Ilona Szilágyi has largely been overshadowed by her illustrious husband Vlad the Impaler. So much attention has been focused on Vlad that we hardly know much about Ilona. We don’t know much about her life or even how she died.

Illona was the daughter of a noblewoman. Her cousin was King Matthias Corvinus, the king of Hungary.[1] It was during Vlad the Impaler’s years of captivity that she met Vlad, Prince of Wallachia. Vlad had been married before to the daughter of a Romanian noble.[2] His first wife had given birth to a son named Mihnea, who later earned himself the nickname Mihnea the Evil.[3]

Vlad had been at war with the Turks. But, even though he had won many battles with the Turks, he was very unpopular with his people. The nobles decided to support Vlad’s younger brother Radu the Handsome as their prince instead. In order to get Vlad out of the way, Radu struck a bargain with King Matthias to take Vlad as a hostage. While Vlad was imprisoned, Radu decided to take control of Vlad’s castle, Poienari, in the spring of 1462. When Vlad’s first wife learned of Radu’s approach, she decided to commit suicide by jumping out of the tower, and her body landed in the Arges River. Legends claimed that she said she “would rather have her body rot and be eaten by the fish of the Argeş than be led into captivity by the Turks.” [4]

The death of his first wife left Vlad to marry again. However, it did not stop him from taking mistresses during his captivity. One of his mistresses was very unlucky. It was said that Vlad ripped her body open to disprove her pregnancy.[5] During his four year captivity, King Matthias chose to make a deal with Vlad to get his freedom back. Vlad would have to convert to Catholicism and marry a member of the Hungarian royal family.[6] Vlad agreed to this deal. It is not known what Ilona must have thought about marrying Vlad the Impaler. One version does claim that she was in love with him, for it said “Vlad ‘caught the eye’ of Ilona”.[7]

Marriage to Ilona granted him his freedom. He was released in 1474 and converted to Catholicism in 1475.[8] They settled in Badu where they lived in a lavish palace. Ilona gave birth to two sons. The first was Vlad. The second son’s name was unknown.[9]

However, their idyll time in Badu did not last long. In 1476, Vlad led a war against the Turks along with King Matthias and Vlad’s cousin, Stephen, the prince of Moldavia.[10] It was said that Vlad’s marriage to Ilona did nothing to diminish his ruthlessness. According to Nicolas of Modrussa, a papal envoy in Budapest, Vlad “tore the limbs off the Turkish prisoners and placed their parts on stakes”.[11] Vlad won the war with the Turks and was triumphant. He believed that since he conquered the Turks, he could now regain his position as Prince of Wallachia.[12] His brother Radu was now dead, and the current prince of Wallachia was an Ottoman named Basarab Laiota. In November of 1475, Basarab Laiota and Vlad battled each other for the prince title.[13] Vlad won, and Ilona was now the Princess of Wallachia.

However, Ilona’s position as Princess Consort of Wallachia did not last long. On December 14, 1476, Vlad was killed in a skirmish with Basarab’s army near Bucharest.[14] He was forty-five. It is uncertain what had happened to Ilona after Vlad the Impaler’s death. Some historians believe that Ilona remained in her home in Pest.[15] Her step-son, Mihnea, became Prince of Wallachia from 1508-1509. He was very unpopular. He was assassinated on March 12, 1510.[16] Ilona’s first son, Vlad, served in the household of King Matthias. Her other son was sent to serve under the Bishop of Oradea, but quickly became ill. He was sent home to his mother where he died shortly afterwards.[17] We do not know when Ilona died, but many historians believe that she was buried in the tomb of Snagov.[18]

In the end, not much is known for certain about the woman who was married to such an infamous ruler. She was by his side towards the end of his years. Even though we only know of a few facts of her life, it is obvious that she had a fascinating story. She has been largely forgotten in history. Perhaps one day, historians may give her the treatment she deserves.

Sources:

Carroll, Leslie. Royal Pains: A Rogues’ Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds. New American

Library, 2011.

Gibson, Dirk Cameron. Legends, Monsters, or Serial Murderers?:The Real Story behind an

an Ancient Crime. Praeger/ABC-Clio, 2012.

Trow, M. J. Vlad the Impaler: In Search of the Real Dracula. Sutton Publishing, 2004.

“Vlad III the Impaler.” New World Encyclopedia, New World Encyclopedia, 5 Oct. 2017,

[1] Trow p. 311

[2] Gibson p. 95

[3] Caroll p. 51

[4] “Vlad III The Impaler”, para. 22

[6] Trow p. 311

[7] Gibson p. 95

[8]Gibson p. 85

[9] Caroll p. 51

[10] Caroll p. 51

[12] Caroll p. 52

[13] Caroll p. 52

[14] Caroll p. 52

[15] Caroll p. 54

[16] Caroll p. 54

[17] Caroll p. 54

[18] Caroll p. 54