Vlad the Impaler (1431?-1476), also known as Vlad Ţepeş or Vlad III Dracula, was a prince of Walachia, an eastern European state in what is now Romania, during the Middle Ages. He ruled during three separate times in the 1400’s: 1448, 1456 to 1462, and 1476.
Vlad was probably born in 1431 in the town of Sighisoara in Transylvania. His father, Vlad II of Walachia, also known as Vlad Dracul, became prince of the region. At the time Vlad was born, Walachia was in the middle of a power struggle between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Ottomans, who were nomadic Turkish peoples, had conquered much of southeastern Europe by the late 1300’s. The conflict was complicated by the fact that the Ottomans were Muslims and the people of southeastern Europe were Roman Catholics or Orthodox Christians (see Eastern Orthodox Churches). Vlad Dracul left his son to be held as a hostage at the Ottoman court to prove his loyalty.
Young Vlad likely was in constant fear for his life at the Ottoman court. By the time he was released, his father had been killed by rebels. Vlad started a military campaign to become prince. Backed by the Ottomans, he ruled briefly in 1448 before Christian forces drove him away. Finally, he secured the throne as Vlad III, Prince of Walachia, in 1456.
Vlad found himself on a weakened throne with enemies on all sides. As the politics and alliances of eastern Europe kept shifting, Vlad fought hard and without mercy to stay in power. After he finally made peace with the neighboring Christian countries, he turned against the Ottomans in the winter of 1461. He led a brief raid on the empire, during which he slaughtered thousands of people. The Ottomans responded with a huge army, and Vlad was badly outnumbered. He petitioned his allies for reinforcements, but they ignored his request. Despite a daring nighttime raid in which Vlad’s forces tried to kill the Ottoman ruler, the Ottomans invaded Walachia and replaced Vlad with his brother, Radu. Vlad fled to Hungary, where he was arrested and imprisoned. In 1476, he was released and reclaimed the throne, but he was killed soon after retaking it.
Vlad was the subject of many bloody accounts that spread while he was imprisoned in Hungary. In these tales, Vlad is portrayed as a brutal tyrant, executing thousands of his own people for petty offenses. His preferred method of execution was impalement . These stories earned him the nickname “Vlad the Impaler” or “Vlad Ţepeş.” “Ţepeş” means “the Impaler” in Romanian. It is unknown whether these tales are true, however, because many are clearly exaggerated or have not been confirmed by historical sources.
Vlad III was also called Vlad Dracula, which literally means “Son of Dracul.” “Dracul” referred to Vlad’s father’s membership in the Order of the Dragon, a society of knights. Vlad’s title Dracula inspired the Irish novelist Bram Stoker. Stoker used the title as the name of his famous vampire in the horror book Dracula, published in 1897.
