title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Wu-Tang Clan re-assembled and released their second studio album, "Wu-Tang Forever", in June 1997; it debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200. The album's lead single, "Triumph", is over five minutes long, features nine verses (one from each member plus Cappadonna and excluding Ol' Dirty Bastard who appeared on the intro and bridge), and no hook or a repeated phrase. The album was produced by RZA and his protégés True Master and 4th Disciple. The group's lyrics differed significantly from those of "36 Chambers", with many verses written in a dense stream of consciousness form heavily influenced by the teachings of the Five-Percent Nation. "Wu-Tang Forever" was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards, losing to Puff Daddy; Ol' Dirty Bastard infamously protested the loss by interrupting Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech for Song of the Year.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Killah Priest, a close associate of the group, released "Heavy Mental" in March 1998. That same month, Cappadonna released his debut album "The Pillage". Affiliated groups Sunz of Man and Killarmy also released well-received albums, followed by ""—a compilation album released in 1998, showcasing these and more Wu-affiliated artists, and including new solo tracks from the group members themselves. "The Swarm" sold well and was certified gold. There was also a long line of releases from secondary affiliates such as Popa Wu, Shyheim, GP Wu, and Wu-Syndicate. Second albums from Gravediggaz and Killarmy, as well as a greatest hits album and a b-sides compilation, were also released.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: The second round of solo albums from Wu-Tang Clan members included second albums from the five members who had already released albums, as well as debuts from all the remaining members, with the exception of Masta Killa. In the space of two years, RZA's "Bobby Digital In Stereo", Method Man's "" and "Blackout!" (with Redman), GZA's "Beneath the Surface", Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Nigga Please", U-God's "Golden Arms Redemption", Raekwon's "Immobilarity", Ghostface Killah's "Supreme Clientele" and Inspectah Deck's "Uncontrolled Substance" were all released (seven of them being released in the space of seven months between June 1999 and January 2000). RZA also composed the score for the film "", directed by Jim Jarmusch, while he and other Wu-Tang members contributed music to a companion "music inspired by the film" album.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: The frequent release of Wu-Tang Clan content between 1997 and 2000 was considered by some critics to have resulted in an oversaturation that was responsible for the group's decline in popularity.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: The group reconvened again for their third album, "The W". Despite his incarceration in California for violating the terms of his probation, Ol' Dirty Bastard was on the song "Conditioner", featuring Snoop Dogg. Ol' Dirty Bastard's vocals were recorded via prison telephones. "The W" was released in November 2000, and was mostly well received by critics, and included the single "Gravel Pit". The album reached double platinum status.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In 2001, Wu-Tang Clan released their fourth album, "Iron Flag". While originally featured on the cover of "Iron Flag", Cappadonna was airbrushed out of the artwork and absent from the album entirely. This may be related to tension that arose within the group when it was revealed that Cappadonna's manager was, or had been, a police informant, a revelation that also brought on the manager's subsequent firing. Cappadonna continued collaborating and touring with the group in the following years.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In early 2004, U-God allegedly left the group. A DVD titled "Rise of a Fallen Soldier" was released detailing his problems, which were mostly with his treatment by RZA, who he claimed had hindered his success as a solo artist. U-God formed a group of young protegés called the Hillside Scramblers with whom he released the album "U-Godzilla Presents the Hillside Scramblers" in March 2004. The dispute culminated in a heated phone conversation between RZA and U-God on live radio, which ultimately saw the two reconcile. He has since returned to the group.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In 2004, the group embarked on a short European tour before coming together as a complete group for the first time in several years to headline the Rock the Bells festival in California. The concert was released on CD under the name "", and they also released a music-video greatest hits album, "Legend of the Wu-Tang Clan".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Ol' Dirty Bastard's career was tumultuous. His run-ins with the law were well publicized—he was arrested several times for offenses including assault, shoplifting, wearing body armor after being convicted of a felony, and possession of cocaine, and he missed multiple court dates. In April 2001, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison. Once released from prison, he signed a million-dollar contract with Roc-a-Fella Records.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: On November 13, 2004, Ol' Dirty Bastard collapsed at Wu-Tang's recording studio in New York City, and was pronounced dead later that night. Wu-Tang Clan paid him homage a number of times: in August 2006, one of his sons came out at a Wu-Tang concert at Webster Hall and rapped "Brooklyn Zoo", along with his mother, and during a concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom the Clan brought his mother out on stage for a sing-along to "Shimmy Shimmy Ya".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In 2005, RZA released a book titled "The Wu-Tang Manual". In the same year, U-God's second album, "Mr. Xcitement" and a collaboration between GZA and producer DJ Muggs, entitled "Grandmasters" were also released.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: On March 28, 2006, Ghostface Killah released "Fishscale", to much critical acclaim and some commercial success. The entire group, including Cappadonna and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, appeared on the track "9 Milli Bros". The same year, Ghostface Killah released "More Fish".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: On June 25, 2006, Inspectah Deck released a street album entitled "The Resident Patient", a prelude to his upcoming album, titled "The Rebellion", which is said to be his final solo album. Also released in 2006 were Masta Killa's second studio album, "Made in Brooklyn", to lukewarm reviews, and Method Man's "." Ghostface Killah released his seventh full-length album, "The Big Doe Rehab", in December 2007.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In 2007, Wu-Tang Clan released their fifth album, "8 Diagrams," on Steve Rifkind's new label SRC Records. This album marked the inclusion of Cappadonna as an official member of the group. In an interview with MTV.com, Ghostface Killah stated that he was upset with RZA for starting the "8 Diagrams" project while he was in the middle of writing and recording "The Big Doe Rehab", as well as giving "8 Diagrams" the same release date as "The Big Doe Rehab", for which RZA rescheduled a release date one week later. The outcome of "8 Diagrams" received mixed views from both fans and critics, and is regarded as being RZA's most experimental work to date. Raekwon and Ghostface Killah were unhappy with the album, and proposed recording a group album titled "Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tan" without RZA production. That album would eventually become Raekwon's fifth solo album "Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In 2008, RZA released "Digi Snacks," under the name Bobby Digital. The album included lesser-known Wu-Tang Clan affiliates such as Freemurder, Killa Sin, Black Knights, and others. In the same year, GZA released the album "Pro Tools". In September 2008, RZA announced that he had signed a deal with digital music company The Orchard to release the Wu-Tang Clan's back catalogue worldwide digitally, for the first time. In addition to forthcoming material, the Wu-Tang Clan's catalogue includes 13 previous releases that have been previously unavailable digitally, including recordings by the group as a whole, U-God, Wu-Syndicate, Killarmy, Shyheim, West Coast Killa Beez, Black Knights and others, and would be available online beginning September 23. RZA said: "The time is right to bring some older Wu material to the masses digitally. Our fans have been dedicated and patient and they're hungry to hear the music that has set us apart from so many others. Hip-hop is alive in Wu Music, and with The Orchard, we've got a solid partner that understands our audience and is committed to doing all they can to help us reach the fans. I'm definitely looking forward to working with them to see what else we all come up with. There's much more to come".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In 2009, U-God released his third solo album, "Dopium", which features guest appearances from several Wu-Tang Clan members, and affiliates, among others, and was met with mostly lukewarm reviews. "Wu-Tang Chamber Music" was released in the same year, a side project executively produced by RZA, featuring live instrumentation from a Brooklyn soul band The Revelations. The album features appearances from five Wu-Tang Clan members, along with AZ, Kool G Rap, Cormega, Havoc, Sean Price, and M.O.P. Its first single, "Harbor Masters" featured Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, and AZ. RZA spoke about the album to Billboard.com: "I think the "Chamber Music" title is very fitting. This music is totally in the chamber, or in the mind-frame of Wu-Tang like in the ["Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)"] days. But it's not a Wu-Tang album. The whole Clan's not on this album. But it couldn't be in any other category but Wu-Tang".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II" was released in September 2009, which features guest appearances from several big-name artists, and Clan members, with Ghostface being the most prominent, and also production from RZA, Dr. Dre, Pete Rock, and J Dilla, among others. The album was initially intended to be released on Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records. The album debuted at number 4 on the "Billboard" 200 and at number 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and has been praised by most music critics. Several weeks later, Ghostface Killah released "".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Talk of the album "Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang" re-surfaced in July 2009; originally planned as a Wu-Tang album without RZA's input. The project evolved to include RZA only vocally, with no contribution to production. Raekwon stated "[It'll] be alter egos challenging each other, really allowing RZA to fall back on the production and allowing us to give him a flashback memory to the things we know we need from the abbot [RZA]. We want him to be involved [with the album as an MC], but the concept was for him not to be involved production-wise". Speaking to MTV.com, Method Man revealed his, Ghostface Killah's and Raekwon's plans to record a separate album as a trio: "I don't want to say it's written in stone, but it's in discussion. I want some feedback from the fans to see how they would take that. RZA produced tracks, some other outside producers, of course, and we gonna have Wu-Tang members on the album, but it'll be a Rae, Ghost and Meth album". Soon after, Ghostface Killah cemented the details: the record, featuring other Wu-Tang Clan members, was to consist primarily of him, Method Man, and Raekwon. The title, as announced in three separate trailers (directed by Rik Cordero) promoting the upcoming release, is "Wu-Massacre". Speaking on their willingness to complete the album, Ghostface Killah estimated the release date of the album to be the end of 2009 or January 2010. It was then announced that the album would be pushed back from December to March 30, 2010; the single, "Meth vs. Chef Part II", was released after the announcement. Produced by Mathematics, it is an update of the song "Meth vs. Chef" from Method Man's first solo album, "Tical", featuring verses by only Method Man and Raekwon. It had been confirmed by Raekwon that "Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang" would in fact be his next solo album and that "Wu-Massacre" is a separate album, while the rapper stated that he himself had petitioned to have "Wu-Massacre"s release date postponed in order to yield more studio time.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: On February 25, 2011, "Wu Tang Live At The Palladium NYC" was released through the group's official Facebook page as a collectors digital download. This included exclusive, unreleased freestyles. It was limited to 100 downloads before the page was disabled after this figure was reached.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: On June 29, 2011, Raekwon announced that the group were working on a new studio album, still in early stages. Ghostface Killah later said that the album should be released in May 2012.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Members went back and forth on the issue. While GZA hinted that a new album was unlikely, the RZA said a new Wu-Tang Clan album might happen after all, on the occasion of the group's 20th anniversary, though Raekwon doubted it.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: On January 9, 2013, work on the sixth Wu-Tang Clan album was announced via the group's official Facebook page. In early March 2013 Method Man announced that the Clan was working on a sixth studio album and it would be released during 2013 in celebration of their 20-year anniversary since "36 Chambers". Cappadonna has said the album is in recording process taking place in New York, Los Angeles and the Wu mansion in New Jersey. RZA has also said he had talked to Adrian Younge about working on a song for the album. On April 11, 2013, it was announced via a press release that their upcoming sixth studio album would be titled, "A Better Tomorrow" and was set to be released in July 2013. During late April 2013, the Clan performed at the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. On May 17, an unreleased Wu-Tang song titled "Execution in Autumn" was released for purchase through RZA's record label Soul Temple Records. They performed at the 2013 HOT 97 Summer Jam at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, twenty years after they performed at the first annual Summer Jam concert. On June 5, 2013, the first promotional single "Family Reunion" featuring Masta Killah, Method Man, Ghostface Killah and RZA was released via the Soul Temple Records website.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In June 2013 RZA said so far every member of the Clan except Raekwon and GZA had put in work on the "A Better Tomorrow" album and that recording was being done at the Wu-Mansion, and the Wu-Mansion West. Unreleased verses from Ol' Dirty Bastard will also be featured on the album. He also stated he was hoping to release the album in November 2013. In July 2013 Cappadonna indicated the album was half way finished. Once November 2013 arrived, RZA gave an update on the album, saying that not every member had been significantly working on the album. He gave credit to Method Man, Cappadonna, U-God and Masta Killa for working hard on the album, while saying he needed more effort from Ghostface, Raekwon and GZA. Shortly after Method Man stated that Raekwon had not worked on the album at all, and Ghostface had only recorded two songs for the album so far. In late November, RZA suggested that the album was approximately six weeks from completion. In January 2014, the group posted a message on their Facebook page, saying: "The new Wu album 'A Better Tomorrow' coming soon." After several disputes between Raekwon and RZA about the direction of the group and album, they reconciled, with the latter agreeing to record verses for "A Better Tomorrow". On October 3, 2014, it was announced that the album will arrive December 2, 2014, courtesy of a new deal with Warner Bros. Records. The album was released late 2014.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In March 2014 it was reported that in addition to work on "A Better Tomorrow", a Wu-Tang Clan compilation album entitled "The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin" had been recorded, with Wu-Tang-affiliated producer Cilvaringz as the primary producer instead of RZA. The album, a double album consisting of 31 tracks, will not be given a conventional commercial release and only one copy has been produced; this copy will be toured in museums, art galleries and music festivals before being sold at a high price to a single individual. In August 2014, a reporter from "Forbes" traveled to Marrakech to meet Cilvaringz and hear a 51-second snippet of a song from the album, which featured Cher. The snippet was subsequently put on their website. The album is encased in a handcrafted silver-and-nickel box made by British-Moroccan artist Yahya and features never-before-heard music recorded over years. RZA stated he has been receiving multiple million dollar offers for the album. Despite the album's exclusivity it made an appearance in electronic dance music producer Skrillex's music video for his song "Fuck That" even though he did not purchase the project. The album was sold through Paddle8, an online auction house, for $2 million to Martin Shkreli. When the FBI arrested Martin Shkreli on December 17, 2015, they did not seize the Wu-Tang Clan album. Following the victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Shkreli broadcast excerpts from the album on streaming platforms Periscope and Hitbox.tv.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In July 2021, it was announced that the album had been again sold by the US government for an undisclosed amount, following Shkreli handing it over to the FBI in 2018 after being convicted of defrauding investors.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: According to RZA, he tries to have no more than 20–25% sampling on any given record, something starkly different from many other major hip hop groups. He uses "the sampler more like a painter's palette than a Xerox. Then again, I might use it as a Xerox if I find rare beats that nobody had in their crates yet". He played much of the piano himself, with Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk as major influences; for instance, he created the piano part to "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" after watching the Thelonious Monk documentary, "Straight, No Chaser".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: RZA's production technique, specifically the manner of chopping up and/or speeding or slowing soul samples to fit his beats, has been picked up by currently popular producers, most notably Kanye West and Just Blaze, the two main producers behind Roc-A-Fella Records. West's own take on RZA's style briefly flooded the rap market with what was dubbed "chipmunk soul", the pitch bending of a vocal sample to where it sounded as though the singer had inhaled helium. Several producers at the time copied the style, creating other offshoots. West has admitted that his style was distinctly influenced by RZA's production, and RZA has acknowledged his influence in an issue of "Scratch" magazine, saying he wished he had produced "Jesus Walks" and "Breathe", two 2004 hits produced by Kanye West and Just Blaze, respectively. Kanye West commented:


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." helped (with the likes of Kool G Rap) popularize the Mafia theme in rap music that remained widespread for more than half a decade. The landmark album touted a lifestyle patterned on drug dealing, regrets of living in harsh conditions, and partying (including popularizing the Cristal brand of champagne) which Nas, Mobb Deep, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and other popular artists all borrowed and/or expanded upon these themes at points in their respective careers.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: The Wu-Tang Clan's slang has long been a staple of their music, wherein members would blend Five Percenter terms, Kung Fu/oriental words, and comic book and street terms to create their own nicknames for actions, people, places and things (such as the christening of Staten Island as "Shaolin Land" and money as "C.R.E.A.M."). RZA noted in "The Wu-Tang Manual", that Raekwon was the resident "slang-master" of a great deal of the slang used by the group.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: All nine original members of the group were featured in the game "", released for the PlayStation on October 31, 1999, as well as a special collector's edition controller. Ghostface Killah and Yung Dirty Doucette, as well as collaborators, Redman and Keith Murray, also play themselves in all three games in the Def Jam video games "Def Jam Vendetta", "Def Jam Fight For NY", and "".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Method Man is an avid fan of video games himself and has publicly stated that he loves playing "SOCOM" online with other PlayStation 2 users, and is part of an online clan ("KMA/Kiss My Ass"). His "SOCOM II" name is "ICU". He has a fellow "SOCOM" player featured on a skit on his album "4:21... The Day After".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In "Army of Two", main character Salem talks about Wu-Tang asking his teammate Rios who the best member is. Salem says it's RZA but he says Ghostface Killah is pretty good himself. In the ending cut scene, a reference is made when Salem says "Survey says?" and Rios replies "You're dead". The exchange referenced the lyric, "And the survey says? / You're dead!" from "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin' Ta F' Wit", from the album "Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers)".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Several tracks by Clan members and affiliates such as Method Man, Ghostface, Cappadonna, Trife, DJ Mathematics and others were featured in the 2006 game "Saints Row".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: "Afro Samurai", based on the TV series, was released in January 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Its soundtrack, like the show, was produced by RZA.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Oliver "Power" Grant was one of the first to move from music to clothes. The Clan's executive producer, Grant began making clothes in the early 1990s, with little success. But in 1995, after the platinum success of "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)", manufacturers who earlier wouldn't extend Power credit saw the potential. He opened four Wu Wear stores, in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Norfolk, Virginia. The line was carried in Macy's, Rich's, and d.e.m.o, among others. Power says he earned $10 million in 1998.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Method Man was unhappy with the decision to bring Wu-Tang into the fashion world with Wu Wear, despite the brand being a major money-maker for the group. "When Wu-Wear started making shoes and sneakers and pants, it was shoddy material. I never rocked that shit."


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: "I'm going to bring out Dirty Wear," declared ODB. "A set of ready-worn clothes: 'Dirty Wear, for the girl who likes to wear her panties three days in a row.'"


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: In 1999, Nike released a Wu-Tang Clan themed dunk hi. The shoes were produced in low quantities. Their rarity and popularity makes them very sought after, with reseller prices as much as $7,500.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: A partnership between Wu-Tang and the Alife NYC clothing group took place in 2007 through 2008 for an exclusive series of custom sneakers, T-shirts, hoodies and other accessories for men and women. The collection was named "A Wu-Tang Life".


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: "Wu-Tang Revealed", a GZA-directed documentary, promised to show behind the scenes of the Clan, has yet to be released.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: "U-God: Rise of a Fallen Soldier" details U-God's side of the struggle between him and RZA circa 2004–2005.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: Gerald K. Barclay directed the Wu-Tang documentary, entitled "Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan", which premiered on BET on November 13, 2008. The documentary was released on DVD on November 18, 2008.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: On November 10, 2009, a documentary on Ol' Dirty Bastard was released entitled; "Dirty: The Official ODB Biography". The documentary features interviews and stories from his family members, Wu-Tang members, and affiliates, as well as old interviews with Ol' Dirty, and live performances.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: "Wu Tang Saga", starring Cappadonna and featuring footage of the Clan dating back to the early nineties through their most recent tours was released on February 25, 2010.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: On September 4, 2019, Hulu released "", a fictionalized account of the formation of the Wu-Tang Clan. The drama web series was created by RZA and Alex Tse. In January 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a second season.


title: Wu-Tang Clan

text: The Wu-Tang Clan has a wide range of collaborators and associates. Close collaborators to individual members or the group as a whole include or have included mainly East Coast-based artists, including Redman, Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes, Erick Sermon, Nas, Pete Rock, and others.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ) or Vlad Dracula (; ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: He was the second son of Vlad Dracul, who became the ruler of Wallachia in 1436. Vlad and his younger brother, Radu, were held as hostages in the Ottoman Empire in 1442 to secure their father's loyalty. Vlad's eldest brother Mircea and their father were murdered after John Hunyadi, regent-governor of Hungary, invaded Wallachia in 1447. Hunyadi installed Vlad's second cousin, VladislavII, as the new voivode. Hunyadi launched a military campaign against the Ottomans in the autumn of 1448, and Vladislav accompanied him. Vlad broke into Wallachia with Ottoman support in October, but Vladislav returned and Vlad sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire before the end of the year. Vlad went to Moldavia in 1449 or 1450, and later to Hungary.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Relations between Hungary and Vladislav later deteriorated, and in 1456 Vlad invaded Wallachia with Hungarian support. Vladislav died fighting against him. Vlad began a purge among the Wallachian boyars to strengthen his position. He came into conflict with the Transylvanian Saxons, who supported his opponents, Dan and Basarab Laiotă (who were Vladislav's brothers), and Vlad's illegitimate half-brother, Vlad Călugărul. Vlad plundered the Saxon villages, taking the captured people to Wallachia where he had them impaled (which inspired his cognomen). Peace was restored in 1460.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed II, ordered Vlad to pay homage to him personally, but Vlad had the Sultan's two envoys captured and impaled. In February 1462, he attacked Ottoman territory, massacring tens of thousands of Turks and Bulgarians. Mehmed launched a campaign against Wallachia to replace Vlad with Vlad's younger brother, Radu. Vlad attempted to capture the sultan at Târgoviște during the night of 1617June 1462. The sultan and the main Ottoman army left Wallachia, but more and more Wallachians deserted to Radu. Vlad went to Transylvania to seek assistance from Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, in late 1462, but Corvinus had him imprisoned.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad was held in captivity in Visegrád from 1463 to 1475. During this period, anecdotes about his cruelty started to spread in Germany and Italy. He was released at the request of Stephen III of Moldavia in the summer of 1475. He fought in Corvinus's army against the Ottomans in Bosnia in early 1476. Hungarian and Moldavian troops helped him to force Basarab Laiotă (who had dethroned Vlad's brother, Radu) to flee from Wallachia in November. Basarab returned with Ottoman support before the end of the year. Vlad was killed in battle before 10January 1477. Books describing Vlad's cruel acts were among the first bestsellers in the German-speaking territories. In Russia, popular stories suggested that Vlad was able to strengthen his central government only through applying brutal punishments, and a similar view was adopted by most Romanian historians in the 19th century. Vlad's patronymic inspired the name of Bram Stoker's literary vampire, Count Dracula.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The name "Dracula", which is now primarily known as the name of a vampire, was for centuries known as the sobriquet of VladIII. Diplomatic reports and popular stories referred to him as "Dracula", "Dracuglia", or "Drakula" already in the 15thcentury. He himself signed his two letters as "Dragulya" or "Drakulya" in the late 1470s. His name had its origin in the sobriquet of his father, Vlad Dracul ("Vlad the Dragon" in medieval Romanian), who received it after he became a member of the Order of the Dragon. Dracula is the Slavonic genitive form of Dracul, meaning "[the son] of Dracul (or the Dragon)". In modern Romanian, "dracul" means "the devil", which contributed to Vlad's reputation.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad III is known as "Vlad Țepeș" (or Vlad the Impaler) in Romanian historiography. This sobriquet is connected to the impalement that was his favorite method of execution. The Ottoman writer Tursun Beg referred to him as "" (Impaler Lord) around 1500. Mircea the Shepherd, Voivode of Wallachia, used this sobriquet when referring to Vlad III in a letter of grant on 1April 1551.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad was the second legitimate son of Vlad II Dracul, who was himself an illegitimate son of Mircea I of Wallachia. VladII had won the moniker "Dracul" for his membership in the Order of the Dragon, a militant fraternity founded by Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Hungary. The Order of the Dragon was dedicated to halting the Ottoman advance into Europe. Since he was old enough to be a candidate to the throne of Wallachia in 1448, Vlad's time of birth would have been between 1428 and 1431. Vlad was most probably born after his father settled in Transylvania in 1429. Historian Radu Florescu writes that Vlad was born in the Transylvanian Saxon town of Sighișoara (then in the Kingdom of Hungary), where his father lived in a three-story stone house from 1431 to 1435. Modern historians identify Vlad's mother either as a daughter or kinswoman of Alexander I of Moldavia or as his father's unknown first wife.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad II Dracul seized Wallachia after the death of his half-brother Alexander I Aldea in 1436. One of his charters (which was issued on 20January 1437) preserves the first reference to Vlad III and his elder brother, Mircea, mentioning them as their father's "firstborn sons". They were mentioned in four further documents between 1437 and 1439. The last of the four charters also refers to their younger brother, Radu.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: After a meeting with John Hunyadi, Voivode of Transylvania, Vlad II Dracul did not support an Ottoman invasion of Transylvania in March 1442. The Ottoman Sultan, Murad II, ordered him to come to Gallipoli to demonstrate his loyalty. Vlad and Radu accompanied their father to the Ottoman Empire, where they were all imprisoned. Vlad Dracul was released before the end of the year, but Vlad and Radu remained hostages to secure his loyalty. They were held imprisoned in the fortress of Eğrigöz (now Doğrugöz), according to contemporaneous Ottoman chronicles. Their lives were especially in danger after their father supported Vladislaus, King of Poland and Hungary, against the Ottoman Empire during the Crusade of Varna in 1444. Vlad II Dracul was convinced that his two sons would be "butchered for the sake of Christian peace," but neither Vlad nor Radu was murdered or mutilated after their father's rebellion.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad Dracul again acknowledged the sultan's suzerainty and promised to pay a yearly tribute to him in 1446 or 1447. John Hunyadi (who had by then become the regent-governor of Hungary in 1446), invaded Wallachia in November 1447. The Byzantine historian Michael Critobulus wrote that Vlad and Radu fled to the Ottoman Empire, which suggests that the sultan had allowed them to return to Wallachia after their father paid homage to him. Vlad Dracul and his eldest son, Mircea, were murdered. Hunyadi made Vladislav II (son of Vlad Dracul's cousin, Dan II) the ruler of Wallachia.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Upon the death of his father and elder brother, Vlad became a potential claimant to Wallachia. VladislavII of Wallachia accompanied John Hunyadi, who launched a campaign against the Ottoman Empire in September 1448. Taking advantage of his opponent's absence, Vlad broke into Wallachia at the head of an Ottoman army in early October. He had to accept that the Ottomans had captured the fortress of Giurgiu on the Danube and strengthened it.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The Ottomans defeated Hunyadi's army in the Battle of Kosovo between 17and 18October. Hunyadi's deputy, Nicholas Vízaknai, urged Vlad to come to meet him in Transylvania, but Vlad refused him. VladislavII returned to Wallachia at the head of the remnants of his army. Vlad was forced to flee to the Ottoman Empire by 7December 1448.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad first settled in Edirne in the Ottoman Empire after his fall. Not long after, he moved to Moldavia, where BogdanII (his father's brother-in-law and possibly his maternal uncle) had mounted the throne with John Hunyadi's support in the autumn of 1449. After Bogdan was murdered by Peter III Aaron in October 1451, Bogdan's son, Stephen, fled to Transylvania with Vlad to seek assistance from Hunyadi. However, Hunyadi concluded a three-year truce with the Ottoman Empire on 20November 1451, acknowledging the Wallachian boyars' right to elect the successor of VladislavII if he died.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad allegedly wanted to settle in Brașov (which was a centre of the Wallachian boyars expelled by VladislausII), but Hunyadi forbade the burghers to give shelter to him on 6February 1452. Vlad returned to Moldavia where Alexăndrel had dethroned Peter Aaron. The events of his life during the years that followed are unknown. He must have returned to Hungary before 3July 1456, because, on that day, Hunyadi informed the townspeople of Brașov that he had tasked Vlad with the defense of the Transylvanian border.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The circumstances and the date of Vlad's return to Wallachia are uncertain. He invaded Wallachia with Hungarian support either in April, July or August 1456. VladislavII died during the invasion. Vlad sent his first extant letter as voivode of Wallachia to the burghers of Brașov on 10September. He promised to protect them in case of an Ottoman invasion of Transylvania, but he also sought their assistance if the Ottomans occupied Wallachia. In the same letter, he stated that "when a man or a prince is strong and powerful he can make peace as he wants to; but when he is weak, a stronger one will come and do what he wants to him", showing his authoritarian personality.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Multiple sources (including Laonikos Chalkokondyles's chronicle) recorded that hundreds or thousands of people were executed at Vlad's order at the beginning of his reign. He began a purge against the boyars who had participated in the murder of his father and elder brother, or whom he suspected of plotting against him. Chalkokondyles stated that Vlad "quickly effected a great change and utterly revolutionized the affairs of Wallachia" through granting the "money, property, and other goods" of his victims to his retainers. The lists of the members of the princely council during Vlad's reign also show that only two of them (Voico Dobrița and Iova) were able to retain their positions between 1457 and 1461.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad sent the customary tribute to the sultan. After John Hunyadi died on 11August 1456, his elder son, Ladislaus Hunyadi became the captain-general of Hungary. He accused Vlad of having "no intention of remaining faithful" to the king of Hungary in a letter to the burghers of Brașov, also ordering them to support VladislausII's brother, DanIII, against Vlad. The burghers of Sibiu supported another pretender, a “priest of the Romanians who calls himself a Prince's son". The latter (identified as Vlad's illegitimate brother, Vlad Călugărul) took possession of Amlaș, which had customarily been held by the rulers of Wallachia in Transylvania.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Ladislaus V of Hungary had Ladislaus Hunyadi executed on 16March 1457. Hunyadi's mother, Elizabeth Szilágyi, and her brother, Michael Szilágyi, stirred up a rebellion against the king. Taking advantage of the civil war in Hungary, Vlad assisted Stephen, son of BogdanII of Moldavia, in his move to seize Moldavia in June 1457. Vlad also broke into Transylvania and plundered the villages around Brașov and Sibiu. The earliest German stories about Vlad recounted that he had carried "men, women, children" from a Saxon village to Wallachia and had them impaled. Since the Transylvanian Saxons remained loyal to the king, Vlad's attack against them strengthened the position of the Szilágyis.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad's representatives participated in the peace negotiations between Michael Szilágyi and the Saxons. According to their treaty, the burghers of Brașov agreed that they would expel Dan from their town. Vlad promised that the merchants of Sibiu could freely "buy and sell" goods in Wallachia in exchange for the "same treatment" of the Wallachian merchants in Transylvania. Vlad referred to Michael Szilágyi as "his Lord and elder brother" in a letter on 1December 1457.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Ladislaus Hunyadi's younger brother, Matthias Corvinus, was elected king of Hungary on 24January 1458. He ordered the burghers of Sibiu to keep the peace with Vlad on 3March. Vlad styled himself "Lord and ruler over all of Wallachia, and the duchies of Amlaș and Făgăraș" on 20September 1459, showing that he had taken possession of both of these traditional Transylvanian fiefs of the rulers of Wallachia. Michael Szilágyi allowed the boyar Michael (an official of VladislavII of Wallachia) and other Wallachian boyars to settle in Transylvania in late March 1458. Before long, Vlad had the boyar Michael killed.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: In May, Vlad asked the burghers of Brașov to send craftsmen to Wallachia, but his relationship with the Saxons deteriorated before the end of the year. According to a scholarly theory, the conflict emerged after Vlad forbade the Saxons to enter Wallachia, forcing them to sell their goods to Wallachian merchants at compulsory border fairs. Vlad's protectionist tendencies or border fairs are not documented. Instead, in 1476, Vlad emphasized that he had always promoted free trade during his reign.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The Saxons confiscated the steel that a Wallachian merchant had bought in Brașov without repaying the price to him. In response, Vlad "ransacked and tortured" some Saxon merchants, according to a letter that Basarab Laiotă (a son of DanII of Wallachia) wrote on 21January 1459. Basarab had settled in Sighișoara and laid claim to Wallachia. However, Matthias Corvinus supported DanIII (who was again in Brașov) against Vlad. DanIII stated that Vlad had Saxon merchants and their children impaled or burnt alive in Wallachia.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Dan III broke into Wallachia, but Vlad defeated and executed him before 22April 1460. Vlad invaded southern Transylvania and destroyed the suburbs of Brașov, ordering the impalement of all men and women who had been captured. During the ensuing negotiations, Vlad demanded the expulsion or punishment of all Wallachian refugees from Brașov. Peace had been restored before 26July 1460, when Vlad addressed the burghers of Brașov as his "brothers and friends". Vlad invaded the region around Amlaș and Făgăraș on 24August to punish the local inhabitants who had supported DanIII.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Konstantin Mihailović (who served as a janissary in the sultan's army) recorded that Vlad refused to pay homage to the sultan in an unspecified year. The Renaissance historian Giovanni Maria degli Angiolelli likewise wrote that Vlad had failed to pay tribute to the sultan for three years. Both records suggest that Vlad ignored the suzerainty of the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed II, already in 1459, but both works were written decades after the events. Tursun Beg (a secretary in the sultan's court) stated that Vlad only turned against the Ottoman Empire when the sultan "was away on the long expedition in Trebizon" in 1461. According to Tursun Beg, Vlad started new negotiations with Matthias Corvinus, but the sultan was soon informed by his spies. Mehmed sent his envoy, the Greek Thomas Katabolinos (also known as Yunus bey), to Wallachia, ordering Vlad to come to Constantinople. He also sent secret instructions to Hamza, bey of Nicopolis, to capture Vlad after he crossed the Danube. Vlad found out the sultan's "deceit and trickery", captured Hamza and Katabolinos, and had them executed.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: After the execution of the Ottoman officials, Vlad gave orders in fluent Turkish to the commander of the fortress of Giurgiu to open the gates, enabling the Wallachian soldiers to break in the fortress and capture it. He invaded the Ottoman Empire, devastating the villages along the Danube. He informed Matthias Corvinus about the military action in a letter on 11February 1462. He stated that more than "23,884 Turks and Bulgarians" had been killed at his order during the campaign. He sought military assistance from Corvinus, declaring that he had broken the peace with the sultan "for the honor" of the king and the Holy Crown of Hungary and "for the preservation of Christianity and the strengthening of the Catholic faith". The relationship between Moldavia and Wallachia had become tense by 1462, according to a letter of the Genoese governor of Kaffa.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Having learnt of Vlad's invasion, Mehmed II raised an army of more than 150,000 strong, that was said to be "second in size only to the one" that occupied Constantinople in 1453, according to Chalkokondyles. The size of the army suggests that the sultan wanted to occupy Wallachia, according to a number of historians (including Franz Babinger, Radu Florescu, and Nicolae Stoicescu). On the other hand, Mehmed had granted Wallachia to Vlad's brother, Radu, before the invasion of Wallachia, showing that the sultan's principal purpose was only the change of the ruler of Wallachia.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The Ottoman fleet landed at Brăila (which was the only Wallachian port on the Danube) in May. The main Ottoman army crossed the Danube under the command of the sultan at Nicopolis on 4June 1462. Outnumbered by the enemy, Vlad adopted a scorched earth policy and retreated towards Târgoviște. During the night of 1617 June, Vlad broke into the Ottoman camp in an attempt to capture or kill the sultan. Either the imprisonment or the death of the sultan would have caused panic among the Ottomans, which could have enabled Vlad to defeat the Ottoman army. However, the Wallachians "missed the court of the sultan himself" and attacked the tents of the "viziers" Mahmud Pasha and Isaac. Having failed to attack the sultan's camp, Vlad and his retainers left the Ottoman camp at dawn. Mehmed entered Târgoviște at the end of June. The town had been deserted, but the Ottomans were horrified to discover a "forest of the impaled" (thousands of stakes with the carcasses of executed people), according to Chalkokondyles.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Tursun Beg recorded that the Ottomans suffered from the summer heat and thirst during the campaign. The sultan decided to retreat from Wallachia and marched towards Brăila. StephenIII of Moldavia hurried to Chilia (now Kiliya in Ukraine) to seize the important fortress where a Hungarian garrison had been placed. Vlad also departed for Chilia, but left behind a troop of 6,000 strong to try to hinder the march of the sultan's army, but the Ottomans defeated the Wallachians. Stephen of Moldavia was wounded during the siege of Chilia and returned to Moldavia before Vlad came to the fortress.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The main Ottoman army left Wallachia, but Vlad's brother Radu and his Ottoman troops stayed behind in the Bărăgan Plain. Radu sent messengers to the Wallachians, reminding them that the sultan could again invade their country. Although Vlad defeated Radu and his Ottoman allies in two battles during the following months, more and more Wallachians deserted to Radu. Vlad withdrew to the Carpathian Mountains, hoping that Matthias Corvinus would help him regain his throne. However, Albert of Istenmező, the deputy of the Count of the Székelys, had recommended in mid-August that the Saxons recognize Radu. Radu also made an offer to the burghers of Brașov to confirm their commercial privileges and pay them a compensation of 15,000 ducats.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Matthias Corvinus came to Transylvania in November 1462. The negotiations between Corvinus and Vlad lasted for weeks, but Corvinus did not want to wage war against the Ottoman Empire. At the king's order, his Czech mercenary commander, John Jiskra of Brandýs, captured Vlad near Rucăr in Wallachia.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: To provide an explanation for Vlad's imprisonment to Pope Pius II and the Venetians (who had sent money to finance a campaign against the Ottoman Empire), Corvinus presented three letters, allegedly written by Vlad on 7November 1462, to MehmedII, Mahmud Pasha, and Stephen of Moldavia. According to the letters, Vlad offered to join his forces with the sultan's army against Hungary if the sultan restored him to his throne. Most historians agree that the documents were forged to give grounds for Vlad's imprisonment. Corvinus's court historian, Antonio Bonfini, admitted that the reason for Vlad's imprisonment was never clarified. Florescu writes, "[T]he style of writing, the rhetoric of meek submission (hardly compatible with what we know of Dracula's character), clumsy wording, and poor Latin" are all evidence that the letters could not be written on Vlad's order. He associates the author of the forgery with a Saxon priest of Brașov.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad was first imprisoned "in the city of Belgrade" (now Alba Iulia in Romania), according to Chalkokondyles. Before long, he was taken to Visegrád, where he was held for fourteen years. No documents referring to Vlad between 1462 and 1475 have been preserved. In the summer of 1475, StephenIII of Moldavia sent his envoys to Matthias Corvinus, asking him to send Vlad to Wallachia against Basarab Laiotă, who had submitted himself to the Ottomans. Stephen wanted to secure Wallachia for a ruler who had been an enemy of the Ottoman Empire, because "the Wallachians [were] like the Turks" to the Moldavians, according to his letter. According to the Slavic stories about Vlad, he was only released after he converted to Catholicism.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Matthias Corvinus recognized Vlad as the lawful prince of Wallachia, but he did not provide him military assistance to regain his principality. Vlad settled in a house in Pest. When a group of soldiers broke into the house while pursuing a thief who had tried to hide there, Vlad had their commander executed because they had not asked his permission before entering his home, according to the Slavic stories about his life. Vlad moved to Transylvania in June 1475. He wanted to settle in Sibiu and sent his envoy to the town in early June to arrange a house for him. MehmedII acknowledged Basarab Laiotă as the lawful ruler of Wallachia. Corvinus ordered the burghers of Sibiu to give 200 golden florins to Vlad from the royal revenues on 21September, but Vlad left Transylvania for Buda in October.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad bought a house in Pécs that became known as "Drakula háza" ("Dracula's house" in Hungarian). In January 1476 John Pongrác of Dengeleg, Voivode of Transylvania urged the people of Brașov to send to Vlad all those of his supporters who had settled in the town, because Corvinus and Basarab Laiotă had concluded a treaty. The relationship between the Transylvanian Saxons and Basarab remained tense, and the Saxons gave shelter to Basarab's opponents during the following months. Corvinus dispatched Vlad and the Serbian Vuk Grgurević to fight against the Ottomans in Bosnia in early 1476. They captured Srebrenica and other fortresses in February and March 1476. In the Bosnian campaign, Vlad once again resorted to his terror tactics, mass impaling captured Turkish soldiers and massacring civilians in conquered settlements. His troops mostly destroyed Srebrenica, Kuslat, and Zvornik.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Mehmed II invaded Moldavia and defeated StephenIII in the Battle of Valea Albă on 26July 1476. Stephen Báthory and Vlad entered Moldavia, forcing the sultan to lift the siege of the fortress at Târgu Neamț in late August, according to a letter of Matthias Corvinus. The contemporaneous Jakob Unrest added that Vuk Grgurević and a member of the noble Jakšić family also participated in the struggle against the Ottomans in Moldavia.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Matthias Corvinus ordered the Transylvanian Saxons to support Báthory's planned invasion of Wallachia on 6September 1476, also informing them that Stephen of Moldavia would also invade Wallachia. Vlad stayed in Brașov and confirmed the commercial privileges of the local burghers in Wallachia on 7October 1476. Báthory's forces captured Târgoviște on 8November. Stephen of Moldavia and Vlad ceremoniously confirmed their alliance, and they occupied Bucharest, forcing Basarab Laiotă to seek refuge in the Ottoman Empire on 16November. Vlad informed the merchants of Brașov about his victory, urging them to come to Wallachia. He was crowned before 26November.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Basarab Laiotă returned to Wallachia with Ottoman support, and Vlad died fighting against them in late December 1476 or early January 1477. In a letter written on 10January 1477, StephenIII of Moldavia related that Vlad's Moldavian retinue had also been massacred. According to the "most reliable sources", Vlad's army of about 2,000 was cornered and destroyed by a Turkish-Basarab force of 4,000 near Snagov. The exact circumstances of his death are unclear. The Austrian chronicler Jacob Unrest stated that a disguised Turkish assassin murdered Vlad in his camp. In contrast, Russian statesman Fyodor Kuritsyn –who interviewed Vlad's family after his demise– reported that the voivode was mistaken for a Turk by his own troops during battle, causing them to attack and kill him. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally commented this account by noting that Vlad had often disguised himself as a Turkish soldier as part of military ruses. According to Leonardo Botta, the Milanese ambassador to Buda, the Ottomans cut Vlad's corpse into pieces. Bonfini wrote that Vlad's head was sent to MehmedII; it was eventually placed on a high stake in Constantinople. Local peasant traditions maintain that what was left of Vlad's corpse was later discovered in the marshes of Snagov by monks from the nearby monastery.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The place of his burial is unknown. According to popular tradition (which was first recorded in the late 19th century), Vlad was buried in the Monastery of Snagov. However, the excavations carried out by Dinu V. Rosetti in 1933 found no tomb below the supposed "unmarked tombstone" of Vlad in the monastery church. Rosetti reported: "Under the tombstone attributed to Vlad, there was no tomb. Only many bones and jaws of horses." Historian Constantin Rezachevici said Vlad was most probably buried in the first church of the Comana Monastery, which had been established by Vlad and was near the battlefield where he was killed.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad had two wives, according to modern specialists. His first wife may have been an illegitimate daughter of John Hunyadi, according to historian Alexandru Simon. Vlad's second wife was Justina Szilágyi, who was a cousin of Matthias Corvinus. She was the widow of Vencel Pongrác of Szentmiklós when "Ladislaus Dragwlya" married her, most probably in 1475. She survived Vlad Dracul, and married thirdly Pál Suki, then János Erdélyi.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad's eldest son, Mihnea, was born in 1462. Vlad's unnamed second son was killed before 1486. Vlad's third son, Vlad "Drakwlya", unsuccessfully laid claim to Wallachia around 1495. He was the forefather of the noble Drakwla family.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Stories about Vlad's brutal acts began circulating during his lifetime. After his arrest, courtiers of Matthias Corvinus promoted their spread. The papal legate, Niccolo Modrussiense, had already written about such stories to Pope PiusII in 1462. Two years later, the Pope included them in his "Commentaries".


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: "Meistersinger" Michael Beheim wrote a lengthy poem about Vlad's deeds, allegedly based on his conversation with a Catholic monk who had managed to escape from Vlad's prison. The poem, called "" ("Story of a Despot Called Dracula, Voievod of Wallachia"), was performed at the court of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor in Wiener Neustadt during the winter of 1463. According to one of Beheim's stories, Vlad had two monks impaled to assist them to go to heaven, also ordering the impalement of their donkey because it began braying after its masters' death. Beheim also accused Vlad of duplicity, stating that Vlad had promised support to both Matthias Corvinus and MehmedII but did not keep the promise.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: In 1475, Gabriele Rangoni, Bishop of Eger (and a former papal legate), understood that Vlad had been imprisoned because of his cruelty. Rangoni also recorded the rumour that while in prison Vlad caught rats to cut them up into pieces or stuck them on small pieces of wood, because he was unable to "forget his wickedness". Antonio Bonfini also recorded anecdotes about Vlad in his "Historia Pannonica" around 1495. Bonfini wanted to justify both the removal and the restoration of Vlad by Matthias. He described Vlad as "a man of unheard cruelty and justice". Bonfini's stories about Vlad were repeated in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmography". Münster also recorded Vlad's "reputation for tyrannical justice".


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Works containing the stories about Vlad's cruelty were published in Low German in the Holy Roman Empire before 1480. The stories were allegedly written in the early 1460s, because they describe Vlad's campaign across the Danube in early 1462, but they do not refer to MehmedII's invasion of Wallachia in June of the same year. They provide a detailed narration of the conflicts between Vlad and the Transylvanian Saxons, showing that they originated "in the literary minds of the Saxons".


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The stories about Vlad's plundering raids in Transylvania were clearly based on an eyewitness account, because they contain accurate details (including the lists of the churches destroyed by Vlad and the dates of the raids). They describe Vlad as a "demented psychopath, a sadist, a gruesome murderer, a masochist", worse than Caligula and Nero. However, the stories emphasizing Vlad's cruelty are to be treated with caution because his brutal acts were very probably exaggerated (or even invented) by the Saxons.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The invention of movable type printing contributed to the popularity of the stories about Vlad, making them one of the first "bestsellers" in Europe. To enhance sales, they were published in books with woodcuts on their title pages that depicted horrific scenes. For instance, the editions published in Nuremberg in 1499 and in Strasbourg in 1500 depict Vlad dining at a table surrounded by dead or dying people on poles.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: There are more than twenty manuscripts (written between the 15th and 18th centuries) which preserved the text of the "Skazanie o Drakule voievode" (The Tale about Voivode Dracula). The manuscripts were written in Russian, but they copied a text that had originally been recorded in a South Slavic language, because they contain expressions alien to the Russian language but used in South Slavic idioms (such as "diavol" for "evil"). The original text was written in Buda between 1482 and 1486.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The nineteen anecdotes in the "Skazanie" are longer than the German stories about Vlad. They are a mixture of fact and fiction, according to historian Raymond T. McNally. Almost half of the anecdotes emphasize, like the German stories, Vlad's brutality, but they also underline that his cruelty enabled him to strengthen the central government in Wallachia. For instance, the "Skazanie" writes of a golden cup that nobody dared to steal at a fountain because Vlad "hated stealing so violently ... that anybody who caused any evil or robbery ... did not live long", thereby promoting public order, and the German story about Vlad's campaign against Ottoman territory underlined his cruel acts while the "Skazanie" emphasized his successful diplomacy calling him "zlomudry" or "evil-wise". On the other hand, the "Skazanie" sharply criticized Vlad for his conversion to Catholicism, attributing his death to this apostasy. Some elements of the anecdotes were later added to Russian stories about Ivan the Terrible of Russia.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The mass murders that Vlad carried out indiscriminately and brutally would most likely amount to acts of genocide and war crimes by current standards. Romanian defense minister Ioan Mircea Pașcu asserted that Vlad would have been condemned for crimes against humanity had he been put on trial at Nuremberg.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The "Cantacuzino Chronicle" was the first Romanian historical work to record a tale about Vlad the Impaler, narrating the impalement of the old boyars of Târgoviște for the murder of his brother, Dan. The chronicle added that Vlad forced the young boyars and their wives and children to build the Poenari Castle. The legend of the Poenari Castle was mentioned in 1747 by NeofitI, Metropolitan of Ungro–Wallachia, who complemented it with the story of Meșterul Manole, who allegedly walled in his bride to prevent the crumbling of the walls of the castle during the building project. In the early 20th century, Constantin Rădulescu-Codin, a teacher in Muscel County where the castle was situated, published a local legend about Vlad's letter of grant "written on rabbit skin" for the villagers who had helped him to escape from Poenari Castle to Transylvania during the Ottoman invasion of Wallachia. In other villages of the region, the donation is attributed to the legendary Radu Negru.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Rădulescu-Codin recorded further local legends, some of which are also known from the German and Slavic stories about Vlad, suggesting that the latter stories preserved oral tradition. For instance, the tales about the burning of the lazy, the poor, and the lame at Vlad's order and the execution of the woman who had made her husband too short a shirt can also be found among the German and Slavic anecdotes. The peasants telling the tales knew that Vlad's sobriquet was connected to the frequent impalements during his reign, but they said only such cruel acts could secure public order in Wallachia.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Most Romanian artists have regarded Vlad as a just ruler and a realistic tyrant who punished criminals and executed unpatriotic boyars to strengthen the central government. Ion Budai-Deleanu wrote the first Romanian epic poem focusing on him. Deleanu's "Țiganiada" (Gypsy Epic) (which was published only in 1875, almost a century after its composition) presented Vlad as a hero fighting against the boyars, Ottomans, "strigoi" (or vampires), and other evil spirits at the head of an army of gypsies and angels. The poet Dimitrie Bolintineanu emphasized Vlad's triumphs in his "Battles of the Romanians" in the middle of the 19thcentury. He regarded Vlad as a reformer whose acts of violence were necessary to prevent the despotism of the boyars. One of the greatest Romanian poets, Mihai Eminescu, dedicated a historic ballad, "The Third Letter", to the valiant princes of Wallachia, including Vlad. He urges Vlad to return from the grave and to annihilate the enemies of the Romanian nation:


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: In the early 1860s, the painter Theodor Aman depicted the meeting of Vlad and the Ottoman envoys, showing the envoys' fear of the Wallachian ruler.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Since the middle of the 19th century, Romanian historians have treated Vlad as one of the greatest Romanian rulers, emphasizing his fight for the independence of the Romanian lands. Even Vlad's acts of cruelty were often represented as rational acts serving national interest. Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol was one of the first historians to emphasize that Vlad could only stop the internal fights of the boyar parties through his acts of terror. Constantin C. Giurescu remarked, "The tortures and executions which [Vlad] ordered were not out of caprice, but always had a reason, and very often a reason of state." Ioan Bogdan was one of the few Romanian historians who did not accept this heroic image. In his work published in 1896, "Vlad Țepeș and the German and Russian Narratives", he concluded that the Romanians should be ashamed of Vlad, instead of presenting him as "a model of courage and patriotism". According to an opinion poll conducted in 1999, 4.1% of the participants chose Vlad the Impaler as one of "the most important historical personalities who have influenced the destiny of the Romanians for the better".


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: The stories about Vlad made him the best-known medieval ruler of the Romanian lands in Europe. However, Bram Stoker's "Dracula", which was published in 1897, was the first book to make a connection between Dracula and vampirism. Stoker had his attention drawn to the blood-sucking vampires of Romanian folklore by Emily Gerard's article about Transylvanian superstitions (published in 1885). His limited knowledge about the medieval history of Wallachia came from William Wilkinson's book entitled "Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia with Political Observations Relative to Them", published in 1820.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Stoker "apparently did not know much about" Vlad the Impaler, "certainly not enough for us to say that Vlad was the inspiration for" Count Dracula, according to Elizabeth Miller. For instance, Stoker wrote that Dracula had been of Székely origin only because he knew about both Attila the Hun's destructive campaigns and the alleged Hunnic origin of the Székelys. Stoker's main source, Wilkinson, who accepted the reliability of the German stories, described Vlad as a wicked man. Actually, Stoker's working papers for his book contain no references to the historical figure, the name of the character being named in all drafts but the later ones 'Count Wampyr'. Consequently, Stoker borrowed the name and "scraps of miscellaneous information" about the history of Wallachia when writing his book about Count Dracula.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Pope Pius II's legate, Niccolò Modrussa, painted the only extant description of Vlad, whom he had met in Buda. A copy of Vlad's portrait has been featured in the "monster portrait gallery" in the Ambras Castle at Innsbruck. The picture depicts "a strong, cruel, and somehow tortured man" with "large, deep-set, dark green, and penetrating eyes", according to Florescu. The colour of Vlad's hair cannot be determined because Modrussa mentions that Vlad was black-haired, while the portrait seems to show that he had fair hair. The picture depicts Vlad with a large lower lip.


title: Vlad the Impaler

text: Vlad's bad reputation in the German-speaking territories can be detected in a number of Renaissance paintings. He was portrayed among the witnesses of Saint Andrew's martyrdom in a 15th-century painting, displayed in the Belvedere in Vienna. A figure similar to Vlad is one of the witnesses of Christ in the Calvary in a chapel of the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Khamzat Khizarovich Chimaev (; "né" Girikhanov, born 1 May 1994), is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He formerly competed in Brave Combat Federation. In wrestling, Chimaev is a three-time Swedish National champion. As of 12 April 2022, he is #3 in the UFC welterweight rankings.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev was born in the Chechen Republic of Russia, where he started wrestling when he was five years old. He allegedly won a bronze medal at the Russian National Championships in the junior level. In 2013, when he was 18, he immigrated to Sweden with his mother, joining his older brother.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: After moving to Sweden, Chimaev wrestled at multiple clubs, including BK Athén. Considered one of the best freestyle wrestlers in the country, Chimaev won a gold medal at the 2016 and 2017 Swedish Freestyle National Championships at 86 kilograms, and in 2018 he did so at 92 kilograms. Chimaev has had a series of dominant performances in the tournament, posting an overall record of 12–0, which includes three pins, seven technical falls and holds a combined score of 105 points, while only surrendering two himself, across all of his three showdowns. Chimaev has competed in a few judo tournaments and in four combat sambo fights.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev competed against fellow UFC contender Jack Hermansson in a freestyle wrestling match on 19 November 2021, at Sweden-based Bulldog Fight Night 9, winning on points.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev first started training in MMA when he was 23 years old. He trains at Allstar Training Center in Stockholm, along with three-time UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Alexander Gustafsson, Ilir Latifi and Reza Madadi among others. Gustafsson (one of his main training partners) told a Swedish reporter that Chimaev was one of the best fighters he had ever trained with, during a press conference in June 2019.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: In an interview with ESPN, Chimaev claimed he was inspired to start training in MMA during a night at work where he took a 15-minute break to watch the Aldo vs. McGregor main event. Chimaev stated, "I was watching his [McGregor's] fight. I was watching him fight Aldo. I was sitting in night and was working. I was taking rest for 15 minutes and watched his fight. I always look at that like if the guys make so many money like millions and this stuff, why I can't do it now. I'm a fighter, I'm a warrior and I have something special inside me. I had to find some way and take out this to show to the people."


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Between September 2017 and April 2018, Chimaev had three amateur MMA fights. The first of them was against future IMMAF World Champion Khaled Laallam, whom he defeated via submission in the second round. He won his following two amateur fights, one by submission and one by technical knockout, completing his amateur career with a record of 3–0.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev turned professional on 26 May 2018, at International Ring Fight Arena 14, against Gard Olve Sagen. He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Chimaev's next fight took place on 18 August 2018, against Ole Magnor at Fight Club Rush 3. He won via submission with a rear naked choke late in the first round.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: After having his first two professional fights in Sweden, Chimaev signed with Middle Eastern organization Brave Combat Federation. He was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Benjamin Bennett on 16 November 2018, at Brave CF 18. However, Bennett withdrew from the bout and was replaced by undefeated prospect Marko Kisič. Chimaev won the fight via technical knockout in the first round after dropping his opponent with a left hand.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev had a quick turnaround for his next fight when he took on Sidney Wheeler on short notice on 22 December 2018, at Brave CF 20, replacing an injured Leon Aliu. He won the fight via technical knockout in 35 seconds into the first round.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: He then fought Ikram Aliskerov on 19 April 2019, at Brave CF 23. This was Chimaev's debut in the welterweight division. He won the bout via knockout after landing an uppercut in the first round. This performance earned him Brave's "Knockout of the Night" award.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: His fourth promotional fight came against Mzwandile Hlongwa on 4 October 2019, at Brave CF 27. Chimaev won the fight via submission in the second round.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev was expected to challenge Jarrah Al-Selawe for the BCF Welterweight Championship on 18 April 2020, at Brave CF 37, which would be the promotions first event in Chimaev's hometown of Stockholm, Sweden. However, the event would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the matchup was cancelled altogether when Chimaev signed with the UFC instead.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev made his promotional debut in a middleweight bout against John Phillips, replacing Duško Todorović, on 16 July 2020, at UFC on ESPN 13. He won the fight via submission in the second round. This win earned him the "Performance of the Night" award.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Ten days after the fight against Phillips, Chimaev faced promotional newcomer Rhys McKee at welterweight on 25 July 2020, at UFC on ESPN 14. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. He earned his second "Performance of the Night" bonus award. This win also marked a new UFC record for the fastest consecutive wins in modern UFC history (ten days), although the official UFC record is still held by Royce Gracie, who achieved four consecutive wins within one night at UFC 2.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: It was reported on 6 September 2020, that Chimaev would have another quick turnaround as he was booked to face Gerald Meerschaert on 19 September 2020, at UFC Fight Night 178. He won the fight against Meerschaert via knockout just 17 seconds into round one. This win earned him his third straight "Performance of the Night" award. This also earned him a new record, as it was the fastest three fight winning streak in modern UFC history (66 days).


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev was scheduled to face Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC Fight Night 183 on 19 December 2020. In between, Chimaev was added to the UFC welterweight rankings, entering at #15. On 29 November, it was announced that Chimaev had tested positive for COVID-19, and the bout was declared to be in jeopardy. On 1 December, Edwards also tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was subsequently postponed. On 22 December, it was announced that the bout was rescheduled for 20 January 2021, at UFC Fight Night 185. Subsequently, Chimaev pulled out of the contest on 29 December due to his own COVID-19 recovery. As a result, the bout was momentarily cancelled. The pair was rescheduled once again to headline UFC Fight Night 187, on 13 March. However, on 11 February, UFC president Dana White announced the fight was once again cancelled due to Chimaev suffering from lingering effects of COVID-19.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: On 1 March 2021, he announced on Instagram that he was retiring from the sport due to lung complications caused by COVID-19. Dana White later came out and said Chimaev was not retired and was just emotional after experiencing effects of prednisone for his lungs during a training session.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev returned to face Li Jingliang on 30 October 2021, at UFC 267. He won the bout via technical submission, choking Jingliang unconscious with a rear-naked choke in round one. This win earned him his fourth straight "Performance of the Night" award.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev faced Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 on 9 April 2022. Chimaev won the fight via unanimous decision, the first decision victory of his career. The fight was awarded the "Fight of the Night" award. The fight also earned him first place in the Crypto.com "Fan Bonus of the Night" award.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev was scheduled to face Nate Diaz on 10 September 2022 in the main event of UFC 279. At the weigh-ins, Chimaev weighed in at 178.5 pounds, seven and a half pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. As a result of missing weight, Chimaev was removed from his main event bout with Diaz, and instead faced Kevin Holland in the co-main event at a 180-pound catchweight bout. Holland was already set for a 180-pound catchweight bout against Daniel Rodriguez on the card. Chimaev won the bout via D'Arce Choke in the first round.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev has trained at Allstar Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden since he was 23 years of age. He moved there to start his MMA career in 2017, after previously living in another Swedish town, Kalmar, where he trained at the local wrestling club. Chimaev continues to train alongside current and former UFC fighters such as Alexander Gustafsson, Ilir Latifi and Reza Madadi, with the latter being his main trainer.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: In 2022, Chimaev and UFC title challenger Darren Till got in contact to train with each other, with Till arriving to Stockholm in February, and have since been training at Allstar Training Center and shooting content for YouTube and Blockasset.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: In an interview, Chimaev revealed he trains up to five times a day on the peak of training camps, and two to three times when he has no fights coming up.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev often utilizes his freestyle wrestling in his fights to get his opponents to the ground. Once he is on top control, he employs different techniques to gain control over his opponents and land heavy ground-and-pound or seek submissions, while forcing his weight towards them. His grappling is very often compared to Khabib Nurmagomedov's, due to the similarities of the techniques, such as the handcuff lock and hooking the legs. Regarding strikes, Chimaev landed 192–2 in his first two UFC bouts utilizing this strategy. Chimaev also proved its effectiveness on the regional circuit as well, with a quick win over former two-time GHSA wrestling champion Sidney Wheeler after taking him down with an outside trip.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: In addition to his grappling abilities, Chimaev will also strike in his contests. Although his striking is still relatively unknown and untested, it involves heavy knockout power from the orthodox stance while utilizing basic boxing and mixing up kicks. He also uses his wrestling to set up his strikes by feinting different takedowns and vice versa. By using his striking, Chimaev has been able to knock out UFC veteran Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds with a single punch. He has previously used it to drop past opponents on the regional circuit, including former combat sambo World Champion Ikram Aliskerov.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Khamzat has an older brother named Artur, who competes in freestyle wrestling. Chimaev represents Sweden in MMA competition, having moved to Kalmar when he was 19 years old. He carries a notable scar on his lip, which he got at the age of two when he fell down on concrete stairs, leaving him unable to breathe correctly through one nostril.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Before he began competing professionally, he worked at a poultry factory in Kalmar and also did security work.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev contracted COVID-19 in December 2020 and suffered lingering symptoms that required multiple hospitalizations and the cancelation of a scheduled fight against Leon Edwards.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev is close to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov gifted Chimaev a Mercedes-Benz, which he crashed months later. Kadyrov also allegedly convinced Chimaev to not retire in March 2021 and go back to Chechnya, which led to speculation on the media on whether Chimaev had been forced to do so. Chimaev was present during a livestream in which Kadyrov threatened to kill a minor who criticized his repressive rule. Chimaev has also sparred with Kadyrov, and appeared in multiple photoshoots with Kadyrov. In March 2022, Chechen dissidents criticized Chimaev's continued association with Kadyrov due to his repressive rule of the Chechen Republic.


title: Khamzat Chimaev

text: Chimaev got married on 21 May 2022, in Chechnya and the wedding was attended by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.


title: Tutankhamun

text: Tutankhamun (, ), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled in the conventional chronology) during the New Kingdom of Egyptian history. His father is believed to be the pharaoh Akhenaten, identified as the mummy found in the tomb KV55. His mother is his father's sister, identified through DNA testing as an unknown mummy referred to as "The Younger Lady" who was found in KV35.


title: Tutankhamun

text: Tutankhamun took the throne at eight or nine years of age under the unprecedented viziership of his eventual successor, Ay, to whom he may have been related. He married his paternal half-sister Ankhesenamun. During their marriage they lost two daughters, one at 5–6 months of pregnancy and the other shortly after birth at full-term. His names—"Tutankhaten" and "Tutankhamun"—are thought to mean "Living image of Aten" and "Living image of Amun", with Aten replaced by Amun after Akhenaten's death. A small number of Egyptologists, including Battiscombe Gunn, believe the translation may be incorrect and closer to "The-life-of-Aten-is-pleasing" or, as Professor Gerhard Fecht believes, reads as "One-perfect-of-life-is-Aten".


title: Tutankhamun

text: Tutankhamun restored the Ancient Egyptian religion after its dissolution by his father, enriched and endowed the priestly orders of two important cults, and began restoring old monuments damaged during the previous Amarna period. He reburied his father's remains in the Valley of the Kings and relocated the capital from Akhetaten back to Thebes. Tutankhamun was physically disabled with a deformity of his left foot along with bone necrosis that required the use of a cane, several of which were found in his tomb. He had other health issues including scoliosis and had contracted several strains of malaria.


title: Tutankhamun

text: The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter of Tutankhamun's nearly intact tomb, in excavations funded by Lord Carnarvon, received worldwide press coverage. With over 5,000 artefacts, it gave rise to renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun's mask, now in the Egyptian Museum, remains a popular symbol. The deaths of some involved in discovery of Tutankhamun's mummy have been popularly attributed to the “curse of the pharaohs”. Some of his treasure has traveled worldwide with unprecedented response; the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities allowed tours beginning in 1961. He has, since the discovery of his intact tomb, been referred to colloquially as "King Tut".


title: Tutankhamun

text: Tutankhamun, whose original name was Tutankhaten or Tutankhuaten, was born during the reign of Akhenaten, during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Akhenaten's reign was characterized by a dramatic shift in ancient Egyptian religion, known as Atenism, and the relocation of the capital to the site of Amarna, which gave its name to the modern term for this era, the Amarna Period. Toward the end of the Amarna Period, two other pharaohs appear in the record who were apparently Akhenaten's co-regents: Neferneferuaten, a female ruler who may have been Akhenaten's wife Nefertiti or his daughter Meritaten; and Smenkhkare, whom some Egyptologists believe was the same person as Neferneferuaten but most regard as a distinct figure. It is uncertain whether Smenkhkare's reign outlasted Akhenaten's, whereas Neferneferuaten is now thought to have become co-regent shortly before Akhenaten's death and to have reigned for some time after it.


title: Tutankhamun

text: An inscription from Hermopolis refers to "Tutankhuaten" as a "king's son", and he is generally thought to have been the son of Akhenaten, although some suggest instead that Smenkhkare was his father. Inscriptions from Tutankhamun's reign treat him as a son of Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, but that is only possible if Akhenaten's 17-year reign included a long co-regency with his father, a possibility that many Egyptologists once supported but is now being abandoned.


title: Tutankhamun

text: While some suggestions have been made that Tutankhamun's mother was Meketaten, the second daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, based on a relief from the Royal Tomb at Amarna, this possibility has been deemed unlikely given that she was about 10 years old at the time of her death. Another interpretation of the relief names Nefertiti as his mother. Meritaten has also been put forward as his mother based on a re-examination of a box lid and coronation tunic found in his tomb. Tutankhamun was wet nursed by a woman named Maia, known from her tomb at Saqqara.


title: Tutankhamun

text: In 2008, genetic analysis was carried out on the mummified remains of Tutankhamun and others thought or known to be New Kingdom royalty by a team from University of Cairo. The results indicated that his father was the mummy from tomb KV55, identified as Akhenaten, and that his mother was the mummy from tomb KV35, known as the "Younger Lady", who was found to be a full sister of her husband. The team reported it was over 99.99 percent certain that Amenhotep III was the father of the individual in KV55, who was in turn the father of Tutankhamun. More recent genetic analysis, published in 2020, revealed Tutankhamun had the haplogroups YDNA R1b, which originated in Europe and which today makes up 50–90% of the genetic pool of modern western Europeans, and mtDNA K, which originated in the Near East. He shares this Y-haplogroup with his father, the KV55 mummy (Akhenaten), and grandfather, Amenhotep III, and his mtDNA haplogroup with his mother, The Younger Lady, his grandmother, Tiye, and his great-grandmother, Thuya, upholding the results of the earlier genetic study. The profiles for Tutankhamun and Amenhotep III were incomplete and the analysis produced differing probability figures despite having concordant allele results. Because the relationships of these two mummies with the KV55 mummy had previously been confirmed in an earlier study, the haplogroup prediction of both mummies could be derived from the full profile of the KV55 data. In 2022, biological anthropologist S.O.Y. Keita commented that analysis of the Short Tandem Repeat (STR) data published on Rameses III and the Amarna royal mummies which included Tutankhamun showed “a majority to have an affinity with “Sub-Saharan” Africans in one affinity analysis”. Although, he cautioned that this does not mean that the royal mummies “lacked other affiliations” which he argued had been obscured in typological thinking. Keita further added that different “data and algorithms might give different results” which reflected the complexity of biological heritage and the associated interpretation. The identity of The Younger Lady is unknown but she cannot be Nefertiti, as she was not known to be a sister of Akhenaten. However, researchers such as Marc Gabolde and Aidan Dodson claim that Nefertiti was indeed Tutankhamun's mother. In this interpretation of the DNA results, the genetic closeness is not due to a brother-sister pairing but the result of three generations of first-cousin marriage, making Nefertiti a first cousin of Akhenaten. The validity and reliability of the genetic data from mummified remains has been questioned due to possible degradation due to decay.


title: Tutankhamun

text: When Tutankhaten became king, he married Ankhesenpaaten, one of Akhenaten's daughters, who later changed her name to Ankhesenamun. They had two daughters, neither of whom survived infancy. While only an incomplete genetic profile was obtained from the two mummified foetuses, it was enough to confirm that Tutankhamun was their father. Likewise, only partial data for the two female mummies from KV21 has been obtained so far. KV21A has been suggested as the mother of the foetuses but the data is not statistically significant enough to allow her to be securely identified as Ankhesenamun. Computed tomography studies published in 2011 revealed that one daughter was born prematurely at 5–6 months of pregnancy and the other at full-term, 9 months. Tutankhamun's death marked the end of the royal line of the 18th Dynasty.


title: Tutankhamun

text: Tutankhamun was between eight and nine years of age when he ascended the throne and became pharaoh, taking the throne name Nebkheperure. He reigned for about nine years. During Tutankhamun's reign the position of Vizier had been split between Upper and Lower Egypt. The principal vizier for Upper Egypt was Usermontu. Another figure named Pentju was also vizier but it is unclear of which lands. It is not entirely known if Ay, Tutankhamun's successor, actually held this position. A gold foil fragment from KV58 seems to indicate, but not certainly, that Ay was referred to as a Priest of Maat along with an epithet of "vizier, doer of maat." The epithet does not fit the usual description used by the regular vizier but might indicate an informal title. It might be that Ay used the title of vizier in an unprecedented manner.


title: Tutankhamun

text: An Egyptian priest named Manetho wrote a comprehensive history of ancient Egypt where he refers to a king named Orus, who ruled for 36 years and had a daughter named Acencheres who reigned twelve years and her brother Rathotis who ruled for only nine years. The Amarna rulers are central in the list but which name corresponds with which historic figure is not agreed upon by researchers. Orus and Acencheres have been identified with Horemheb and Akhenaten and Rathotis with Tutankhamun. The names are also associated with Smenkhkare, Amenhotep III, Ay and the others in differing order.


title: Tutankhamun

text: Kings were venerated after their deaths through mortuary cults and associated temples. Tutankhamun was one of the few kings worshiped in this manner during his lifetime. A stela discovered at Karnak and dedicated to Amun-Ra and Tutankhamun indicates that the king could be appealed to in his deified state for forgiveness and to free the petitioner from an ailment caused by sin. Temples of his cult were built as far away as in Kawa and Faras in Nubia. The title of the sister of the Viceroy of Kush included a reference to the deified king, indicative of the universality of his cult.


title: Tutankhamun

text: In order for the pharaoh, who held divine office, to be linked to the people and the gods, special epithets were created for them at their accession to the throne. The ancient Egyptian titulary also served to demonstrate one's qualities and link them to the terrestrial realm. The five names were developed over the centuries beginning with the Horus name. Tutankhamun's original nomen, "Tutankhaten", did not have a Nebty name or a Gold Falcon name associated with it as nothing has been found with the full five-name protocol. "Tutankhaten" was believed to mean ""Living-image-of-Aten"" as far back as 1877; however, not all Egyptologists agree with this interpretation. English Egyptologist Battiscombe Gunn believed that the older interpretation did not fit with Akhenaten's theology. Gunn believed that such an name would have been blasphemous. He saw "tut" as a verb and not a noun and gave his translation in 1926 as "The-life-of-Aten-is-pleasing". Professor Gerhard Fecht also believed the word "tut" was a verb. He noted that Akhenaten used "tit" as a word for 'image', not "tut". Fecht translated the verb "tut" as ""To be perfect/complete"". Using Aten as the subject, Fecht's full translation was ""One-perfect-of-life-is-Aten"". The Hermopolis Block (two carved block fragments discovered in Ashmunein) has a unique spelling of the first nomen written as "Tutankhuaten"; it uses "ankh" as a verb, which does support the older translation of "Living-image-of-Aten".


title: Tutankhamun

text: Once crowned and after "taking counsel" with the god Amun, Tutankhamun made several endowments that enriched and added to the priestly numbers of the cults of Amun and Ptah. He commissioned new statues of the deities from the best metals and stone and had new processional barques made of the finest cedar from Lebanon and had them embellished with gold and silver. The priests and all of the attending dancers, singers and attendants had their positions restored and a decree of royal protection granted to insure their future stability.


title: Tutankhamun

text: Tutankhamun's second year as pharaoh began the return to the old Egyptian order. Both he and his queen removed 'Aten' from their names, replacing it with Amun and moved the capital from Akhetaten to Thebes. He renounced the god Aten, relegating it to obscurity and returned Egyptian religion to its polytheistic form. His first act as a pharaoh was to remove his father's mummy from his tomb at Akhetaten and rebury it in the Valley of the Kings. This helped strengthen his reign. Tutankhamun rebuilt the stelae, shrines, and buildings at Karnak. He added works to Luxor as well as beginning the restoration of other temples throughout Egypt that were pillaged by Akhenaten.


title: Tutankhamun

text: The country was economically weak and in turmoil following the reign of Akhenaten. Diplomatic relations with other kingdoms had been neglected, and Tutankhamun sought to restore them, in particular with the Mitanni. Evidence of his success is suggested by the gifts from various countries found in his tomb. Despite his efforts for improved relations, battles with Nubians and Asiatics were recorded in his mortuary temple at Thebes. His tomb contained body armor, folding stools appropriate for military campaigns, and bows, and he was trained in archery. However, given his youth and physical disabilities, which seemed to require the use of a cane in order to walk, most historians speculate that he did not personally take part in these battles.


title: Tutankhamun

text: Given his age, the king probably had advisers which presumably included Ay (who succeeded Tutankhamun) and General Horemheb, Ay's possible son in law and successor. Horemheb records that the king appointed him "lord of the land" as hereditary prince to maintain law. He also noted his ability to calm the young king when his temper flared.


title: Tutankhamun

text: In his third regnal year Tutankhamun reversed several changes made during his father's reign. He ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the god Amun to supremacy. The ban on the cult of Amun was lifted and traditional privileges were restored to its priesthood. The capital was moved back to Thebes and the city of Akhetaten was abandoned. As part of his restoration, the king initiated building projects, in particular at Karnak in Thebes, where he laid out the sphinx avenue leading to the temple of Mut. The sphinxes were originally made for Akhenaten and Nefertiti; they were given new ram heads and small statues of the king. At Luxor temple he completed the decoration of the entrance colonnade of Amenhotep III. Monuments defaced under Akhenaten were restored, and new cult images of the god Amun were created. The traditional festivals were now celebrated again, including those related to the Apis Bull, Horemakhet, and Opet. His Restoration Stela erected in front of Karnak temple says:


title: Tutankhamun

text: A building called the Temple-of-Nebkheperure-Beloved-of-Amun-Who-Puts-Thebes-in-Order, which may be identical to a building called Temple-of-Nebkheperre-in-Thebes, a possible mortuary temple, used recycled talatat from Akhenaten's east Karnak Aten temples indicating that the dismantling of these temples was already underway. Many of Tutankhamun's construction projects were uncompleted at the time of his death and were completed by or usurped by his successors, especially Horemheb. The sphinx avenue was completed by his successor Ay and the whole was usurped by Horemheb. The Restoration Stele was usurped by Horemheb; pieces of the Temple-of-Nebkheperure-in-Thebes were recycled into Horemheb's own building projects.


title: Tutankhamun

text: Tutankhamun was slight of build, and roughly tall. He had large front incisors and an overbite characteristic of the Thutmosid royal line to which he belonged. Analysis of the clothing found in his tomb, particularly the dimensions of his loincloths and belts indicates that he had a narrow waist and rounded hips. In attempts to explain both his unusual depiction in art and his early death it has been theorised that Tutankhamun had gynecomastia, Marfan syndrome, Wilson–Turner X-linked intellectual disability syndrome, Fröhlich syndrome (adiposogenital dystrophy), Klinefelter syndrome, androgen insensitivity syndrome, aromatase excess syndrome in conjunction with sagittal craniosynostosis syndrome, Antley–Bixler syndrome or one of its variants. It has also been suggested that he had inherited temporal lobe epilepsy in a bid to explain the religiosity of his great-grandfather Thutmose IV and father Akhenaten and their early deaths. However, caution has been urged in this diagnosis.


title: Tutankhamun

text: In 1980, James Harris and Edward F. Wente conducted X-ray examinations of New Kingdom Pharaoh's crania and skeletal remains, which included the mummified remains of Tutankhamun. The authors determined that the royal mummies of the 18th Dynasty bore strong similarities to contemporary Nubians with slight differences.


title: Tutankhamun

text: In January 2005 Tutankhamun's mummy was CT scanned. The results showed that the young king had a partially cleft hard palate and possibly a mild case of scoliosis. Additionally, he was diagnosed with a flat right foot with hypophalangism, while his left foot was clubbed and had bone necrosis of the second and third metatarsals (Freiberg disease or Köhler disease II). However, the clubfoot diagnosis is disputed. James Gamble instead suggests that the position is a result of Tutankhamun habitually walking on the outside of his foot due to the pain caused by Köhler disease II; this theory has been refuted by members of Hawass' team. The condition may have forced Tutankhamun to walk with the use of a cane, many of which were found in his tomb. Genetic testing through STR analysis rejected the hypothesis of gynecomastia and craniosynostoses (e.g., Antley–Bixler syndrome) or Marfan syndrome. Genetic testing for STEVOR, AMA1, or MSP1 genes specific for "Plasmodium falciparum" revealed indications of malaria tropica in 4 mummies, including Tutankhamun's. This is currently the oldest known genetic proof of the ailment. The team discovered DNA from several strains of the parasite, indicating that he was repeatedly infected with the most severe strain of malaria. His malaria infections may have caused a fatal immune response in the body or triggered circulatory shock. The CT scan also showed that he had experienced a compound left leg fracture. This injury being the result of modern damage was ruled out based on the ragged edges of the fracture; modern damage features sharp edges. Embalming substances were present within the fracture indicating that it was associated with an open wound; no signs of healing were present.


title: Tutankhamun

text: A facial reconstruction of Tutankhamun was carried out in 2005 by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and "National Geographic". Three separate teams—Egyptian, French, and American—worked separately to approximate the face of the boy king. While the Egyptian and French teams knew their subject was Tutankhamun, the American team worked blind. All teams produced very similar results, but it was that of the French team that was ultimately cast in silicone.


title: Tutankhamun

text: Stuart Tyson Smith, Egyptologist and professor of anthropology at University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2008 expressed criticism of the forensic reconstruction in a journal review. He noted that “Tutankhamun’s face” was depicted as “very light-skinned” which reflected a “bias” among media outlets. Smith further added that “Egyptologists have been strangely reluctant to admit that the ancient Egyptians were rather dark-skinned Africans, especially the farther south one goes”.


title: Tutankhamun

text: There are no surviving records of the circumstances of Tutankhamun's death; it has been the subject of considerable debate and major studies.


title: Tutankhamun

text: Hawass and his team postulate that his death was likely the result of the combination of his multiple weakening disorders, a leg fracture, perhaps as the result of a fall, and a severe malarial infection. However, Timmann and Meyer have argued that sickle cell anemia better fits the pathologies exhibited by the king, a suggestion the Egyptian team has called "interesting and plausible".


title: Tutankhamun

text: Murder by a blow to the head was theorised as a result of the 1968 which showed two bone fragments inside the skull. This theory was disproved by further analysis of the and the CT scan. The inter-cranial bone fragments were determined to be the result of the modern unwrapping of the mummy as they are loose and not adherent to the embalming resin. No evidence of bone thinning or calcified membranes, which could be indicative of a fatal blow to the head, were found. It has also been suggested that the young king was killed in a chariot accident due to a pattern of crushing injuries, including the fact that the front part of his chest wall and ribs are missing. However, the missing ribs are unlikely to be a result of an injury sustained at the time of death; photographs taken at the conclusion of Carter's excavation in 1926 show that the chest wall of the king was intact, still wearing a beaded collar with falcon-headed terminals. The absence of both the collar and chest wall was noted in the 1968 and further confirmed by the CT scan. It is likely that the front part of his chest was removed by robbers during the theft of the beaded collar; the intricate beaded skullcap the king was pictured wearing in 1926 was also missing by 1968.