Vlad Tepes

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Vlad III (birth name: Vlad Tepes), also known by the title of Vlad the Impaler and the patronymic name Dracula, was a Voievod (Prince) of Wallachia that ruled the region intermittently from 1448 to 1476. Secretly a member of the Templar Order, Vlad Tepes played a significant role in the Templars' fight against the Ottoman Empire.

He was eventually found and killed by the Ottoman Assassin Ishak Pasha in 1476.

Biography

Following an Ottoman invasion of Hungary in 1462, Vlad Tepes successfully rebuked the Ottoman advance near the city of Bucharest; however, Vlad found himself betrayed and imprisoned by the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus. This caused outrage among many influential Hungarian figures and Western admirers of Vlad's success in the battle against the Ottoman Empire, including high-ranking members of the Vatican and the remnants of the Byzantine nobility. Because of this, Matthias granted him the status of distinguished prisoner.

Eventually, in 1475, Vlad Tepes was freed and was sent with an army of Hungarian and Serbian soldiers to recover Bosnia from the Ottomans, where he defeated the Ottoman forces and gained his first victory against the Ottoman Empire. Upon this victory, the Ottoman forces invaded Wallachia to put down the rebellion. They entered Bucharest in 1476 under the command of Mehmed II. The Assassin Ishak Pasha killed Vlad and his head and ceremonial sword were sent to a prison in Constantinople to discourage any other rebellions.

Legacy

In 1511, the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze went on a quest to find Vlad the Impaler's blade hidden in his prison, which was rumored to be a weapon that could defeat any foe.

Vlad was the idol of a Wallachian Assassin, Vali cel Tradat. His death at the hands of Ottomans (as he thought), coupled with the fact that the Assassins had brokered a truce with them led to his eventual betrayal.

In 2012, his genetic memories were used by the Templar-owned company Abstergo Industries, for the training of their Animus recruits, under the title of the Count.

Trivia

• In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Vlad the Impaler Coins are used as trade items.
• According to legend, some people believed that Vlad was a vampire because of his white skin and the fact that he went outside only occasionally. This folklore, combined with his ruthless acts during his reign, became the inspiration for the famous vampiric character "Dracula".
• He was given the nickname "The Impaler" because of the way he would torture his victims. He would put lard or some type of lubricant on a large wooden spike and place them at the top of it, with it between their legs, and eventually they would be impaled. Afterwards, the spikes would be formed in a large circle as a barricade around his fortresses, also used to threaten any who opposed him.
• When you take his sword from his tomb, you can briefly see that his skull had long canine fangs, further referring to the belief that he was a vampire.

Gallery

• Vlad Tepes' skull inside his coffin.
  Vlad Tepes' skull inside his coffin.

Source

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations