Vlad the Impaler

Vlad Draculea ruled Wallachia, an area of southern Romania, in the mid-15th century. He was given the name Tepes, which means "Impaler," because of his preferred method of punishment and torture.Don Linke.com: Vlad the Impaler

Bram Stoker drew heavily from the life of Vlad the Impaler to give the title character of his vampire novel Dracula a sense of history and menace.

Both the fictional Count Dracula and the historical Vlad the Impaler are from Transylvania. In the novel, the claim is made that a vampire must be decapitated or it will rise again. Vlad the Impaler's body was discovered in a bog, decapitated. In Stoker's book, Count Dracula is depicted with a long, white mustache and strong features. This is similar to how Vlad the Impaler may have looked had he lived to old age.Vlad the Impaler.com: Vlad the Impaler vs. Dracula

• 1431: Born, November or December, in Transylvania, Romania

• 1442: Held by the Ottoman Turks as assurance against Romanian hostility

• 1445: While locked in a dungeon and tortured, witnesses fellow prisoners being impaled

• 1447: Father and brother assassinated

• 1448: Recaptures his lands in Wallachia, Romania; quickly ousted

• 1448 - 1451: Exile in Moldavia

• 1456: Defends Belgrade against the Turks

• 1456: Regains Wallachia as voivode

• 1456 - 1462: Earns the name Tepes, or "Impaler"

• 1462: Radu, Vlad's brother, captures Castle Dracula for the Turks.

• 1462 -1474: Political prisoner in Hungary

• 1475: Regains Wallachia from the Turks

• 1476: Dies in battle against the Turks at Bucharest