Vlad III Tepes, also known by the title of Vlad the Impaler and the patronymic name Dracula, (November or December 1431 - December 1476) 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. In 1476, Vlad was defeated Ishak Pasha, the Ottoman Grand Vizier and leader of the Ottoman Assassins, and the event ultimately resulted in Vlad's death.
Vlad was also the idol of a Wallachian Assassin, named Vali cel Tradat. On his death, of which Vali believed the Ottomans were responsible, coupled with the fact that the Assassins had brokered a truce with them, it led to Vali's eventual betrayal of the Order.
According to legend, some people believed that Vlad was a vampire because of his white skin and the fact that he only went outside occasionally. This folklore, combined with his ruthless acts during his reign, became the inspiration for the famous vampiric character "Dracula".
File:Vlad-tepes-skull.pngVlad's skull inside his coffin.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.
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.
