Independent Wallachia had been near the border of the Ottoman Empire since the 14th century until it had gradually succumbed to the Ottomans' influence during the next centuries with brief periods of independence. Vlad III the Impaler was a Prince of Wallachia in 1448, 1456–62, and 1476.^[67] Vlad III is remembered for his raids against the Ottoman Empire and his initial success of keeping his small country free for a short time. The Romanian historiography evaluates him as a ferocious but just ruler.