Most people have heard of Count Dracula. The personification of evil, Dracula represents the

living dead who can suck the life out of other humans and turn them into evil creatures.

There are several theories for where the idea of a vampire originated, but it took its first

literary form in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula.

The author didn't just write about vampires, though. No, he pulled inspiration from a real

person who could possibly be the closest thing to pure evil in the real world.

Yeah. world. Bilahia is a mountainous region that is now Romania and was once just south of Transylvania. Vlad III was born in 1431 in Transylvania. His father was Vlad II, the ruler of Balagia, and he was given

the surname Dracul, which means dragon, when he was inducted into the Christian military order

called the Order of the Dragon. Vlad III would eventually be given the surname Draculea,

which meant son of the dragon.

In 1442, Vlad and his younger brother, Radu, accompanied their father to meet with the Ottoman

Empire, but it turned out to be a trap. The Ottomans eventually released his father, but the boys

were held prisoner. The young princes were essentially used

as diplomatic collateral, their lives hanging in the balance of their father's political decisions.

They were educated and taught to be warriors, but also experienced torture and witnessed the

executions of the Ottoman's enemies.

Those hostage years proved to be a crucial period in Vlad's development.

Despite the precarious nature of his situation, he was able to experience, understand,

and immerse himself in Ottoman culture.

That exposure to a different way of life and governance would later influence his own rule and military

strategies. Vlad's father was eventually ousted as the ruler of Balahia and in 1447 he was killed by

Boyers. Boyers were a high-ranking member of feudal nobility in Eastern European countries.

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