19.
Radu stood by the wall
opening of his home. He did not occupy the previous voivode's home of Vlad III;
he left it for the family there. He was offered Castle Poenari, taken by him
from the forces of Vlad III, but there he left it alone, and the legally wedded
wife of Vlad III resides. He was briefly the Voivode, switching the seat with
Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân, or Basarab III, several times.
Basarab III was the son of
Dan II, the 9th Voivode of Wallachia. His brothers were Basarab
II, Vladislav II, and Dan III. He was to join Duke Stephen
III of Moldavia in preparing an offensive to drive Radu III out
of the Voivodeship of Wallachia.
That year, Radu III faced
the invading forces near Gergica in Prahova but was defeated and fled to the
Citadel of Bucharest.
Later, Radu III attempted to
retake Wallachia with an Ottoman army of thirteen thousand strong but was
defeated by an army under Basarab III combined with a Moldavian army of about
six thousand Wallachians. Radu was a part of Vlad’s family, but he was considered
a traitor to the Wallachians when he did not assist Vlad III in the campaigns.
Instead, he rode with the Sultan attacking Constantinople.
“He betrayed us.” Those were
the sentiments of the people. Radu III had crossed the Danube again at the head
of an Ottoman army of about thirty thousand. Basarab III, who was the voivode
then, did not receive support from Stephen III and fled to Moldavia. The
Ottoman army continued its momentum and marched into Moldavia but was soundly
defeated by Stephen III at Barad. The battles between the Ottomans and
Moldavians swung between them until the final battle when Stephen III drove out
Radu III.
Basarab III was concerned
about the retaliation by Radu III and requested military support from Prince
Batory of Transylvania. The Transylvanian army quickly marched into Wallachia
but attempted to overthrow Bassarab IV, his cousin, rather than
Basarab III. The Transylvanian army fought Basarab III twice, losing the first
time but defeating him in the second battle.
Meanwhile, the Moldavian
army of Stephen III captured the fortress of Teleazen, which supported Radu
III, massacred the garrison, and burned the fortress. The Ottoman army marched
into Moldavia, where Basarab III had gone into exile, but was defeated in the
Battle of Vaslui, and Radu III was presumed killed around this time.
After the presumed death of
Radu III, Basarab III was restored to the throne by the Wallachian boyars.
Afterwards, eight thousand Ottoman troops returning after suffering a crushing
defeat in the Battle of Vaslui attacked and defeated them as they entered
Wallachia. But soon after, King Matthias I of Hungary, who had been
imprisoning Vlad III, released the ex-voivode.
Vlad III was entrusted with
the defence of southern Transylvania.
Radu, who was not dead,
returned to claim his seat as Voivode. He sought the Saxons of Sibiu and Brasov
to fight Vlad III. Basarab III had ditched Wallachia and joined the Ottoman
Empire. The Ottomans, led by Padishah Mehmet II, invaded Moldavia via Wallachia
with a strength of thirty thousand men and clashed with a combined
Moldavian-Hungarian-Lithuanian army of twenty thousand commanded by Stephen III
in the Battle of Balea Alba.
Mehmed II achieved victory
despite heavy losses and occupied a significant part of Moldavia but suffered
from the Moldavians' guerrilla tactics and faced starvation, which eventually
led to an epidemic. He had to withdraw from Moldavia that year. After the
Ottomans withdrew, the Hungarians and Moldovans decided to launch an expedition
into Wallachia, led by Vlad III.
A combined
Hungarian-Moldavian army of twenty-five thousand men advanced on Targovişte.
Basarab III once more defected to Moldavia and raised an army of about eighteen
thousand men and attempted to resist near Targovişte but was defeated after a
fierce battle, and Radu was confined to the Bucharest Citadel. The city fell,
and Basarab III escaped across the Danube. Radu was freed once more.
“Was I right to return
here?” Radu asked himself when he returned victory to Wallachia.
“You are the rightful son
too.” Maria, his wife, then embraced her lover from the back. “You had the
right to rule Wallachia too.”
“Yet, it was not my
intention. I was content at the palace.” Radu sighed. He was treated well by
Mehmet II. He was not a hostage but a guest.
“And we would not have met.”
Maria leaned her head on the man’s left shoulder. He clasped the hands around
his waist. He had returned to Wallachia to restore the family’s name and to
make good the damages done by Vlad III’s massacre. The news of the impalement
reached him and was told by Mehmet II.
“Your mad brother impaled
not only the men but also children and women. What madness overcame him?”
Mehmet II was upset. “Are you of the same mind?”
“No, my Sultan. I am not. I
have distanced myself from Vlad since he left the palace. He is truly ……. Mad.”
Radu had replied. “I am sure if my father were alive, he would have marched on
the son.”
“Sadness is the truth. I
sometimes think we must be all mad and that we shall wake to sanity in
straitjackets.” Radu sighed. “Was it the sins of our father we are to carry?”
“I am the Sultan, and even
with my merciless acts on the enemies, never would I have thought of impalement
of children and women. I would have enslaved them, but to sacrifice… there were
no sacrifices; he merely killed them.”
“We are a family by blood,
but I hold no love for him. I only love you.” Radu approached the Sultan. The
latter held out his right arm to stop the Wallachian.
“Our love… Your love, I
valued, but the love for my people means more.” The Sultan sighed. “When the
opportunity is right, you will return to Wallachia.”
“And find your wife there.
You must be …… They must see you in the new light.” The Sultan added. “She is a
suitable noble lady.”
Radu returns to Wallachia
and reunites with Maria. He held a reception for friends, which were few at
Radu’s side at Wallachia. One who attended was Lord Gencio Capulet.
“I met Vlad at the palace
years ago.” Lord Gencio Capulet, then as a guest, made his introduction. “Now I
meet the other brother.”
“I am glad to meet you
today.” Radu smiled. He was unsure of what was to be said. “Please do make
yourself at home.”
Home was to Radu then, but
being ousted several times made him wish he was back at the palace at times. He
knew that was not possible with Maria and their daughter at his side. He felt
the Sultan would be glad for him for getting a family, but he felt the
loneliness inside him. He looked at his only child, Maria Voichita, born before
the engagement.
“Maria, my love. We must
prepare for our child. The situation here is so uncertain. I would like to have
Maria sent to Genoa, where she may find peace and… more love. You could go with
her. I will send words to Lord Gencio Capulet. He will welcome you there.”
“And of yourself?” Radu was
asked.
“I will be fine. I have the
Sultan to back me here. I am to rule Wallachia.”
The servant arrived to take
the wife and child to Genoa.
Just as then, Shylock was
blessed with the assistance of Abram. It was not an easy task to convince the
guard of Montague to lend a hand.
“I want not a huge purse of
coins, Shylock Judas.” Abram told him. “I am here to assist my fellow member of
the faith. We have been persecuted for our beliefs.”
“Thank you. My borrowers are
of all ……” Shylock was interjected.
“I cared not for your
borrowers, but I am to see that you are not to be bullied.” Abram then took the
list of borrowers who had defaulted. He visited the ones that he knew would
yield to pressure, and it worked. He got the dues back with interest.
Abram was invited to the
home of the lender, who gave him a treat of the meal as a token of thanks.
“It is not Hanukkah yet.”
Abram was surprised at the offering then. He saw the serving of potato latkes
there. “I had not had that for a very long time. My mother used to cook it for
me, but long had she passed on.”
“Potato latkes during
the eight days of the Hanukkah holiday because they are fried in oil, and oil
symbolizes the miracle of the cruse of oil, which lasted for eight days instead
of one.” Leah, who had prepared the meals, explained to Abram. “We are blessed
to invite you to our home and share our meals.”
“I am honoured, but ……”
Abram looked at the lady and then towards Shylock. “I was……” “For some years we
have been hampered by the unscrupulous help we hired. With you now, we hope to
turn over a …… Rosh Hashanah (New Year to the Jews) …… a symbolic gesture. Our
calendar date of it remains far.”
“I am glad to assist.” Abram
smiled. He was not without a reason to assist Shylock. That reason soon
appeared in the dining area.
“Our daughter, Jessica.”
Leah introduced the young lady to Abram. “She is … our only child.”
“I am honoured to meet you.”
Abram smiled. “I am Abram Tov…”
“I am Jessica Judas. I had
seen you at the synagogue.” Jessica smiled.
“I am there to seek the
comfort there, in my idle times to pray and listen to the wise words of the
Rabbi.” Abram explained. He had seen her with the father but made no effort to
talk then.
“Abram” the name means “the
High Father,” and it is renowned for its connection to the biblical forebear in
the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. Your family name is Tov.”
“My father … was a trader
who assisted the others.” Abram struggled to find the words.
“He was like me.” Shylock
cut in. “I am honoured to meet you.”
“The honour is mine. My
father did not live long, for illness took him. My mother was not of the trade;
she started trading small wares. It was enough for us to live on, but she was
taken advantage of by many others. When I was old enough to work. I joined the
army. I was in the Infantry.”
“Were you in Kosovo?”
Shylock asked.
“Yes, I was. I fought there
against the Turks.” Abram smiled. “I saw the spear. Were you there?”
The men then talked of their
past exploits, and the ladies convened to the kitchen.
“He is a fine man,” Leah
told her daughter.
“And he is double my age. I
have my own choosing.” Jessica said. “I need to see someone.”
“So late the hours now?” But
Jessica was out of the house.
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