The Dracula legend is generally believed to have evolved from the life of Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler, a Prince of Wallachia who lived from 1431 to 1476. Best known for the cruelty of his reign, he was greatly disliked, but he served as a sort of buffer between Europe and the Ottoman invaders, and this made him key to the European defense. He filfilled this purpose well, killing so many Turks that the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II laid siege on Vlad's castle himself. Vlad did not restrict his killing, however, to his enemies. He also had a habit of pillaging certain towns under his rule and murdering a great number of his own subjects. True to his name, most of his victims were impaled. According to some legends, he was eventually taken captive by the Hungarians who burned out his eyes and buried him alive. The next day, however, when his grave was unearthed, they found no corpse. Shortly thereafter, there were a number of mysterious deaths at his castle, giving rise to the belief among his subjects that he had somehow survived -- and perhaps giving rise to the vampire myth as well.