Vlad the Impaler (1393-1447):

The Namesake that Would Terrify the Vampire

Perhaps no legend of a former dictator has so captured the imaginations of pop culture than that of Vlad III (also known as Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler, and Vlad Dracul -- meaning “Dragon” or “Devil”), the prince of Wallachia. While it takes a sadistic gumption to earn the nickname “The Impaler,” this real-life inspiration for Count Dracula did exactly that when he reputedly killed 100,000 in his lifetime by these means. The use of impalement caused an intensely painful death and was considered a notoriously brutal practice, even by the standards of late medieval warfare, and Vlad III's almost-casual use of the practice formed his reputation. In this method of execution a stake was smoothed and driven from the victim’s anus through their mouths for a slow and agonizing death that could last hours.

In one instance Mehmet II, the Ottoman conqueror of Constantinople, decided not to fight him in 1462 when he saw 20,000 corpses impaled outside of Vlad’s capital of Târgoviște. To further insult his foe, he ordered his victims’ noses to be cut off and sent to Hungary to show his acumen in fighting the Ottomans, who at the time were perceived by European rulers to threaten Christendom. Somehow, Vlad III made the vampire legend appear genteel by comparison.

Vlad III’s reign was marred by his descent into madness and sadistic vices, and his childhood was filled with instability, political positioning, war and atrocities as well. Born in the last few weeks of 1431 in the fortress of Sighisoara in Romania, Vlad’s father, Vlad II, was a commander in the Wallachian army before the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund bestowed upon him the honor of being a member of the Order of the Dragon. This secret fraternal order of knights was created to protect the interests of the Roman Catholic Church, which included protecting Eastern Europe from Ottoman forces and their religious practices. Vlad's time as a member of The Order earned him the dubious distinction of being referred to as “Dragon” or “Dracul,” a name Vlad Tepes later adopted as “son of Dragon” or “Dracula.”

Shortly after Vlad II accepted his commission as a member of the Order, the Ottoman army made its way toward Romania, with the intention of warring with the Kingdom of Hungary over Wallachia. In an effort to walk a very fine line between the two, Vlad II served a short term as prince of Wallachia for Hungary before switching teams and joining the Ottomans. His political turn-about gave everyone involved pause and his two young sons, Vlad III and Radu (later known as Radu the Handsome), were taken into captivity by Sultan Murad II, and held as collateral to compel Vlad II to keep his word, which he didn’t.

Life for Vlad III and Radu was volatile at best. Forgotten and uncared for, the boys spent many of their days locked in a dungeon. They were abused and exposed to unspeakable evils, including torture. Vlad III’s obsession with the morose began to show up in his behavior as a young boy. It was then that he developed a sort of skill for the sadistic appetite that torture satisfied.

In 1447, Vlad II was assassinated and Mehmet II appointed Vlad III prince of Wallachia, but in name only. Shortly thereafter, the Hungarian troops invaded, and in 1451 Vlad returned to to his home align himself with the Hungarians. He successfully won a nod as the Hungarian candidate for prince. In 1456, Vlad III began his reign in Wallachia and Vlad “Tepes” (Romanian for “impaling prince”) came to be.

His first act as ruler was to seek revenge for his father’s murder by arresting all the families of boyars (the feudal aristocracy) who participated in the princely feast. On Easter Sunday of 1459, he had the older members of each boyar family impaled and forced the younger ones to march more than 50 miles without stopping from the capital to the town of Poenari. Those who survived the march were forced to build Vlad Dracula’s fortress, Castle Dracula.

Vlad III became well known for his cruel punishment methods, and the term “punishment” is highly subjective and very loosely used. The truth, as history will support, is that some of the ruler’s torturous methods were inflicted without just cause. He ordered enemies and subjects alike to be tortured and killed in the most horrific and inhumane methods imaginable that in addition to impalement included skinning, hanging, decapitating, strangling, quartering, blinding, nailing, boiling, burying alive, roasting and maiming.

One particular event of note occurred when Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II threatened to overtake Wallachia if Vlad did not agree to an annual tribute. Vlad refused to pay the tribute and prepared for Ottoman invasion. He could not defeat them, but employed a strategy that drew the army deep into Wallachia territory. He had the wells poisoned and the villages burned along the way. When Mehmet II and the Ottoman army approached the outer perimeter of the capital, they found a two-mile stretch of roughly 20,000 impaled corpses. The army withdrew.

Vlad Tepes was a clever military strategist. Often times, his shortcomings were simply a matter of limited resources. But mostly he is remembered for his cruelty. There are tales of Vlad having children impaled to their mothers’ chests. One tale in particular recalls an event in which Vlad invited the poorer members of Wallachia to partake in a feast at a huge hall. The people ate and were filled and the ruler asked his subjects who among them wished to be without any cares. When the crowd unanimously answered yes, he had the hall sealed and set ablaze.

Vlad the Impaler was killed in a battle against the Ottomans in Bucharest in 1476. His head was taken as reward and displayed in Constantinople. The rest of him was buried at a monastery in Snagov.

His reputation lives on for the sheer brutality he showed to his subjects, friends, and even visiting ambassadors. In a final story describing his cruelty, a number of Ottoman ambassadors came into his presence and refused to remove their turbans according to diplomatic custom. They told Vlad III that they could not remove their headgear. In order to 'assist' them, he ordered the hats nailed to their heads. Tales such as these, whether or not apocryphal, make for a chilling character study of a sadistic ruler.