Research Paper On Vlad The Impaler

Ruler of Wallachia during the mid 15th century, Vlad III has been called by many names. He has been called Vlad Dracula and Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler. This came from his habit of punishment by impalement, displaying them on stakes. He would become well known for his cruelty.The Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund founded the Order of the Dragon in 1410, to defend Europe from the Ottoman Turks and uphold Christianity. Vlad's father, Vlad II, joined the order and became known as Vlad Dracul, or Vlad the dragon. As such, Vlad III became Vlad Dracula. This means “the son of the dragon”. Vlad III was born in the year 1431 in Transylvania, the house in which he was born stands to this day. He had two brothers, the older Mircea and the younger Radu. When his father gained control of Wallachia, which stood between the powerful Hungary and Ottoman Empire, in 1436, Vlad began learning skills of war and of peace, skills that were considered essential for a Christian knight to know. In 1442 Turks invaded Transylvania, but were defeated by the Hungarians. Though the Order of the Dragon was meant to oppose the …show more content…
He was released, though his brother Radu chose to remain in Turkey. With Turkish support, Vlad Dracula took his father's throne at age seventeen. John Hunyadi had other plans. Within two months of taking the Wallachian throne, Vlad was forced to surrender it to Hunyadi, and Vladislov II took his place. In an unexpected twist however, Vladislov would institute pro-Turkish policies. John Hunyadi allied himself with Vlad III to take back Wallachia through force. 1453 marked the fall of Constantinople by the Ottomans. Then came 1456, and a dual invasion, Vlad to Wallachia and Hunyadi to Turkish Serbia. Hunyadi's army was ultimately defeated and Hunyadi himself killed at the Battle of Belgrade. Vlad fared better, Vladislov II was killed and the Wallachian throne secured. Vlad Dracula's six-year rule finally