Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula

The fifteenth century Romanian Prince Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, is one of the most fascinating personalities of medieval history. Even within this figure’s own lifetime, his true story became obscured by a veil of myths. Vlad has been depicted as a national and Christian hero who bravely fought to defend his native land and all of Europe against the invading Turkish infidels. However, he has also been portrayed as a bloody tyrant — whose reputation slowly transformed through the ages into the fictional vampire created by Bram Stoker at the end of the nineteenth century. Even in the twentieth century, the true history of Dracula has been obscured by communist and nationalist historiography. This book presents the life and times of this fascinating personality of medieval Europe. The author uses all extant Romanian, Turkish, Russian and German sources to reconstruct the history of this famous Prince who, despite his short reign, created a name for himself in the history of his country.