Nazira: Radu’s wife in name only, Kumal’s sister
Fatima: Nazira’s maid in name only
Cyprian: Emperor Constantine’s nephew, missing after fleeing Constantinople
Valentin: Cyprian’s servant, missing after fleeing Constantinople
Mesih: Emperor Constantine’s heir and nephew, renamed and made part of the court
Murad: Emperor Constantine’s heir and nephew, renamed after Mehmed’s father and made part of the court
Ishak Pasha: Powerful pasha in charge of military forces
Mahmoud Pasha: Powerful pasha in charge of military forces
Ali Bey: Leader of the Janissary troops
Kiril: Janissary under Radu in charge of 4,000 mounted soldiers
Urbana of Transylvania: Expert in cannons and artillery
Lada Dracul’s Inner Military Circle
Matei: Dead
Nicolae: Lada’s closest friend
Petru: Dead
Stefan: Lada’s best spy
Grigore: Wallachian soldier under Lada’s command
Doru: Wallachian soldier under Lada’s command
Allies of Lada
Matthias Corvinas: King of Hungary
King Stephen: King of Moldavia, Lada’s cousin
bey: Governors of Ottoman provinces
boyars: Wallachian nobility
concubine: Woman who belongs to the sultan and is not a legal wife but could produce legal heirs
dracul: Dragon, also devil, as the terms were interchangeable
Hagia Sophia: Cathedral built at the height of the Byzantine era, the jewel of the Christian world
harem: Group of women consisting of wives, concubines, and servants that belongs to the sultan
infidels: Term used for anyone who does not practice the religion of the speaker
irregulars: Soldiers in the Ottoman Empire who are not part of officially organized troops, oftentimes mercenaries or men looking for spoils
Janissary: Member of an elite force of military professionals, taken as boys from other countries, converted to Islam, educated, and trained to be loyal to the sultan