Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (November 25, 1431 – December 18, 1476), more commonly known as the Impaler or Dracula, was a three-time voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462.
Historically, Vlad is best known for his resistance against the Ottoman Empire and its expansion and for the cruel punishments he imposed on his enemies.
In the English-speaking world, Vlad III is perhaps most commonly known for possibly inspiring the association of the name of the vampire in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.
His Romanian surname Dracula (also spelled "Draculea", "Drakulya"), by which Vlad was referred to in several documents, means "Son of the dragon" and points to his father, Vlad Dracul, who received that moniker from his subjects because he had joined the Order of the Dragon. Dracul, from the Latin word Draco, meaning "dragon", is derived from the Greek word Δράκων (Dracon), though in modern Romanian it means "devil".
Vlad was born in Sighişoara, Transylvania in the winter of 1431 to Vlad II Dracul, future voivode of Wallachia, and his wife, Princess Cneajna of Moldavia, daughter of Alexandru cel Bun.
In the year of his birth Vlad's father, known under the nickname the Dragon (Romanian: Dracul) had traveled to Nuremberg, today located in Germany, where he had been vested into the Order of the Dragon.
The Byzantine chancellor Mikhail Doukas showed that, at Targoviste, the sons of boyars and ruling princes got a distinguished education from either Romanian or Greek scholars, coming from Constantinople.
The young prince learned for sure; combat skills, geography, mathematics, science, language; Romanian, Latin, Bulgarian (church Slavic) and the classical arts and philosophy.
In 1436, Vlad II Dracul ascended the throne of Wallachia. He was ousted in 1442 by rival factions in league with Hungary, but secured Ottoman support for his return agreeing to pay tribute to the Sultan and also send his two younger sons, Vlad III and Radu the Handsome, to the Ottoman court, to serve as hostages of his loyalty.
At eleven years of age, Vlad III was imprisoned and often whipped and beaten because of his verbal abuse towards his captors and his stubborn behavior, while his younger brother Radu the Handsome was much easier to control.
