Vlad Tepes

Vlad III Tepes (1431 – 1476), also known by the title of Vlad the Impaler; his birth name, Vlad Draculesti; and the patronymic name Dracula, was a Voivode of Wallachia who ruled the region intermittently from 1448 to 1476. He was also, secretly, a member of the Templar Order.

Biography

Reign

Vlad served as Voivode of Wallachia three times during the mid-15th century and fought against invasions by the Ottoman Empire. In 1476, the Ottoman Grand Vizier Ishak Pasha, who incidentally was also the Mentor of the Ottoman Assassins, defeated Vlad when he tried to spark an uprising in Hungary.

After Vlad's death, the Ottomans conquered Wallachia, while Vlad's decapitated head was brought back to Constantinople as a trophy. His head and sword were later deposited in a specially-made prison just outside the Constantinian Walls.

Legacy and influence

The Wallachian noble and Assassin Vali cel Tradat idolized Vlad and believed the Ottomans were responsible for his death because they had brokered a truce with the Assassins. This grievance eventually led to Vali betraying the Brotherhood and joining the Byzantine Templars. Years after Vali's defection, in 1511, the Italian Assassins' Mentor Ezio Auditore recovered Vlad's sword from his former prison.

Vlad later became the inspiration behind many vampire legends and stories surrounding him. According to said tales, some people believed that Vlad was a vampire because of his pale white skin and the fact that he rarely went outside. This folklore, combined with his ruthless acts during his reign, was the beginning of the vampiric mythology attached to the Wallachian Voivode. As if to give credence to the rumors of Vlad's supernatural nature, his tomb conspicuously contained a lone skull bearing long canine fangs.

In 2012, the Templar company Abstergo Industries used Vlad's genetic memories to create the Animi Avatar known as "the Count" for the second stage of their recruits' Animi Training Program. Despite historically possessing a sword, his avatar in the program used a mace.

Personality and traits

Known as brutally violent among his enemies, Vlad actions quickly garnered the reputation of being a monster. He was given the epithet of "The Impaler" as a result of the way he tortured his victims, wherein he would put lard or another lubricant on a large wooden spike and place it between their legs to eventually impale the subject. Afterwards, the spikes were arranged in a circular barricade around Vlad's fortresses as macabre displays and also to threaten any who opposed him.

Behind the scenes

Vlad the Impaler is a historical character introduced in the 2011 video game Assassin's Creed: Revelations. The memory description for "The Impaler's Tomb" incorrectly lists his year of death as 1485.

Historically, Vlad perished in battle against the forces of Basarab the Old in either late December 1476 or early January 1477. Basarab, who had been overthrown by Vlad when the latter became Voivode of Wallachia for the third time, sought to reclaim his throne with Ottoman support, and engaged Vlad's army near Snagov. The exact circumstances of Vlad's death are unknown, with conflicting reports suggesting that the Voivode was killed by a Turkish assassin, or perished at the hands of his own men after they mistook him for a Turk.

Etymology

The name Vlad is usually thought to be shortened from names beginning with the Slavic element volod, "to rule". Tepes is Romanian for "impaler".

Gallery

• 
  Vlad's purported skull inside his coffin
• 
  Vlad Tepes in Who's In Your Blood?

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations (appears as a corpse and Animi Avatar only)
• Assassin's Creed film (promotional material only)
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game – Forging History (mentioned only)