Although his actual birth-date is unknown, historians estimate that Vlad Tepes (the Impaler) was born in November 1431 in Schaassburg, a town in Transylvania. His father, Vlad Dracul, was the prince of Wallachia (one of the three Romanian provinces). Wallachia was a principality, i.e. it was ruled by a prince, and not a king. Vlad Dracul's surname means Dragon or Demon, and Dracula, a diminutive which means Son of Dracul, was the name ultimately to be used by his son. Dracul was a member of The Order of the Dragon (a position from which he derived his surname). The Order of the Dragon was a group of Slavic rulers and warlords who were sworn to uphold the Christian faith by fighting off the advancing, Islam, Turks of the Ottoman Empire. As you may have guessed, Bram Stoker liked this name so much, that he used it in his eminent Vampire novel. Another thing that inspired Stoker was The Order of the Dragon's official dress, a black cape over a red garment, this was to be worn only on Fridays or during the commemoration of Christ's Passion.

          At the age of 13, Vlad was taken captive by the Turks, along with his younger brother, Radu the Handsome. Vlad and Radu were valuable hostages, being sons of the local prince, so they were taken back to Istanbul, and imprisoned by the Sultan, Mehemet. This was meant to guarantee his father's loyalty to the sultan. It was during this imprisonment that Vlad probably developed his sadistic tendencies and rather bleak view of life. When his son's were taken, Dracul unsuccessfully attempted to bargain with the Turks for their release. This bargaining was viewed as treason by John Hunyadi, the King of Hungary. Hunyadi hired assassins who killed Dracul and his oldest son (Vlad's older brother) Mihnea. Mihnea was first inline to the Wallachian throne after the death of his father. But, after Mihnea was tortured and buried alive, Vlad became heir to the throne. Before Vlad and Radu were released, Sultan Mehemet tried to indoctrinate them into Islam, thinking he could use their paths to the Wallachian throne as an advantage. Radu converted quickly, and was released from prison. Vlad, however, was far more stubborn.

          Vlad was unable to take the throne that was rightfully his thanks to the political machinations of the king of Hungary and other ruling families in Wallachia. Vlad realised this, so he gave in to the Sultan. The Sultan turned back to the conquest of Wallachia. After taking it's capital, he set up Vlad as the new prince. Vlad, however did not want to be a puppet ruler, so after a few months he fled to Moldavia. Where he stayed for four years with his cousin, Steven.

          Vlad decided that the only way to become the true Wallachian prince, was to enlist the help of, the very man who had murdered his father and brother, John Hunyadi. Vlad was willing to put this aside to defeat their common enemy, the Sultan. Hunyadi agreed to back Vlad militarily. Vlad and Hunyadi were successful in driving out Radu, who had been made prince by the Sultan when Vlad fled. Vlad retook the Wallachian throne, beginning his second reign of six years. Hunyadi died a few months after, how is still in debate, it is probable that Vlad had him killed, although he may have died in the plague.

          Vlad was after revenge. His first major act of revenge was aimed at the Boyars of Targoviste for the brutal murder of his father and his brother. On Easter Sunday, 1459, he invited all the Boyar families to his palace for a feast, to show that he could forgive and forget. After the meal, he arrested all the Boyar families who had attended. He impaled the older ones on stakes while forcing the others to march from the capital to the town of Poenari. This fifty-mile trek was very tiring, and many died along the way, and those who survived were not permitted to rest until they reached Poenari. Vlad then ordered them to build a castle over-looking the Arges river. Many died in the process, and Vlad succeeded in creating a new nobility and obtaining a fortress for future emergencies. This castle was named Castle Dracula.

          Vlad became famous for his brutal punishment techniques. He often ordered, for little or no reason, people to be boiled, burned, skinned, blinded, roasted, hacked, strangled, hanged, drawn, quartered, nailed, buried alive, stabbed, beaten, etc. He also liked to cut off noses, ears, limbs and sexual organs. But his favourite method was impalement, hence the name, The Impaler. He often carried these acts out personally. He also had a nasty habit of raiding certain towns, which, for reasons unknown, the towns usually selected for these raids were often those towns who's population had largely German ancestory. As a result, most of the remaining written records of Vlad came from propaganda pamphlets printed by the Germans on the newly invented printing press. Probably the most famous picture of Vlad is a woodblock print from one of those pamphlets depicting Vlad eating his dinner on the grass surrounded by a forest of impaled bodies.

          Vlad impaled people through the heart, naval, anus, or for women, through the vagina. For mass executions, he would often blind everyone, and then march them off of a cliff onto a bed of spikes.

          Wallachia had been, for the most part, free from invasion during Vlad's second reign, but a new Sultan, Suiliman II had come to power, and the Ottoman Empire once again turned its eyes toward Wallachia. Vlad was informed by his spies of the power of the approaching Turks. He knew that they would overpower his troops easily, and so had to think up another plan, besides open combat. So he undertook a very risky venture. In the middle of the night, Vlad personally led a small band of elite soldiers into the Turkish camp in the hope of taking the Sultan off guard and killing him. If the Sultan died, the troops would be so demoralised, that they may retreat. Vlad's surprise attack was almost successful. The Sultan was wounded, although not fatally, and all of Vlad's men, including himself, escaped without casualties.

          The Attack did not stop the Turks, in fact, it made them even more determined. Vlad retreated to Castle Dracula in Poenari, and prepared to flee. His wife, believing that escape was impossible, committed suicide by jumping out of a window into the river below. This river became known as the Princess River. When Vlad fled with his servants on horse-back, the servant who was carrying Vlad's infant son dropped him. The pursuing Turks were too close to risk turning back to look for the child, so they had to leave him behind.

          Seeking help, Vlad went to King Mathias of Hungary, but people from some of the villages, most of whom had been persecuted by Vlad had gotten to Mathias first. They told him that Vlad was an ally of the Turks, coming as a spy. When Vlad arrived, he was immediately thrown into prison.

          The Turks did not stay long in Targoviste. They were greeted by the impaled heads of several of their spies. Before fleeing, Vlad had set alight to the city, rendering it in ruins. The Turks took the city anyway, but after a few days, Black Plague broke out among the soldiers, and they were forced to retreat to Wallachia.

          Vlad was imprisoned for several months, and was unable to give up his habits of torture and impalement, he often asked guards to bring him birds from the market, and he would impale them. He caught the eye of Ilona, King Mathia's sister. She used her influence with her brother to get Vlad freed, and they were married. Vlad was partially pardoned, but he had to remain inside the city. He was given a large palace, and lived quite happily for several years with his new wife, whom bore him another son. Once Mathias considered him an ally again, Vlad was free to go, so he returned to Wallachia to reclaim his throne for a third and final time. He built a new capital, Bucharesti (now Bucharest, the capital of modern day Romania).

          Shortly after retaking his throne, a peasant came to Vlad with a young boy, claiming that he had found him in the forest years ago on the night of the Turkish attack. Vlad thought that this boy was his long lost son, however this is very unlikely, because an infant being dropped from that height at that speed, would have probably died on contact with the ground. But, Vlad, of course, did not know this and rewarded the peasant very generously for returning his "son".

          Vlad died during battle against the Turks, over the age of fifty. His head was taken to Turkey and paraded around on a spike (how ironic). He was supposedly buried in the chapel of a monastery on the island, however, when the grave was excavated in 1931, they found only the bones of a horse or an ox. A second grave, at Bran Castle, revealed a skeleton and other items, but without definite proof as to whom was buried there, the final resting place of Vlad Tepes remains a mystery.

          Today, Vlad is recognised as a national hero in Romania for fighting off the Turks. There is a museum in Bucharest depicting the life of him and his family.