1. Mrs . Almeyda’s 4th Grade History Class Lesson
DRACULA
The True Story
A look at the history behind the legend that fascinates everyone.

2. Who was he? Where did he live? What did he do? Why is he so famous?
What do YOU know about Dracula?
Can you tell me….
Who was he? Where did he live? What did he do? Why is he so famous?

3. And now… the REAL story WHO WAS HE?
Dracula’s real name was Vlad the Impaler
He was the son of Vlad Dracul, hence the nickname Dracula (dracul means “devil” in
Romanian, hence the scary connotation)
He was a king who ruled in the regions
of Transylvania and Wallachia- they are
part of Romania, an Eastern European
country.
He lived between 1431 and 1476

4. WHERE DID HE LIVE?
Hunedoara Castle
Bran Castle
He was born in the town of Sighisoara which is in the Transylvania region of Romania
As a young child he was taken to live in Turkey, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire
As an adult he returned to rule over the land of Wallachia, a region in Romania
He lived in many castles around Romania, including Hunedoara, Targoviste, Bran

5. WHAT DID HE DO? He was king of Wallachia between 1456-1462
After being defeated by the Turks
in 1462 he took refuge in Hungary,
a neighboring country
In 1476 he regains the throne
but only for one month
He dies shortly after, being killed
in yet another battle with the Turks
His body is buried at Snagov Monastery, near Bucharest - the Romanian capital

6. WHY IS HE SO FAMOUS? For Romanians: For The World:
He was an ingenious military leader who would often dress like the enemy to infiltrate their bases
He was very cruel with the prisoners of war and would impale them, hence the name Vlad the Impaler
He would apply the “eye for an eye” law code: for example, if you stole, then your hand would be cut
For The World:
The Irish writer Bram Stoker was
inspired by Vlad the Impaler and in
1897 published the famous novel Dracula