History ArtisticLicenseHistory / DraculaUntold

* Vlad indeed spent years among the Ottomans, but as a noble hostage, not an enslaved soldier for them.

* Vlad's family was not known as the House of Dracul and associated with dragons since time immemorial, as implied - the Dracul name and motif only began with his father.
* Vlad's wife and son have their names changed. In the course of his life he had two wives and three sons, none of whom share their names with the movie characters. The name of his first wife who died because of an Ottoman attack is unknown.

* In the film Vlad gets his RedBaron nickname "Tepes" ("the Impaler") for his deeds in the Turkish army. In real life he gained this reputation by doing that to the Turks ([[HistoricalHeroUpgrade and his own people]]), not ''for'' them.
* [[AdaptedOut There's no mention whatsoever]] of Vlad Dracula's brother, [[CainAndAbel Radu the Handsome.]] As boys they were taken hostage together by the Turks. But unlike Vlad, Radu came to support them, converted to Islam, and led the invading army in the campaign roughly corresponding to the Sultan's invasion in the film. He seems to have been [[CompositeCharacter combined with the Sultan]], who claims to be a former friend and calls Vlad his "brother".
* Mehmet II [[spoiler:dies in this film FAR earlier]] compared to his historical counterpart, and it was in a completely different way. Also, the details of the real Dracula's end are varied, convoluted and rather iffy, but however he died, the Turks removed his head and sent it to Istanbul as proof he was most definitely ''dead.''
* The Ottoman Janissary Corps is portrayed far worse than it actually was. While Janissaries were undeniably slaves, they were also extremely high-ranking soldiers, they received the best training and the highest education in the Ottoman military, and they generally lived in much better living conditions than would have ever been attainable in Christian Europe. Hell, they could even rise to become Viziers and end up running the Empire. While many Christian families resented and resisted the ''devşirme'' system, many also saw it as an honor for their children to be chosen for Janissary service, or at least saw it as an appealing path to a better life.
* The fact that Vlad initially attained the Wallachian throne chiefly through ''Ottoman'' assistance is sadly glossed over in the film.

* Historically, the envoys Mehmet II sent to Wallachia only demanded a tithe of 500 boys, rather than 1000 as seen here.
* The scene where Mehmet demands tribute from Vlad is a pretty drastic departure from the historical (or at least, traditional) account. According to ''that'', Mehmet sent envoys rather than coming in person, and Vlad responded to their request by ''nailing their turbans to their heads'', explaining later that they had impolitely left their headgear on while addressing him. Even though their religion forbade them from removing them for anyone but God.
** For that matter, the fact that Vlad was, well, ''legally obligated'' to provide that tribute [[note]] Wallachia was already pledged to the Ottomans, as part of an agreement Vlad's father had made with them in exchange for aid against the Hungarians [[/note]] somehow doesn't come up. Historically, Vlad's excuse for not paying the ''jizya'' was not that it was morally wrong, but because he was already strapped for resources from his own wars.
* The knights seen fleeing from Vlad in the opening narration are wearing 12th century armor, while Vlad lived in the 15th century.

** For that matter, the fact that Vlad was, well, ''legally obligated'' to provide that tribute [[note]] Wallachia was already pledged to the Ottomans, as part of an agreement Vlad's father had made with them in exchange for aid against the Hungarians [[/note]] somehow doesn't come up.

** For that matter, the fact that Vlad was, well, ''legally obligated'' to provide those boys [[note]] Wallachia was already pledged to the Ottomans, as part of an agreement Vlad's father had made with them in exchange for aid against the Hungarians [[/note]] somehow doesn't come up.

* In the film Vlad gets his Impaler nickname for his deeds in the Turkish army. In real life he gained this reputation by doing that to the Turks ([[HistoricalHeroUpgrade and his own people]]), not ''for'' them.

This is a given, since the premise is equating the historical Dracula with the fictional one, although the film gets ''some'' things right, such as the complicated tribute/enemy situation with the Ottoman Turkish empire, and that Dracula's (first) wife died because of an Ottoman attack:

* Vlad's kingdom is repeatedly called Transylvania rather than the historically accurate Wallachia, a different region.

* [[AdaptedOut There's no mention whatsoever]] of Vlad Dracula's brother, [[CainAndAbel Radu the Handsome.]] As boys they were taken hostage together by the Turks. But unlike Vlad, Radu came to support them, converted to Islam, and led the invading army in the campaign roughly corresponding to the Sultan's invasion in the film. He seems to have been [[CompositeCharacter combined with the Sultan]], who claims to be a former friend.

* The Ottoman Janissary Corps is portrayed far worse than it actually was. In the Christian parts of the Ottoman Empire at least, parents would have reacted to their children becoming Janissaries the same way parents today react when their kids get an offer from a good university. Yes, Janissaries were slave soldiers. But they were also extremely high-ranking ones, received the best training, highest education and much better living conditions than would have ever been attainable in Christian Europe. Hell, they could even rise to become Viziers and end up running the Empire.
** Devşirme was widely resented and resisted, and the vast majority of families in the Balkans went through great lengths to save their sons from being taken away, some going as far as to mutilate and disfigure the boys to make them ineligible for service or having the entire family convert to Islam to avoid taxation. Yes, some families were so poor that they saw giving their sons at least some chance at a better life as the lesser evil, or so ambitious that they were willing to bribe the collectors to take their boys away, but to equate the forcible implementation of a literal blood tax to an elite college recruitment system is not only incorrect, but also incredibly tone-deaf.
** In fairness people probably reacted in different ways. On the one hand your child was advancing greatly in society. On the other, many parents might have considered the mandatory conversion to Islam as a one-way ticket to hell. They would be forsaking their culture, and may have been called upon to fight against their parents' people. For what it's worth the Janissaries themselves seem to have been content with their lot in life.
** It might be important to note that peasants in medieval Eastern Europe were pretty likely to end up as levied troops for local lords anyway.

** Although, oddly, and withe below example in mind, the silver coins seen near the end of the movie do in fact bear the inscription "VLADIS-TEPES-WALLACHIA."

** Devşirme was widely resented and resisted, and the vast majority of families in the Balkans went through great lengths to save their sons from being taken away, some going as far as to mutilate and disfigure the boys to make them ineligible for service or having the entire family convert to Islam to avoid taxation. Yes, some families were so poor that they saw giving their sons at least some chance at a better life as the lesser evil, or so ambitious that they were willing to bribe the collectors to take their boys away, but to compare the forcible implementation of a literal blood tax to an elite college recruitment system is not only incorrect, but also an incredibly tone-deaf.

** In fairness people probably reacted in different ways. On the one hand your child was advancing greatly in society. On the other, many parents might have considered the mandatory conversion to Islam as a one way ticket to hell. They would be forsaking their culture, and may have been called upon to fight against their parents people. For what it's worth the Janissaries themselves seem to have been content with their lot in life.

In fairness people probably reacted in different ways. On the one hand your child was advancing greatly in society. On the other, many parents might have considered the mandatory conversion to Islam as a one way ticket to hell. They would be forsaking their culture, and may have been called upon to fight against their parents people. For what it's worth the Janissaries themselves seem to have been content with their lot in life.

* Mehmet is portrayed as wanting to forcibly convert all of Christian Europe to Islam. Not only are compelled conversions invalid according to the Qur'an (''“Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things.”'' ''[Sûrah al-Baqarah: 256]''), but Mehmet II is in fact remembered for instituting the Ottoman Millet, under which various minority groups could conduct themselves according to their own legal codes, for example Jews and the Halakha, or, more to the point, ''Christians under Canon Law''. He's also remembered for allowing the Byzantine Church to continue functioning even after his conquest of Constantinople and even ''ordered'' the Byzantine Patriarch Gennadius to translate Christian doctrines into Turkish.

** Vlad's kingdom is repeatedly called Transylvania rather than the historically accurate Wallachia, a different region.
** Vlad's family was not known as the House of Dracul and associated with dragons since time immemorial, as implied - the Dracul name and motif only began with his father.
** Vlad's wife and son have their names changed. In the course of his life he had two wives and three sons, none of whom share their names with the movie characters. The name of his first wife who died because of an Ottoman attack is unknown.
** Vlad indeed spent years among the Ottomans, but as a noble hostage, not an enslaved soldier for them.
** In the film Vlad gets his Impaler nickname for his deeds in the Turkish army. In real life he gained this reputation by doing that to the Turks ([[HistoricalHeroUpgrade and his own people]]), not ''for'' them.
** [[AdaptedOut There's no mention whatsoever]] of Vlad Dracula's brother, [[CainAndAbel Radu the Handsome.]] As boys they were taken hostage together by the Turks. But unlike Vlad, Radu came to support them, converted to Islam, and led the invading army in the campaign roughly corresponding to the Sultan's invasion in the film. He seems to have been [[CompositeCharacter combined with the Sultan]], who claims to be a former friend.
** Mehmet II [[spoiler:dies in this film FAR earlier]] compared to his historical counterpart, and it was in a completely different way. Also, the details of the real Dracula's end are varied, convoluted and rather iffy, but however he died, the Turks removed his head and sent it to Istanbul as proof he was most definitely ''dead.''
** The Ottoman Janissary Corps is portrayed far worse than it actually was. In the Christian parts of the Ottoman Empire at least, parents would have reacted to their children becoming Janissaries the same way parents today react when their kids get an offer from a good university. Yes, Janissaries were slave soldiers. But they were also extremely high-ranking ones, received the best training, highest education and much better living conditions than would have ever been attainable in Christian Europe. Hell, they could even rise to become Viziers and end up running the Empire.
** The fact that Vlad initially attained the Wallachian throne chiefly through ''Ottoman'' assistance is sadly glossed over in the film.
** Mehmet is portrayed as wanting to forcibly convert all of Christian Europe to Islam. Not only are compelled conversions invalid according to the Qur'an (''“Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things.”'' ''[Sûrah al-Baqarah: 256]''), but Mehmet II is in fact remembered for instituting the Ottoman Millet, under which various minority groups could conduct themselves according to their own legal codes, for example Jews and the Halakha, or, more to the point, ''Christians under Canon Law''. He's also remembered for allowing the Byzantine Church to continue functioning even after his conquest of Constantinople and even ''ordered'' the Byzantine Patriarch Gennadius to translate Christian doctrines into Turkish.
** Historically, the envoys Mehmet II sent to Wallachia only demanded a tithe of 500 boys, rather than 1000 as seen here.
** The knights seen fleeing from Vlad in the opening narration are wearing 12th century armor, while Vlad lived in the 15th century.