Dracula Timeline

First appearance of Vampires.

Jan 1, 1047

First appearance of the word "upir" (an early form of the word later to become "vampire") in a document referring to a Russian prince as "Upir Lichy", or wicked vampire. Source

Walter Maps "De Nugis Curialium"

Jan 1, 1190

"De Nugis Curialium" includes accounts of vampire-like beings in England. Source

Prince Mircea the Old's Reign over Walachia

Period: Jan 1, 1386 to Jan 1, 1418

Source

Mircea has an illegitimate son

Jan 1, 1390

He was called Vlad, the father of Dracula. Source

Vlad became the Holy Roman Emperor

Jan 1, 1410

Source

Vlad Tepes (Dracula) is born.

Dec 1, 1430

He was born in a Transylvanian town called Schassburg (also known as Sighisoara) Source

Vlad Dracul joins The Order of the Dragon

Jan 1, 1431

Soon after Vlad Tepes' birth, Vlad Dracul joins the Order of the Dragon and takes an oath that he and his family would be dedicated to fighting the Turks, who began attacking Europe at the time. Source

Vlad Tepes gets his name.

Jan 1, 1432

In archaic Romanian, the ending "-ulea" meant "the son of". Vlad Tepes thus became Vlad Draculea, "The Son of the Devil" (or "of the Dragon"). Source

Vlad Dracul get's his name.

Dec 6, 1432

Either because the people believed the dragon to represent the devil, or of the fact that the Romanian archaic word for dragon was "drac", his subjects called him Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Devil) Source

Vlad Dracul is assassinated.

Jan 1, 1447

Source

Vlad Tepes (Dracula) invades Wallachia

Jan 1, 1456

He invades in an attempt to retake it from the Hunyadi, an old rival of Dracula's family who currently ruled Wallachia. Source

The invasion to take back the Wallachian throne was successful

Period: Jan 1, 1456 to Jan 1, 1462

Dracula's rule over Wallachia lasted 6 years. Source

Dracula's Reign (Part 2)

Period: Jan 1, 1456 to Jan 1, 1462

Dracula punished the offenders in a cruel manner. He would not only impale them in many ways, he would often execute them in a manner that was related to the crime that they commited. In his 6 years reign, it is said that he had taken around 40,000 lives. Source

Dracula's Reign (Part 1)

Period: Jan 1, 1456 to Jan 1, 1462

Source Dracula, the new ruler of Wallachia, held the Boyar family responsible for his fathers assassination. He impaled the older members of the family outside of the city walls and made the younger members work to build what is now known as Castle Dracula. Most of the workers died. He also took actions against foreign merchants, whom he felt were stopping the development of the Romanian industry. (cont.)

The end of Dracula's reign.

Jan 1, 1462

Dracula was drove out of Castle Dracula by an army of Turks, commanded by Radu, Dracula's younger brother. Dracula escaped the castle. Source

Radu, the ruler of Wallachia dies.

Jan 1, 1474

Radu dies, leaving Dracula with another chance to take the throne. Source

Dracula is put back on the throne of Wallachia.

Nov 1, 1476

Source

Dracula's death

Nov 1, 1476

The Turkish army enters Wallachia, determined to return Basarab to the throne. Dracula's cruelties over the years had alienated the Boyar family, and felt they had a better chance of survival under Prince Basarab of the Turks. Even the peasants of Wallachia were tired of Dracula, and left him to his fate. Dracula was killed in battle against the Turks. Source

Elizabeth Bathory is born

Jan 1, 1560

Source

Elizabeth Bathory tried and convicted.

Jan 1, 1610

Bathory is arrested for killing several hundred people and bathing in their blood. Tried and convicted, she is sentenced to life imprisonment, being bricked into a room in her castle. Source

Leo Allatius finishes writing.

Jan 1, 1610

Leo Allatius finishes writing the first modern treatment of vampires, "De Graecorum hodie quirundam opinationabus". Source

Elizabeth Bathory's death

Jan 1, 1614

Four years after her imprisonment. Source

Fr. Francoise Richard

Dec 17, 1657

Fr. Francoise Richard's "Relation de ce qui s'est passé a Sant-Erini Isle de l'Archipel" links vampirism and witchcraft. Source

Vampire hysteria.

Jan 1, 1672

Wave of vampire hysteria sweeps through Istra. (Istra is a peninsula sharded by Croatia, Slovenia and Italy). Source

Vampire Hysteria

Dec 17, 1710

Vampire hysteria sweeps through East Prussia. (A German Kingdom that existed from 1701 to 1918, shown in blue in the image). Source

The Wave of Vampire Hysteria

Jan 1, 1725

The wave of vampire hysteria in Austrian Serbia produces the famous cases of Peter Plogojowitz and Arnold Paul. Both of which were believed to have become vampires after their death and killed many of their fellow villagers. Source

The word "vampyre" enters the English language

Dec 17, 1734

The word "vampyre" enters the English language in translations of German accounts of European waves of vampire hysteria. Source

The first modern vampire poem

Jan 1, 1748

The first modern vampire poem, "Der Vampir" is published by Heinrich August Ossenfelder. <ahref='http://www.hauntedbay.com/tomes/poems/dervampir.shtml' >Link to the poem</a> Source

Another wave of hysteria

Period: Jan 1, 1750 to Jan 1, 1772

Another wave of hysteria sweeps over East Prussia, Wallachia and Russia. Source

Reports of Vampire-like activity

Jan 1, 1810

Reports of sheep being killed by having their jugular veins cut and their blood drained circulated through northern England. Source

Bram Stoker is born

Jan 1, 1847

Bram Stoker, the writer of "Dracula", is born.

Bram Stoker publishes "Dracula"

Nov 8, 1897

"Dracula" has been the basis for many films to this day. Including the film "Dracula" starring Béla Lugosi, "The Horror of Dracula", and the 1992 version of "Dracula". "Dracula" was also adapted as "Nosferatu", a german silent film released in 1922.

Vampires appear in various other medias

Period: Jan 1, 1900 to Jan 1, 2000

Most notably among these medias are: "Dracula" (Films)
"Nosferatu" (Film)
"Vampyr" (Film)
"I Am Legend" (Comic Book)
"Last Man on Earth" (Film)
"Salems Lot" (Book)
"Interview with a Vampire" (Book)
"The Vampire Lestat" (Book)
"Vampire: The Masquerade" (Roleplaying Game)
"From Dusk Till Dawn" (Film)