Succession to the throne in both Wallachia and in the Ottoman Empire was not necessarily by primogeniture or by legitimacy. Perhaps the first question in terms of family intrigues we should look at is the question of sons and brothers.
This dichotomy of succour and sedition was never better displayed than in the family histories of the clan of Dracula and in that of their Ottoman opponents in the Balkans. Equally they can be places of danger, deceit and division.
Families can be a place of safety, repose and support during hard times.
