Vlad Tepes the Impaler Giclee Art Print

Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431–1476/77) was a member of the House of Drăculești, a branch of the House of Basarab, also known as Vlad Drăculea or Vlad Dracula. He was posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler. He was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462, the period of the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. As the cognomen "The Impaler" suggests, his practice of impaling his enemies is part of his historical reputation. During his lifetime, his reputation for cruelty spread abroad to Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The name of the vampire Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula was inspired by Vlad's patronymic and reputation. (Wikipedia)