[2] The Ottoman Sultan, Murad II, summoned Vlad Dracul to Edirne to do homage to him in March 1442.
[3][4] In 1436, Mircea II's father Vlad Dracul succeeded in regaining the throne of Wallachia following the death of his half-brother Alexandru I Aldea.
In October 1444, Vlad Dracul arrived near Nicopolis and tried to dissuade Vladislav III, king of Poland and Hungary, from continuing the Crusade of Varna.
Mircea II, however, was captured by Saxon elite, which were part of the ruling council in Târgoviște, and was blinded with a red-hot poker, then buried alive.
Vlad Țepeș would regain the throne in 1456, and would also carry out vengeance against the Saxon elite, whom he held responsible for his father and brother's deaths.
Vlad's skilful political maneuverings, his capable administration skills and great tactical thinking, made him a very dangerous opponent to his enemies, which in turn would paint him as a ruthless, tyrannical leader.