Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431–1476), more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler (Romanian: Vlad Țepeș) or simply as Dracula, was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462. Historically, Vlad the Impaler is best known for his resistance against the Ottoman Empire and its expansion and for the impaling of enemies. Vlad III is believed to have inspired the association of his name to that of the vampire Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.