Pope Pius II he brought together the representatives of Christianity at the Council of Mantua (1459) to convene a new crusade against the Turks who, since the capture of Constantinople, had been advancing through Eastern Europe. The call was received with indifference by European leaders - more concerned about the disputes between them - with the exception of Matías Corvino , King of Hungary, and Vlad III , prince of Wallachia, also known as Vlad Tepes , Vlad the Impaler … or Dracula . The cruelty of this historical character would be the source of inspiration for the literary creature that came to light in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula (1897). The origin of Dracula's name comes from his father Vlad II Dracul who was a member of the Order of the Dragon (Dracul) founded to protect Christianity in Eastern Europe.
Actually, both Corvino and Vlad had the Turks at their doors and, logically, they were the most interested in the proposal prospering; so, they allied themselves and received 40,000 ducats from the Pope to raise an army to stop the Turks. Feeling strong, Vlad decides not to pay the tribute demanded by Sultan Mehmed II (10,000 ducats and 500 boys for his Janissary army) as a token of vassalage. The Sultan cannot consent to that contempt and orders his assassination. To do this, the Turkish general Hazma Bey he asks to meet with the prince of Wallachia to discuss the terms of a new agreement. Vlad, knowing it was a trap, agrees to the proposal and prepares his men to ambush them. He captures the Turkish delegation and, following a strict order, impales them depending on his rank:the highest military rank in higher stakes. Now that he is the one in control of the situation, and without entrusting himself to the Pope or his ally, he decides to go ahead. The bulk of the Turkish army waited on the other side of the Danube for the order to attack when the prince had been killed, but they are surprised in the middle of the night by Vlad's troops... and defeated. The result of Vlad's raids across the Danube were more than 20,000 men impaled on a forest of stakes.
In the words of Nicolas de Modrussa , legacy of the Pope…
He killed some by breaking them under chariot wheels, others were stripped of their clothes and skinned alive, others were driven into stakes and placed on red-hot coals, most impaled on stakes that entered through the anus passed through its entrails and came out through the mouth...
And the Pope, what did he think of this forest? Well I guess he would have to say it was a massacre but on the other hand Vlad helped keep the Ottomans at bay and would consider the impaled forest a psychological weapon against the infidels.
Source:“Of the human and the divine”