The moniker Vlad the Impaler was bestowed upon him posthumously around 1550, although he was previously known as Kaziklu Beg or Kazili Voyvoda, both of which mean Impaler Lord. The name was so given by the Ottoman Empire after their soldiers came across what they described as “forests” of impaled victims. Impaling was his preferred method of execution. He is estimated to have killed somewhere between 40,000 and 100,000 people. He burned villages and fortresses to the ground and is said to have taken pleasure in torturing and killing his victims, even feasting amidst their remains. One German
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