot of peoples minds, and the witch burnings... Sure, you might belive that Witches turned your cows milk sour, but burning a person alive is twisted!
As far as claims of leraning of poisioning attempts and such, well, suffice to say that history is written by the victors, and if a person regularly impales, burns or slaughters people, you just write what your damm well told. Still it might have been true... If it wasn't a case of paranoia over comming him, which was as popular as inbreeding in the old royal familes.. Thou maybe not so much in the Romanian familes, dont know much about that.
I know where Transilvania is, thanks all the same, I was helping people get an understanding about areas I meant. I know many of the Rom families have coped a lot of unfair slack, and I KNOW the Rom people have also been lumped with a lot of sterotypes (theives, gypsys, con artists) and thats mostly thanks to bad mouthing by surrounding areas and, sadly, TV who just LOVES to have a family of "cunning wandering Rom theives" wander into town.. Thank you Mr Television. However that doesn't change the fact that local lords of many disperate lands and kingdoms were often jealouse, harsh tyrants who held onto whatever they could, anyway they had to.
Anyway, you get the point.