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Background
Vlad III was born in 1401, in the town of Sighișoara in Transylvania, or modern-day Romania. Vlad was one of four legitimate sons had by Vlad Dracul, who was Voivode of Wallachia. Vlad III was the Voivode and Prince of Wallachia. He has become a well-recognized figure in Eastern European History, but the reason for his notability is different. In 1896, an author named Bram Stoker wrote the novel Draculausing Vlad III as the historical reference for the fictional vampire character of "Count Dracula." Count Dracula has become an extremely famous character through films and books; because of this Vlad III has become well known as the real figure behind the character of Dracula. A common misconception is that Vlad III's father got the name "Dracul" in reference to the Vlach word for "devil", but actually it was a name he received for being a part of The Order of the Dragon(a group created to defend the church from the Hussites). However, in Romanian history, Dracula is not the name most commonly used to refer to him. The -a ending of the word Dracula was used as a name to reference that he was the son of Dracul. Vlad III did not use Dracula when signing documents although it is a common misconception that he did use that name, rather he is remembered by a different nickname given by the people. He is called Vlad Tsepesh or in translation Vlad the Impaler. He was given the nickname "The Impaler" because he was notorious for impaling enemies and leaving them to die.

Today, Vlad is remembered mostly for his brutality and cruelty. Vlad is also remembered for being a fervent protector of the Church and Christianity. Vlad's reign can be categorized quite specifically into three parts, as he reigned separately three times after losing and regaining his power. The third reign would end in his death.

First Reign
Vlad III's first reign in Wallachia was very short-lived. Vlad's father, Vlad Dracul, was killed by his Hungarian enemy Janos Hunyadi. In Wallachia succession was not automatically connected to family, the Boyars or nobility elected a ruler. After Dracul's death, Hunyadi backed Vladislav II to be the prince of Wallachia and that is who succeeded Vlad Dracul. When Vlad was just ten, he was taken as a human peace offering by Sultan Murad II to assure Wallachian neutrality, once his father died Vlad was released. He returned home and seized Wallachia while Vladislav II was away at war. Vlad was unable to hold Wallachia upon the return of Vladislav, especially without the support of Hunyadi. He was forced to flee with his army to Kosovo. Thus ending his "first reign" as prince of Wallachia after about two months.

Second Reign
Vlad III’s second reign began about eight years after the first ended. Vladislav II was becoming aligned with the new Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Mehmed II. This caused Vlad’s relationship with Hunyadi to shift, Hunyadi began to support Vlad’s claim to the Wallachian throne. Although it was unexpected for Vlad to join forces with his father's killer, it gave him a chance for both the retention of power and future revenge. Vlad, with the support of some Hungarians and his forces, moved on the Wallachian Capitol of Tirgoviste. They succeeded in that invasion and in 1456 Vlad once again became the Prince of Wallachia.

Although Vlad desired to proceed crusading as his father did, he needed to stabilize his home at the same time. During this rule is where Vlad began to develop his reputation and earn his nickname “The Impaler.” Part of his effort to control the people of Wallachian was the hiring of Armas, who were mercenaries, that would impale Vlad’s subjects at any point of subversion. Vlad’s approach to controlling power was to strike fear into all of his subjects. Vlad's relationship with his nobility was complicated. Both the Boyars and Vlad did not know or feel as though they could trust one another. His tactics did in fact work on the people that he ruled; as stories of Vlad spread into neighboring countries so did the fear.

Throughout the remainder of Vlad's second rule, he displayed a great deal of military prowess and ability. Dracula would make and have multiple strong enemies while he was the Prince of Wallachia and they occupied the majority of the time and energy of his reign. Among those enemies were multiple pretender princes who were making claims to the throne of Wallachia. One pretender was Vlad's half-brother Vlad the Monk. Another, who posed the biggest threat was Dan III, who was the brother of Vlad's predecessor Vladislav II. In 1460, along with outraged inhabitants of Brasov Dan III attempted to invade and remove Vlad from the throne. Dan's attempt was unsuccessful and he was captured; Vlad had him publicly beheaded which scared off the other pretenders and their supporters. Thus ending the attempts of the pretenders to take his throne.

The other conflicts that arose were the most serious of Vlad's rule. These conflicts were with Sultan Mehmed II and Matyas Corvinus the King of Hungary. The problems with Mehmed began when Vlad seized payments that were to go to the Ottoman Empire. He not only did not pay his payments owed to the Sultan, but he also stopped sending hundreds of troops to become Ottoman Janissaries. In doing so, Vlad had effectively started a war. Vlad's next move was conquering and pillaging fortresses of the Turks along the Danube river. He did this all the way until he got to the Black Sea, leaving horrifying signs of victory in every place that he conquered. He struck so much fear in the people they either fled or attempted to find asylum by moving to Wallachia. At this time, Vlad received help from Corvinus, who was an ally at the time, in the form of troops. Vlad showed his ability to command a military in his defenses against Mehmed II, who commanded a much larger, better equipped, and more skilled Turkish force. Vlad also penetrated a Turkish camp with a small group and did good damage to the forces inside. However, the goal of the mission was to kill Mehmed and that was not accomplished; Vlad and his forces fled after the invasion with few casualties but multiple wounded soldiers. An interesting move Vlad made was to abandon his capital completely, when Mehmed arrived all they found were Turkish prisoners who had been impaled and their lifeless bodies on stakes.

In 1462, Vlad's second reign ended. He was outnumbered, outmatched, and completely defeated. He had lost near every stronghold, most of his troops were dead or had defected and he had no chance to take Mehmed down. When Vlad realized defeat, he fled seeking help and asylum from his ally Corvinus. However, Corvinus turned out to be an enemy. He arrested Vlad and kept him prisoner at Visegrad.

Vlad's second rule lasted from 1456 to 1462. Nearly six years longer than his first rule. It was during this second reign of Wallachia where Vlad would earn his legacy and reputation that has lasted centuries.

Third Reign (Final)
In 1462, when Vlad lost the throne of Wallachia his brother Radu became the Prince of Wallachia. Vlad spend twelve years imprisoned in Visegrad. He was released after the death of Corvinus and returned to Wallachia where he would take back his throne in 1476. In that same year, Vlad was killed during a battle with the Turks. It is believed that his own troops mistook him for a Turk and killed him on the field of battle. His death abruptly ended his third and final rule as the Voivode of Wallachia.

"The Impaler"
Vlad III went by multiple nicknames, but the most prominent was the Impaler. The nickname stemmed from his reputation for having a vicious and cruel nature along with his favorite form of capital punishment, Impalement. Many stories were told about this that contributed to Vlad's legacy and reputation. One included Vlad having hundreds of vassals over for a feast. Another is a popularly known account, after an ambush Vlad III rewarded the soldiers that were wounded in battle and impaled the soldiers who were not. At that feast, Vlad had all of the vassals impaled. Whether these stories were embellished or exaggerated as some were folklore stories, his legacy was undeniably one of cruelty.