There are two main versions as to how Vlad III got his now legendary nickname.
According to the first of them, it was inherited by his son from his father, Vladislav II, who was considered a member of the knightly order of the Dragon, founded by King Sigismund.
According to the second version, Vlad was awarded this nickname for his unparalleled cruelty in battles against Turkish troops. And Tepes had reasons for dislike of the Ottoman Empire.
As a 12-year-old child, he and his younger brother Radu were sent to the Ottoman sultan as hostages. Both boys lived in Turkey for 4 years, after which Vlad's psyche changed irreparably. He turned into a very unbalanced person, famous for strange habits and ideas.
A year later, the Wallachian boyars killed Vladislav II along with his older brother Vlad. And the Turks freed Tepes with the intention to put him on the throne. But he ruled for no more than a few months - he fled, unable to withstand the pressure of the governor Janos Hunyadi.
Having fled from Wallachia, Vlad III applied for asylum in Moldova and received it. However, after the Moldovan turmoil, he was forced to leave the country and flee again, this time to Hungary.
After another 4 years, Tepes returned to the Wallachian borders, enlisting the help of the Hungarians and Transylvanian boyars. Vlad was able to recapture his father's throne and ruled after that for six years. A short time, but it was at this time that his cruelty was most clearly manifested: according to historical data, in six years Tepes killed about 100,000 people.
5 years after accession to the throne, Vlad III started a war with the Ottoman sultan, refusing to pay tribute. A year later, using the legendary "Night Attack", he forced the Turkish army to retreat from the borders of Wallachia.
However, a year later, Tepes was betrayed by Matthias Corvin, a monk from Hungary, and as a result of this betrayal, Vlad was again forced to flee his native country, again to Hungary. And there he was accused of cooperation with the Turks, which was an outright lie. However, this did not prevent the Hungarian authorities from imprisoning Tepes, where he spent 12 years.
In 1476, Vlad III returned to Wallachia, once again becoming its sovereign. However, luck did not smile at him for long - in the same year Tepes suffered the fate of his father: he was killed by his own boyars.
