Transylvanin Review

T h e M e d i e va l B a n aT
BeTween
The hungarian KingdoM
and oTToMan eMpire
( 1 4 Th– 1 8 Th C e n T u r i e s )
Editor
I usztIn z oltán
From Slavery to Freedom:
the Fate of Margaret Himfi
I stván P EtrovIcs
T
he angevin kings who ruled hungary in the fourteenth century—nominally
between 1301 and 1387—had extensive contacts with the other branches of
the same dynasty, as well as with other european ruling houses.1 Beside these sig-
nificant political contacts, due to the consolidation of royal power and the reorganiza-
tion of the realm’s economy, hungary was a major factor in the political, economic
and military life of fourteenth-century europe.2 regarding the anjou era, it also should
be remembered that the military activity of hungary was particularly vigorous during
the reign of louis i who was able to expand his rule extensively over territories in the
Balkans.3 nevertheless, hungary’s status as a great power was seriously challanged in the
late fourteenth century, partly by the “succession crisis” and partly by the emergence of
a new enemy, the ottoman Turks.
The domestic crisis was more or less resolved when sigismund of luxemburg, the
husband of louis’s elder daughter, Mary, became king of hungary in 1387.4 another,
more threatening danger, the ottoman expansion, reached hungary in 1389 and the
realm was soon compelled to adopt a defensive policy to counter this menace. From
this time on until the battle of Mohács in 1526 (which marks the end of the independ-
ent Kingdom of hungary) the realm lived almost without interruption under the con-
stant menace of ottoman raids and invasions.5 This state of affairs, besides straining
hungary’s economic and military resources to the absolute limit, also led to internal con-
flicts in the realm. These conflicts were generated by the situation in which the nobili-
ty found the necessity of a defensive policy unacceptable and shameful. They demand-
ed the same offensive attitude against the ottomans as had for so long prevailed towards
others. For these failures the nobles blamed whoever happened to be in power. Consequently,
the internal conflict frequently resulted in serious political struggles between the differ-
ent “parties” in domestic political life.
in early 1389, lazar, prince of serbia, confirmed his allegiance to sigismund, King
of hungary, but soon afterwards, on 15 June, he was killed in the battle of Kosovo.
The most important consequence of this battle was that the son of lazar, stephen lazarević,
became the vassal of the ottomans.6 This explains how in early 1390 ottoman troops
were able to devastate the region around Temesvár (today Timişoara, romania). in 1391
4 • transylvanIan rEvIEw • vol. XXvI, suPPlEmEnt no. 1 (2017)
they did the same in the szerémség (today srem, a region located between the rivers
danube and sava and divided between Croatia and serbia), and thereafter their incur-
sions became regular occurrences.7 King sigismund took the threat seriously from the
very first moment. as early as the autumn of 1389, he led a campaign to serbia and took
two fortresses by siege, and he repeated the military action in the following two years.
at this time, King sigismund was not so successful in Moldavia and wallachia. The
former had shifted back under the influence of poland, while the latter had passed
temporarily under the suzerenity of the ottomans, who raided Transylvania for the
first time in 1394.8
The wars were exhausting and the results only temporary. Therefore, sigismund decid-
ed to settle the Turkish problem once and for all. he organised a major enterprise with
the ambitious aim of driving the ottomans out of europe. as a result of his efforts the
pope declared the planned campaign a crusade, and by the summer of 1396 an army
of considerable size had assembled. alongside the hungarians, the core of the army
was made up of Frenchmen, with John of nevers, heir to Burgundy, at the head, and
knights also came from germany, Bohemia, italy and even england. in the battle that
took place on 25 september 1396 the crusader army was virtually destroyed, allegedly
as a consequence of the ill-considered actions of the French knights.9
The catastrophe of nicopolis demonstrated that the ottoman empire represented a
power against which hungary was unable to launch an offensive war, even with the
support of the “west”. as for hungary, from that time on, priority was given to defence
rather than to offensive campaigns, and the kingdom had to learn how to live with the
constant menace of ottoman incursions. The latter statement is of great importance, since
the ottomans did not, in fact, try to conquer hungary for a long time. in contrast
with the Balkan states, which were easily crushed, the medieval Kingdom of hungary
was to remain a rival of the ottoman empire right up to the end of the fifteenth cen-
tury. To put it another way: for approximately a century it was not hungary’s exis-
tence that was primarily jeopardized, but the supremacy that the kingdom had been
able to impose upon its southern neighbours. The psychological effects of this new sit-
uation was also important. hungary, which had not suffered a major external attack since
the Mongol invasion of 1241/42, now found herself exposed to brutal plundering
raids by the ottomans year after year.10
several serious steps were taken in order to avert the ottoman campaigns and to
halt their advance in hungary. after his defeat at nicopolis (1396), King sigismund
of luxemburg totally reorganized his country’s defence system. First introduced at the
diet of Temesvár (present-day Timişoara, romania) in 1397 and further developed under
sigismund’s successors, the new multi-layered defence system consisted of buffer or
vassal states (e.g. serbia, Bosnia, wallachia); the banates; two parallel lines of border forts
situated along the southern borders of the country; and the hungarian field army, as a
last resort in case the ottomans broke through the first three layers of defence.11
during their plundering raids in the fifteenth century the ottomans abducted, killed
and forced to flee hundreds of thousands of hungarians. These raids affected mostly
the southern territories of the realm, especially the szerémség, the Temes region and
Transylvania.12 The documentary evidence also clearly demonstrates that the ottoman
thE mEdIEval Banat BEtwEEn thE hungarIan KIngdom and ottoman EmPIrE • 5
advance caused a great shift in the ethnic make-up of the population of these regions. Many
of those hungarians who had survived the brutal ottoman onslaughts migrated to the
central parts of the realm, and in their place, from the fifteenth century on, a large num-
ber of romanians and serbs arrived. The immigrants continued to use the original hungarian
place-names of the area in question, but obviously adapted them to their own language,
as is shown by the analysis of the Turkish state-tax returns from the late sixteenth centu-
ry.13 The above changes taking place in the Temesköz in the late Middle ages also had
an impact on the ethnic make-up of the town of Temesvár itself, which was the most
significant castle and town in the danube–Tisza–Maros region. nevertheless, the defter
produced in 1554 proves that among the inhabitants of the town, even two years after
its fall to the Turks, the hungarians still constituted the majority.14
From our special perspective the fate of the captives is interesting. unfortunately,
we have only sporadic documents informing us about their fate and the attitude of the
ottomans towards their captives.15 one of these sources was written by a man known
as georgius de hungaria. george was a native of Transylvania, the eastern province of
the medieval Kingdom of hungary. he was, probably, a saxon by origin.16 The fifteen
or sixteen year old boy, as we know it from his own work, went to study in the nearby
town of szászsebes (german: Mühlbach, romanian: sebeş). in 1438 Murad ii and
his troops besieged szászsebes, which finally surrendered, but some of the people who
defended the town, amongst them george himself, fled to a tower. The ottomans put
fire to the tower, and most of those who had taken refuge there died a horrible death.
The survivors, including george himself, were captured by the ottomans and were
sold into slavery. he remained as a slave in the ottoman empire until 1458 when he
managed to conclude an agreement of liberation with his last master, who had befriend-
ed him. Then he returned to Christian europe and became a dominican friar. he died
in 1502, in the eternal City. in 1481 george published in rome a very famous work:
Tractatus de moribus, condicionibus et nequitia Turcorum.17 since this is the description of
the world of the Turks by an eye-witness, george’s work deserves special attention. it
turns out from george’s Tractatus that the captives meant a real “treasure” for the ottomans.
Flocks of merchants accompanied the marauding—mostly irregular—soldiers, who
sold their captives to the merchants at once. in this way they did not have to take care
of them any longer and they got the money for the captives immediately.18 Thousands
of slaves from different regions, hungary among them, were taken by the merchants
to the island of Crete where they were sold to the venetians who were the lords of the
island in the period roughly between the early thirteenth and the middle of the six-
teenth century.19
and so we arrive at the main figure of this paper, Margaret himfi. she was the daugh-
ter of dorothea of essegvár and Benedict himfi, ban of vidin and count of Temes.20
although the precise date when she was captured by the ottomans is still debated, and
there are unexplored periods in her life, the last years of her captivity, with the help of
newly discovered documentary evidence in the archives of venice, can be elucidated prop-
erly.21 as a slave she was bought by giorgio darvasio, a venetian living in Crete.
unfortunately, very little is known about the life and activity of darvasio, who was
evidently a venetian subject and lived in the city of Candia, in Crete. a hungarian
researcher, péter e. Kovács has recently found several copies of his testament in the
venetian archives.22 giorgio darvasio’s last will reveals that his father was Marco darvasio,
while his mother was Ysabeta. Marco darvasio had moved, at an unknown date, from
venice to Crete, where he lived as burgensis in Candia.23 he may have earned his living
by trading in a variety of products. it is highly probable that Marco darvasio was a
very successful merchant, since his son, giorgio inherited from him a fortune of con-
siderable value. in contrast with his father, giorgio seems not to have worked as a
merchant: he simply consumed his heritage, and invested the money that was left to him.24
documents surviving from the Middle ages in the venetian archives prove that he
never married. although he did not establish a family, he lived with several concu-
bines, who bore him a number of children.25 Margaret himfi was one—and perhaps
the dearest—of these concubines. it is highly probable that giorgio darvasio bought her
on the slave market in Crete.26 Margaret soon learnt italian, and although she did not
have the chance to practice her mother tongue in Crete, she did not forget the hungarian
language. although Margaret was treated by darvasio “humane, honorabiliter et benigne”,
she herself made several attempts to inform her family about her whereabouts, while
the members of the himfi family also did everything in order to find her. The quest—
on the details of which we have no information—was finally successful. The represen-
tative of the himfi family, nicholas Marcali, former voivode of Transylvania, having
met darvasio in Candia and having identified Margaret, made an agreement with her
master.27 according to the bargain giorgio darvasio assented to the return of Margaret
and her daughters to hungary, while nicholas Marcali, who at the time of the agree-
ment—for unknown reasons—was unable to take Margaret with him, promised to come
back for her and the children to Crete afterwards. Marcali also assured darvasio and
Margaret that—if he were unable to return to Crete—he would entrust somebody with
the task of taking Margaret and her daughters to hungary. Marcali, finally, agreed to
arrange darvasio’s—or his representative’s—visit to hungary, if the father would like
to see his daughters.
an undated note, written about the case of Margaret himfi and addressed to sigismund
of luxemburg, King of hungary, informs us about the further developments.28 giorgio
darvasio not only manumitted Margaret and her daughters, but took them—at his
own expenses—to venice, whence it would have been much easier for them to travel
to hungary than from Crete. Then, as the note says, quite unexpectedly a relative of
Margaret, a certain John, son of Ban dionysius of redel appeared in venice. giorgio
darvasio gave him money and asked John to accompany Margaret and her daughters
to hungary. according to the note it was rumoured that John—on their way to hungary—
had robbed Margaret of all her goods and disappeared without any sign with the stolen
money and articles. it is regrettable—since other documents do not make any refer-
ence to him—that nothing else is known about this John. at this point it is important
to note that the whole story of the robbery was known only from rumours, therefore
the possibility cannot be discounted that it was merely a fictional account.29 The note
originated in the situation in which darvasio—expecting the reimbursement of his costs—
had complained to the venetian council against nicholas Marcali and John, son of Ban
dionysius of redel, and the signoria informed King sigismund on the matter.
The note in question had to be written after Margaret’s return to hungary. unfortunately,
the document does not inform us about the details of Margaret’s trip to hungary,
except the robbery. This is why the time of her departure from venice and the date of her
arrival in hungary are also uncertain. later events of her life can be followed with the
help of a letter written by Francesco Bernardi, a Florentine by origin, who later became
a citizen of Buda, the hungarian capital.30 The letter was inscribed on 10 november
1408, and sent to an unnamed friend of Bernardi.31 in addition to the addressee of the
letter, giorgio darvasio, and a certain piero negro de Candia were also in contact
with Bernardi who was the head of the italian community living in Buda. especially
darvasio counted on Bernardi, since he expected the reimbursement of his costs through
Bernardi’s mediation. along with the italians, nicholas Marcali also asked Bernardi to
study all the documents produced in Margaret’s case.
From Bernardi’s letter it comes to light that Margaret had settled in Buda long before
1408. unfortunately, the document does not reveal in whose house Margaret lived in the
hungarian royal seat.32 surprisingly enough, nicholas Marcali had not been able to
visit Margaret in Buda by november 1408. Bernardi believes that Marcali shows up soon
in Buda, but he thinks, the former voivode would not do anything for Margaret.33 we
also know from the letter that Margaret’s father, Benedict himfi, was a good friend of
Bernardi, but the latter had not heard anything about Margaret before consulting with
Marcali about her case.34 although Margaret and Bernardi did not know each other in
person, the women of Bernardi’s household were in close contact with her. They and var-
ious other people recounted only good things about Margaret: they found her decent,
tolerant towards others, thrifty and a good mother who took care of her daughters prop-
erly. To top it all, Margaret had a very good opinion of giorgio darvasio, whom she often
praised. although Bernardi did not play any role in the liberation of Margaret, he sup-
ported her in Buda, as he writes in his letter. it is highly regrettable that he does not enter
into details concerning the concrete forms of this help. This is also the case with Marcali
and the himfi family: although Bernardi refers to their support, the precise facts remain
obscure.
The most astonishing part of the letter is where Bernardi disagrees with Marcali’s
act of taking Margaret and her daughters to hungary. Marcali should have known, writes
Bernardi, that a girl/woman who recovers her freedom from ottoman captivity is not
welcome by her female relatives in the Christian world in general, and in hungary, in
particular.
A
Concluding Remarks
lThough The fate of Margaret himfi is not typical of the girls and women
who were captured by the ottomans in hungary—since she was a noble woman
and her wealthy family had enough money to arrange Margaret’s liberation—her
life provides an opportunity for drawing general conclusions concerning the fate of women
who were victims of warfare.35 direct and indirect evidence demonstrates that those
women who were taken as captives and later sold as slaves by the ottomans served most-
ly as concubines and wet nurses. if originally they belonged to a poor noble or peasant
family it was not at all probable that their relatives would be able to help them to become
free again. even if it happened that some of them were liberated and were able to
return to the place from where they had been abducted, they were—on account of
their “past”—despised by their (female) relatives who were ashamed of them and there-
fore they were excluded from normal life. in this respect—as Margaret’s example shows—
it did not make any difference if somebody returned from the ottoman empire or the
Christian world. The life of women was significantly dissimilar from that of the men who
were captured by the ottomans. Men served mostly as soldiers. Many of them were
wealthy barons or high dignitaries of the realm, for whom the ottomans demanded huge
ransoms. in most cases it was the task of the family to find the money to pay the ransom,
but it also happened that a special tax was levied on the subjects of the realm in order
to free the prisoners.36 For common people—man and women—only one thing remained:
good luck or the hope of a miraculous escape.
q
Notes
1. The national ruling dynasty of hungary, the house of Árpád, died out on the male line in 1301
with andrew iii. Charles i of anjou, who succeeded andrew iii on the hungarian throne,
was the son of Charles Martel and Clementia of habsburg. Charles’s great-grandfather, the
brother of louis iX of France, was Charles, duke of anjou, who managed to acquire the
throne of sicily and naples in the 1260s, while his grandmother was Mary daughter of stephen
v, King of hungary (1270–1272). Charles i was crowned king of hungary three times: 1301,
1309 and 1310. it was only in 1310, due to the efforts of the papal legate, Cardinal gentilis,
that Charles i was finally crowned with the so-called holy Crown, whose origin was associ-
ated with the founder of the hungarian kingdom, stephen i. Consequently, Charles i ruled
as legitimate king of hungary only between 1310 and 1342, although he himself regarded
his first coronation as the beginning of his reign. in order to become the real master of the
realm, Charles i had to crush the oligarchs (“little kings”), a process which was completed
by 1323. Charles i was suceeded on the hungarian throne by his son, louis i who ruled
between 1342 and 1382. since louis i had no male heir, it was Mary, his second daughter,
who acceded to the throne after louis’s death and ruled, with a short interruption, between
1382 and 1395. however, after Mary’s husband, sigismund of luxemburg was crowned King
of hungary in 1387, her role in political life was, in fact, nominal. The term anjou era, in
hungary, in a broader sense, covers the period between 1301 and 1387. nevertheless, in a
narrower sense, it refers only to the consolidated rule of Charles i and his son, louis i, and
consequently covers the period between 1323 and 1382. see Korai magyar történeti lexikon
(9–14. század.) Thereafter: KMTl, editor-in-chief Kristó, gyula, Budapest: akadémiai Kiadó,
1994, s.v. “anjou-kor”, “Árpádok”, “i. Károly”, “i. (nagy) lajos”, “Mária”. see also pál engel,
The realm of St Stephen. A History of medieval Hungary, 895–1526, london-new York: i.B.
Tauris, 2001, 124–204; istván petrovics, Hungary and the Adriatic coast in the Middle Ages.
Power aspirations and dynastic contacts of the Árpádian and Angevin kings in the Adriatic region.
Chronica. annual of the institute of history of the university of szeged, vol. 5. szeged, 2005.
62–73. istván petrovics, William of Koppenbach and Valentin of Alsán, bishops of Pécs as diplomats.
in: La Diplomatie des États Angevins aux XIII et XIV Siècles. Diplomacy in the countries of the
e e
Angevin dynasty in the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries. actes du colloque international de szeged,

visegrád, Budapest, 13–16 septembre 2007 sous la direction de Zoltán Kordé et istván
petrovics. roma-szeged, 2010. 303–311.
2. hóman, Bálint, A Magyar Királyság pénzügyei és gazdaságpolitikája Károly Róbert korában.
Budapest, 2003. (reprint); engel, The realm of St Stephen, op. cit. 124–194. petrovics,
istván: Medieval Pécs and the Monetary Reforms of Charles I, in: istván petrovics, sándor lászló
Tóth, eleanor a. Congdon (eds.), “In my Spirit and Thought I Remained a European of Hungarian
Origin.” Medieval Historical Studies in Memory of Zoltan J. Kosztolnyik. szeged: JaTepress,
2010. 123–135.
3. Kristó, gyula, Az Anjou-kor háborúi. Budapest: Zrínyi Katonai Kiadó, 1988. see also engel,
The realm of St Stephen, op. cit., 157–167; sebøk, Ferenc “hungary. narrative (1300–1526)”
and petrovics, istván, “louis i”, in: The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military
Technology. 3 vols. editor in chief: Clifford J. rogers. oxford university press, 2010, vol.
2, 296, 529–530.
4. since louis i had no sons, the question of succession caused a serious problem. when
louis died in 1382, his elder daughter, Mária (Mary) who had married sigismund of luxemburg,
acceded to the throne, as was requested in the will of his father. however, the idea and
practice of being ruled by a woman was not popular at all among the nobles of the realm.
Consequently, they soon conspired against her. The main figures of the plot were the horváti
brothers, paul, bishop of Zagreb and John, ban of Mačva. They supported Charles the
small of durazzo, nephew of the duke who had been executed at aversa. he ruled in naples
as Charles iii between 1382 and 1386, while in hungary he is known as Charles ii. when
the horváti brothers invited him to hungary, Charles did not hesitate to depart. he disem-
barked in dalmatia in september 1385. Mária had no other choice than to renounce and
Charles was crowned king of hungary on 31 december 1385. Charles’s rule was, however,
short-lived: the Queen mother, elizabeth of Bosnia and the garai party had him assassinat-
ed in early 1386. after the monarch’s death the horváti brothers declared his son, lászló
(ladislaus of naples) to be king of hungary and took up arms in his name. on 25 July
1386 John horváti and his followers fell upon the queen’s small army at gorjani and slaugh-
tered palatine nicholas garai together with all who were held responsible for Charles’s
death. The queens (Mary and elizabeth) were imprisoned first in the castle of gomnec,
then later in that of novigrad, located on the adriatic coast. since the throne could no
longer be left vacant, Mary’s husband sigismund of luxemburg was crowned king on 31
March 1387. sigismund managed to liberate Mary from her prison with the help of the venetian
fleet in June 1387. since then until her death in 1395, Mary did not actively intervene in gov-
ernment affairs. For the political events in question see engel, The realm of St Stephen, op.
cit., 195–201. see also süttø, szilárd, Anjou-Magyarország alkonya, 2 vols., szeged:Belvedere
Meridionale, 2003; petrovics, Hungary and the Adriatic coast, op.cit., 71–72; petrovics, istván,
A Horváti lázadás és Pécs. in: Fedeles,Tamás–horváth, istván–Kiss, gergely (eds), A pécsi
egyházmegye vonzásában. Ünnepi tanulmányok Timár György tiszteletére. Budapest: MeTeM,
2007, 285–293.
5. relations between the hungarian Kingdom and the ottoman empire can be divided into
three main periods. according to some scholars the first period started in 1375, with the
earliest documented direct military conflict between hungarian and ottoman forces in wallachia
(present-day romania), while others regard the battle of Kosovo in 1389 as the beginning
of this period. There is, however, a consensus among historians concerning the end of the first
period: it is claimed to last until the annihilation of the hungarian army at the Battle of Mohács
(1526) at the hands of sultan süleyman i. This period was characterized by gradual ottoman
expansion in the Balkans, to the south of the medieval Kingdom of hungary, as well as by
hungarian attempts to halt the ottoman advance by extending hungarian influence in the
Balkans and by building an anti-ottoman defence system along the southern borders of
hungary. nevertheless, with the collapse of this defence system by the early 1520s, the
road to hungary and central europe was open for the ottomans. The second phase of
hungarian-ottoman relations started with the Battle of Mohács, which also marked the begin-
ning of a long period of habsburg-ottoman military confrontation in central europe. in order
to understand this situation it is to be noted here, that the habsburgs–with the election of
Ferdinand i, the fallen king’s brother-in-law, as monarch of hungary–ruled the northern
and western parts of the realm from 1526, while with the fall of Buda in 1541, central hungary
was incorporated into the ottoman empire and was ruled as an ottoman province until 1699.
This was a very unfortunate situation for hungary, since the country became the major bat-
tlefield for 150 years in the habsburg-ottoman rivalry in Central europe. The second peri-
od ended with the peace treaty of Karlowitz (today sremski Karlovci in serbia) in 1699.
The third period lasted from 1699 until the collapse of the ottoman and austro-hungarian
empires during world war i, and was characterized by the the situation in which the ottomans
lost hungary to the habsburgs and withdrew to the Balkans. see szakály, Ferenc: Phases of
Turco–Hungarian warfare before the battle of Mohács (1365–1526). acta orientalia academiae
scientiarum hungaricae 33 (1979) 72–85; dávid, géza and Fodor, pál (eds.), Ottomans,
Hungarians and Habsburgs in Central Europe: The Military Confines in the Era of Ottoman
Conquest. leiden: Brill, 2000; Ágoston, gábor, “hungary”. in: Ágoston, gábor and Bruce
Masters (eds.), Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Facts on File, 2009. 255–258. see also
the different entries on hungarian-ottoman warfare in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval
Warfare, op. cit., passim.
6. For stephen lazarević see aleksander Fotić “serbia” in Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire,
op.cit. 517–518. For the Battle of Kosovo see aleksander Fotić “Kosovo, Battle of (1389)”
in Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, op.cit., 317; sebøk, Ferenc “ Kosovo polje, Battle of
(1389)” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare, op. cit., vol. 2, 470–471.
7. engel, pál, Magyarország és a török veszély Zsigmond korában, 1387–1437. századok 128 (1994)
273–283. For the region around Temesvár see petrovics, istván, Urban development in the
Danube–Tisa–Mureş Region in the Middle Ages. analele Banatului. serie nouã. archeologie–istorie.
iX. 2001. Timişoara, 2003. 389–390. For srem see Kristó, gyula and Takács, Miklós
“szerémség” in KMTl 642–643.
8. For Moldavia, Transylvania and wallachia see papp, sándor “Moldavia” “Transylvania” and
“wallachia” in Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, op.cit. 389–391, 570–571, 588–590. se also
radu lupescu “romanian principalities” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare, op.
cit., vol. 3, 191–193.
9. engel, The realm of St Stephen, op. cit., 202–204. see also Bárány, attila “nicopolis, Battle
of” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare, op. cit., vol. 3, 56–59.
10. For the Mongols and the disastrous battle of Muhi see vásáry, istván “Mongols” and veszprémy,
lászló “Muhi, Battle of” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare, op. cit., vol. 3, 19–20,
32–34. see also engel, The realm of St Stephen, op. cit., 98–100.
11. engel, The realm of St Stephen, op. cit., 204–206, 231–243. see also petrovics, istván, “Banates”
in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare, op. cit., vol. 1, 116–117, sebøk, Ferenc “Militia
portalis” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare, op. cit., vol. 3, 9–10; Ágoston, gábor
“hungarian defense system” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare, op. cit. vol. 2,
283–284.
12. engel, The realm of St Stephen, op. cit., 330–334; engel, pál, A török dúlások hatása a népessé-
gre: Valkó megye példája. századok 134 (2000) 267–320. a charter issued by King sigismund
on 17 august 1399 reveals that the monarch ordered the nobles, the towns and the judges
to inforce the return to their original homeland (i.e. the Temes region) of those peasants, who
had left the “Temesköz” during the Turkish incursions: “…quilibet ex vobis iobagiones habens
de ipsa terra nostra Temeskuz propter metum Turkorum evasos eosdem unacum rebus suis universis
restituat sine omni recusa permittatque abire et in dictam terram nostram sub eundem nobilem eius-
dem terre, cuius prefuit, descendere libere et quiete.” hungarian national archives. Collection
of charters issued before Mohács (1526) nr. 92112. The lords of the Temes region, espe-
cially the counts of Temes also made attempts to repopulate the devastated area. a royal
charter, issued on 2 June 1407, relates that “…idem Comes Pipo [i.e. pipo of ozora] Comitatus
ipsos, qui antea per sepissimas inuasiones et creberrimos Turcorum Crucis Christi persecutorum insul-
tus pene deuastati et depopulate extiterunt, sue sagacitatis ingeniosa industria et magni sui consil-
ij prudencia, nec non actuum virtuosorum strenuositate ad pristine integritatis statum reducendo,
populorum multitudine plurimum decorant…” see wenzel, gusztáv, Okmánytár Ozorai Pipo
történetéhez. Történelmi Tár 1884. 20–21. another example from the late fifteenth century:
Francesco griselini, eighteenth-century traveller, natural scientist and historian of the ‘Banat’
stated that pál Kinizsi, as comes Temesiensis after his triumphant campaign in serbia in 1481,
brought some 50 000 serbians to hungary upon his return, whom he settled around Temesvár
(perhaps in the suburbs of the town). see griselini, Franz: Versuch einer natürlichen und
politischen Geschichte des Temeswarer Banats in Briefen an Standepersonen und Gelehrte. 2 vols.,
wien, 1780. griselini’s work was translated into romanian and annotated by Costin Feneşan:
Încercare de istorie politicã şi naturalã a Banatului Timişoarei. Timişoara 1984, 56. also cf.
petrovics, istván, The Bishopric of Csanád/Cenad and the Ecclesiastical Institutions of Medieval
Temesvár/Timişoara. Transylvanian review 22 (2013) supplement no. 4. 249.
13. engel, pál, A temesvári és moldovai szandzsák törökkori települései (1554–1579). szeged: Csongrád
Megyei levéltár, 1996; also cf. hóvári, János, A török Temesvár. Élet és Tudomány 67 (1992)
744–745. see also petrovics, istván, Foreign Ethnic Groups in the Towns of Southern Hungary.
in: derek Keene, nagy, Balázs and szende, Katalin (eds.), Segregation-Integration-Assimilation.
Religious and Ethnic Groups in the Medieval Towns of Central and Eastern Europe. historical
urban studies series. Farnham: ashgate, 2009.83–84.
14. petrovics, istván, The Fading glory of a former royal seat: the case of medieval Temesvár. in:
nagy, Balázs and sebøk, Marcell (eds.), The Man of Many Devices, Who Wandered Full Many
Ways. Festschrift in honor of János M. Bak. Budapest: Ceu press, 1999. 534.
15. slavery was widespread in the ottoman empire. it was a complex institution which had many
forms and which combined elements of different—pre-islamic, islamic near eastern, classi-
cal Mediterranean and conventional ottoman—origins, and it remained legal in many parts
of the ottoman empire until the end of the nineteenth century. The most intensive use of
slaves was to be observed between the mid-fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, i.e. at the height
of ottoman power. when the ottomans were in a state of military dominance, slaves were
obtained through the conquest of different, mostly european territories. Tens of thousands
of men, women, and children were captured and brought to market in a single military
campaign. in contrast with the earlier period, in the later centuries commerce rather than war-
fare accounted for the bulk of slave imports. The ownership of slaves seems to have remained
in ottoman history one of the most consistent markers of high social standing. Male and
female slaves served their masters in virtually every capacity: they worked, among others, as
guards, porters, field hands, miners, masons, concubines, weavers, secretaries, entertainers and
galley slaves. a large number of slaves were freed by their owners either during the master’s
lifetime or in testamentary declarations upon the the owner’s death. For slavery in the ottoman
empire see Madeleine C. Zilfi “slavery” in: Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, op. cit., 530–533.
For a special form of slavery as it flourished in the habsburg-ottoman borderlands during
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries see dávid, géza and Fodor, pál (eds.) Ransom
Slavery along the Ottoman Borders (Early Fifteenth–Early Eighteenth Centuries), leiden: Brill,
2007.
16. lajos Tardy, who translated and published george’s account, assumes that george was born
around 1422 in romosz (german: rumes, romanian: romos), a village located about 12
kms from szászváros (german: Broos, romanian: orãştie). see Tardy, lajos, Georgius de
Hungaria – a “Szászsebesi Névtelen”: Értekezés a törökök szokásairól, viszonyairól és gonoszságáról
1438–1458. in: idem, Rabok, követek, kalmárok az Oszmán Birodalomról. Budapest:
gondolat:1977, 49. romosz was destroyed by the ottomans in 1438.
17. george’s account was translated from latin into hungarian by lajos Tardy. see footnote
nr. 16. For the account’s critical edition see Georgius de Hungaria, Tractatus de moribus,
condicionibus et nequitia Turcorum. Traktat über die Sitten, die Lebensverhältnisse und die Arglist
der Türken, edited and translated by reinhard Klockow (Cologne/weimar/vienna, 1993),
schriften zur landeskunde siebenbürgens, vol. 15. The most important works dealing
with george’s account are: a. B. palmer, Fr. Georgius de Hungaria, O.P., and the Tractatus de
moribus, condicionibus et nequitia Turcorum, Bulletin of the John rylands library 34 (1951–1952)
44–68; albrecht Classen, The World of the Turks Described by an Eye-Witness: Georgius de Hungaria’s
Dialectical Discourse on the Foreign World of the Ottoman Empire, Journal of early Modern history
7, nos. 3–4 (2003) 257–279; albrecht Classen, Life writing as a slave in Turkish hands: Georgius
of Hungary’s reflections about his existence in the Turkish world, neohelicon 39 (2012) no. 1,
pp. 55–72. Classen listed further bibliography on george. see also nora Berend, Violence as
Identity: Christians and Muslims in Hungary in the Medieval and Early Modern Period, austrian
history Yearbook 44 (2013) 5–9.
18. istanbul and Cairo, the largest cities of the ottoman empire operated the most significant
end-destination markets dealing in slaves, although smaller centres like Tunis, algiers and
Mecca were also heavy comsumers. see Madeleine C. Zilfi “slavery” in: Encyclopedia of the
Ottoman Empire, op. cit., 531.
19. Crete (greek: Κρήτη, Kríti, latin and italian: Candia) situated in the eastern Mediterranean,
where it lies at the southern edge of the aegean sea, is the largest and most populous of the
greek islands, and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean sea, after sicily, sardinia, Cyprus,
and Corsica. For a thousand years it had been the seat of the Minoan civilization. subsequently,
Crete was ruled by various ancient greek entities, the roman empire, the Byzantine empire,
the emirate of Crete, the republic of venice and the ottoman empire. until the Fourth
Crusade (1204) it remained a Byzantine possession when it passed first to Boniface of Montferrat
and then to venice, which bought it from him. The most significant settlement of medieval
Crete was Candia (latinized form of the hellenic Khándax), medieval precursor of modern
heraklion/iraklion, situated very close to the ruins of the palace of Knossos. Candia used
to refer to the island of Crete as a whole, as well as, to the city alone. after the ottoman
conquest of Cyprus in 1570, Crete was the only eastern Mediterranean island of any impor-
tance that remained in venetian hands. aside from the general desire to control as much
territory as possible, venetian possession of Crete was a particular problem for the ottomans
because it lay directly on the main sea lane that connected istanbul, the imperial capital, to
its important province of egypt, which served as the breadbasket of the ottoman empire. The
ottomans finally conquered Crete in 1699. For Crete see elias Kolovos, “Cretan war” and
Molly green “Crete” Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, op. cit., 157–158. see also e. Kovács,
péter, Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán a 15. században, in: neumann, Tibor and rácz, györy
eds., Honoris causa. Tanulmányok Engel Pál tiszteletére. Budapest–piliscsaba: MTa
Történettudományi intézete, pázmány péter Katolikus egyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kara,
2009, 109–113.
20. Benedict himfi (of egerszeg and döbrönte), son of paul himfi, was a nobleman of out-
standing importance in fourteenth-century hungary. Between 1342 and 1362, he was to be
found in the royal household (aula) as aulae miles, then he acted as castellan of several cas-
tles (e.g. somló, visegrád) and count of different counties (e.g. szatmár, Máramaros, ugocsa,
pozsony, Keve Krassó and Temes). louis i occupied vidin in Bulgaria in 1365 and appoint-
ed Benedict himfi—first as a capitain, then as a banus (ban) —there to administer the
affairs of the newly created Bulgarian banate of Vidin. The jurisdiction of the ban of Vidin
extended not only to vidin, but also to those hungarian castles which were located next to
the banate of vidin. These castles, among which Temesvár was perhaps the most signifi-
cant, provided military protection for the banate of vidin. This political arrangement proved
to be merely temporary since the banate of Vidin ceased to exist in 1369. after 1369, the
king transferred the authority of the former ban of Vidin to the comes Temesiensis, who there-
by became one of the most powerful dignitaries of the realm. This explains why himfi was
to be found, from this time on, among the barons of the realm. in 1372–1373 himfi was one
of the the commanders of the hungarian army that fought in italy against venice. in 1376,
he made a pilgrimage to the holy land. The reason of himfi’s pilgrimage was, as the
prominent hungarian historian l. Bernát Kumorovitz thought, to find his daughter, Margaret,
who had been kidnapped by the ottomans. For Benedict himfi see engel, pál “himfi Benedek”
in KMTl 263. see also szovák, Kornél, Meritorum apud Dominum fructus cumulatorum
((Megjegyzések a 14. századi føúri vallásossághoz), in: Tusor, péter–rihmer, Zoltán–Thoroczkay,
gábor, eds., Festschrift in honour of Ágnes R. Várkonyi on the occasion of her seventieth birthday,
Budapest: elTe Bölcsészettudományi Kara, 1998, 79–87; petrovics, Urban development in
the Danube–Tisa–Mureş Region, op.cit. 391; horváth, richárd, Bigámista volt-e Himfi Benedek
bolgár bán? (Adalékok a Döbrentei Himfiek családi történetéhez), Contributions to the family his-
tory of the himfis of döbrente] Turul 83 (2010) 116–118. For himfi’s pilgrimage see Csukovits,
enikø, Középkori magyar zarándokok. Budapest: MTa Történettudományi intézete, 2003,
102–103, 108–109, 148, 152, 190–192; see also Cosmin popa-gorjanu, Medieval nobility
in Central europe: The himfi Family. phd dissertation defended at the depeartment of
Medieval sudies of The Central european university (Budapest, 2004).
21. The first hungarian historian, who called attention to the lifestory of Margaret himfi, was l.
Bernát Kumorovitz, who claimed in his study, published in 1983, that Margaret was kidnapped
by the ottomans in 1375. see l. Bernát Kumorovitz, I. Lajos királyunk 1375. évi havasalföl-
di hadjárata (és “török”) háborúja. századok 117 (1983) 942–945. pál engel, in contrast
with Kumorovitz, argues that Margaret himfi was abducted by the Turks from egerszeg (today
ierseg, romania) during the late fourteenth-century ottoman incursions to southern hungary,
most probably in 1391 or 1392. see engel, pál, A török–magyar háborúk elsø évei (1389–1392),
hadtörténeti Közlemények 111 (1998) 561–563. later research, almost exclusively, supported
engel’s assertion, for the simple reason that venetian sources, surviving from the early fif-
teenth century (1405, 1408) and informing us explicitly about Margaret himfi, reveal that
Margaret had two infant daughters at that time. in the light of the latter fact it is very
unlikely that Margaret had been abducted from hungary in 1375. it is equally important
to note here that it is not at all probable, that anybody would look for Margaret after 30
years of her capture. and anyway, who would be able to recognize her after so many years?
see e. Kovács, Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op.cit., 106.
22. giorgio darvasio made his will in venice on 20 February 1413. his testament, with the excep-
tion of the introduction and the closing paragraph, which are in latin, was written in italaian.
archivio di stato di venezia. Cancellerie inferiore. notai. Busta 1233, no. 282 and Busta 192,
nos. 28 and 29. see e. Kovács, Egy Magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 115, footnote no.
54.
23. For Marco darvasio see e. Kovács, Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 113–114. at an
unknown time Marco darvasio’s wife, Ysbeta moved back to venice. she made her will
there on 6 november 1416. see e. Kovács, Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 113.
24. in 1409, for instance, giorgio darvasio lent 400 golden ducats to Marin ruzini. see e. Kovács,
Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 114.
25. on the basis of darvasio’s testament it may be assumed that a manumitted female slave of
Tartar origin (Mary) and another slave (Mariza) also lived in georgio’s house as his concu-
bines. see e. Kovács, Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 114.
26. unfortunately, the surviving documents do not inform us of the circunstances in which Margaret
was captured and taken to Crete. nevertheless, it is beyond doubt that Margaret was an attrac-
tive young woman who bore two girls, Marieta and iacoba, to giorgio darvasio. see the char-
ter issued by voivode nicholas Marcali and published by e. Kovács in his study. e. Kovács,
Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 120–121. it should be noted here, that Margaret
was not the only hungarian in Crete; we have information about several hungarian female
slaves who lived on this island in the Middle ages. There is reference, for instace, in 1382,
to an eight year old girl, named anna. see Charles verlinden, L’esclavage dans l’Europe Médievale,
vol. 2, (Italie, Colonies italiennes du Levant, Levant latin – Empire byzantin). gent 1977. la
Créte 805, 809. Cited by e. Kovács, Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 107. see also
ibidem, 111, footnote no. 36.
27. There is no information of the circunstances in which nicholas Marcali was chosen as the per-
son whose task was to find Margaret. although he did not belong to the relatives of the himfi
family, he was a hungarian baron who had a great reputation. Consequently, he had a
greater chance to fulfil this task than a simple nobleman. diplomatic mission or a pilgrim-
age to the holy land also may explain why he was entrusted with the quest. see e. Kovács,
Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 108. The terms of the agreement were preserved by
the charter issued by nicholas Marcali in 1405. (archivio di stato di venezia. Miscellanea.
atti diplomatici e privati. Busta 31, no. 919.) The charter is published in e. Kovács, Egy mag-
yar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 120–121.
28. archivio di stato di venezia. Miscellanea. atti diplomatici e privati. Busta 31, no. 940. The
document is published in e. Kovács, Egy magyar rabszolganø Krétán, op. cit., 121–122.
29. alternatively, it also may be assumed that somebody did indeed cheat darvasio and Margaret,
since they knew nobody—except Marcali—from hungary. Kovács, Egy magyar rabszolganø
Krétán, op. cit., 116.
30. The activity of the italians living in hungary in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth cen-
tury focused primarily on large scale business. They established good and close relations
with the royal court. nevertheless, it is very conspicuous that only a few of them settled down
permanently in hungary. Those who did, lived mostly in Buda, where the king resided
with his court, and where the italians formed the elite of the local merchant community. Their
houses stood in the latin (present-day országház) street. during the reign of louis i,
italian financiers—among others—Jacopo saraceno from padua, Francesco Bernardi from
Florence, Bartolommeo guidoti from Bologna administered the various revenues of the realm.
in addition, they were engaged in various credit transactions. Their role and influence tem-
porarily decreased after the accession of sigismund of luxemburg to the throne, when the
rival germans were able to acquire significant positions in the administration of the mines,
the coinage and the thirtieth. The revolt of the wealthy burghers of Buda, which broke out
in 1402 and enjoyed the support of the rich italians, and which in some way must have
been linked to the uprising of the barons against King sigismund in 1403, further lessened
the influence of the italians. after the collapse of the revolt in 1403, King sigismund ordered,
as a punishment, the confiscation of the properties of the italians. after a while, the Florentines—
due to the merits and influence of pipo of ozora—were able to recover some of their lost posi-
tions, particularly in the field of financial administration. see engel, The realm of St Stephen,
op. cit.,261–262. see also prajda, Katalin, The Florentine Scolari Family at the court of Sigismund
of Luxemburg in Buda, in Journal of early Modern history 14 (2010) 513–533.
31. Mályusz, elemér–Borsa, iván–C. Tóth, norbert et alii, Zsigmondkori oklevéltár, 12 vols,
(1387–1425), Budapest: akadémiai Kiadó–Magyar országos levéltár–archívum, Magyar
nemzeti levéltár, 1951–2013, vol. 2, part 2, no. 6407. Mályusz did not publish the docu-
ment in extenso. he gave, instead, only a short summary. e. Kovács remarked that, on the basis
of the registration-number recorded by Mályusz, he had been unable to find the original copy
of Bernardi’s letter in the venetian archives.
32. it is not clear why Margaret settled down in Buda, since the himfi family had landed estates
in other parts of the realm. although nicholas Marcali, her main supporter, had owned a
house in Buda, it seems to have been confiscated by King sigismund due to Marcali’s par-
ticipation in the revolt against the monarch in 1403. see Zsigmondkori oklevéltár, op. cit., vol.
2, part 1, no. 2520. The italian community living in Buda and the presence of the royal
court might provide a plausible explanation for Margaret’s choosing Buda as a—temporary
or final—place of habitatation. Finally, it also may be assumed that a member of the himfi
family owned a house in Buda and Margaret lived there. documentary evidence proves, for
instance, that Benedict himfi owned a plot and a house in Buda. it is true, however, that
Benedict left this plot to his wife in his will in 1376 with the intention that dorothea
should pay his debts with the help of it. see végh, andrás, Buda város középkori helyrajza, 2
vols, Budapest: Budapesti Történeti Múzeum, 2006–2008, vol. 2, nos. 52, 60, 67.
33. Bernardi’s contention is rather astonishing and contradicts Marcali’s former activity. The
only explanation Bernardi gives in order to support his opinion is a generalization: Marcali
is “… umgaro vere memte… “
34. “el suo padre fo grande mio signore e amicho e resto ad aure da luy piu di fiorini CC doro.”
Zsigmondkori oklevéltár, op. cit., vol. 2, part 2, no. 6407.
35. For the sake of curiosity, a particular case is to be referred to here. in 1489 King Matthias
informed the papal envoy that the sister of his grandmother had earlier been captured by
the Turks, joined the sultan’s harem and had borne him a son. it is highly probable that the
sultan in question was Mehmet i. This would mean that Mehmed ii was King Matthias’
second cousin. see Kubinyi, andrás, Matthias rex. Budapest: Balassi Kiadó, 2008, 9–10.
see also gyöngyössy, Márton, “Egy vér folyik ereinkben” Ki volt II. Mehmed szultán édesany-
ja?, Turul 87 (2014) no. 1, 14–19.
36. let it suffice here to refer to only two examples. palatine leusták of Jolsva was captured by
the ottomans during the battle of nicopolis in 1396. since his family was unable to pay
for him the ransom of 50, 000 florins, he died in captivity. in 1415 a hungarian army led,
among others, by paul Csupor, ban of slavonia, John garai, the palatine’s brother and John
Maróti, suffered a heavy defeat in Bosnia at the hands of hrvoje and his Turkish allies. paul
Csupor was executed, while the others were ransomed for 65, 000 florins, a sum that had
to be raised by imposing an extraordinary tax in the realm in 1416. see Csukovits, enikø,
Miraculous escapes from Ottoman captivity, in: dávid and Fodor, Ransom slavery, op. cit. 3–18.
Abstract
From slavery to Freedom: the Fate of margaret himfi
after the overwhelming Turkish victory at nicopolis in 1396, Temesvár/Timişoara and the
region around it became the permanent target of ottoman onslaughts. it was basically the task
of the count of Temes/Timiş, i.e. the baron holding the office of comes Temesiensis, to establish an
effective defence in this area against the Turks. Margaret himfi was the daughter of Benedict himfi,
ban of vidin and count of Temes. although the time when she was captured by the ottomans is
still debated, and there are unexplored periods in her life, the last years of her captivity, with the
help of newly discovered documentary evidence, can be elucidated relatively well. Margaret was
able to return to hungary, but her life in Buda, the medieval capital of the realm, proved to be very
difficult.
The paper, through the fate of a noble woman, discusses the fortification of the southern parts
of the Kingdom of hungary, as well as the difficulties women had to face in slavery and, if they
were lucky enough, in their new life upon their return to the “Christian world”.
Keywords
The King’s Men from Timiº County
(14th-15th Centuries)
z oltan I usztIn
T
Introduction
he revaluaTion of everyday life in the local mise en scène provides the medieval
world with a more dynamic image. at first sight, the information regarding
this subject might appear insufficient and less visible yet there are direct and numer-
ous signs related to the noblemen mandated by the central authorities and charged
with various missions. documentary sources refer to them as homines regis or homines nos-
ter, according to the commandment’s issuer. Thus, if the mission was ordered by the pala-
tine or the curia’s judge, they were provided with the appellative of these institutions.
Their activity was unfolding within the counties and districts under the protection of the
places of authentication. sometimes their attributions were similar to those of the
noble judges yet the king’s man did not use to activate alongside the county’s institutions
but in parallel with these, as indicated by some evidence foregoing the emergence of
the nobiliary county.
despite the numerous pieces of information regarding the appropriation and enno-
blement, there are not many studies referring to this topic in the romanian literature.
among the very few existing articles1 one can find several relevant contributions such
as those signed by engel pal2 or Karoly vekov3. other information derives from com-
mon works; however, most of this is still provided by written sources4.
From another perspective, i have described the institution of the king’s man as an exten-
sion of the central power, more exactly, of royalty at the provincial level5. From an exec-
utive viewpoint, the hypothesis is truthful since the last stage of the appropriation or enno-
blement process, the one concerning the idea of getting hold of something, represented
one of the missions. due to this fact, the king’s man had to be a nobleman himself or
he was supposed to hold a social status which was similar or superior to those he provided
with the property rights. whether in the case of the 14th and 15th centuries the documentary
information indubitably certifies the noble condition of these officials in Timiº County6,
there are misunderstandings concerning the previous periods of time.
The institution did not appear simultaneously with the social and political transfor-
mations of the 13th century. arguments expressed two centuries before that time include
information regarding the king’s representatives who used to have attributions which
were similar to those of the king’s man during the angevin period of time.
such a document is represented by the gift of King geza i (1074-1077) offered to
st. Benedict’s abbey in 10757. Besides the domains around the fortresses of Bihor and
Turda, the privileges stipulated that the Benedictine monastery and its abbot were still
holding the authority to retain any fugitive, any stray or lost animal, while the repre-
sentative of the king, of duke ladislaus or of any baron could not demand or take it8.
in this document the king’s man is named nuntius regis, suggesting the profile of the
king’s representative9. whether there was an equality among these delegates or not
represents an unknown factor which can be revealed only in a certain context.
evidently, there is no similitude between the nuntius regis and the subsequent homines
regis. Both the social status and the competences are different, however we can guess that
we are dealing with the same institution which had already undergone a great deal of
transformations over the centuries. given the limited number of documents, we do
not have a lot of information regarding the king’s representatives in the 11th or 12th
centuries. There is more and more evidence starting with the reign of King andrew ii
(1205-1235); in this context, regarding the donations, we mention the prerogative from
1219, regarding a domain in Transylvania granted to the archbishop of strigonium
and his canons10. The one who was meant to take hold of the owners was the voivode
of Transylvania defined in the following way: “ut eos auctoritate nostra induceret in posse-
sionem et dominium terre”11. This statement certifies that, in this case, the voivode used
to represent the king; this authority entitled him to position the appointed canons in their
new dominion. in order to fulfil his duty, voivode neuka appointed his neighbors and
those who were interested in the situation of the realm. The reambulation of the domin-
ion took place without any problems. however, there is no reference related to the domain’s
landmarks. it is certain that the voivode held the role of the king’s man in the context
in which among those who were granted the land one could mention dignitaries such
as the archbishop of strigonium.
on other occasions, the ones who were responsible for the livery of seisin were the
counts. The allotment act of Count sebus, with estates removed from the authority of
some fortresses like Trenčin, nitra and Timişoara12 certifies that the one who was appoint-
ed with this mission was Count nicholas, the brother of deceased archbishop ugrin13.
Being a relative of the first hierarch in hungary, he was endowed with a social status
which was similar to that of Count sebus.
in general, the documents from the 13th century name pristav the persons provided
with the same tasks like the king’s man14. There is one document in which we see that
this appellative represents the privilege of the Teutonic knights in 1222. among the mul-
tiple benefits and domains they used to get, one can also mention the land of Bârsa; they
were settled under its domination by pristav Facate Iuna who, given the order of voivode
Michael, had also settled the landmarks of the property15. The king had also appointed
another herald in the person of Ban Ypochz, meant to settle them in order to master
the fortress of Cruceberg, whose domain extended up to the borders of the medieval
romanian polity in south Moldavia16. returning to the previous examples, where the
livery of seisin was accomplished by characters provided with important functions, we
should remember the fact that the attributions of heralds or people delegated by the king
could not be listed among the dignitaries’ duties. They were called on by the king
since the ones they had to allot had a superior social status. This aspect can be noticed
during the subsequent centuries too.
T
Attributions
he earliesT evidence suggests that the livery of seisin represented the main attri-
bution of the king’s man. The hypothesis was also confirmed by the fact that
the same mission constituted the major objective of his activity. Yet, during the
14th and 15th centuries, the attributions diversify simultaneously with the increasing num-
ber of written sources. of course, we wonder to what extent this institution developed
or whether the most numerous sources have revealed more aspects of his activity to us.
on the other hand, some duties such as the estates’ reambulation, regardless of
their appropriation, represented earlier responsibilities. There were other attributions
such as the investigation of the complaints recorded by various legal forums and, depend-
ing on the case, the citation of culprits, which had judicial characteristics. we can also
include the execution of the sentences decided by the courts within the same context. The
participation of the king’s man in the collection of taxes is pretty special. Broadly, the
information which contributes to the definition of his role and responsibilities is fur-
nished not only by the ennobling diplomas or certain privileges but also by the orders
of the central authorities regarding the investigation of various cases.
A
Livery of seisin
s The written sources certify, the appropriation represented a complex process
whose last stage consisted in the beneficiary’s actual settlement on the given estate.
its boundaries were delimited in the presence of neighbors and inhabitants liv-
ing in the neighborhood. The king’s man, accompanied by the witness of the place of
authentication, ran the whole procedure while drawing up a written report and men-
tioning if there was any opposition regarding the livery of seisin or not. if there were some
objectors, they had to be summoned before judges, and the possession became an
object of dispute. The resettlement of the beneficiary took place at the end of the trial.
if those who were objecting had some good evidence to defend their case, the king’s
gift was annulled. Charles robert also experienced such a resistance when he wanted
to include an estate in the crown’s patrimony. Considering himself certified to appro-
priate his tenure, Ewche, in Timiº County, the king claimed his pre-emption right upon
the settlements inhabited by conditioners, yet there were some rightful owners who
presented their act of ownership. as a result, the king had to give up his intention and
acknowledge the rights of paul, iwanka’s son and his cousins regarding the Ewche estate17.
The livery of seisin used to take place after laying down the acts of donation which
certified the privileges and property rights in a written form. Then they would dis-
patch the enforcement orders towards the places of authentication. such an order was
provided to the chapter of arad on 7 June 1318. in the letter issued in Timişoara, the
king asked the chapter to send a trustworthy man in order to accompany peter Zeel of
Budun, on the occasion of an appropriation in Timiş County18. The letter is essential
in order to understand the development of the whole allotment process.
at the request of dominic saar, the viscount of Timiş, who claimed the Phylupteluke
and Rygachteluke properties19, which had remained without their owner, the king replied
in the affirmative and offered him the property deed as well20. Then there was the
order addressed to the chapter21, which, besides the assurance of the witness, also had
to draw up a report regarding the facts which happened on the spot22. within seven days23
the chapter issued the report which confirmed that he had sent it to Master James, suc-
centor of the choir24, in order to accompany the man of the king who, after the deliv-
ery, returned to the chapter and stated the following: in the presence of neighbors he had
invested the viscount with the two estates25.
after the events took place, a historian, Karoly vekov, stated that they were report-
ed under oath, both by the king’s representative and the one related to the place of authen-
tication26. his statement is based on the second decree of sigismund of luxemburg, issued
in 143527. Yet, in the case mentioned above, the chapter mentioned that the whole process
was related by peter, the king’s man28. it is certain that they drew up a single report on
the spot, as the following proof certifies. in an affair brought up in Caraº County, a noble-
man, andrew Chep of gherteniº, advanced his complaint through which he claimed that
his familiar and procurator, Konia of Murani, had been hurt during the livery of seisin.
This clue represents positive evidence that the beneficiary of the allotment could be
represented by another person on the spot, but we shall focus our attention on the
continuation of the statement from which we find out that the evildoers had taken the
man of the king and the one of the chapter of Cenad as prisoners, and the royal order
regarding the appropriation has been taken from them. They also emphasized that the
two witnesses were mocked, and the man of the chapter had also received a severe
beating29. undoubtedly, the increased aversion towards the representative of the places
of authentication was related to the more significant role played during the livery of seisin.
probably, the chapter’s man was the one who preserved the royal order and read it to
his neighbors. The fact that the same misfortune had also made it impossible for the places
of authentication to respond to the royal order suggests that the witness of the places
of authentication was the one who was drawing up the report on the spot. This fact
was also certified by the frequent habit of the king’s man to add the literatus appellative30,
which proves that the ability to write inspired a real pride. intricacies persist in the
case of the person who used to present the report before the chapter, which was meant
to insert it in the reply to the king. in the absence of direct evidence, one can speculate
all kinds of facts, yet, in time, they legalized the concorditer retulerunt formula, which con-
firmed the fact that, when returning, the two delegates were mutually confirming31.
in general, it is considered that the livery of seisin took three days32. however, we
notice the differentiation of the period of time when they organized the estates’ ream-
bulation and the meeting of neighbors and those related to the new allotment or the delay
on the spot to wait for the objectors. Thus, if the domains’ reambulation was directly
proportional with their surface or the distance among them, the three day interval was
provided for in light of possible objections. The document granting to Ban Benedict
himfy and his brothers the former possessions of nobleman neacºu certifies the fact that
they did not record contestations within a delimited period of time in the following way:
“legittimis diebus tam in facies dictarum possessionum”33. The example is not unique, it
represents a standard expression, present in the majority of allotment acts34, which reveal
the two stages when they could record the objections: the legal days and the days relat-
ed to the reambulation. The direct evidence is even more revealing. we only refer to
the case concerning the chapter of arad which, as the owner, had faced three contesta-
tions during the reambulation in the case of Ormand estate. Between 1414 and 1415,
its neighbors objected each time and during the livery of seisin they drove away the
representatives of the chapter and the king’s man35.
putting together all these aspects, we obtain a clearer image of the stages defining the
livery of seisin. on the other hand, the written sources outline a stereotyped approach,
described by the places of authentication. as a result, the examples can be chosen ran-
domly. during the livery of seisin of szilagi of horogszeg and his con-divisionals, the chap-
ter of Cenad stated that his man, together with the king’s, showed up, on a Tuesday, after
the epiphany of god, in 1409, at the estates making the object of donation. They
gathered the neighbors and owners from the neighborhood and then they settled the new
owners. They recorded no objections, neither during the reambulation nor during the
legal days of expectation36. Broadly, the stages might be the following: 1. gathering
the local people, the neighbors and those interested or targeted by the settlement of
boundaries, 2. reading the royal order to those who were present; 3. settling the bound-
aries in the presence of neighbors; 4. writing the report and waiting for objections.
T
Reambulation
his was achieved not only on the occasion of deliveries. Many conflicts among
noblemen were provoked because the integrity of private properties was not
respected. Besides the flagrant cases highlighting the illegal seizure of other estates,
the noblemen were extending their domains to the detriment of neighbors, cases which
demanded the authorities’ intervention. The estate at recaº and the related possessions
represented one of the reasons, as they involved representative delegates of the royal curia,
who had renewed the landmarks at least twice within an interval of two years37. on
the other hand, there were some concerns emphasized by the noblemen; they were
related to the collapse or deterioration of landmarks38, occasions which were often turned
to good accounts by neighbors. practically, the disappearance of landmarks was similar
to the loss of the well-known dimensions of domains. This was also the reason why kings
frequently had to order the drawing of their own estates. in 1372 the Bishop of Cenad,
together with three other men of the king, was meant to separate the king’s estates
from those of the gentlefolk, in two counties, Caraº and Timiº. unfortunately, they
preserved only the report regarding the reambulation in the case of one estate in Timiº
County39, and therefore we are not aware if all the royal possessions in the two coun-
ties had been surveyed.
E
Research and investigations
ven iF, starting with the 14th century, the functionality of nobiliary counties stim-
ulated the development of local institutions, the central authorities continued
to appeal to the service provided by the king’s men. The tasks were focused on
different investigations as a consequence both of external call-overs and, as we had already
noticed, on their own initiative.
There was a great deal of research which emphasized the current reasons and trials.
For example, at the end of 1415, george of Chechtelek carried out some investigations
in Timiº County, connected to the diversion of the Bârzava river bed. what is interest-
ing is the fact that the research took place one year later than the command, as the
document issued by the chapter of Cenad certifies40. The answer to the chapter of
arad, pointing out to the same command, was also drawn up then41. however, this habit
did not represent an exception to the rule since we also notice cases when two identi-
cal commands were sent towards the same place of authentication. The chapter of Cenad
replied to two such commands in which there were only the names of those proposed
as the king’s men, confirming the difference between the two acts as the selected per-
son was the same in both reports42.
There were other investigations which analyzed the situation of different estates. in
1326 the king’s man had the responsibility to locate two possessions of the chatelaine
of lewa. The command had been issued by the king who only wanted to find out whether
the estates were situated in Cenad County43.
A
Citations in court cases
Mong The competences of the king’s representative we can also mention the cita-
tion in court cases. This attribution was also completed with the presentation
of warning letters named admonitio44.
once summoned, the accused were obliged to show up or send a public prosecutor
to represent them. in case of contumacy, the citation was resent. if there was no reply
succeeding the third citation, the judges pronounced the first sentence announced by the
king’s man at three public fairs. regarding the affair between nicholas, the son of neagu
from recaº, and Ban stephen Kórógyi, they respected the same procedures. after his
third default, the culprit was cited in three urban centers against the romanian noble45.
But again, Ban stephen Kórógyi did not show up and sent no representative either. as
a result, they issued a sentence in behalf of noble nicholas46, which could not be chal-
lenged in court as the culprit did not show up for any trial date.
a similar case could be noticed between 1317 and 1320. given the fact that one of
the parties did not show up in court, although summoned six or seven times, or had
ignored all the judges’ decisions and warnings, the sentence was harsh. The country’s
judges sentenced all the culprits to death while retaining their whole property47.
however, we should mention that the opposition towards a royal donation did not call
for a hostile attitude connected to the crown. however, those involved had to provide
the king or any other forum with some explanations. The citation was not carried out
against the dynast but against the new owner, that is why the impugnment was not a polit-
ical but a judiciary one. in these cases, the king’s man played the role of an usher.
T
Participation in the collection of taxes
here is a document from the beginning of the 14th century which provides
some information regarding the attributions of the king’s man. issued in 131648,
the act represents an order of Charles robert who stipulated that the collection
of court expenses and fines paid by the convicts would no longer be left to the repre-
sentatives of the country’s judge, of the palatine, counts or judges; it would occur only
through the king’s man, accompanied by the witness of a chapter or convent. More exact-
ly, the ones charged with the collection of taxes by the judge of the country or other
high officials had to show up, after receiving the order, at the place of authentication.
Then, accompanied by the king’s man and the witness of a chapter or convent, they went
away to the judgement seat of the counts, where they collected the taxes. This was the
place where they read the king’s letter and the register with the distribution of taxes in
the case of the high official who had assigned them49. The next stage assumes the estab-
lishment of data; the convicts would have to pay the penalties. Those who were pay-
ing their fines used to get a guarantee in the form of an act. in the case of noblemen,
in order to strengthen the guarantee, the acts were issued by the king’s man or the rep-
resentative of the place of authentication. The same document stipulated that, at the divi-
sion of goods taken at the place where they used to collect the taxes, the tenth part
went to the king’s man, of the chapter or convent, while the third part belonged to the
counts and noble judges, and two parts were given to the high officials by those charged
with the collection of taxes50.
among the executive missions, one can also mention the execution of various sen-
tences. although in the case of Timiº County we have not noticed such examples,
there is some other evidence like the one provided by the chapter of arad. in a document
from 1416, the place of authentication certified that it had sent its witness in order to
assist the delegate of the royal curia in the execution of a sentence dictated by the bish-
op of Zagreb, after which ladislas civis from pâncota received a part of the estates of
Michael of Keer, worth 116 golden forints51.
The Social Condition and the Appointment
A
of the King’s Men
s we have already shown, there was a common element between those who were
given the land and the king’s men, namely, social status. in fact, we do not
have any evidence which might certify that the king’s representatives were cho-
sen from among serfs, peasants or other commoners. during the 11th and 13th cen-
turies those who used to receive such tasks were counts, high officials or the king’s sol-
diers. later, after the formation of the nobility as a distinct social category, the king’s men
were going to be preponderantly selected from there. however, there were occasions
when their missions were carried out by clerics. Thus, in Timiº County, among the king’s
men one could notice the provosts of the chapters of Cenad and arad52, an archdeacon
from hont and even the bishop of the diocese who had to participate in an estate’s ream-
bulation in 137253. Yet, in their case, the affiliation to the status of nobility is certain.
There are some doubts emphasized by the notaries sent by the curia; some of them
carried out missions in Timiº County, such as luca the son of stephen54, sigismund of
Mezeusomlo55 and Michael of Zala56. The filiation, used as their cognomen (micro-
toponyms), indicates a noble condition in the absence of other evidence. There are
only insufficient data in the case of parish clerk Michael who participates in the estate’s
reambulation in 146357. Conversely, there is information regarding the social status of
george parvus. The fact that the viscount and chatelaine of Filipo scolari had taken
part in the delimitation and retrocession of goods, which represented the subject of a
filial quarter, was less known58.
we still have doubts regarding the way they selected the king’s men in the 14th cen-
tury. More numerous pieces of information from the following century provide us
with a clearer image. The decree from 1486 stipulated that the homines regis had to be
chosen in each county by the count together with the noblemen’s parish, chosen from
among the most outstanding noblemen of the county. They were about 10 or 12, or
fewer, and the task was established for a whole year. upon selection, they had to take
an oath during the meeting59. regarding the duration of their activity, there are earlier
data, starting even with the beginning of the 14th century, which certify the stipulation
of the decree above60. however, most of the documents, especially starting with the
second half of this century, nominate more persons, from among whom they select a sin-
gle man of the king. Concerning this observation, we emphasize the opinion of engel
pal, who stated that the king’s men were named by the applicants for the donation
acts. Thus, the ennobled ones suggested to the king and the office the persons who
were charged to settle them on the received property61. Moreover, there were some
relationships of kinship or familiarity between the ennobled one and the homo regius62.
if in cases of livery of seisin the king’s men were proposed and selected, in many cases from
among the neighbors, in some divisions or estates’ reambulation63 each party involved in
the dispute could benefit of a king’s man.
Consequently, there is the hypothesis that each task is defined by a certain specificity
which might facilitate a reply to the questions referring to the selection of the king’s
men by those allotted or by the community. however, in the context in which we share
some written evidence regarding the existence of some persons in each separate county,
we still cannot reveal if one of their attributions was connected only to the investigation
on the spot or the execution of different sentences. From this viewpoint, the evidence
certifying the custom that the document, which represented the royal command, was sub-
sequently completed with the name of the royal representative, the chapter’s witness
and the place where they had carried out their mission, is not useful64.
A
Instead of Conclusions
T FirsT sight, the missions carried in the neighboring counties by the king’s
men of Timiº County seem new. There is more evidence which shows that, in
some cases, they organized simultaneous investigations, in two different coun-
ties65. however, all this happened because of the underlying circumstances, as proved
by cases like the one related to the himfy family, which lived in the vicinity of Bârzava.
Thus a large percentage of their disputes referred to some noblemen from Caraº County.
after all these misunderstandings the king’s man gregory of Chechtelek provided the
noblemen from gherteniº with three citations in different cases, all against the same fam-
ily from Timiº66.
a rather similar example is suggested by the one experienced by andrew of Maiosfalva
who, in 1406, in the space of a few weeks, presented a citation in Caraº County, then
took part in some investigations in Timiº County67. The justification of these missions
is easy in the context in which the estate of andrew of Maiosfalva could be found at
the border between the two counties and near the places where he went in order to
carry out his duty. Concomitantly, his example proves the fact that the king’s man was
often selected from among the noblemen in the area that had become the subject of
the investigation conducted by the authorities.
Furthermore, in cases of livery of seisin, there were more options when the estates
lay in different counties. They could choose more men of the king, for each county
separately, or the task was accomplished by a single person. when Count nicholas
Csaki and his con-divisionals were granted the estates, they proposed the king’s men from
Cenad County, although two of these possessions could be found in Timiº. Yet we do
not know who had settled them in the two estates as the privilege issued referred only
to the possessions in Cenad68.
This evidence proves that it was not an exception to the rule but a common activi-
ty, which also provided the king’s man with some missions in other counties than the
usual one. in fact, one can notice another perspective regarding the relationship between
the king’s man and the county’s institutions, given that his activity developed in part-
nership with the places of authentication and, in limited cases, with the judgement
seat. This premise even suggests an independent activity of the king’s man in regard to
the county’s institutions. Thus, his missions seem to take place without any implica-
tion of the viscounts, noble judges or judgement seats.
however, the identity of the persons who activated as the king’s men betrays the con-
nections of this institution with the county’s authorities. some of the king’s men from
Timiº County had carried out other jobs. lawrence and george of Chechtelek, Blaise
of Murani, John of Mondola and gall of nemeti were noble judges69. other represen-
tatives, such as george parvus, nicholas vaidafy of giarmata, John and valentine of
Firiteaz were viscounts in Timiº70, thus they were also connected to the administration
of the fortress garrison of Timiºoara.
This proves that the institution of the king’s man represented a stage related to the
cursus honorum of the provincial nobility which could be accompanied even by the
holding of an office. From this viewpoint, a higher number of positions in the admin-
istration, and not only, provided the provincial nobility, besides some material benefits,
with the possibility of social and political ascent.
annEX. KIng’s mEn who carrIEd out varIous mIssIons In tImIº county
iii 1317 paulus filius iwanka

71
vi 1318 petrus dictul Zeel de Budun

72
1327 Zeyhanum oficialem magistri nicolai comes Tymesiensis

73
X 1334 nicolao filius Barth

74
vi 1337 Jacobo de Twrwsd; Johanne fratre comiti puer

75
iii 1338 andrea filio simonis

76
v 1341 stephanus dictus Bogar

77
v 1341 nicolao filio Baruch

78
Xii 1346 Blasio fili Michaelis

79
vii 1361 nicolao arhidiacono Hontensi, capellano regio; nicolao dicto Zudar aule regie juvene
80
v 1364 petrus orodiensis et nicolaus Chanadiensis ecclesiarum prepositi

81
1366 petro de Bok

82
vii 1368 stephani filio pouse de Zeer; petro preposito et prelato

83
ii 1369 nicolao dicto pycher

84
vii 1369 Michaele dicto pogan

85
iii 1370 Johanne filio nicolai

86
i 1371 nicolao filio Fabiani Bok

87
v 1372 dominicum episcopum ecclesie Chanadiensis; Johannem prepositus ecclesie Budensis, vice-
comitem capelle nostre; stephanum filium pouse de Zer; Johannem filium peteu de Zantou
88
i 1375 nicolao filio Thome de Bok

89
vii 1375 ladislao de Chalya

90
iv 1377 stephanus de gyertyanus

91
vi 1377 laurencio de Checheleke

92
vi 1387 Mathia filio nicolai

93
viii 1387 georgio fili Benedicit de dersfalwa

94
Xi 1387 Michaele filio nicolai de heges

95
Xii 1387 petro de Berky

96
vii 1388 nicolao de erdewhat de curia regia

97
v 1389 georgio de Chechteleke

98
iv 1390 georgio eleuiarow om al vicecomitelui

99
i 1391 Cosma de Cyra

100
iv 1391 luca filio stephani notario curie regie

101
Xi 1392 andrea filio nicolai de Moiosfalwa

102
Xii 1392 augustino filio pauli de Zenthantal

103
iii 1393 Thomam de Mandla

104
v 1393 stephanum filium Konya de Muron

105
vi 1393 paulum filium Konya de Muron

106
viii 1393 petrum de Thoth

107
X 1393 Magister Corrardus neurmizegh de curia regia

108
i 1399 Jacobo literato de Jakabfalwa

109
Xi 1399 nicolao filio petri de Machedonia

110
iii 1401 Johanne dicto Tatar de Zeldes

111
X 1404 georgio de Chechteleky

112
iv 1405 vice Comitibus georgio parvo castellano de Themeswar

113
v 1406 andrea de Mayosfalua

114
Xii 1407 valentino de Berle

115
i 1408 Johanne dicto Tatar

116
i 1409 emerico nigro de papd

117
i 1409 lucas de surk

118

119

120
vi 1411 ladislao de Kenez

121
X 1411 sigismundo de Mezeusomlo notario et homine regio de curia regia

122
ii 1412 Michaele de Zala notario et homine regio de curia regia

123
X 1414 Blasio de Muron

124
X 1414 Blasio de Mondola

125
iv 1415 ioan de Mondola

126
vii 1415 Blasio de Mondola

127
iX 1415 nicolao fili laurentio de Mondola

128
Xii 1415 georgio de Chechtelek

129
Xii 1415 Maius filius nicolai de orozapathy

130
iii 1416 stephano de Mwron

131
iv 1416 Blasio de Mondola

132
v 1416 Francisco de Chanad homine regio de curia regia

133
Xi 1417 lorando filio petro de Kwche

134
X 1418 Johanne de pijskij

135
X 1418 nicolao filio iohannis de Kenez

136
vii 1418 petro dictus Bogar de Kwche

137
v 1422 dominico de guche

138
iv 1423 Jacobo de Mondola

139
vi 1427 petro de deed

140
vii 1427 Benedicto filio demetri de Muron

141
vii 1435 parvus de Mayosfalwa

142
iX 1440 paulus de nagwth

143
X 1441 georgius de Muron

144
iii 1443 nicolaus filius wayvode de gyarmath

145
22 i 1444 Johannes literatus de Themerdegeghaz

146
18 vii 1446 georgius de gywreugh

147
iii 1447 dominicus de Mondola

148
v 1447 georgius de gyuregh

149
iii 1451 sigismundus de Zenthgyurgh

150
ii 1453 valentinus de Fehereghaz

151
ii 1453 ladislaus Bekes de endred

152
vi 1454 Thomas de Chychked

153
vii 1454 Thomas de Chyczked

154
viii 1455 layus de nemethi

155
iii 1456 ladislaus de nagywth

156
iii 1458 Johannes wasky de adoryanfalwa

157
X 1458 Thoma de rwda

158
i 1462 paulus Jako de hodos

159
vi 1462 ladislaus de Chomboly

160
iX 1463 Michael cantor

161
viii 1464 Michael wrani dicti de Krassomegye

162
viii 1466 ladislaus de Besan

163
Xii 1468 ladislaus de Karol

164
iX 1469 georgius gala de hamarady

165
6 iv 1470 stephanus Kakas de Kenez

166
Xi 1470 Thoma de Kenez

167
iv 1482 Benedicto Kaza de Kenez

168
vi 1482 Magistro emerico ethele de sewl notario personalis presentie Majestatis de curia sua
169
iv 1483 stephano de rabe

170
iv 1486 gregorius pethew de peterd

171
Xi 1487 symone pap de Kenez

172
vi 1488 Ztanissa/ Zthanilla de waradya

173
iii 1489 symone pap de Kenezrekezy

174
X 1489 symone pap de Kenezrekezy

175
Xi 1489 nicolao wrany

176
Xii 1489 Benedicto de ibafalwa curie regie natario

177
Xii 1493 andrea nemes de Kezy

178
iii 1498 ambrosius de seegh

179
vii 1498 ladislao literatho de Baak

180
iX 1498 Martyno literato de Zylas

181
1499 symonffy de rekas182

q
Notes
1. Zoltan iusztin, “oamenii regelui – aspecte instituþionale din prima parte a secolului al Xiv-
lea de pe teritoriul Transilvaniei şi al Banatului medieval”, in apulum, Xlviii/2011, pas-
sim.
2. pál engel, “Királyi emberek valkó megyében”, in Medievalia Transilvania, iii/1-2, 1999, pas-
sim.
3. Károly vekov, Locul de adeverire din Alba-Iulia, secolele XIII-XVI (Cluj-napoca, ed. gloria,
2003), passim.
4. Frigyes pesty, Krassó vármegye története, vol. iii, (Budapest, 1882); pesty Frigyes, Temesvármegye
és Temesvár város története. Oklevelek Temesvármegye és Temesvár város történetéhez, vol. i, ed. T.
ortvay (pozsony, 1896).
5. Zoltan iusztin, “oamenii regelui”, 65-67.
6. see annex.
7. Zsigmond Jakó, Erdélyi Okmánytár, vol. i (Budapest, ed. akadámiai Kiadó, 1997), 4, 123-
124; Documente privind istoria României, C, Transilvania (dir), vol. i (Bucharest, 1951),
1-2, 355.
8. dir, vol. i, 2, 355.
9. Donum eciam dedi deo et sancte Maria sanctoque Benedicto, ego rex Magnus, statuens auctori-
tate regali, quod omnis vagus et profugus, sive homo, sive iumentum, sive quodcumque animal sit,
si in monasterium aut inter familiam, seu inter bestias sancti Benedicti devenerit, in illis non
habeat potestatem nuntius regis, neque ducis, neque cuiusquam comitis aut primatis, sed sint in potes-
tate sancti Benedicti et sui abbatis, et secundum consuetudinem Hungarorum faciat abbas et iudicet.
10. Jakó, Erdélyi, 151-152; dir, vol. i, 171, 373-374.
11. ibid.
12. dir, vol. i, 155.
13. ibid.
14. ibid., 276-278; 251, 392-393; 392.
15. Jakó, Erdélyi, 154-155; georgius Fejér, Codex diplomaticus Hungariae ecclesiasticus ac civilis,
iii/1 (Budae, 1829), 370-374 (Fataletum at Fejér).
16. Jakó, Erdélyi, 154-155.
17. Anjou-kori oklevéltár, (ao), vol. Xiii (Budapest-szeged, 1999), 371.
18. ao, vol. v, 71.
19. disappeared settlements in Timiş County.
20. ao, vol. v, 76.
21. ibid., 71.
22. Et posthec….nostre personali presencie fideliter rescribatis.
23. The document is issued at 14 of June 1318: d. f. iv. prox. p. fe. penth.
24. Glosar de termini şi expresii din documentele latine privind istoria medie a României, 182.
25. ao, vol. v, 72.
26. vekov, Locul de adeverire, 80-181.
27. Corpus Juris Hungarici, Magyar törvénytár. 1000-1526. Évi törvényczikkek, (CJh) ed. gy.
nagy, s. Kolosvári, K. Óvári (Budapest, 1899), 1435 évi (ii.) viii törvénycikk ; 1435: 8 §
2: “Qui quidem, pro hujusmodi testimoniis capitularibus, et conventualibus deputati, priusquam
ad faciendas aliquas possessionarias statutiones, metarum reambulationes, revisiones possessionarias,
et communes inquisitiones, transmittantur, et procedant, jurare teneantur; ut in eisdem factis, fideliter,
et recte procedant, et veram relationem, seu fassionem faciant”.
§ 3: “Homines autem regii, in praemissis procedentes; tempore reversionis eorum, ac fassionis,
seu relationis, coram ipsis, et conventibus fiendis similiter iuramentum praestare teneantur”.
§ 4: “Quicunque autem contra suum iuramentum, falsum processum, vel falsam relationem
fecisse, repertus fuerit; talis tamquam falsarius, et periurus, poena amissionis beneficii sui (si quod
habuerit) puniatur: et insuper, sive beneficiatus, sive non beneficiatus existat; perpetuis carceribus
mancipetur”.
§ 5: “homo vero regius, si in praemissis possessionariis statutionobus, metarum reambulation-
ibus, et revisionibus, sinistre, vel false processerit; in facto periurii, poena capitis, et amissionis omni-
um honorum suorum convincatur”.
28. ao, vol. v, 72.
29. pesty, Krassó, 94-95.
30. Zsigmondkori oklevéltár, (Z.) vol. v (Budapest, 1998), p.502; Frigyes pesty, Diplome privind
istoria comitatului Timiş şi a oraşului Timişoara, vol. ii, ed. l. Magina, a. Magina (Cluj-napoca,
2014), 136-137, 177, 252, 290-291, 427.
31. pesty, Temes vol. i, 111, 135-136, 137, 159, etc.
32. vekov, Locul de adeverire, 183.
33. pesty, Temes vol. i, 111.
34. ibid., 153, 159, 200.
35. Z., vol. v, 577-578.
37. ibid., 452,460.
38. ibid., 57.

39. ibid., 128-130; dl.70657.
40. pesty, Temes vol. i, 517, 489.
41. ibid., 489.
42. ibid., 410-411, 413-414.
43. ao, vol. X, 94.
44. engel, “Királyi emberek”, 77.
45. pesty, Temes, vol. i, 236-237.
46. ibid., 238.
47. ao, vol. v, 332-333.
48. dir, vol. iii, 246-247.
49. ibid.
50. ibid.
51. Z., vol. v, 557.
52. Documenta Romaniae Historica, C, Transilvania (drh), vol. Xii (Bucharest, 1985) 166-
167.
53. pesty, Temes, vol. i, 306-307.
54. ibid., 200, 213.
55. ibid., 452.
56. ibid., 460.
57. pesty, Temes vol.ii, 356-357.
58. pesty, Temes vol. i, 338-339.
59. CJh, 1486 évi viii. törvénycikk; Ex potioribus nobilibus.
60. ao, vol. ii, 33, 23.
61. engel, “Királyi emberek”, 82-84.
62. ibid., 83-86.
63. pesty, Temes vol. i, 46, 48, 128-130.
64. ibid., 373; pesty, Temes ii, 357.
65. dl.92450, dl.92440; Z., vol. iv, 599.
66. pesty, Temes vol. i, 504-505, 508-509, 512.
67. ibid., 373.
68. ibid., 306-307.
69. Zoltan iusztin, “The noble Judges in Timiº County (14 -15 Centuries)”, in Transylvanian
th th
review, vol. XXii supllement nr.4/2013, 254-262.

70. Zoltan iusztin, “vicecomiþi în comitatul Timiº (sec. Xiv-Xv)”, in analele Banatului XXi/2013,
269-271.
72. ibid., 33-35.
73. ao, vol. Xiii, 371.
74. dl.40688.
75. pesty, Temes vol. i, 46, 48.
76. ibid., 57.
77. ibid., 68.
78. ibid., 70.
79. dl.91375.
80. drh. C. Xii. 166.
81. ibid., 166-167.
82. drh. C. Xiii. 483.
83. ibid., 527.

84. ibid., 575, 579.
86. pesty, Krassó, 93-94.
87. drh. C. Xiv, 4.
88. pesty, Temes vol. i, 128-130; Magyar Országos Levéltár, (Dl.) Mohács eløtti gy jtemény. dl.70657.
89. drh. C. Xiv, 519, 532.
90. ibid., 573.
92. ibid., 137.
93. ibid., 158-159.
94. ibid., 153.
95. pesty, Krassó, 175.
97. ibid., 216-217.
98. Krassó 186.
99. pesty, Temes vol. i, Temes i. 193.
100. ibid., 199.
101. ibid., 200, 213.
102. ibid., 230.
103. ibid., 228.
104. ibid., 234.
105. ibid., 235.
106. ibid., 235.
107. ibid., 237.
108. ibid., 238.
109. ibid., 284.
110. ibid., 380.
111. ibid., 315.
112. ibid., 342-343.
113. ibid., 338-339.
114. ibid., 378.
115. ibid., 423-424.
116. wenzel gusztáv, “okmánytár ozorai pipo Történetéhez”, in Történelmi Tár 7/1884, 28-
29.
117. pesty, Temes vol. i, Temes i. 404, 407.
118. ibid., 405.
119. ibid., 410-411.
120. ibid., 413-414.
121. ibid., 451.
122. ibid., 452.
123. ibid., 460.
124. dl.92450; dl.92440; Z., vol. iv, 599.
125. Z., vol. v, 577.
126. ibid., 578.
128. Z., vol. v, 578.
130. dl.53867; pesty, Temes vol. i, 489.

131. Z., vol. v, 468.
133. Z., vol. v, 578.
134. Z., vol. vi. 312.
136. Z., vol. vi. 588; dl.10724.
137. Z., vol. vi. 502; dl.266439.
138. Z., vol. iX, 153.
140. gyula nagy, A nagymihály és stáray gróf Stáray család oklevéltára, vol. ii, (Budapest, 1889)
262-263.
141. dl.43709; dl.92723.
142. dl.44045.
143. dl.37599.
144. dl.86564.
145. pesty, Temes vol. ii, 130, 133.
146. ibid., 136-137.
147. ibid., 158.
148. ibid., 177, 180.
149. ibid., 182.
150. ibid., 227, 232.
151. ibid., 252, 254.
152. ibid., 253, 255.
153. ibid., 271, 274.
154. ibid., 272, 277.
155. ibid., 290-291.
156. ibid., 300-301.
157. ibid., 312-314.
158. ibid., 315-316.
159. ibid., 336-337.
160. ibid., 347, 352.
161. ibid., 356-357.
162. dl.30206.
163. pesty, Temes vol. ii, 394, 398.
164. dl.27047.
165. pesty, Temes vol. ii, 410-411.
166. ibid., 414, 420.
167. ibid., 427, 429.
168. dl.18620.
169. dl.37653.
170. dl.18784.
171. dl.59740.
172. dl.46073.
173. dl.30225.
174. dl.19477.
175. dl.59769.
176. dl.59784.
177. dl.59782.
178. dl.37685.
179. dl.88823.
180. dl.88826.
181. dl.59879.
182. dl.67470.
Abstract
the King’s men from timiº county (14th-15th centuries)
one of the many key factors of the medieval state is the institution known as homo regius. From
a social point of view, this office seems to be a local extension of the monarchy, as the king’s
man is the representative and even the substitute of the sovereign and the person in charge with
passing forward and implementing the ruler’s orders. in most cases, documents mention the king’s
man in relation to issues of ennoblement and conferring proprietary rights, his role being that of
claiming ownership in the name of the king and of subsequently reporting the events that took
place on the spot. The king’s man was usually accompanied by a representative of the chapters
or convents which would compile an on-site report of his achievements and submit it to the
king. however, the king’s man responsibilities were not limited to these issues; in some cases his
tasks included reambulations, investigating and reporting the situations of the various domains
or properties, establishing and setting their limits and borders, investigating the complaints of
the parties involved in court trials, or acting as a witness before the king or the judges in court mat-
ters.
Keywords
the king’s men, the estates’ reambulation, livery of seisin, places of authentication, noble judges
The Relation of Noble Residences
and Market Towns in the Region of the
Timiş Plain in the 15th-16th Centuries
z suzsanna K oPEczny
T
he region we survey geographically belongs to the great hungarian plain, more
precisely to its eastern section. it is bordered to the north by the Mureş river,
on the eastern side by the Carpathians, to the west by the Tisza river and to
the south by the Bârzava river. historically, in the Modern era it was called the Banat
of Timiş (Temescher Banat, in german). in the late Middle ages, the time-frame we
investigate, this part of the Kingdom of hungary was characterized by a low urban
network, with only a few towns, being predominantly composed of market towns and
villages1.
historian erik Fügedi has already underlined the positive role of the presence of an
estate administration center for the development of a settlement2. andrás Kubinyi, on
the other hand, admitted also the opposite: the authority of a landlord would have
had a restrictive influence over the self-administration of the market towns he owned3.
The jurisdictional role the landlord fulfilled in the litigations of the inhabitants and his
intervention, as a patron, into matters of the church administration, for example (appoint-
ment of priests, benefit of the tithe), could be such negative aspects. according to the
survey of Kubinyi, 90% of 15th century noble residences were to be found near urban
settlements, or at least the use of the term oppidum designating the residence settle-
ments becomes more frequent during the 15th century. The role of residential and admin-
istrative center of both royal and noble seat settlements is nevertheless taken into con-
sideration in Kubinyi’s centrality analyses. lately, szabolcs gulyás, in his study on the
relation of noble residences and thus of administrative centers and market towns from
the northeastern part of medieval hungary stressed the fact that a pattern does not
exist in what the interaction between settlement development and residence founding
is concerned4.
The development of market towns in the region of the hungarian plain presents
certain particularities derived from the geographical, and thus also from the economic
character of the region. it is mostly a rural landscape, focused in consequence on agri-
cultural production. The smaller area within the plain of the Timiş river, due to its
position on the southeastern border of the kingdom, highly fits this description, for
the constant threat represented by ottoman invasions as early as the end of the 14th
century certainly inhibited the urbanization and development of the region5. not even
the most important towns lying at the junction of the main traffic and commercial routes
(Temesvár, Csanád, lippa) ever reached a high level of urbanization6. Consequently, a
powerful citizenry also was missing, who would have protested against the power of
the landlords, as pointed out in some cases7. The efforts made by the landlord in order
to gain certain rights and privileges for one’s residential place: fairs, tax exemptions, indul-
gences, pilgrimages, also served the interests of the inhabitants, who had the opportu-
nity to sell the goods they were producing without being forced to make long jour-
neys for this purpose8. landlords were evidently trying to increase their estates’ income;
therefore they were also directly interested in obtaining market holding rights for the set-
tlements within their estates. The right to hold weekly fairs was frequent among our
settlements. The privilege to organize early fairs apparently was held only by 3 market
towns: Fellak, Czikóvásárhely (also shown by its name, which means market place)
and Morsina. From the point of view of territorial jurisdiction, noblemen were again
interested in exerting their influence. in our region we have a single example of a land-
lord receiving the right to hold a blood court. Benedict himfy received such a privi-
lege for his estates of remete and iersig in 13699. however it is a positive achieve-
ment, for the inhabitants of the estate theoretically benefited from a more secure way
of life. of course it worked also the other way around, for involvement in conflicts
with other noblemen or authorities could have made victims within the population
throughout the entire estate, as it happened in many cases.
in order to increase the population and thus the economic output of the estate,
landlords also colonized inhabitants, especially noblemen of foreign origins, the so-called
hospites10. Beginning with the 15th century, due to the ottoman advance, serbian popu-
lation arrived north of the danube11. hungarian kings granted permission to settle
and lands here to several serbian noblemen, like the Jakšićs. later on they favored the
colonization of serbian population within their estates, on behalf of whom they also
obtained tax exemptions.
in the following we will offer an analysis of the subject matter in connection to the
geographical area described above. we are far from having collected all data of interest,
but some observations can be nevertheless jotted down12.
out of the 2913 recorded castella throughout the plain of the Temes river, 15 were
to be found in/nearby market towns (see map). These are: Borzlyuk, Chery, Czikóvásárhely
(pathkolcz), endrød (Facset), Fellak, hodos, iktár, rékás, sarad, sasvar, Monostor,
Morsyn, Zadya, Zádorlak, and Zewdy. in what concerns the level of development, accord-
ing to the survey made by andrás Kubinyi, these belong to the category of market towns,
with 6-10 centrality points, meaning average marketplaces. The other group is made
up by villages with market holding rights. They are mainly located along secondary routes
and represent the lowest ranked settlement group, totalling 1-5 points. due to the severe
destruction of the medieval charters referring to our region, most probably this rank-
ing is not quite exact and it would suffer some limited adjustments.
although there is a high number of castles and residences in the region14, data are
extremely scarce regarding the moment of their construction, physical appearance etc.
we encounter the same situation in the case of marketplaces referring to their privi-
leges, market holding rights, citizens, churches or monasteries, administration and so on.
Chery represents a fortunate case, for a relatively high number of charters referring to
it permit a more thorough analysis. The estate of Chery, mentioned for the first time
in the papal tax collection evidence from 1332 -1337, was in the anjou period part of
the royal estate belonging to the castle of Temesvár. around 1366 King louis the
great founded here an observant Franciscan monastery, among the first ones through-
out hungary, alongside the one founded in nearby Caransebeş15. Both belonged to the
Franciscan province of Bosnia and had a missionary role in the context of King louis’s
military offensive against Bosnia and his general anti-schismatic policies. in 1372 the set-
tlement already appeared in charters as civitas, and the estate was organized as a district16.
in 1387 King sigismund donated the royal estate of Chery to stephen Korógy, ban of
Mačva. according to written sources the castle near Chery, mentioned with this name,
must have been built under the ownership of this aristocratic family. its first, indirect
mention dates back to 1439, when the castellan of Chery appears in a charter17. in
1453 the oppidum of Chery was mentioned18. after the death of John of Kórogy the estate
became once again a Crown possession, being donated later on by King Matthias to
the Kaniža borthers, ladislaus and nicholas19. at this date the same charter refers to
the stronghold either as castrum, or castellum. in the case of Chery we witness a typical
exaggerated formula within the donation document issued by King Matthias, in which
the denominations castrum and civitas are used singularly related to the castle and the
market town. in 1473, the castle of Chery appears, along with its estate, among the assets
of the nadasdi wngor family20. Following the agreement based on a co-divisional broth-
erhood between John wngor and Michael Zob, after the death of John wngor in
1506, his estates were taken over by Michael Zob21. in 1507 Michael gave the estate
of Chery and the castle to protonotary stephen werbøczy22. prior to the ottoman
conquest, in 1552 Chery, both the castle and the estate, was the property of peter petrovic,
count of Timiş23.
regarding the development of the settlement of Chery, written data are nearly inex-
istent. in the early period of its existence Chery had belonged to the Crown. The unequal
presence in charters might cause an erroneous perception on the urbanization of the
village. however, we can state that the settlement received an important impulse already
in the second half of the 14th century due to the establishment of the Franciscan friary.
other benefits came along later on. The Korógy family also resorted to colonization,
or more likely facilitated the establishment of certain citizens, apparently craftsmen, with-
in the boundaries of the market town24. This generosity of the landlord can be interpreted
as an action meant to ensure the prosperity of the (residential) estate center, but later doc-
uments let us suspect more selfish reasons, that is, the endeavor to obtain a certain
control over the administrative and jurisdictional activity of the market towns council.
philip Korógy appointed andrew as court judge (judge of hospites), and somewhat
later also as knez at sacoş. within the text of the charter issued in 1403 are also men-
tioned the judges and officials of Korógy: iudicibus et officialibus nostris in dicta civitate nos-
tra Cheri. The two subjects are also withdrawn from under the authority of the territo-
rial jurisdiction.
all recorded market towns seem to have their first documentary evidence as such from
the middle of the 15th century onwards25. a relatively quick ascent in the settlement hier-
archy can also be observed. as historian livia Magina has pointed out in her case
study concerning Fellak26, following the moment of donation of the settlement in
1478 to the Jakšić family27, of serbian origin, in the space of half a century from a desert-
ed village (predium) it reached the rank of market town (oppidum) some time before 1534,
when it gained the right of holding two annual fairs (nundinum seu forum annualium
liberum) and a weekly fair on every sunday28. Both annual fairs were limited to a sole day.
Meanwhile, due to the intercession of the landlords, the villagers (mainly serbian pop-
ulation colonized by the Jakšić family) received tax exemptions as well29. The geographical
position of the settlement, situated near the Mures river, also generated additional finan-
cial benefits in the form of tolls, as a document mentions a lawsuit concerning the
right of levying a port toll over the river between Fellak and papi30. all these privileges
granted by the central authority on behalf of its loyal servant led to a quick growth of the
settlement and of the estate.
The destiny of the market town called sasvar was also bound in the late Middle ages
to that of another serbian nobleman, voivode Miloš Belmužević. he had taken up res-
idence on the territory of hungary, more precisely in Timiş County, along with his
family, through the grace of King Matthias, following the ottoman conquest of Fort
smederevo and the territory of despotovina31. in a few years he gained several estates
here, as a reward for his military contribution during the wars against the ottomans.
all estates were to be found near the county seat of Temesvar32, among them the above
mentioned sasvar. The settlement and estate were obtained for the military services
provided in 1474 in silesia. The settlement appears for the first time as oppidum in 149233,
and its development was probably boosted under the ownership of the Belmužević
family. unfortunately, more information is lacking regarding this aspect. however, the
market town must have been the estate center and the residential settlement, for the owner
families always took the appellative de Sasvar. similarly to the Jakšić family, Belmužević
also favored the colonization of serbian inhabitants34. From among them came also
the officials found in the service of the family, bearing the slavic title of waywoda. as
the name of the settlement suggests, a fortification was to be found inside its boundaries,
mentioned in charters, as far as we know, only at the middle of the 16th century as Castrum
Sasvar cum oppido35. The settlement’s first documentary evidence can be traced back to
1332-37, then 137236. later, in 1428, the road leading to the village was mentioned37.
This means either that a medieval fortification already existed at this time, or more
likely the settlement was established nearby or on the site of an older, prehistoric forti-
fication, from which it took its name. in ottoman records from 1566-1567, a st. george
monastery is mentioned nearby38. The founding of the establishment must be also linked
to one of the landlords, most likely the Belmužević. in the testament of the head of
the family a monk Timothy is mentioned as his confessor, and the document itself was
drawn up by a certain Marko, deacon39. after the family’s extinction on the male line with
the death of Miloš and his sons, the estate was finally obtained by the Jakšić family, through
matrimonial relations with the daughter of Miloš40. at this point they were the owners
of three castles along with the adjacent market towns and estates: nagylak, Czeffresd
at Fellak and sasvar, all of them called castrum in the charter. it is typical, that the “home”
castle of the family, nagylak, along with the homonymous market town, was equally
divided and kept in common use, while the castle of Czefresd with the town of Fellak
and the castle and town of sasvar were apportioned between the two heiresses.
Zewdy41 is another good example of a case study, for we have good documentary evi-
dence. The village entered into the possession of the pósa family sometime before 131142.
in 1400 it already had an annual fair43. The first mention of Zewdy as a market town
dates back, as far as we know, only to 145244. The szeri pósa family had its residence here
probably from the very beginning. although the male members, especially the father, had
a successful carrier during the anjou period, it seems that they didn’t insist on the
development of the settlement, whilst efforts were made to enlarge their estate through
donations and purchases. one of the most important such acquisitions was the village
called hodos, received through royal donation before 140545. From 1428 it appears in
charters as oppidum, and the homonymous fortification nearby appears in charters from
1458, along with the associated toll.46. according to this document, at this date the
pósa family didn’t yet have a castellum-like fortified residence also in Zewdy, and most
likely they lived in a manor house. Before hodos entered into the possession of the
pósa family, around the year 1368, Benedict himfy sent his private chaplain to fulfill
the role of parish priest, but the seat was already taken by a priest appointed by the vil-
lagers47. The villagers’ letter indicates that before that the count of Temes had not been
involved in the appointment of priests, and they asked him to respect this privilege.
The intrusion of the high dignitary could have stemmed from his position, associated
with the ambition to acquire the settlement and its estate, as it becomes obvious from
later documents. another charter comes to underline the “ancient” privileges the citizens
of hodos, for in 1428 King sigismund issued a charter in which he mentioned the lugos
toll tax freedom of the citizens and serfs of hodos48.
Borzlyuk, similarly with Chery, was the center of a royal estate with 28-30 villages
until the middle of the 15th century. in the anjou period the hospites regii were mentioned49.
in 1456, when it was granted to John of hunyad, it was noted as a district center. we
can conclude that a castle existed nearby from a charter dated in 1483, in which appears
the castellan of the Bánfi family of lendva. The Bánfi family was granted the estate of
Borzlyuk sometime around 1477.
we hardly know anything about Morsina and Monostor. Both were settlements with-
in the privileged districts from the northeastern part of the region and reached the
rank of market towns in 1439, respectively in 1484. The castles are mentioned late, in
1505. around the middle of the 15th century both were placed in gauge and granted
to John of hunyad, being included into the great hunyadi estate. as such, the two
settlements played the role of secondary administrative centers of the great hunyadi estate.
in a similar way to forts, castles were probably also the sites of toll and income collec-
tion, as the example of Monostor shows. in a charter from the beginning of the 16th
century it is noted that the taxes were collected at the castle50.
of all residential market towns, besides the above discussed Fellak we have evi-
dence of the right of organizing annual fairs only in three other cases: Zewdy, Czikóvásárhely
and Morsina. Zewdy and Morsina had the right of holding weekly fairs as well. Four
other market towns, namely, rékás, sarad and iktár had only weekly fairs, hodos and
rékas benefited from the income of road tolls.
it is important to point out that castella are mainly concentrated in the northern
part of the “province”, that is, the Temesköz region, gravitating around the county
seat of Temesvar. on the one hand, this is explained by the geomorphologic character
of the northern part, which was the eastern limit of the hungarian plain. as such, it
was best suited for the formation of large estates, even to the detriment of the tenure
of the royal fort of Temesvár. in the southern, part royal properties and castles were more
numerous due to the strategic military importance of this border region in the vicinity
of the serbian kingdom and the voivodate of wallachia. if we look at the map of the
region, it becomes evident that the market towns are situated along the main routes, eight
in number. one ran parallel to the Mures river; the others linked the county seat of
Temesvár with arad and Transylvania towards the northeast, with szeged and the core
of the realm towards the west, and with the danube to the south. The presence of a water
flow is also a rule in almost all cases of castles. The presence of a river was important
for at least two reasons. First, we must underline the defensive role: built in the lowlands,
probably using less rough materials (brick, wood and earth), these fortifications, castel-
la or noble residences were extremely vulnerable. as such, water courses were used as
natural moats. From this feature comes the “water castle” name of this type of strong-
holds. The second, but not less important role of the presence of rivers is the econom-
ic one, for one of the main sources of income for castles and estates was milling. The
example of Chery is extremely illustrative. it had no more than 24 mills. From one of the
charters from the middle of the 15th century, which lists the possessions of the castle of
Chery, we learn that four mills were made of stone and were serving directly the cas-
tle’s needs. The other twenty were dispersed throughout the estate. watermills are
mentioned in charters in a high number due to the dense river network in the region and
many times represented the cause of conflicts between neighboring families.
The castles and market towns were placed in strategic points, so the taxes collected
here in the form of road tolls and port tolls represented further important sources of
income for the estate.
B
Conclusions
ased on the information presented above, castles and their estates in the Temes
plain can be grouped into three main categories: smaller estates of local noble
families, positioned near small villages and which would never reach a higher level
of development. Because of their modest social condition, the owners didn’t manage
to put together a larger domain, and due to the extinction of the family, to the division
of the estate, or even to the relocation of the family, the estates would not have a long
life. it seems that these are the earliest castles, and they became deserted together with
the adjoining settlements towards the end of the 15th century. This is the case of the
residences at obad, Jobbágy, Macedonia, vareleye, Jebel, and iktár.
in the late 15th century important noble families came to acquire vast estates from
extinct or disloyal landlords through royal donations or through gauge. This makes up
the second category of castles. it is the case of the guti, garai, haraszti, Jakšić fami-
lies. Franciscus haraszti, ban of szörény, became the owner of several estates and cas-
tles, them through donations, purchase and pledge. The serbian Jakšić also succeeded
to amass more estates, as presented above.
in the region of the hungarian plain, and thus in the Temes plain as well, where urban
settlements were rare, market towns along with their pecuniary benefits certainly pre-
sented a great interest for landlords who were seeking to build up their estates here. Their
military obligations demanded serious material and human resources, especially here
on the border with the ottoman empire, for reparation and construction works on
forts and military campaigns were more and more a necessity51. Consequently, sup-
porting the development of such settlements, or trying to enter in the possession of more
market towns, must have been to the benefit of landlords.
searching for a relationship pattern between market towns and noble residences would
probably not lead to considerable results, as already stated before. we can, however,
ask some questions, the answers leading us perhaps to other issues than the topic expressed
in the title of our paper. one of these questions is: out of all market towns in the ana-
lyzed region, how many fulfilled the role of residential settlements and estate centers?
Based on our best knowledge, in the case of Temes County we can state that out of 20
market towns (oppidum)52, 12 had a castellum type or fortified noble residence and two
a fort53. in the case of gladna we are aware of the existence of a medieval fortification
dated in the 15th century that has no documentary evidence. one, Berény, might also have
had a fortification nearby that could date from medieval times. Four market towns
were also district centers, two with a castle also. Two market towns which did not have
a residence within their boundaries were district centers or important traffic nodes.
Five other castles were related to villages54. The situation is similar in arad County,
were out of 12 market towns 8 also had a castle within their boundaries and were
estate centers. here too we can presume the existence of further castles, as in the case
of szécsény. in Csanád there are nine market towns in evidence with only four cas-
tles55. we encounter a different situation in Krassó, a border county, were royal forts
and the adjacent estates were predominating. The two noble residences mentioned in
charters as castellum are to be found near villages56.
The overlapping of the two dwelling types is generally the result of social and eco-
nomic changes, which took place during the 15th century. due to the frequent dona-
tion acts of estates on behalf of noblemen, the private estates belonging to noblemen
became larger. For the administration of these extended landed estates several centers,
main and secondary, needed to be created, and one or even more residences were con-
structed. This is also the period, as noted at the beginning, when the number of mar-
ket towns increased through natural development, but mainly as a consequence of the
landlord’s attempts to secure for themselves the economic benefits of the settlements.
historian erik Fügedi has isolated a distinct category of market towns, namely the estate
administration centers57. in the northeastern part of the hungarian plain, more precisely
in the region between the Tisa and Mureş rivers and Transylvania, out of the 20 mar-
ket towns, 19 played the role of estate administration centers and also residential towns.
Following the short overview of the situation found south of the Mureş river, we can
state that we encountered an identical manifestation of the market towns.
taBlE 1: lIst oF rEsIdEntIal marKEt towns
Settlement name 1st evidence of 1st evidence as Tolls and fairs

the castle oppidum
1 Borzlyuk 1483 1477 -
2 Chery 1443 1443: civitas -

1453: oppidum
3 Czikóvásárhely 1480 1480 Yearly fair
4 Facsád 1548 1550: oppidum 3 yearly fairs

(EndrƅĚ͍Ϳ 1554-1579: town weekly fair
5 Fellak 1540-1550 1534 Port,
;͞ǌĞĨƌĞƐĚ͟Ϳ yearly fair, weekly fair
6 Hodos 1471 1437 Road toll
7 Iktár 1597 1554-1579: town Weekly fair
8 Monosthor 1505 1484 Weekly fair
9 Morsyn 1505 1439 Weekly and

yearly fair
10 Rékás 1476 1443: Civitas Weekly fair
1453: oppidum Toll
11 Sarad 1479 1479 Weekly fair
12 Sasvar 1540-1560 1492 -
13 Zadorlaka 1480 1480 -
14 Zadya 1479 1479 Toll
15 Zewdy 1471 1471 Port

Weekly fair
maP 1: rEsIdEntIal marKEt towns In thE tImIş PlaIn

(based on a map by a. Kubinyi, városfejlødés)
Notes
1. andrás Kubinyi, Városfejlødés és vásárhálózat a középkori Alföldön és az Alföld szélén. seria dél-
alföldi Évszázadok 14 (szeged, 2000); istván petrovics, urban development in the danube-
Tisa-Mureş region in the Middle ages. Analele Banatului, s. n., istorie-arheologie, iX (2001),
389-399;
2. erik Fügedi, Mezøvárosaink kialakulása a Xiv. században. Történelmi Szemle 14 (1972),
323-325.
3. andrás Kubinyi, Városfejlødés, 17.
4. gulyás lászló szabolcs, rezidencia és városfejlødés: földesúr és mezøváros a középkori
Magyarország észekkeleti részén, Urbs 7 (2012), 201-226.
5. istván petrovics, Foreign ethnic groups in the Towns of southern hungary in the Middle
ages. derek Keene, Balázs nagy, Katalin szende (eds.), Segregation-Integration-Assimilation.
Religious and Etnic Groups in the Medieval Towns of Central and Eastern Europe. historical urban
studies series. (Farnham: ashgate, 2009), 88.
6. istván petrovics, urban development, 393-398.
7. andrás Kubinyi Városfejlødés, 17, f.n. 41.
8. erik Fügedi, Mezøvárosaink, 323-325.
9. pesty Frigyes, Oklevelek Temesmegye és Temesvárváros történetéhez, ed. ortvay Tivadar, i, (pozsony,
1896), 107, no. 65. remete doesn’t appear in our list, for it never reached the rank of mar-
ket town and no castle is mentioned.
10. istván petrovics, Foreign ethnic groups, 67-74
11. istván petrovics, Foreign ethnic groups, 88.
12. The high number of still unpublished charters also represents an impediment.
13. we have counted directly mentioned castella and noble residences and fortifications presumed
on the basis of the mentioning of their castellani.
14. see the county-based distribution of such small castles at Tibor Koppány, A középkori Magyarország
kastélyai. Mðvészettörténeti Füzetek 26 (1999), 249-254. Timiş County alone has 21 items.
The 29 we are dealing with also include sites from Cenad, arad, Caraş and Torontal Counties,
aministrative units which are partly overlaping the geographical area under our research.
15. Beatrix romhányi (ed.), Kolostorok és társaskáptalanok a középkori Magyarországon, 2007,
Cd-roM digital version, s.v. “Cseri”.
16. Documenta Historiam Valachorum in Hungaria Illustrantia. ed. antonius Fekete nagy – ladislaus
Makkai, (Budapestini, 1941), 243 (no. 197).
17. dl 44240.
18. Frigyes pesty, Diplome privind istoria comitatului Timiş şi a oraşului Timişoara. ii. 1430-1470,
(ed. livia Magina, adrian Magina), 254 (no. 222).
19. Frigyes pesty, Diplome, 323-324 (no. 279).
20. dl 16167.
21. adrian Magina, estate and Fort of Chery in the Middle ages. Interethnic Relations in Transylvania.
Militaria Mediaevalia in Central and South Eastern Europe. proceedings of the 2014 confer-
ence, ed. Zeno Karl pinter, anca niþoi, (sibiu 2015), 65.
22. dl 72111.
23. adrian Magina, Estate and Fort Chery, 65.
24. one of the persons favored by the landlord was named george the Tailor. he and a certain
andrew, son of ladislaus were exempted from paying taxes for the plots they had bought
in the town. in the charter, Korogyi names them familiars, and his act is in fact a reward for
the services of the two subjects. a. Magina, Estate and Fort Chery, annex 1.
25. The documentary evidence severely marked by the destruction of charters referring to our
region might suggest a slightly erroneous image, but we clearly observe in villages a ten-
dency towards urban development taking place in the late medieval period.
26. livia Magina, dreptul de târg şi procesul de urbanizare. Cazul Felnac. Analele Banatului, s.
n., istorie-arheologie, Xviii (2010), 143-148.
27. The existence of the settlement can be traced beginning with the first half of the 14 centu-
th
ry. Csánki, Cd-roM digital version, vol. i, arad County, settlements, s.v. “Fellak”.
28. livia Magina, dreptul de târg, 145-148, appendix i.
29. livia Magina, dreptul de târg, 144-145,
30. livia Magina, o disputã pentru locul de vad de la Mureş (1543). Analele Banatului, s. n.,
istorie-arheologie, XXi, 2013, 295-298.
31. adrian Magina, un nobil sârb în Banatul secolului al Xv-lea, Miloš Belmužević. Analele
Banatului, s. n., istorie-arheologie, Xviii (2010), 135-142.
32. some of the settlements had belonged to the royal estate of the castle of Temesvar.
33. dl 19618.
34. according to the note of historian adrian Magina, at the beginning of the 16 century the
th
population of sasvar and of other settlements counted more and more serbs. adrian Magina,
un nobil sârb, 137.
35. adrian Magina, un nobil sârb, 137.
36. Tivadar ortvay, Magyarország egyházi földleírása a XIV. század elején a pápai tizedjegyzékek alapján
feltðntetve, ii (Budapest: 1892), pesty Frigyes, Oklevelek, 121-122 (rec. 77). The charter men-
tions abraham litterati officialis de Saswar, being probably in the service of nicholas de
gara, the landlord of sasvar.
37. Via Saaswarwtha, dl 12031. The name most certainly derives from the hungarian “sás” mean-
ing reed, and not “sas”=eagle, for it was situated along the Temes valley and not on a hill
or mountain.
38. dumitru Þeicu, Geografia ecleziasticã a Banatului medieval (Cluj-napoca: presa universitarã
Clujeanã, 2007), 116-117.
39. adrian Magina, un nobil sârb, 140.
40. The charter dated between 1540-1560 records the division of the great estate of the serbian
family between the two daughters, scolastica and elisabeth.
41. The village situated in the Mures valley was located near Frumuşeni (arad County), west of
the Bizere Benedictine abbey. The first written information of the settlement dates back to the
end of the 12 century. The charter survived under the form of a 14 century transcript, in
th th
which King ladislaus i donated the village along with other estates to the provostry of
Titel. györgy györffy, Az Árpád-kori Magyarország történeti földrajza. i. 1987, 186, dl 87218,
Ferenc sebøk, Anjou-kori Oklevéltár, XXXi, 1347 (Budapest-szeged 2007), 395, (no.754).
42. dl 91166, gyula Kristó, Anjou-kori Oklevéltár, iii, 1311-1314 (Budapest-szeged 1994), 44,
83. sz. regeszta.
43. pesty, Oklevelek, 294-295, no. 171.
44. dl 93207.
45. The estate of hodos was coveted also by the himfy family; in 1437 the two families were
in the middle of a lawsuit on the matter of its ownership. pesty, Diplome, 77-78, no. 53.
46. dF 261895, pesty, Diplome, 452-454, no. 278.
47. dl 47873. The identity of the claimants, most probably hospites, is unknown and at that
date the settlement was merely a village. in this case, as a hospes settlement, it probably
had earned certain rights, such as appointing the parish priest, as long as the count or the land-
lord had no desire to name his own protégé. andrás Kubinyi, plébánosválasztás és egyházközségi
önkormányzata középkori Magyarországon. Føpapok, egyházi intézmények és vallásosság a közép-
kori Magyarországon. MeTeM könyvek 22. (Budapest 1999), 269-286.
48. Frigyes pesty, Krassó vármegye története, ii/1 (Budapest 1884), 214.
49. 1374: Csánki, Magyarország történeti földrajza a Hunyadiak korában. Cd-roM digital ver-
sion. ii. Temes, városok, s.v. “Borzlyuk”.
50. Frigyes pesty, Krassó, ii/2, 23-32; József pataki, Domeniul Hunedoarei la începutul secolului al
XVI-lea. (Bucureşti 1973), 151, doc. 29.
51. The estate of Berény was, for example, donated to Filippo scolari in 1407, then he also obtained
the estate of the lackfy situated in the Mures valley, at least szad.
52. we based our statistics on the database created by a. Kubinyi and we included only the set-
tlements with oppidum denomination. we did not count the settlements with market-hold-
ing rights called possessiones. we also didn’t count the towns of Temeswar and lugos.
53. documents referring to the region are far from being exhaustively published, therefore
there might be other market towns. Because of content and time restraints we have chosen
to look only at one of the administrative units, Temes County, which in the 15-16 century
th
was the largest and mainly overlapped the lowland, where the extended estates were to be
found.
54. we must take into account the fact that the documentary evidence of these settlements as mar-
ket towns is not yet known or has been destroyed, which would cause some variations in
our survey. The observation is applicable to all counties.
55. in Kubinyi’s database we find only a single castle at Kovácsháza, Koppány, on the other
hand, mentioned another three.
56. szentgyörgy and gyertyános.
57. erik Fügedi, Mezøvárosaink, 325.
Abstract
the relation of noble residences and market towns
in the region of the timiş Plain in the 15th-16th centuries
in our short overview we wanted to take a look at the association of noble residences mentioned
as castellum in the medieval charters and the settlements found nearby. it is a general phenome-
non throughout the Kingdom of hungary and beyond: from the 15 century onwards noble-
th
men preferred fortified residences located near settlements, instead of the more isolated moun-
taintop forts. scholars have already debated the subject of this relationship and tried to answer
the question whether the presence of residences stimulated the development of settlements to
the rank of market towns or rather already existing market towns attracted landlords to take up res-
idence there. on account of the lack of charters referring to the region of the Timiş plain, the ques-
tion of anteriority cannot be easily cleared. it is however evident that the landlord had the inter-
est to contribute to the development of the settlements he owned. rich market towns also represented
important assets to the economy of the estates. in the Timiş plain the majority of market towns
were so-called residential settlements and also played the role of estate administration centers.
Keywords
noble residences, castles, market towns, estate centers, Timiş plain
Wills and Elites In Medieval
and Early Modern Banat
a drIan m agIna
A
will is one of the most important juridically valuable documents that the his-
torians have at their disposal. as long as it expresses one’s last wishes, it might
show facts that other official documents cannot register. usually wills refer
both to the testator’s private/daily life and the mentality of the time: attitude towards
death, family relations (looking after descendants, matrimonial connections), the testa-
tor’s wealth and, last but not least, his religious options. There are various reasons to issue
a will. generally speaking, being near his/her end makes the testator to leave a will,
but also a will might be written prior to a voyage from which one may not return. no
matter the reason, the testators wish the same thing: to leave a clear note on their own
wealth and to regulate as best they can the distribution of their wealth among relatives
or acquaintances.
as the expression of last wishes, wills were frequently used in the medieval and
early modern world, regardless of geographical area1. The area south of the Mureş belonged
to the territories of st. stephen’s Crown, wills there being submitted to the same
juridical and drawing up rules. There are more such documents known so far in the
territory bordered by the danube, the Mureş and the Tisza. Certainly, there were many
more, but unfortunately only part of them survived until today. on some of them we
have only indirect information, in the context of different legates concerning certain her-
itages2, and other ones might wait to be identified in the domestic or foreign archives.
The largest part of the wills we refer to belong to the nobiliary milieu. i know so
far only two coming from the ecclesial milieu, namely, from some roman-Catholic
bishops of Cenad in the 16th -17th centuries3, but who had few direct connections with
the Banat. Chronologically, the first document we will refer to comes from the 14th
century4, and the last one from the end of the 17th century5. only some of them belong
strictly to the medieval age, the other ones being from the pre-modern age, from the 16th
and the 17th centuries, respectively. once the written culture spreads, the number of
testators who write their wills increases. we might also note that the wills as tran-
sumpts in other documents come mainly from the 16th–17th centuries.
Most of the wills in the Banat during the medieval age originate in the lowland Banat,
whilst most pre-modern wills originate in the highland Banat. we may explain the sit-
uation as we take into consideration the fact that the mountainous area preserved
nobiliary structures for a longer time, while the lowlands were conquered by the ottomans
after 1551-1552 military campaigns. only some the documents were written in the Banat:
at Cenad, in Caransebeş, at Mãru, or in lugoj6. out of the province, there are wills
connected to the Banat, but written in Trent, alba iulia, sibiu and probably some-
where in the north of the Kingdom of hungary7.
in what concerns the language, the medieval wills are integrally written in latin, whilst
the early modern ones used both latin and hungarian, especially during the 17th cen-
tury. when speaking about the testators, they are both male and female. The males’
wills are more numerous than those of women, if we refer to the wills in other docu-
ments. But, as for the abundance of information, women’s wills are more valuable, given
their many details concerning private life.
a. Juridical questions
a written document had to be first of all juridically legal. To prove this, the docu-
ments were usually written in the presence of several witnesses who took part in the
testator’s action to express his final decisions. For instance, elisabeth, Francisc of Mâtnic’s
wife, has several relatives as witnesses, namely, members of the families of simon,
vaida, Josika, Fodor, and Basarab. Margaret gãman has for witnesses, for her will
dated 2 october 1600, the named stephen somogyi, the prime judge of lugoj, John
Murar, Mathia hagia, and John Bujoran, jurymen, notary stephen lippay, and preach-
er paul Kovácsházi. george Fãrcaş and Magdalena Birta also drew up their wills in the
presence of some witnesses, in 1602. The witnesses had usually to sanction the wills with
their own seals to show so their personal presence and to confer juridical legality to those
documents8. it was in 1612 that george Terbusula also indited in lugoj his will in the
presence of several witnesses, the prime judge of the town being among them9. witnesses’
presence at the drawing up of the will was useful in the case of later problems. it was
the case of noble gaspar duma who had had eight witnesses and after his death they had
to testify under oath before the prince of Transylvania on the validity of the document
that had been indited in their presence10.
There are other ways, instead of the witnesses’ presence, to give juridical basis to a
will. in 1376, for example, Ban Benedict himfy indited his will before the Cenad Chapter,
before leaving for the holy land. as an institution that usually certified documents, it
offered the legal basis for a will. Margaret gãman’s last wishes document from 1637
was certified by the Chapter in alba iulia. Blasiu, the literate of Kezy and castellan of
Şoimoş and anastasia, his wife, called a public notary to write their wills11. a different
case is that of reformed noble Michael halici, who had no witnesses and no juridical
authority to certify his will. he certified by himself the will through his own signature
and his seal with signs of validity12. we might explain such a situation both by the
time of Michael halici’s will, the end of the 17th century, and the fact that he left no
real estate, but only some things of modest value. The two wills of the clergymen we
are speaking about in the present study were made juridically legal by their mere signa-
ture and seals.
There were standard lines to write in a will during the 16th–17th centuries, no mat-
ter the geographical area or the social status of the testator. so, in order to offer juridi-
cal credibility, all the testators note their mental integrity at the moment of the will’s indit-
ing: “diseased in body but not in mind”. it is the formula that prevents any suspicion
and tackling the written decisions in court.
b. Attitude towards death

apart from juridical questions, a will is a document of the testator’s attitude towards
death. “My soul to mighty god, my body to the earth, his mother” is the usual end
line of a will. it is but the resigned attitude of any human in front of the unavoidable
passing away. The spiritual questions are to be also solved, together with the material
ones. part of the testators’ wealth should be therefore given to churchmen who might
intercede for them with god to save their soul. Thus, the 14th century noble himfy
left part of his possessions to cloister of vesprém, but the provision was applicable
only after the death of his wife, dorothea13. The castellan of Şoimoş and his wife
proved their deep Christian creed, as they left many pious donations to the Church,
pro animabus ipsorum. The men of the Church should regularly pray for the testators’ soul
as they were given more possessions in arad and Cenad counties and the testators had
also contributed to unum novum rectoratum14.
wolfgang Kámuthi, married to Catherine Moise, left in 1628 to george Buitul and
stephen Mako, Jesuit missionaries in Caransebes, 50 golden forints and a house in town;
his wife was assigned to offer them to the two men of church15. some years later, in 1637,
Margaret gãman made a similar gesture and left in her will 100 forints to the Catholic
Church in alba Julia, and another 100 forints to the Catholic school in the same
town16. such donations in favor of the Church are but attempts to redeem the sins
committed during the testators’ life, and to facilitate the way towards the heavenly
City.
c. Regulating the legacy

Care for heritage and the regulation of legacy are the most visible aspects in a will, no
matter the testators’ lay or ecclesiastic background.
Ban Benedict himfy divided his wealth in 1376 between his wife and the Church. To
keep the legacy together, his wife was proposed to become a monastic member, as was
the rule in the male-dominated world of the Middle ages. regardless, himfy’s posses-
sions would be given to the Church after his wife death17. This might reflect a frustra-
tion of the husband, who expected his hard-earned wealth to disperse through an even-
tual remarriage of his wife.
during the 15th–17th centuries, the nobles in the Banat wanted their lands and
buildings to be left in good order. The closer the relative, the more substantial the
inherited part of the wealth, especially for children and brothers. The other relatives were
not forgotten, and got parts of the deceased’s wealth. in 1591 Catherine patachi left
her estates, buildings and gardens to her relative ladislas lãþug; similarly, in 1599,
elisabeth, Francisc of Mâtnic’s wife, left her legacy, and Margaret gãman, in 1600, left
her possessions (buildings, vineyards, and yards) to her daughters Barbara and sofia, and
to her brother nicholas gãman. in 1602, george Fãrcaş left her wealth and family in
the charge of his younger brother, nicholas Zagyvay. Magdalena Birta left all her wealth
in the same year to her husband lupu Mãcicaş18. wolfgang Kámuthi divided his wealth
between his wife and his two sons, but it wasn’t a decision likely to prevent future dis-
putes on his legacy19.
Besides the precious immovable goods, the movable properties held an important
place in legacies. The ladies’ movable goods make the richest inventory. Francisc of Mâtnic’s
wife left money and precious metal cups to her relatives. as a more careful mother, Margaret
gãman (1600) left to her daughters sofia and Barbara all that a bride’s trousseau requires:
bed sheets, pillow cases, table cloths, dresses, girdles and 40 cubits of blue silk20. her
niece21, who had the same name, had a more impressive collection of movable goods
in 1637: lots of bedlinen, undergarments and silk and damask linen dresses, cloaks,
and girdles. she also left money and silverware. of a certain value seemed to be the
cattle, too, so in the same will a cow in milk is donated to one onyia’s wife22. Magdalena
Birta and george Fãrcaş also left their cattle in legacy, indicating their value at that
time.
Michael halici had a special inventory of movable goods. he left the high school
in orãştie, money, and his whole library and household objects to his many relatives:
chests, pillows and blankets, bedclothes and tablecloths, shoes, belts, towels, inkpots, mir-
rors and candles, etc.23 priests also left their everyday objects to their close relatives
and, certainly, to their Church. Bishop John Kolosvári divided his wealth among his
Church, sister and nephews. The cult objects and holy books went to the Church, and
his house at Tyrnavia, with a garden and arable ground, some money and silverware,
to his relatives24. similarly, Bishop Macripodari decided that his wealth be inherited part-
ly by the Church and partly by his nephew Theodore. The fact that wills refer to objects
of low importance today makes us note that they had a special value at the time, given
the material (silver, gold, silk, damask linen, linen of a very high quality or damask-
ined with golden wires) or their rare occurrence.
we may note that together with the left goods, the testators used to also leave the
payment or recovery of money or property from their debtors/creditors. Benedict himfy,
for example, has a whole list of goods and money to be recocered. Margaret gãman
(1600) also pledged several estates and a girdle that had to be recocered by her moth-
erless daughters. george Terbusula left his wealth both to a relative of him, John
pribek, for a loan he had received, and to his wife ana; the last one had, on the other
hand, to recover money from Terbusula’s debtors.
d. Matrimonial alliance
From the very beginning we have to exclude here the wills belonging to clergymen or
to Ban Benedict himfy. Bachelors by force of circumstance, the bishops’ relations are
restricted to their first degree relatives or to nephews/nieces. as for Benedict’s will,
there are no specifications on his wife’s origin or on the relatives. in turn, the other
wills of the nobles in the highland Banat offer lots of data on the matrimonial combi-
nations at that time. we may speak about a very relaxed world in relation with the
institution of marriage. a noble lady would not keep her widowhood for long. a second
marriage might be contracted in order to have descendants if there were none from
the first marriage, or to consolidate the remaining wealth. The gãman women are rep-
resentative for such a rule. The first lady Margaret, peter’s daughter and nicholas’ sis-
ter, was thrice married to men from the families of luca, horvath and Floca. she had
descendants only in the third marriage, her two daughters sofia and Barbara; but each
of her marriages improved her own wealth25. her niece Margaret, daughter of ladislas
and anna simon, married twice: to stephen Mohacsi of limba, and to John Török of
Megykerek. other wills indited by women are not so generous in showing details on
the matrimonial alliances the ladies contracted in the course of time. The males’ wills,
on the other hand, feature much fewer details concerning the alliances they contracted.
what we know about gaspar duma is only that he had married adviga Török to
whom he left his whole wealth, probably for having no descendants.26 george Fãrcaş, for
instance, not even nominated his wife or his descendants, and Michael halici wasn’t mar-
ried at the time of his will.
we might note, following the analysis of wills, how kinship operated among the rep-
resentative families of the nobiliary elite. Members of the most important families (Mãcicaş,
gãman, Fiat) were married both to persons belonging to those families and to persons com-
ing from families less important on the social scale (horvath, Birta, Török). The nobil-
iary status was the important element that allowed for the perpetuation of the nobility rank
and the improvement of the family’s patrimony. what results from such a situation is
that the nobles in the Banat preferred to be interrelated. There are some exceptions con-
cerning families with possessions in other areas of the principality; it is the case of the
gãmans: one branch of that family having settled at Binþinþi, they would take the toponym
for their nobiliary name until the disappearance of that family (gãman of Binþinþi)27.
e. Wills and religious denomination

wills offer data on the religious denomination of the testators. as i have shown above,
expecting to be redeemed, the testators leave shares of their wealth to the Church they
are affiliated to, and so we can identify their confession. There are cases of documents
that have no clear specification in this regard. so, if we took only his will into consid-
eration, we wouldn’t be able to clearly show Michael halici’s confession (reformed or
Catholic), as he leaves shares of his goods both to the reformed priest and to the Catholic
one in alba Julia. But there are also clear situations in the case of other nobles. one of
Margaret gãman’s witnesses (1600) is stephen Kovácsházi, the reformed preacher in
lugoj, and this means that lady is a Calvinist. on the contrary, her niece with the same
name (1637) was a Catholic, as her donations clearly show: money for the Catholic
Church and school in alba Julia. wolfgang Kámuthi, who left a house and an impor-
tant amount of money to the Jesuit missionaries in Caransebes, and his wife, who was
tasked to effectively give those gods to missionaries, are to be taken for good Catholic
believers. The elites in the Banat proved a constant attachment to the roman-Catholic
Church until the 16th–17th centuries; only a minor part of the Banat nobles opted for one
or another of the reformed Churches28.
Thus, wills may be seen as documents that offer different data both on the testator
and the world he lived in. aspects concerning the material, economic, social and con-
fessional life are to be found therein. attitudes and mentalities are revealed through
the mediation of wills, able to reveal a facet of the ethos of Banat elites at the cross-
roads between the Middle ages and the early modern age.
q
Notes
1. The social importance of wills has been analyzed, especially in the case of Transylvania,
many of the wills being edited within certain recent studies. see Kinga s. Tüdøs, enikø rüsz-
Fogarasi, Erdélyi testamentumok, i-v (Marosvásárhely, 2003-2014).
2. on 23 January 1591, for instance, Catherine patachi’s will is noted in a trial for sharing the
wealth: Costin Feneşan, Documente medievale bãnãþene (Timişoara: Facla, 1981) 80-81;
wolfgang Kámuthi’s will is mentioned in 1628 related to Jesuits george Buitul and Ştefan
Mako’s right of succession: Magyar nemzeti levéltár országos levéltára (further: Mnl ol),
F 234 erdély Fiscális levéltár, XXii szekrény, fasc. 13 Q (further: F 234, XXii, 13 Q ), f.
5-5v.
3. Bishop John Kolosvári (1561-1562) and hyacinth Macripodari, bishop in Cenad in 1658–1672.
For the two bishops’ life: Kálmán Juhász, Das Csanád-Temesvarer Bistum wahrend der
Türkenherrenschaft 1552-1699 (dülmen, 1938).
4. Ban Benedict himfy’s will seems so far to be the first will in the Banat; Mnl ol diplomatikai
levéltár (hereinafter dl), 42016.
5. hiacinth Macripodari’s will indited on 18 June 1678. a copy of it is preserved at Mnl ol
e 229 Collationes ecclesiasticae, ii, p. 184 wherefrom it was published, with some pages
of the original text reversed, by Juhász, Das Csanád-Temesvarer, 291-292.
6. The already mentioned will of Benedict himfy’s was written at Cenad; the will of elisabeth,
Francisc Mâtnic’s wife, was indited in Caransebes: Frigyes pesty, Krassó vármegye története
iv (Budapest, 1883), 224, as well as that one of Magdalena Birta: Feneşan, Documente,
128-129; at Mãrul, gheorghe Fãrcaş indited his will: ibid., 127-128; the will of Margaret
gãman (1600) is indited in lugoj: ibid., 117-120.
7. Bishop ioan Kolosvári indited his will in Trent, italy; the original document is preserved in
Mnl ol, e 150 acta ecclesiastica 3 doboz, fasc. 14, nr.7, f. 3-5r; edited by by Juhász,
Das Csanád-Temesvarer, 261-263 with certain inadvertencies. Margaret gãman’s will (1637)
is indited before the alba Julia Chapter: serviciul Judeþean al arhivelor naþionale Cluj
(hereinafter sJan Cluj), fond Matskasi de Tincova, cutia 8, nr. 817; Michael halici the
son’s will comes from sibiu. it was first published by nicolae drãganu, “Mihail halici,”
Dacoromania (1924-1926), both in the original (in the hungarian language) and in romanian.
only in romanian, it was re-published by doru radosav, Culturã şi umanism în Banat. Secolul
XVII (Timişoara: editura de vest, 2003) 249-254. Bishop Macripodari’s will was probably
indited in one of the localities in the northern hungary, where Cenad bishops used to live
after the ottoman conquest.
8. For all of them: Feneşan, Documente.
9. Mnl ol, Kolozsmonostori konvent országos levéltára, F 17 Cista comitatuum, Tömös,
no. 10.
10. Feneşan, Documente, 163-166
11. Frigyes pesty, Diplome privind istoria comitatului Timiş şi a oraşului Timişoara/Oklevelek
Temesvármegye és Temesvár város történetehez, tom ii, 1430–1470, ediþie, note and comen-
tarii /Magyarázó jegyzetekkel kiadta livia Magina, adrian Magina (Cluj-napoca: Mega, 2014),
no. 253.
12. “…in very a picture in good order all of them, the picture specially sealed up and closed in
the letter with my will under the old seal with the buck coat of arms…”: radosav, Culturã,
250.
13. it is about the locality of gelse and certain mounts in the county of Zala, northern hungary:
dl. 42016.
14. livia Magina, “atitudini în faþa morþii în Banatul secolului al Xv-lea,” Tibiscum, s. n 4 (2014):
37-38.
15. “ecclesiae Catholicae summam integram quingentorum florenorum hungaricalis testamen-
taris legassent, totalem et integram domum suae seu curia nobilitaris suam in civitate Karansebes”:
Mnl ol F 234, XXii szekrény, 13 Q, f. 5.
16. “in rationem templi albensis catholici florenos centum, prout et in rationem scholariorum
albensis Catholicorum alios centum florenos manibus reverendi patris stephanis assignent...”:
sJan Cluj, Matskasi de Tincova, cutia 8, nr. 817.
17. “...nobilis domine dorothe, consortis sue, adhoc inclinaverint, ut ipsa claustrum religiosarum
dominarum sanctimonialium in wesprimio habitum intrare voluerit (...) si aut religionem
intrare nollet, tunc quamdiu vivet possit tenere et possedere ac post obitum suum legare claus-
tro prenotato...”: dl 42016.
18. pesty, Krassó, iv, p. 224; Feneşan, Documente, p. 117-120, 127-129.
19. Mol F 234, XXii szekrény, 13 Q, f. 31-31v.
20. pesty, Krassó, iv, 224; Feneşan, Documente, 120.
21. on the family of gãman and the kinship between the two females with the same first name,
see: dragoş lucian Þigãu, “Familia Bizere-gãman în secolele Xv-Xvii,” Banatica 15/ii (2000):
31-69, especially 43-51 for the two ladies’ relation.
22. “...ex mundis suis muliebribus, calanticis, pulvilis, pulvinaribus, culcitris, manutergiis, strophi-
olis, mappis mensalibus, linteis, cinctis, aliisque superessent, eos omnes, genitrix sua, bonam
conscietiam divideret inter sorores suas (...) consorti providi cuiusdem onyia, vaccam unam
mulgibilem ”: sJan Cluj, Matskasi de Tincova, cutia 8, nr. 817.
23. radosav, Culturã, 250-253.
24. “... domum Tyrnaviensem cum agris et hortis lego duobus predictis nepotibus meis, alberto
et Caspari...” his books were donated to nicholas Telegdi: opera s. augustini omnia, phigius,
lib. 2 Missale, Breviarium, liber Miscellanoerum, de divinis et apostolicis traditionibus,
de conciliis lib. 2, summa summarum que Thabiena reformata dicitur, Tractatus sacerdotalis,
Joannis ecchi de septem sacramantis tomi 4, Confessio polonica, Concilium reginaldi poli
cardinalis, de sanctorum invocatione, de haeresibus, Compendium concertationis contra
lutheris, psalterium, de sacrificio Missae, de expresso dei verbo, de missa evangelica, naussea
de catechismo, loci communes, Contra Martinum lutherum: Mnl ol, e 150 acta
ecclesiastica 3 doboz, fasc. 14, nr. 7, f. 5r; Juhász, Das Csanád-Temesvarer, 262.
25. The two daughters were born during the second marriage, to Francisc horvath. she succeeded
to improve the joint wealth with each of her three marriages: houses, vineyards, gardens, arable
grounds: Feneşan, Documente, 119-120.
26. ibid., 165.
27. The estate of Binþinþi was acquire by the family in 1545 in andrew of Bizere’s name, and con-
firmed later, in 1559, to the other members of the family: Mnl ol p 291 gámán család 1
tétel, f. 1-2; f. 5. andrew and george gãman would be the first ones to use the toponym
for their noble name: of Binþinþi: Mnl ol p 291 gámán család 1 tétel, genealogia f. 94 -
95: “georgius et andream primen de Bencencz”
28. For the religious denomination of the nobles in Banat, see: adrian Magina, “opþiuni con-
fesionale în rândul nobilimii bãnãþene (secolele Xv-Xvii),” in Anuarul şcolii doctorale. Istorie.
Civilizaþie. Culturã i (Cluj-napoca: presa universitarã Clujeanã, 2005).
Abstract
wills and Elites In medieval and Early modern Banat
The will is a document which offers a lot of information about the people who drafted it, and
also about the social, economic and religious situation of that time. in the case of the medieval and
early modern Banat, the testaments come only from the aristocracy. a few dozen testaments are
known in connection with the territory between the Mureş - Tisza and danube, most o them
belonging to the 16 -17 centuries. For the information contained, the most important wills from
th th
the Banat were drawn up by the two Margaret gaman, aunt and nice, written in 1600 and 1637.
a thorough analysis of the testaments reveals that those documents are very important in the men-
tality of nobles, providing us with information about inheritance, attitudes towards death, mat-
rimonial strategies and the religion of elites of medieval and early modern Banat.
Keywords
Banat, wills, medieval, early modern, elites
Some Comments on the Reconstruction
of the Caraşova-Grad Fortress
(Caraş-Severin County)1
s IlvIu o þa , l Iana o þa
T
he arChaeologiCal research at Caraºova (Caraºova commune, Caraº-severin
County, pl. 1) began during 1998, on the initiative of the national Museum of
romanian history in Bucharest, in partnership with the Museum of the highland
Banat in reºiþa.
The aim of the research was to verify the old information published in the specialist
literature that was considered suspicious in the absence of field investigations. The fortress
plans published in various specialist reviews, all different from each other (pl. 2), leav-
ing undistinguishable the construction phases, were also at least questionable, especial-
ly given the fact that almost no stone fortress is built integrally at one time. The descrip-
tions taken over from one author to another, many only based on assumptions, could not
be credible and therefore required a verification of the information through archaeological
research. The aim did not consist of a full unveiling of the ruins, which could have
been jeopardized in this manner, but of a research of certain points considered essential
for gathering information.
First of all, the contradictory historical information raise doubts on their veracity
and accuracy of interpretations.2 The damage caused by treasure hunters and not only
was another reason for the investigation. Consequently, three archaeological campaigns
were conducted3 and all the available historical information was reviewed.4 in parallel,
communications were organized,5 investigations were conducted on the mortar sam-
ples collected, the osteological animal remains and the chemical composition of non-
ferrous metal items were analyzed and several additional studies were published.6
Caraºova Fortress is located close to kilometer 10 of highway 58, reşiþa-anina,
approximately a few hundred meters south of the road, on top of Cheile Caraşului.
The fortress is entirely built of stone and was placed on the top of grad hill (pl. 3).
The first documented mention of the fortress is from 1323.7 By 1520 when it last
appears in documents, it was only rarely mentioned.8 its owners were both the kings
of hungary and the archbishop of Kalocsa, and before hungary’s conversion into a pashal-
ic, the fortress was privately owned.9 in the fifteenth century it was part of the defen-
sive system of southern hungary.10 during the sixteenth century, after Banat’s conver-
sion into a pashalic, it most likely became a border fortification for the ottoman empire.
unfortunately, we do not have at this time other historical information of the Turkish
domination date. very likely, it had the same fate as the other small fortresses that were
reused, when they were somewhat functional.
The archaeological research has brought important clarifications regarding the phas-
es of construction of the fortress and the duration of its use, as well as how it was destroyed,
which often contradicted the information published in the ‘60s,11 even until 2009.12
T
A Few Details on the First Phase of Use of the Fortress
he Beginning of the construction on grad hill must be searched during the peri-
od prior to the year 1323, when it was first attested. it is however difficult to
specify the exact timing of the construction, but it would be placed in the late
thirteenth century at the earliest. The discovery of jar base fragments stamped with
potter’s trademarks in the filling earth between the enclosure and the inside wall which
enveloped the rock could suggest that the hill was also used during the thirteenth cen-
tury. it is however hard to say whether the soil was brought there from near the fortress
or it is the one between the defensive ditches and the hill’s edges, from the small slop-
ing plateau.
in order to understand the functioning of the fortress and its reconstruction phases,
the description of the cliff on which it was placed is very important. in length, it is
oriented west-northwest-east-southeast. To the north, the cliff is abrupt, and to the south
it has a slightly lower slope gradient.
The fortress was surrounded on three sides by the abyss, and in front of it, toward the
hillside, two parallel defensive ditches were carved into the rock.
initially, it did not occupy the entire top of the hill, but about a quarter of it. To
the west, southwest and south there is an oblique slope on whose edge there was a drive-
way on the edge of the abyss leading to the tower no. 2, located to the east of the fortress.
a first phase (pl. 4) of construction consists of the building of an enclosure that came
from the east-southeast toward the north, where an integrated, inward tower was erect-
ed. at its base, at the ground floor, there was a functional entrance. it should be noted
again that at the ground level within the fortress, the route of the enclosure was suddenly
changed in a southerly direction and at the ground level of the first defensive ditch it
enveloped the rock. Through the breaches existing in enclosure no. 3, from the defensive
ditch in front of the fortress it can be seen that the enclosure no. 1 does not have any
visible parament, and if it existed even in a not very elaborate form, it has been dismantled,
probably at the time when the last wall was erected. its route in this section demonstrates
quite clearly that there was no other tower outside the wall, as the emplecton of the
wall in s. 5 and s. 10/2000 might suggest.
The enclosure continued then on a southeasterly direction for 8.20 meters, after which
it most likely stopped. inside, between the two enclosures, the top of the cliff was cov-
ered with a wall whose width was 4.00 m. Between its base and the enclosure’s base there
is a relatively significant height difference, especially between tower no. 2 and the one
near the defensive ditch. given this situation, between the enclosure and the interior wall
there is no flat ground. it was created by bringing earth and building a horizontal
walking level. Behind the tower no. 1 (pl. 7), at the base of the enclosure, toward the
abyss, there is a small, probably semicircular opening in the wall. an assemblage of stone
sling balls was found inside the fortress, on the side of this establishment.
a second tower was built at the southeastern end (pl. 8). The floor was erected on
top of the ground floor represented by the 4.00 meters-wide wall and the enclosure.
at its base there was the entry that had a “floor” trap opening inside the fortress’ enclo-
sure, under which there was the abyss. in phase one, the tower no. 2 was on the side
of the fortress and was not flanked by an enclosure wall on the southern side.
The fortress was atypical. Basically, the curtain wall did not end toward the south-
east with tower no. 2, but concealed the rock wall for another few meters, thus from
the outside giving the impression that it was larger than it was in reality. The southwestern
side, partially parallel with the abyss side, stopped abruptly mid-route to the interior wall,
where likely there were two small rooms separated by a wall coming from the enclo-
sure. Towards the end of the second room, north-westerly, a wall 4.00 meters-wide
was built from the interior wall.
Most likely, the enclosure and the towers did not have paraments distinct from the
emplecton. The mortar used varied in quality and the thickness of the walls was vari-
able, especially in the area of the towers.
outside the fortified area, near tower no. 2, there is a water tank dug in the rock.
I
Expansion of the Fortress
n The second phase (pl. 2), its surface was considerably increased, occupying almost
the entire hilltop. a wall was built in several stages, starting from the abyss, from
the south to the northwest, to the old enclosure, in its southwest corner. its build-
ing technique is totally different than the one used in the first phase of the fortifica-
tion. it maintains a height of 4.78 m, a length of 19 m and a width of 2.80 m. on the
inside and the outside it had paraments made of quarry stone blocks, among which there
were others, varying in size and drowned in mortar.
A
Reconstruction of the fortress
Final phase (pl. 6) of the fortress restoration dismantled most of it and rebuilt
it, including the two towers. unfortunately, we do not know the reasons for
this massive restoration. There are three assumptions at the present time. The
first is linked to a possible violent destruction, which could be due to a possible attack.
a second hypothesis takes in consideration a possible earthquake that caused major dam-
age to the fortress. The last supposition may be related to the need to rebuild the fortress,
according to the new requirements imposed by the evolution of fighting techniques.
on the east-northeast side, from the end to tower no. 1, the direction of the cur-
tain wall was similar to the one in the first phase. The old construction elements, name-
ly the openings at its base, were kept and rearranged. From tower no. 1, the enclosure
headed toward the southwest, close to the abyss, near the old driveway. There, it most
likely turned around a corner or had a semicircular route (that wall fragment no longer
exists, as it is completely destroyed) and headed beside the driveway on a southeasterly
direction until close to the end of the wall of the second phase of expansion. There it
turned around a corner and it closed perpendicular to the last wall mentioned. a fracture
was discovered on its route, suggesting a small entrance.
Tower no. 1 was expanded westward. Tower no. 2 was also subjected to a major inter-
vention. Most likely, the 4.00 meters-wide wall was partially dismantled, near to its
base, then it was rebuilt with two sides reoriented first in the southwest-northeast
direction and the second in the northwest-southeast direction. Thus, the trap at the
entrance of tower no. 2, which in the first phase was most likely inside, remained out-
side in this last phase, right in front of the entrance. unfortunately, preserving only the
emplecton in elevation does not provide much detail on the appearance of the tower
and its planimetry in this phase.
The curtain wall on the east-southeast side was partially dismantled, up to the ground
level arranged inside. it is very difficult to say whether or not the southwest side was also
completely dismantled. however, it was most likely at least partially dismantled, if we
consider the small wall captured in s. 2/2000, to the northwest. it appears that it had the
role of closing the free area between the curtain wall of the first phase of use and the inte-
rior wall, or at least of limiting the access to that area.
after the final destruction of the fortress, which should most likely be placed towards
the end of the sixteenth century, the fortress was quite probably used only as a point of
observation of the area. The small indoor rearrangements made over the massive destruc-
tions demonstrate that the fortress had lost its role, especially after the annexation of
the Banat of severin to the ottoman empire.
q
Translated by alexandra decu
Notes
1. This paper was presented on 29 october 2015 in Timiºoara, at the international conference
Politicã ºi societate în Europa centralã ºi de sud-est (sec. XIII-XVI).
2. Jenø szentklaray, Krassó vármegye Öshajdana, (Budapest, 1900); Traian simu, Originea craºove-
nilor, (lugoj, 1939), 93, Th. Trâpcea, “despre unele cetãþi medievale din Banat,” in siB i/1969,
p. 23-82. (see Caraºova); ºtefan Pascu, Voievodatul Transilvaniei, vol. i, (Cluj-napoca, 1971);
idem, Voievodatul Transilvaniei, vol. ii, (Cluj-napoca, 1979) (see Caraºova), ioan haþegan,
“Cavalerii teutoni în Banatul severinului (1429-1435),” in Tibiscus 5/1978, 193; ºt. Matei,
“Fortificaþiile de pe teritoriul Bantului în lumina izvoarelor scrise,” in Banatica 5/1979,
255-263; idem “aspecte ale evoluþiei arhitecturii de fortificaþii din Banat în perioada feu-
dalismului timpuriu,” in sia i/1982, 103-123 (see Caraºova), Theodor gheorghiu, Arhitectura
medievalã de apãrare din România, (Bucharest, 1985) 42, 69, 225; dumitru Þeicu, Banatul
montan în evul mediu, (Timişoara, 1998), 434.
3. The results of the excavations were published in three archaeological reports in Cronica
Cercetãrilor arheologice din românia (silviu oþa, liana oþa, s. ionescu, “24. Caraşova, jud.
Caraş-severin, punctul ‘grad’,” in CCa, (Bucharest, 1999), 22-23; dumitru Þeicu, silviu
oþa, liana oþa, “36. Caraşova, jud. Caraş-severin, punct: grad,” in CCa (Bucharest,
2001), 57–59; dumitru Þeicu, silviu oþa, liana oþa, “50. Caraşova, com. Caraşova, jud.
Caraş-severin, punct: dealul grad,” in CCa, (Bucharest, 2002), 85-87.
4. silviu oþa, liana oþa, “historical and archaeological data regarding the fortress from Caraşova-
hill grad, commune of Caraşova, Caraş-severin district,” in Mn 18/2006, 3-13; idem, “Câteva
date privind încetarea funcþionãrii cetãþii de la Caraşova-grad (jud. Caraş-severin),” in Materiale
s.n 5/2009, 193-201.
5. national and international conferences in sibiu, deva, Bucharest, Buziaº, Fãgãraº, alba
iulia.
6. The total number of papers is eight, published in the reviews Materiale (three), suC (one),
aTF (one), apulum (one), anB (one), Mn (one).
7. györgy györffy, Az Árpád-kori Magyarország Történeti Földrajza, vol. iii, (Budapest, 1987),
469, 476.
8. silviu oþa, liana oþa, “Câteva date privind încetarea funcþionãrii cetãþii de la Caraşova-
grad (jud. Caraş-severin),” in Materiale s.n 5/2009, 194-195.
9. Frigyes pesty, Krassó vármegye története, vol. ii/1, (Budapest, 1884) 264-265.
10. erik Fügedy, ”Castle and society in Medieval hungary (1000-1437)”, in Studia Historica
187/1986, 134; see Map. 18, 138, Map. 19, 146.
11. Theodor Trâpcea, “despre unele cetãþi medievale din Banat,” in siB i/1969, 23-82.
12. dumitru Þeicu, Cetãþi medievale din Banat, (Timiºoara, 2009), 66-68, 79, pl. 20, 80, pl. 21.
Abbreviations
aTF – acta Terrae Fogarasiensis, Fãgãraº
anB – analele Banatului, Timiºoara
Banatica – Banatica, reºiþa
CCa – Cronica Cercetãrilor arheologice din românia, Bucharest
Materiale – Materiale ºi Cercetãri arheologice, Bucharest
Mn – Muzeul naþional, Bucharest
sia – studii de istorie a artei, Cluj-napoca
siB – studii de istorie a Banatului, Timiºoara
suC – studia universitatis Cibiniensis, series historica, sibiu
Tibiscus – Tibiscus, Timiºoara
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de la Caraşova (jud. Caraş-severin),” in anB, s.n., arheologie-istorie, 10–11, 2002–2003,
1, 285–297.
Fügedy e., Castle and society in Medieval hungary (1000-1437), in studia historica 187/1986.
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Banatica 5, 1979, 255-263.
Matei 1982 – ºt. Matei, “aspecte ale evoluþiei arhitecturii de fortificaþii din Banat în perioada
feudalismului timpuriu,” sia i, 1982, 103-123.
oþa, oþa, ionescu 1999 – s. oþa, l. oþa, s. ionescu, “24. Caraşova, jud. Caraş-severin, punctul
‘grad,’” in CCa (Campania 1998), 1999, 22-23.
oþa, oþa 2006 – s. oþa, l. oþa, “historical and archaeological data regarding the fortress from
Caraşova-hill grad, commune of Caraşova, Caraş-severin district,” in Mn 18, 2006, 3–13.
oþa, oþa 2008 – s. oþa, l. oþa, “Cercetãrile arheologice de la Caraşova-grad (com. Caraşova, jud.
Caraş-severin). Campaniile 1998, 2000 şi 2001,” in Materiale s.n. 4, 2008, 183–221.
oþa, oþa 2009 – s. oþa, l. oþa, “Câteva date privind încetarea funcþionãrii cetãþii de la Caraşova-
grad (jud. Caraş-severin),” in Materiale s.n 5, 2009, 193–201.
oþa, oþa 2012 – l. oþa, s. oþa, “Cercetãri arheologice în cetatea de la Caraºova-grad. instalaþii
de încãlzire, cisterna, construcþie anexã,” in aTF i, lucrãrile Colocviului naþional “Monumentele
româniei – patrimoniu naþional ºi universal,” ediþia a v-a, 2012, 47-59.
pesty Frigyes, Krassó vármegye története, vol. ii/1, Budapest, 1884.
pascu 1971 – ªt. pascu, Voievodatul Transilvaniei, vol. i, Cluj-napoca, 1971.
pascu 1979 – ªt. pascu, Voievodatul Transilvaniei, vol. ii, Cluj-napoca, 1979.
simu 1939 – Tr. simu, Originea craºovenilor, lugoj, 1939.
szentklaray 1900 – J. szentklaray, Krassó vármegye Öshajdana, Budapest, 1900.
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Þeicu 1998 – d. Þeicu, Banatul montan în evul mediu, Timişoara, 1998.
Þeicu, s. oþa, l. oþa 2001 – d. Þeicu, s. oþa, l. oþa, “36. Caraşova, jud. Caraş-severin, punct:
grad,” CCa (Campania 2000), 2001, 57–59.
Þeicu, s. oþa, l. oþa 2002 – d. Þeicu, s. oþa, l. oþa, “50. Caraşova, com. Caraşova, jud.
Caraş-severin, punct: dealul grad,” in CCa (Campania 2001), Bucharest, 2002, 85–87.
dumitru Þeicu, Cetãþi medievale din Banat, Timiºoara, 2009.
Abstract
some comments on the reconstruction of the caraşova-grad Fortress
(caraş-severin county)
The fortress in Caraºova is entirely built of stone and was placed on the top of grad hill. The
first documented mention of the fortress is from 1323. until 1520, when it last appears in the doc-
uments, it was only rarely mentioned. its owners were both the kings of hungary and the arch-
bishop of Kalocsa, and before hungary’s conversion into a pashalic, the fortress was privately
owned. in the fifteenth century it was part of the defensive system of southern hungary. during
the sixteenth century, after Banat’s conversion into a pashalic, it most likely became a border for-
tification for the ottoman empire. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the available data
regarding the main construction phases of the fortress.
Keywords
fortification, wall, tower, water tank, cliff, stone
Pl. 1. map.
Pl. 2. the plan of the fortress, made without a preliminary excavation,

published in at least four books and papers (according to Þeicu 2009).
Pl. 3. caraºova. Plan (vidu micli, 2001).

Pl. 4. caraºova. Phase 1.

Pl. 5. caraºova. Phase 2.

Pl. 6. caraºova Phase 3.

Pl. 7. caraºova. the tower no. 1.

Pl. 8. caraºova. the tower no. 2.

The Turkish Baths Of Timisoara
A Novel Archaeological Monument In the Context
Of Rehabilitating the City’s Historical Centre
d orEl m IclE , m arIana B alacI , c ÃlIn t Imoc
T
1. Introduction
he DE facto existence of Turkish baths in Libertãþii square in Timiºoara has long
been a simple hypothesis in the world of historians; recent urban systematiza-
tion works in the Cetate district facilitated the discovery of these baths, thus open-
ing a new path for the exploration of ottoman Timiºoara.
some information of the “urban legend” kind placed the Turkish baths under the
building of the old Town hall of Timiºoara, in the northern part of the square, as this
building has an inscription in old Turkish that, properly translated, makes no reference
to the existence of a public Turkish bath in this area (it refers to a tower) (Fig. 1).
The reputed researcher Cristina Feneºan1, one of the few specialists in ottoman
civilization and an expert in old Turkish, claims that the translation does not refer to a
Turkish bath, which denies the existence of an ottoman bath on the site of the old Town
hall of Timiºoara.
other old documents, among which the accounts of the Turkish traveler evliya Celebi2,
who visited Timiºoara in the 17th century, say that there were four Turkish baths in the
town but do not mention their exact location. henrik ottendorf (Fig. 2) and Meimar
radogna3, who knew the town directly, drew maps of Timiºoara but supplied no clue
to locate the baths. a. Jancsó4 claims that all the maps drawn up in the 17th century
are incorrect and that we cannot rely on geo-references to find out the correct location
of a site. only Captain Francois perrette5, who drew several maps of Timiºoara (right
before or after the austrian conquest of the town) locates a rectangular building that
he names “Town Baths”; however, the building cannot be identified with accuracy because
the map is difficult to geo-reference in the absence of certain benchmarks in the field.
Thus, these benchmarks could be identified only after the archaeological excavations in
2014, because the systematization works carried out by the austrians in the 18th and 19th
centuries removed all ottoman buildings and the street network.
FIgurE 1. old turkish inscription on the building of the old town hall
FIgurE 2. Plans of timiºoara by henrik ottendorf (1663)
in 2006, preservation archaeological excavations were carried out along the tramway
rails crossing Libertãþii square from the east to the west, through its northern side in
the close vicinity of the old Town hall, but no major archaeological complex (walls or
building structures) was identified—only wooden narrow streets and medieval tombs6.
preventive diggings for archaeological discharge in Libertãþii square partially uncov-
ered phases i and ii of the Turkish baths (the great Turkish Bath of the town) as well
FIgurE 3. map of captain Fr. Perrette (detail). n stands for the baths
as part of the building that is supposed to have been the “great storeroom”. we iden-
tified the water supply system and the sewage system of these baths, as well as por-
tions of the wooden streets delimitating this building sector in the north-east (Lalelelor
lane), in the north-west (Poarta Cocoºului lane) and in the south-west (probably the
junction between the Lalelelor lane and the Poarta Cocoºului lane). equally spectacu-
lar is the water pipe identified north, from phase ii of the Turkish baths, which seems
to have been built when this public building was rebuilt, proving the systematization
of the town during the ottoman rule.
after the habsburg conquest, the austrians demolished all ottoman buildings and
re-systematized the town: it is then that Libertãþii square became rectangular and got
imposing buildings on all four sides. This is how 164 years of original history that mixed
oriental values and western values were covered by debris.
starting urban rehabilitation works in the Cetate district was an extraordinary chance
for the town of Timiºoara, because all the infrastructure works done so far (except for
those in 2006) were without an archaeological discharge certificate; therefore, many remains
of the past were forever lost because of ignorance or indifference as far as the heritage
law is concerned. given that the ottoman period was the least known in the history of
Timiºoara, archaeological diggings in 2013-2014 successfully filled in a gap in the past
of the town providing evidence of an astonishing, dynamic, cultivated, well-tended medieval
metropolis with a flourishing commerce, with superb public buildings (baths, mosques,
etc.), with carefully maintained streets, with a community that highly valued both water
(as indicated by the ceramic aqueducts), and spiritual purity.
I
2. Timiºoara Under Ottoman Occupation
n The wider context of the expansion of the ottoman empire towards Central
europe, on 29 august 1526, the hungarian army was defeated at Mohacs; after
several years of wars, conflicts and inner treason, the sultan suleiman annexed
central and southern hungary making up the Buda vilayet. after conquering Cenad and
lipova, in 1552 he occupied Timiºoara where he organized a new military-administra-
tive unit, the Timiºoara vilayet or pashalik (Demeşvar Vilayeti), completely separated from
the Buda vilayet.
The conquest of Banat and turning it into a pashalik changed fundamentally the
historical evolution of the province and led to its integration in the Turkish military-
administrative and economic system of the ottoman empire. right after the conquest
of Timiºoara, ottoman authorities turned orthodox churches into mosques or djami;
later, they built new buildings reflecting the ottoman culture. a hammam was a neces-
sity in a newly conquered town and the fact that Timiºoara had no public baths until
the arrival of the Turks made the latter build one from scratch. The location chosen
was the current Libertãþii square due to its proximity to the Cocoşului gate and to the
Mosque.
The changes in the urban structure of the town of Timiºoara after the ottoman
conquest observed the geographical conditions of the surrounding area and the poly-
nuclear character of the town. we need to mention that Timiºoara was surrounded, at
the time, by marshes and that access to the Citadel was only possible via bridges. The
ottomans practically split the town into three areas7: the center was represented by the
citadel, the town (called a “rascian town”) was the area inhabited by the Turks or the
followers of islam, and the two suburbs, Palanca Micã and Palanca Mare, were inhab-
ited by Christians.
3. The Cultural and Social Context
T
Of Public Baths In Timiºoara
he M usliMs were compelled by the Quran to be clean both physically and
spiritually: thus, it recommends total ablution or gusül8 to every Muslim before
the daily prayers. This was, maybe, the main reason why the ottomans adopt-
ed so quickly the prototype of the roman baths and integrated them in the famous
küllyie9, i.e. a complex of buildings containing mosques, libraries and schools, kitchens
for the poor and, of course, public baths. islam also required the observance of certain
rules of conduct in public, rules that also established the position of women and men
in society.
FIgurE 4. Plan of the preservation digging in libertãþii square, timiºoara,

with details of the building c7 – turkish Baths, phase II
while, in western europe, the Christian clergy propagated rules forbidding the
regular bathing of the body, in the arab world the culture of public baths and of phys-
ical and spiritual purification was in constant material and customary evolution, as shown
by the hundreds of public baths built by the Muslims and by the attention paid to
these buildings.
as a building submitted to islamic rigors, the hammam was built after a classical model,
standardized in the entire ottoman empire10; the only differences are related to planime-
try, to the distribution of the annexes and, of course, to the regional character of the baths
themselves. The distribution of the rooms within a hammam, its location downtown, the
heating system, as well as the presence of a certain ritual carried out in a pre-estab-
lished order make of the hammam more than a simple sauna. as it was an almost sacred
institution, architects were compelled to observe certain architectural norms that limit-
ed their innovative initiatives.
I
4. Turkish Baths (Phase Ii) In Timiºoara, Libertãþii Square
n The northeast part of Libertãþii square, almost parallel with Lucian Blaga street,
the need of the contractor to reach the depth quota stipulated in the contract led
to the stripping and mechanical excavation of the land. These interventions uncov-
ered part of a network of walls. This stopped the contractor’s works and we started to
investigate archaeologically a building that we named C7. This building made of bricks
and mortar proved to be a large, imposing one.
FIgurE 6. general view of the turkish Baths,

FIgurE 5. Plan of the building c7, turkish phase II
Baths, phase II
The building was 39 m long and 13 m wide. The outer walls were over 1 m thick.
unfortunately, the building had been crossed and destroyed by 12 previous interventions:
from the austrian pipe to the cast iron pipes in the 20th century or the sewage system
of stan vidrighin (1902), all these works broke down the walls of the C7 building
and made the archaeological situation rather difficult. Besides the outer walls, there were
also several inner walls that delimitate several rooms. The sectors within the building
were named conventionally in the order of their appearance.
Thus, we identified and documented 12 rooms, of which four booths called havlet
measuring 3.10 x 3.20 m (rooms 3, 5, 7, 9) and four rooms of the inwan type meas-
uring 2.70 x 2.20 m (rooms 4, 6, 8, 10), all paved with bricks. at the intersection of
the four inwan rooms, there was a central octagonal area where there was, most proba-
bly, a massage table or a heightened basin of which we found only a large number of mar-
ble tiles covering the “piece of furniture”.
room 1 proved to be an outer curtin of the entire structure paved with large stone
slabs. one could enter it from the bath building through a door at the middle of the
wall closing the eastern side of the curtin. The curtin measured 11 x 3.5 m.
The northern part of room 2, measuring 11 x 2 m, had been destroyed by the austrian
pipe. The floor of the room was made of rectangular bricks measuring 30 x 15 x 5 cm.
inside the room we could see the bases of three brick pillars in the southern part of the
room, set 60 cm apart one from another, and measuring about 70 x 60 cm.
room 11 was on the eastern side of the Turkish baths. it was rectangular and struc-
turally singular. The floor (which no longer existed at the time of the diggings) must have
been suspended on pillars of wrought tiles marked by burn marks and soot on all sides.
we believe this must have been the hot room with a hypocaust type heating.
room 12 had three of its walls in the northern side of the building, like some kind
of niche in the outer wall of the Turkish baths. it was a rectangle measuring 2.5 x 3.10
m. The walls separating this room were 80 cm thick and were covered in a thin layer
of white mortar; the floor also was covered with mortar. Most probably, this room was
a hall or a staircase (if the building had an upper floor) or a locker room for the women.
The building named C7 seemed to be an important building for the ottoman com-
munity of Timiºoara and for the occupying troops that were stationed there for 164 years.
These Turkish baths were part of the everyday life of the town; in islamic societies,
baths (hammam) play a triple role: physical cleansing before the Friday mass, spiritual
cleansing and socialization. evliya Celebi’s writings mention that there were two beau-
tiful baths in the town; the bath in Libertãþii square is one of them, located close to
one of the town’s mosques now identified in st. george’s square.
although the habsburgs did not destroy them completely after conquering the town,
the walls of the building were unfortunately crossed by a number of pipes, basins,
cables and other utilities of the centuries that followed. This made archaeological research
difficult and certain elements characteristic to Turkish baths were lost forever. Though
we did not identify in situ the place where water entered the hammam building, we
identified, about 40 m far from the southern-eastern corner of the C7 building, a sys-
tem of water supply with clay pipes fixed with mortar; after an analysis of depth quo-
tas and route, we concluded that they were part of the baths’ water supply system. under
this system of water supply, we identified a system for the discharge of sewage water made
of brick troughs.
unfortunately, the southern-eastern corner of the Turkish baths close to General Praporgescu
street was completely destroyed in the course of time and there is nothing we can say about
it. all that was left is a few foundation traces with the same system of ties.
Baths, due to their character and the thermal and humidity conditions that accom-
pany the use of fire and water, are buildings that degrade easily; hence, the need for main-
tenance and repair. in the Turkish Baths in Timiºoara, there are traces of later remodel-
ing and re-organization that we could identify archaeologically.
A
5. The Typology Of Muslim Baths
HAMMAM combines the functionality and the structural elements of roman baths
in anatolia and the Central asian traditions, i.e. steam bath, ritual cleansing
and respect for the water. The ottomans were very interested in such struc-
tures and built an impressive number of baths, particularly in Constantinople, after it
became their capital in 1453.
during the ottoman period, baths usually had four main sections: soyunmalık (frigi-
darium—the cold room, the first one to be entered), ılıklık (tepidarium—the transition
room), sıcaklık (caldarium—the hot room, the last room of the bath where one could
enjoy the steam bath) and külhan (the oven). The külhan was entered from outside the
hammam. The soyunmalık was usually the largest room of the hammam, most often quadri-
lateral. in the middle of the room, there was a fountain and, around the fountain,
there were wooden tables and benches. This area also contained a place where tea,
fruits, and sweets were served. all these facilities prove the social character of the ham-
mam. people could debate daily issues and do business there; for many members of
the Muslim community, this area was not only a space for spiritual purification, but
also a space for relaxation and revitalization. The locker room or camekân had the
shape of a domed room; in its middle, there was a marble basin named şadırvan and,
around it, by the walls, marble benches and wooden cabinets for the changing and
storage of the clothes.
some camenkâns also had a wooden storey specific to larger hammams11, they were
called şırvan. in the spatial organization of the first hammams built by the 16th century,
there was also a transition room between camekân and ılıklık, a room called aralık12. its
form varied: it was either domed or ceiled and small. initially, it was one of the most
important rooms of the hammam, but at the beginning of the 16th century, bath planime-
try started to fade to completely disappear by the end of the century.
The ilıklık or tepidarium preceded the steam bath. it played the role of a transition
area, preparing the client for the high temperature in the sıcaklık. The temperature in this
room usually reached 23-280C, a pleasant environment for those who wanted to social-
ize. it was rectangular in shape and has support vaults and a gable roof. The room
contained toilets and, in the baths for women, the ılıklık also contained smaller rooms
where women could shave.
The sicaklık was the most important room of the hammam: the steam bath and the
massage took place there. in the middle of each sıcaklık there was an octagonal or
square table of marble called göbektaşı. on this table, the client could relax and enjoy
the different types of massage specific to Muslim culture. The sicaklık consisted of private
compartments called halvet, and of open areas called inwan. a halvet13 was a private com-
partment with a water basin where clients could relax and enjoy privacy, and change steam
and temperature intensity. Halvets had no door and, if a client wished to occupy it, he
should hang at the entrance a special bath towel called peştemal. This ritual is a proof
of the rigid conception of islam on nudity in public.
an element specific to the ottomans and which can be found in all sıcaklıks is the water
basin or kurna. The kurna was made of best quality marble and set under two taps—
one for cold water and one for hot water. it was used mainly for ritual cleansing: in this
case, they used only running water, not the stored water that was considered impure. These
basins were true works of art: the interior was finished and colored in the most strident
colors possible, while the exterior was decorated with reliefs. another invention of the
ottomans were the so-called “elephant eyes”14. They were lights measuring 15-20 cm
in diameter installed all over the roof. They resembled bells and were made of thick
glass. due to their shape, they could capture the light at any time of the day.
IgurE 7. turkish baths, category a, with a cross plan
in the ottoman world, there were two types of baths: the so-called çifte or double
baths and simple baths. double baths were destined to both women and men, symmetrical
and next to each other. in the classification of the hammam, we take into account the
planimetry of the sıcaklık, as well as the distribution of the havlets and inwans.
The hammam in Libertãþii square, Timiºoara, belongs, typologically, to the type a
described by e. Kanetaki15. This category covers the hammams whose sıcaklık have the
shape of a cross with four iwans and four halvets in each corner. a semi-spherical dome
is supported by the intersection of two axes. To ease the weight carried by the walls,
the ottomans installed vaults, pendants or Turkish triangles. This type of bath suppos-
edly has its origins in Central asia. Baths similar to those discovered in Timiºoara are
found in greece (at Bey Hammam, Thessaloniki, and at Hüseyin Paşa Hammam, Nafpaktos),
and in hungary (the Hammam in Pest and the Hammam Császár, both in Budapest).
I
6. The Role and Place of Baths In Islam
n islaM and, implicitly, in the ottoman world, a hammam is an “annex of a mosque”
as mentioned by william Marçais16 in 1928. starting from this point, a bath is
the place of the most important ablution of those who, the next day, Friday, will
enter a mosque. we deal here with a strong relationship between a mosque and a ham-
mam or, in other words, between the sacred and the profane. once in the baths, both
women and men participate, in a profane area, to a ritual purification requested by the
sacred texts. The sacred texts of islam present in detail the ritual of the bathing through
Maym na and aisha, the prophet’s women. The essence of ablution is a ritual of cleans-
ing of the hands and head and then of the rest of the body17. good Muslims must face
the prophet clean and cleansed and attend the mass on Friday.
More populated towns and communities have a great Mosque (Turkish Ğ mi`)
and a neighborhood mosque (Turkish masğid). The Turkish Baths of Timiºoara were close
to the great Mosque because it could receive large numbers of people that also attend-
ed the mass on Friday. hence the importance of these baths for Timiºoara.
it is well known that most european towns, including Timiºoara, under Turkish rule,
had few stone or brick buildings: these were the mosque, the baths and the residence
of the sultan’s representative.
The Turkish baths of Timiºoara prove the existence of a bridge between orient and
occident, between islam and Christianity, pointing out the extraordinary role of this town
as a gateway to europe for islamic civilization and also to the orient for european
values.
The presence of the baths in Turkish towns also has an economic, pragmatic aspect,
and not only a religious one, related to the Muslims’ physical and spiritual cleanness.
in both urban and rural settlements, one had to pay a fee for using the bath. Finally, it
was about recovering an investment and supplying money to those who worked in the
baths and made sure one had a good time there18. Baths degraded rapidly, and they need-
ed to be maintained and rebuilt partially. all this needed money.
in europe, there are other similar buildings that we can see in hungary (Budapest,
pecs)19, Bulgaria, Kosovo (prishtina), the former Yugoslavia20, Cyprus or greece. They
have all been conserved and restored, and some of them were turned into cultural or even
artistic areas.
playing a defining role in the past, baths are nowadays valorized and subjected to
the community depending on their needs and demands and are visited by large num-
bers of tourists. some of these baths, particularly double ones, have become strong
cultural centers and are part of the u.n.e.s.C.o. heritage.
The Turkish Baths of Timiºoara, located in Libertãþii square, are an extremely valu-
able archaeological and architectural monument, a fragment of the tormented history
of the area, and also a proof of the original culture and civilization, of the respect for
the cleanness of body and soul of its inhabitants during the 164 years of life of both
Christians and Muslims under ottoman rule.
q
Notes
1. C. Feneºan, Cultura otomanã a Vilayetului Timiºoara 1552-1716 (Timiºoara, 2006), 149.
2. a.d. Bulgaru, M. a. Mehmet, Cãlãtori strãini despre Þãrile Române (Bucharest, 1976), 499.
3. M. opriş, Timişoara, Micã monografie urbanisticã (Bucharest, 1987), 21.
4. a. Jancsó, Temesvárny omtatotttérképei, in Mðszaki szemle 57: 3-18 (Budapest 2012), 3-18.
5. For references, see http://www.banat.ro/academica/perrette.pdf.
6. F. draºovean, a. Fluture, a. szentmiklosi, g. el susi, georgeta, Z. Kopeczny, h. M-Kiss,
r. Şeptilici, n. dinu, niculina, Timiºoara în amurgul Evului Mediu (Timiºoara, 2007), 65-
78.
7. C. Feneºan, Cultura otomanã a Vilayetului Timiºoara 1552-1716 (Timiºoara, 2006), 73.
8. s. o. isopescul, Coranul (Cluj-napoca, 1992), 116.
9. K. smolijaninovaitè, A Study on Historic Hammams in Istanbul—Changing Aspects of Cultural
Use and Architecture (Cottbus, 2007), 5.
10. T. Tasçıoglu, Türk Hamamı (istanbul, 1998), 61.
11. ibid., 34.
12. K. reyhan, Construction Techniques and Materials of the Ottoman Period Baths in Seferihisar-Urla
Region (izmir, 2004), 13.
13. o. Yılmazkaya, Türk Hamamı (Bursa, 2002), 55.
14. K. smolijaninovaitè, A Study on Historic Hammams in Istanbul-Changing Aspects of Cultural Use
and Architecture (Cottbus, 2007), 24.
15. e. Kanetaki, The Still Existing Ottoman Hammams in the Greek Territory, in Metu JFa 2: 81-
110 (ankara, 2004), 89.
16. C. Fournier, Bains publics et mosquées dans les villes d’al-Andalus, in escenarios urbanos de al-
andalus y el occidente musulmán, actas del i Congreso internacional, vélez-Málaga, 16-18
de junio de 2010 (Málaga, 2011), 337.
17. ibid., 340.
18. a. raymond, Les bains publics au Caire à la fin du XVIII siècle, in annales islamologiques 8:
e
129-150 (Cairo, 1969), 140-141.

19. J. Beszédes, a. papp, J. Zádor, Roman Period Defensive Works and a Turkish Bath in the City of
Pesti, in aquincum 14: 165-171 (Budapest, 2008), 165-171.
20. M. roter-Blagojević, a. radivojević, Les espaces publics et la vie publique à Belgrad au XVIII
e
et au XIX siècle et leur transformation au XX siècle, in Études balkaniques 14: 107-142

e e
(paris, 2007), 107-142.
Abstract
the turkish Baths of timisoara: a novel archaeological monument in the context of
rehabilitating the city’s historical centre
The Mayoralty of Timişoara carried out, between 2013 and 2015, vast rehabilitation works of
the infrastructure in the Cetate district; on this occasion, we identified and archaeologically
investigated a number of sites from the late Middle ages. Timişoara was occupied by the ottomans
from 1552 to 1716 (when the austrians conquered the town). during the ottoman occupa-
tion, the town changed its street network (a sinuous one, according to the oriental standards),
streets that harbored wooden and adobe houses and public-interest buildings among which the
great Mosque and the great Baths. preventive archaeological excavations started in december
2013 and uncovered, in Libertãþii square, a public building of large size, impressive due to its build-
ing technique and distribution of the rooms. Together with the great Mosque discovered in st.
george square, the Turkish Baths excavated by our team represented the core of the urban life
of Timiºoara during the ottoman rule.
Keywords
ottoman civilization, hammam, archaeological research, ottoman Timiºoara
Archaeological Opinions Regarding the
Outer Fortification Line Of the Turkish
Fortress Of Timiºoara*
d rago ª d IaconEscu
A
round Modern Timiºoara, the drainage slope of the Bega river (also called
Timiºul Mic) is very low. This aspect is indicated by the excessive meandering
of this river before the improvement of the today canal. The clayish substratum
of the basin impedes the infiltration. Thus, during massive rainy periods, the region becomes
floodable, the water stagnating for a long time on the surface of the ground. These
water tables determined the appearance of the so-called “swamps of Timiºoara”.
in the middle of this swampy area, on slightly higher ground, in fact river terraces
and natural levees, the medieval town of Timiºoara expanded1. This surrounding land-
scape next to Timiºoara is a leitmotif for the narratives of the time2, being considered
as a constitutive part of the fortification system.
right before the ottoman conquest, the city of Timiºoara was strengthened with
earthen walls, doubled on the northern side by a palisade3 and on the southern one by
two bastions4. There are also references to three gates, and the thickness of the walls
was estimated at four feet5.
About the Descriptions of the Fortifications
A
of the Turkish City of Timiºoara
FTer The ottoman conquest of Timiºoara in 15526, the fortifications of the
medieval city were probably repaired and certainly enlarged, thus resisting suc-
cessfully to the sieges from the 16th (15967, 15978) and 17th centuries (1689-
1690 , 169610).
9
according to the contemporary descriptions of this stage in Timiºoara’s history,

dating from 159511, the fortress was considered rather small and was composed of two
parts, the first one fortified with an earthen wall and the second one strengthened by
*. The extended romanian version of this paper was accepted for publication by the journal
patrimonium Banaticum.
brick walls, these two parts being separated by a trench 150 feet in length, which had
one tower in the middle12.
a further account, from 166013, presents the urban area as consisting of three parts:
the citadel, the inner citadel and the city14. The fortification of the citadel is described
as built from wood and earth, being painted in white. The curtain had four defensive
towers which, together with the inner citadel (the castle), gave to the citadel the shape
of a turtle15. outside the wall a deep moat completed the fortification system16. The thick-
ness of the wall is estimated at approximate fifty to sixty feet17. Five gates are men-
tioned but only three are named: The azaps’ gate (Poarta Azapilor), The rooster’s
gate (Poarta Cocoºului) and The shore gate (Poarta Malului)18.
not long after evlyia Çelebi’s visit, in 1663, the austrian henrik ottendorf offers
a new description of Timiºoara19, a depiction which concords with that of the Turkish
chronicler. The curtain is presented as being made from wood and twigs netting, solid
enough to bear heavy cannons20. The wall was doubled by a deep ditch, fed mostly by
the Timiº river. ottendorf asserts that this ditch was not cleaned very often by the Turks21.
Five gates are mentioned and, this time, all of them are named: the little gate of the
Castle (Poarta Micã a Castelului), the water gate (Poarta Apei), the azaps’ gate (Poarta
Azapilor), the rooster’s gate (Poarta Cocoºului) and the Blood gate (Poarta Sângelui)22.
From the same source comes also a graphical representation of Timiºoara23, a map which
shows only one line of fortifications, composed of the curtain and the moat.
another plan of medieval Timiºoara comes from the end of the 17th century. on
this map, signed by radogna Meimar, dated to ca. 169924, the city of Timiºoara appears
protected by only one line of fortifications, but for the first time we see the fortifica-
tions of the great palanka (Palanca Mare) and the small palanka (Palanca Micã)25,
most probably built in 169626.
The detailed report made by János Tutovicz regarding Timiºoara fortress, dated in
august 1716, comprises the description of a second line of fortifications, playing the role
of counterguard. This new fortification line, according to the source, stretched from
beyond the rooster’s gate (named the the seghedin gate) until the azaps’ gate (named
the arad gate)27.
The siege of Timiºoara28 and its conquest during the fall of 1716 by the tropps head-
ed by eugene of savoy led to the execution of the plans29 drawn by engineer Captain
perette30. Two of these plans have been published by the architect M. opriº31 and on
both of them it can be noticed the second line of fortifications, outside the fortress described
by ottendorf and radogna, a line clearly playing the role of a counterguard. This defen-
sive element starts from the area of the gate labeled by perette with an s (the Blood
gate) up to the gate labeled with a Q (the water gate). These observations allow us to
consider that the notes done by J. Tutovicz are slightly incomplete and were made most
probably from the northern area of the Turkish city, an area which was not very suitable
for observing the situation on the eastern and western sides of the fortress.
The study of the abovementioned plans shows that this improvement of the fortifi-
cation system was made between the years 1699 and 171632. activities of maintenance
and improvement of the fortifications are mentioned in the years 1704-170733. Thus,
using the historical sources, we infer that the counterguard was built, most probably, dur-
ing the 1705-1707 timespan.
FIg. 1. the cetate district, with its historical monuments and sites as well as their protection
areas. the area of sergent constatin muşat street is marked by a rectangular red frame
(source http://www.ratt.ro/forum/?showtopic=742 accessed on 22.09.2016)
S
A Brief History of Sergent Constantin Muºat Street
ERGENT CONSTANTIN Muşat street is situated in the centre of the modern city of
Timiºoara, on the northern side of the Cetate quarter, a perimeter with a high den-
sity of historical buildings, protected by law no. 422/2001 which set a protec-
tion perimeter around them (see Fig.1).
situated in the northwestern corner of unirii square, sergent Constantin Muºat street
connects this square with Mãrãºti square, more precisely the south-eastern corner of it.
The street is oriented approximately n-s, being 58 meters in length and 12 meters
wide (Fig. 2, 6). after 1716 the urban space inside the new citadel was designed
according to the habsburg administration standards, following a regular street pattern.
Sergent Constantin Muşat street was set above the second line of fortifications belong-
ing to the otoman fortress, connecting the main squares of the austrian city (the mod-
ern libertãþii and unirii squares) to the northwestern gate of the new citadel of Timiºoara
(wien’s gate).
in the near vicinity of Sergent Constantin Muşat street, three historical buildings
can be found. The first one, right on the intersection of the street with unirii square,
FIg. 2. sergent constantin muşat street (google Earth capture, 2015)
called the house with lions34, was built in 1758, in the austrian Baroque style and rebuilt
in the Szecesszió style, typical for the 1900s35. on the western side of the street, at the
crossroads with General Eremia Grigorescu street, is situated the second one, named Franz
Joseph Caserne36, built in 1859 and replacing the former Wiener Caserne37. in unirii square,
having one side on the General Eremia Grigorescu street, we find the house of the serbian
Comunity, erected at the beginning of the 19th century as an ortodox school, in Classicist
style with late Baroque influences38.
The first official name of this street appears on the map drawn by steinlein and römmer
in 1758, and it was Wienner Gasse39. on the maps from the second half of the 19th
century–the beginning of the 20th century we find its former names: Jäger Gasse (certainly
in 1876)40, later Török utca (certainly in the years 1889-1914)41. in 1926 we notice
this street labeled as Török Street42 and, for the first time, we see the name Sergent
Muºat Street for the current Regimentul 5 Vânãtori street43, which is situated immediately
to the east of the modern Sergent Constantin Muºat street. in 1934, for the street in ques-
tion, we find the name of Cotnar street44, the neighbouring street still bearing the
name of Sergent Muºat45. The same situation is to be found also in 194146. in 1947
the name Sergent Muºat is used for the modern Sergent Constatin Muºat street47, for
the first time. in 1966 the street was named Muºat Gheorghe48. in 1969, the modern
Regimentul 5 Vânãtori street changed its name to 11 June street49, a name used also in
198050, when Sergent Muºat Constantin street51 had the same name as today52.
M
The Location of the Archaeological Excavation
ap no. 8 from opriş 2007 together with the geo-referentiation offered by
the same source53 (see Fig. 3, 4) offers us the possibility to notice that the
current position of Muºat street overlaps a rectangular bastion belonging to
the outer line of fortifications, labeled with the symbol 9, named the azig pacha Bastion54.
The rescue excavation started with the mechanical removal of the thick (ca. 0.65
meters) layer of substructure for the modern street. The actual walking horizon removal
was done for the eastern half of the street. due to the presence in close vicinity of the
buildings which line the street and given the imminent research of the defensive ditch
of the outer line of fortifications of the Turkish citadel, we considered it necessary to
approach the research unit (s1/2015 measuring 2x58.71 meters – see Fig. 6) in three dis-
tinct stages, from the south towards the north (meters 0-20, 20-34, 34-58,71).
The research unit was divided into squares 2x2 meters, square no. 1 being situated
at the southern edge of the trench s1/2015.
FIg. 4. map of the turkish citadel

overlaying the planimetry of modern
timişoara, with the position of sergent
FIg. 3. map of the turkish citadel overlaying
constatin muşat street (green frame) -
the planimetry of modern timişoara, with the
detail
position of sergent constatin muşat street
(green frame) (after opriº 2007, fig. 9)
FIg. 5. cross-section of the fortification system of the turkish fortress of timiºoara and great
Palanka (processed after opriº 1987, fig. 15 – the red frame marks the outer
FIg. 6. the position of the research archaeological unit

s.I/2015 on sergent constantin muşat street
The General Stratigraphy of the Archaeological Site
T
(Fig. 7, 8)55
he sTraTigraphiCal sequence identified is similar to that observed on the east-
ern half of the northern side of unirii square. Thus, we can assert that on the
entire length of the trench s1/2015, implicitly of Muºat street, the base of the
anthropic layers is the high terrace situated north of the old Timiº river, a terrace also
identified in the abovementioned sector of unirii square. The geological soil was reached,
as a general observation, at ca. 1.90 m in depth, as compared to the level of the cur-
rent sidewalks of Sergent Constantin Muşat street.
The layer labeled 5 represents the upper part of the geological soil, having a dark
brown color and a dense, clayish aspect. it does not contain any archaeological items.
FIg. 7: the western stratigraphical profile of the 0-20 m segment of s.1/2015
FIg. 8: the western stratigraphical profile of segment 20-36 m from s.1/2015. the filling of
vidrighin sewerage is apparently situated above the filling layers of the defensive ditch, but
the modern sewerage actually cuts the fillings of the ditch, being represented here in the
backround
The next upper layer (labeled 4 in Fig. 7) has a brown-greyish colour and a relative
dense aspect, containing charcoal and small pieces of daub.
layer no. 3 is dark grey in color, less dense than layer 4, having also a clayish aspect
and containing a larger quantity of archaeological material.
This layer is overlapped by layer no. 6, a layer of variable thickness, much better
visible in the first seven meters from the southern edge of the research unit.
we assert this because in this area layer no. 6 is a layer of burnt clay, combined
with thin ashey layers, about 15 cm thick (these observations are available also for the
area pf 9 and 10 squares). This layer corresponds most probably to the sieges of Timişoara
from the end of the 17th century–beginning of the 18th century.
above layer 6, quite noticeable is layer no. 2, dark grey in color and with a dense,
clayish composition. Features C.5 and C.7 belong to this layer. Both features, but espe-
cially C.5 (based on the construction technique and assembly manner) are connected
to the first improvements of the area of the future unirii square. These arrangements are
in fact the result of the preparation of the terrain (filling, leveling) for the core of the
austrian city of Timişoara.
layer no.1 is the upper one of grey colour with yellowish spots, containing fragments
of bricks, dense and clayish in composition. This layer corresponds to the actual layout
of unirii square56.
Data Regarding the Archaeological Features in the Area of
T
the Ottoman Fortification Line
he seCond segement of the research was dominated by the presence of the
outer fortification line of the Turkish citadel of Timişoara. This line is com-
posed of a ditch and a palisade, thus corroborating the historical sources57 (see
Fig. 5 for details and compare to Fig. 8).
The only difference is that the distance between the ditch escarp and the palisade
line is much shorter in the area approached by us as compared to the plans drawn up
by the austrian engineers.
This can be explained by the fact that the archaeological trench s1/2015 cuts across
the fortification line in the area of azig pacha Bastion (see n. 53). we assert this because
of the direction of the fortication line, namely sw-ne. Taking into account here Fig. 10,
we notice that the only area where the line of fortifications has this orientation is exact-
ly the outer side of the named bastion. Thus we can say that the modern, Sergent Constantin
Muşat street overlaps a part of the median side of azig pacha Bastion and not its ne
corner, as Fig. 4 suggests.
at this point we have to discuss the accuracy of the geo-referencing provided by M.
opriº. an overlay of the topographical plan of the location of trench s1/2015 in the area
of Sergent Constantin Muşat street on the aforementioned geo-referencing proves that
the fortification line is suppose to be vertical on the area of the trench. as long as the
direction is sw-ne, we consider that most probably the geo-referencing has a small devi-
FIg. 9: the grundriss of the area covered by the outer defensive
ation of approximately 1 m towards the west

(see Fig. 10).
aproximately between meters 24 and 28,
the defensive ditch shows a deeper section
(here the maximal depth of the ditch was
recorded) situated 1 meter north of the escarp
(see Fig. 8, 9 and 11 for details).
another very important aspect should be
underlined: the defensive ditch was excavat-
ed into the northern terrace of the old Timiş
river. The most reliable argument, beside the
fact that layers no. 3 and 4 are crossed by the
ditch, is the intersection between features
C.50 (the defensive ditch) and C.53, C.51,
C. 52. FIg. 10: overlay of the topographical plan
it is clear that the excavation of the defen- showing the position of s.1/2015 on the
sive ditch (and also the positioning of the for- geo-referencing provided by m. opriº
tification line) led to the dismantling of some
houses or additional buildings58 represented here by the foundation ditch C.51 with
the post-holes C.57 and C.53 (C.53 and C.51 are also crossed by the post-hole C.33
belonging to the palisade). The excavation technique of the foundation ditch and of
the post-holes (situated on a foundation system composed of pickets hammered into clay)
are identical with those identified on the southern, eastern and northern sides of the unirii
square archaeological site, areas where were researched the substructions of some
buildings represented on the perrette map, between the fortification lines59 (according to
the archaeological report of the rescue excavation from Timişoara-unirii square and Fig.
8 and 23 from opriş 2007). The only difference is that in the case of Sergent Constantin
Muşat street, the posts are missing, a detail that proves that they were removed delib-
erately.
FIg. 11: the stratigraphical relation between the defensive ditch (c.50)/palisade (c.33, c.34)
and the substructures of some dwellings (c.51, c.53)
another argument for a late dating for this part of the fortification system of the
Turkish citadel of Timişoara is that the palisade line is stratigraphically later than layers
no. 3, 4 and 6. if the relation between the filling levels and layers no. 1 and 2 (notice-
able south of the fortification line) is analysed, at first sight the ditch also cuts across these
two layers. For layer no. 1 the situation can be explained by the uncovering method (done
mechanically and to a depth of 0.65 m). layer 2 overlaps the post-holes of the pal-
isade (features C.33 and C.34). here the situation can be clearly explained by the posi-
tioning of the filling levels of the defensive ditch (see Fig. 8), which indicates a filling
of the ditch from north to south, with the exception of levels l6, l7, l8 which were
set into the ditch from the south, being also the oldest ones. Besides, level l8 is the
only one which contains archaeological artifacts, all the other filling levels being extreme-
ly poor from this perspective. Thus, we consider that layer no. 2 was set right before
the filling of the ditch section in this area.
all these aspects offer us the opportunity to assert that the filling of the defensive ditch
was done later than the arrangement of layer no. 2 and, implicitly, of the feature C.5.
analysing Fig. 27 from opriş 2007, it is noticeable that in 1740 the outer ditch of the
Turkish fortress in the area of the modern Sergent Constantin Muşat was already filled60,
and the Catholic dome was built. Thereby, this year becomes a terminus ante quem for
the arrangement of feature C.5 and of those similar in construction technique and
stratigraphical position in unirii square, considered to be connected with the building
of the dome.
a very good dating element for the beginning of the filling of the defensive ditch was
the discovery in level l.8 of feature C.50, in square 13, of a fragmentary brick embossed
with the year 1716 (see image iii). having in mind the fact that level l8 is the oldest
from the filling of the ditch, we can presume that this item was deliberately thrown in
as a consecration of the moment.
Thus, the filling of the ditch in the excavated area starts after the year 1716 and
ends prior to 1740, most probably in 1732-173761. Traces of the ottoman outer forti-
fication line are still visible in 175262.
Description of the Archaological Features

Feature C.33
it constitutes the insertion pit of a circular post, observed at 0.40 m of depth. The
diameter of the pit was 0.90 m and its depth was 1.10 m (Fig. 11).
The archaeological objects found in the filling are pottery sherds and animal bones.
The negative of the post has received the code C.33a and its diameter was of 0.50
m.
it stratigraphically cuts across features C.51 and C.53 as well as layers no. 3 and 4.
it was overlapped by layers no. 2 and 1.
Feature C.34
it is also an insertion pit of a circular post, 0.65 m in diameter and with a depth of
0.50 m (Fig. 11).
The archaeological items identified are the same as in the case of C.33. a complete
canonball was discovered in the lower level of filling (image ii).
The negative of the post was named C.34a and its diameter was 0.50 m.
Feature C.33a together with C.34a represents the posts of the palisade from the outer
fortification line.
Feature C.34 was overlapped by layers no. 2 and 1 and cuts across layers no. 4 and
3.
Feature C.50
This feature represents the defensive ditch of the outer fortification line of the ottoman
fortress of Timiºoara. it was noticed at a depth of 0.40 m. it was researched over 2 m
of its length. The width of the ditch was13 m. The maximum depth of the ditch was 3
m (Fig. 8, 9, 11).
The filling of the ditch consisted of several levels. The upper levels are lacking in archae-
ological items, having a yellowish colour. The lower levels are clayish in composition and
have dark colors, rich in archaeological objects and organic material.
unlike the ditch of the first defensive line which was set into a branch of the Timişul
vechi river, the outer ditch was excavated into the northern terrace of the river, inter-
secting the features (C.51, C.52, C.53 şi C.57) connected with domestic structures.
Both the escarp and counter-escarp of the ditch were covered by wooden vertical posts,
inserted in the narrow ditches coded as C.50a and C.50B (Fig. 8, 9, 11).
The archaeological inventory from this feature is rather poor, but in the lowest lev-
els were discovered fragmented pottery, fragments of bricks and animal bones. a frag-
mentary brick was found in the oldest level of filling, bearing the year 1716 and the
letters F and w (image iii).
stratigraphically, this feature was cut by modern construction works (e.g the so-called
vidrighin sewerage) and intersected features C.51, C.52, C.53 şi C.57.
Feature C.50a
a narrow ditch used to insert the vertical posts used to cover the escarp of the
defensive ditch. identified at 1.70 m, its width was 0.70 m. its depth was 0.90 m (Fig.
8, 11, photo 1, 2).
The archaeological inventory was composed of pottery sherds, fragments of cast
iron canonballs, and animal bones. The posts from this small ditch were coded as
C.50s, from a to h. The posts were sharpened at the lower edge and were hammered
into the bottom of the ditch, approximately 0.50 m.
Feature C.50B
similar in position and functionality with feature C.50a but connected with the count-
er-escarp. it was noticed at a depth of 1.50 m, being 0.60 m in width. its depth was 0.60
m (Fig. 8, 11, photo 1, 3).
The inserted posts were coded as C.50n, from a to d. The post C.50n.B was pulled
out before the filling of the defensive ditch C.50.
Feature C.51
it represents a foundation ditch, noticed at a depth of 0.40 m. The feature pre-
serves 1.20 m of its length, being 0.50 m in width. The depth was 0.80 m (Fig. 11).
on the bottom of the ditch were noticed wooden pickets as a base for a wooden post.
at the northern edge of the ditch was researched a post-hole (feature C.57).
stratigraphically, this feature cuts across C.52 and is intersected by the defensive ditch
C.50. Feature C.51 is contemporary with C.53 and, together, can represent part of the
sub-structure of a domestic building. it also cuts into layers no. 3 and 4.
Feature C.52
an oval pit, noticed at 0.50 m. its long diameter was 1.50 m and the short one 1
m. The depth was 1.30 m (Fig. 11).
it was cut by C.50 and C.51 and intersects layers no. 3 and 4.
Complex C.53
a circular post-hole, noticed at 0.40 m. its diameter was 0.74 m and the final depth
was 1.35 m (Fig. 11).
on the bottom of the pit were noticed 6 wooden pickets.
stratigrapically, it was crossed by feature C.33. Most probably is part of the same
structure like C.51.
T
Conclusions
he sTraTigraphiCal observations made and recorded allow us to assert that
the entire length of the modern sergent Constantin Muşat street was located
on an unflooded terrace north of the Timişul vechi stream, which was turned
by the ottomans into the main defensive ditch of Timişoara fortress.
on this terrace was dug the defensive ditch of the outer line of fortifications, with the
adjoining palisade.
The levelling layers observed belong to medieval or modern times. layer no. 1 (the
upper one) does not cover the entire researched surface and it is connected with the
arrangement of unirii square and the neighbouring area (most probably the end of 19th-
the beginning of 20st centuries).
layer no. 2 belongs to the 18th century and is related to the first arrangements in
the area of today unirii square, representing the production of the first walking level
(preceded by a levelling of the zone) after the year 1716. The fact that layer no. 2 cov-
ers the post-holes of the palisade (posts removed deliberately, at least in the researched
sector) indicates that the walking level already mentioned was set after the dismantling
of the palisade, but before the complete filling of the defensive ditch (our assertion is sup-
ported by the relation of layer no. 2 to the upper levels of the filling of the ditch).
layer no. 6 was identified only behind the fortification line (i.e. south of the line) and
it consists of ash and burnt clay, mixed with grey, clayish soil. due to these characteris-
tics and because it is overlapped by layer no. 2, it is considered by us as being the
walking level during the siege from 1716.
layer no. 3 had variable thicknesses (between 0.40 and 0.80 m) and can be dated,
most probably in the 17th century. The purpose of this stratigraphical unit was, most like-
ly, to level the zone from the northern area of the main fortification line of the Turkish
fortress of Timiºoara. Because this layer was affected by the post-holes of the palisade and
also by feature C.26 (which, given its shape and the archaeological items found in it, is
definetly the result of a canonball explosion into the clayish soil), we can consider as
terminus ante quem for it the arrangement and the use of the outer fortification line
(i.e. the beginning of 18th century).
layer no. 4 (the lowest layer) belongs to the Medieval time. The only feature over-
lapped by this layer is C.84, which is very poor in archaeological objects and, conse-
quently, very hard to be set into a relative chronological frame.
The domestic structures mentioned above were dismantled (at least some of them)
due to the construction of the outer fortification line, and their planimetric distribu-
tion extra-muros to the main foritification line makes us ascribe them to the Christian
population of Timişoara during the 17th century.
The ottoman citadel fell during the siege of 1716 led by eugene of savoy, but the
main fortification line lasted longer, until the new austrian town and its fortifications
were built.
The new bastionary fortress also included within its walls the area of the northern side
of the ottoman fortress. during the first half of the 18th century the Turkish fortress
was leveled, the palisades dismantled and the defensive ditches were filled with soil and
clay.
q
Notes
1. Munteanu, Munteanu 2002, 9-11.
2. see Magina 2013, 275-277 and also the sources quoted below (e.g. evliya Çelebi, henrik
ottendorf).
3. This fortification’s system was considered by sigismondo de prato as being in hungarian fash-
ion, “modo hungarico” (see Magina 2013, 277).
4. Magina 2013, 277.
5. Ibidem. if one feet is the equivalent of 0.30 meters, the thicknes of the wall is ca. 1.20
meters.
6. after a 35 days siege, according to evliya Çelebi (see Mehmet 1976, 494). For a detailed opin-
ion about this event see postelnicu 1927, 26-31.
7. preyer 1853, 38; haþegan 2005, 114-120.
8. preyer 1853, 39; haþegan 2005, 125-126.
9. haþegan 2005, 263-264.
10. preyer 1853, 46-47; haþegan 2005, 282-284.
11. it is the description attributed to Filippo pigafetta.
12. Bulgaru 1971, 557. here we must mention the famous image of Timiºoara from the begin-
ning of the 17 century by wathay Ferenc (see wathay Ferenc Énekes könyve, folio 30b-31a;
th
the original manuscript is kept at the Magyar Tudományos akadémia, Budapest, quota
K62; http://ottomanhungary.blogspot.ro/2012/02/ferenc-wathay-songbook.html, accesed on
22.09.2016) where the two parts of Timiºoara city are clearly visible.
13. it concerns the description done by evliya Çelebi, according to haþegan 2005, 211.
14. Mehmet 1976, 496-501.
15. Mehmet 1976, 496-497.
16. Mehmet 1976, 497.
17. Mehmet 1976, 497. again, if we equate one feet with 0.30 meters, the obtained value is
15-18 meters.
18. Mehmet 1976, 498-499.
19. ottendorf 2006, 10-17. The same text in haþegan 2005, 221-229.
20. ottendorf 2006, 11.
21. Ibidem.
22. ottendorf 2006, 11-13.
23. ottendorf 2006, photo 2.
24. opriº 2007, 31, the text from fig. 13.
25. opriº 2007, 34.
26. guboglu 1974, 460 retrieved by haþegan 2005, 283; opriº 2007, 34.
27. Feneºan 2014, 296-297.
28. see du Mont et al 1725, 110-113 for a detaileed description of this siege. at p. 110 we
can also find a description of the Timiºoara citadel in 1716, mentioning la Palanque, la
Ville, le Chateu and la petite Palanque. Therewith are named the fortifications of the great
palanka and of the city and the two fortification lines are described.
29. Three versions, according to Forþiu 2014, 1-2.
30. For opinions regarding the complete name of this historical character and his origin see Forþiu
2014, 1-7.
31. opriº 2007, fig. 7, 8.
32. opriş 2007, 34-35 considers that this fortification line was built post 1663, most probably
at the beginning of the 18 century; on p. 44 from the same source this work is dated in
th
the years 1704-1708. analysing Timisoara’s map dated ca. 1699 and signed by architect
radonia (see opriş 2007, 31, fig. 13), we see that the outer fortification line did not exist
at that time. Thereby, the probability of this fortification line being built prior to the begin-
ning of the 18 century becomes very low.
th
33. opriº 1987, 197, n. 42; haþegan 2005, 298, 302, opriº 2007, 35-36 (this source men-
tiones for the year 1707 intense works for cleaning and repairing the main fortification
line).
34. opriº, Botescu 2014, nr. 169.
35. see http://www.primariatm.ro/uploads/files/cartare_cetate/15%20-%20Cvartal%2003.pdf p.
37, position 8 (accessed on 23.09.2016).
36. Buruleanu-Medeleþ 2004, 29.
39. vârtaciu Medeleþ 2015, 44, photo 5 and 80, photo 5.
40. Jancsó 2011, 41.
41. Jancsó 2011, 46, 103
42. Jancsó 2011, 108.
43. Ibidem.
44. according to leºcu 2001, 27 the name of Cotnar was used in the years 1930-1943.
45. Jancsó 2011, 116.
46. Jancsó 2011, 121; see above also n. 44.
47. according to leºcu 2001, 28 until 1959.
48. leºcu 2001, 28.
49. Jancsó 2011, 138.
50. Jancsó 2011, 152.
51. Ibidem.
52. leºcu 2001, 28.
53. opriş 2007, 21, fig. 9.
54. opriş 2007, 19.
55. according to diaconescu et al 2016, 208-209.
56. see opriş 2007, 56, fig. 27 where the main fortification line of the Turkish fortress is still
visible in the area of the future unirii square. Fig. 30 from the same source shows in 1752
the clearly delimited area of today’s unirii square.
57. see opriº 1987, 20, fig. 15. we consider it also important to analyse the map at https://maps.hun-
garicana.hu/en/MolTerkeptar/10693/view/?bbox=-146%2C-8862%2C4420%2C-6796
(national hungarian archives, code s_68_Xiv, no. 89), which presents, in the lower left cor-
ner, a representation of a transversal section through the fortification system of the Turkish
fortress of Timiºoara.
58. opriº 2007, 44, n. 53. The source mentioned a document which contains data regarding
the demolition of 25 houses in order to provide extra ditches to the fortification of the bor-
der fortress. The mention of the Timiºoara muhafiz in this document leads M. opriº to believe
that this source is actually referring to Timiºoara. The archaeological observations fully sup-
port this assumption. The dating of this document offers the opportunity to have a precise
date (23 July – 1 august 1705) for the start of the constructions work on this fortification
line.
59. opriº 2007, fig. 8, 23; szentmiklosi et al 2015, 250 date this type of dwelling, using the argu-
ment of a coin discovery, in the years 1687-1691.
60. see also opriº 2007, fig. 29, where the situation of the outer fortification line is the same, but
the planimetry of the modern Sergent Constantin Muºat street is clear visible.
61. overlapping the plans from opriº 2007, fig. 29 where the streets’ trama of the current old
Centre of Timiºoara is already noticeable, with fig. 26 from the same source (a map of Timiºoara
from 1737), we see that the interruption of both fortification lines af the Turkish fortress
situated in front of wien’s gate of the bastionary fortress (labeled as g in fig. 26) is set
right on the today Sergent Constantin Muºat street line. practically, the section of the outer
defensive ditch archaeologically excavated was already filled in 1737. The fact that these inter-
ruptions of the fortification lines are situated on the same direction as wien’s gate make us
to consider that this work is in direct connection with the building of wien’s gate. Because
the plan from opriº 2007, fig. 26 indicates clearly that the austrian fortification of Timiºoara
started in 1732, we can propose this year as terminus post quem for the filling of the outer ditch
section, excavated by us.
62. opriº 2007, fig. 30.
Abstract
archaeological opinions regarding the outer Fortification line of the turkish
Fortress of timiºoara
The paper describes the results of the archaeological excavation on sergent Constantin Muºat street,
targeting the outer fortification line of the Turkish fortress of Timiºoara, in the area of the azig
pasha Bastion. This line was built according to the ditch-palisade system. Combining the histor-
ical sources with the archaeological observations, it is clear that this line (having in fact the func-
tion of a counterguard) was built in the years 1705-1708. after the conquest of Timiºoara by
the troops led by eugene of savoy in 1716, the Turkish fortress was gradually dismantled. The
outer fortification line sector approached by the archaeological research was removed, most
probably in the years 1732-1737.
Keywords
Turkish period, defensive ditch, palisade, 18 century, Timiºoara
th
Photo 1: Feature c.50 (the lower part of the image corresponds to the southern edge of the
defensive ditch)
Photo 2: Feature c50a
Photo 3: Feature c. 50B

ImagE I: Feature c.26 – fragmentary canon ball
ImagE II: Feature c. 34 - canon ball

ImagE III: Feature c.50 - fragmentary brick which bear, marked embossed, the year 1716 and
the letters w and F
ImagE Iv: Feature c.50 – pedestaled ceramic bowl

Beyond The Maps.
About a Forgotten Fort:
Dobra Schantz / Nuovo Fortino
d orEl m IclE , a lEXandru h EgyI
T
Introduction
he lãpugiu Couloir appears like a southwestern elongation of the ilia depression
between the hills of lãpugiu and Bulza, set in Badenian sediments. running about
10 kilometers in length to the saddle tops at holdea (240m) and Coşeviþa (321m),
it is the result of the erosion done by the valea Mare rivulet and its tributary streams
on a glacis area. geographers e. vespremeanu and n. pop argue that a branch of the
paleomureş river once flowed here in the deltaic stage1. Cutting across the western
Carpathians, the couloir represents first of all a significant route between Transylvania
depression and the western plain2. as a result of orographic particularities, the settle-
ments established along the couloir can be categorized as small and medium-sized,
only dobra being larger.
on the northern side of this couloir there are the Bulza hills, while on the south-
ern side there are the lãpugiu hills. The Bulza hills are formed of basaltic materials,
massive limestone cubes and Mesozoic quartzite freestone, as well as Badenian-sarmatian
andesite sediments.
The southernmost of the Bulza hills is called lãpugiu de Jos (lower lãpugiu)
and is 271.90m high. its shape is slightly elongated on the east-west axis and, towards
hãrmãreþ valley, which borders it to the west, it is about 1.5km long. This hill guards
the eastern entrance to lãpugiu depression, which is the only way to access, through
Coşeviþa pass, the Fãget depression, i.e., the Banat plain area. lãpugiu de Jos hill is lim-
ited to the north by the Brãdet rivulet (known in the past as Breticului rivulet) and
to the south by the valea Mare river (once known as lãpugiu river). The two water
courses flow from the west eastwards, from the hills down towards the Mureş river,
and merge on the eastern end of the hill, off the village of grind.
since to the south, towards the villages of Teiu and lãpugiu de Jos, the depression
is fragmented by various tributary rivulets springing from Teiului hill and flowing to the
right of the valea Mare river, the only passageway was on the northern bank of the above-
mentioned river, i.e. at the foot of lãpugiu de Jos hill. unlike the gentle terraced
slopes of Teiului hill, which guards this couloir to the south, lãpugiu de Jos hill has
steep inaccessible slopes, only reachable on the higher course of the Brãdet rivulet,
after which one has to climb from the nw towards the se on a mild slope that was slight-
ly hidden and easy to defend. This area is called Coasta Şanþului (the ditch Flank). on
top of the hill, in the spot with the highest visibility towards lãpugiu depression and
the road that winds round the foot of lãpugiu de Jos hill, there is a star-shaped
fortress, with a deep ditch and a double enclosure made of ramparts. The outstanding
strategic importance of this hill is proven by its fortification during world war one, as
the marks of the tranches are well preserved in the ground.
T
Historical Cartography Analysis
he ForT on lãpugiu de Jos hill is shown in the historical cartography dating
back to the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, after
which it is no longer mentioned.
Thus, the first cartographic document to mention the fort seems to be M. visconti’s,
Mappa della, Transilvania, e Provintie contique nella qualesivedano li Consini dell’ Ongaria
eli Campam fatti dall; Arpate Cesaree in quelte ultime guere, scale [M. 1:550,000], edit-
ed in 1699. The fort appears correctly shown as an eight-pointed star, and its location
is accurate, the landscape well drawn, proof that the author knew first-hand the reality
of the field (fig. 1). The name of the fort is Fortino (Fig. 1. a.).
Then follows the representation of the fort on the map drawn by l.F. Marsigli and
J.C. Müller, Mappa Geographica Transylvaniam a Banatu Temisvariensi Separantes Limites,
scale [M. 1:43,200], edited in 1700. we believe that these authors were also familiar with
the location because the drawing is accurate, abiding by all the details in the field, includ-
ing the second three-pointed enclosure and its orientation (fig. 2). The fort bears here
the name of Die Schantz (Fig. 1. B.).
Chronologically speaking, the third map seems to have been made by the same l.
F. Marsigli and J. C. Müller, Mappa Geographico Limitanea in qua Imperiorum Caesarei
et Ottomanici Confinia in almae pacis Carlovitzensis Congressu Decreta et a Duobus Utriusque
Imperi Commissaris Intituta Solenni Expeditione…, scale [M. 1:37,500], possibly edited in
1702. due to reasons beyond our grasp, the map is no longer realistically done, even
if the smaller scale would have allowed it. although it accurately conveys other details,
the fort on lãpugiu de Jos hill is not shown accurately, but as a five-pointed star,
while its position in relation to the elements of relief and to the main road in the area
is also inaccurate (fig. 3). according to this map, the fort’s name is Dobra Schantz
(Fig. 1. C.).
equally interesting is the map drawn by an unknown author, most likely also at the
beginning of the 18th century, Mappa della Transilvaniae che dimastre il suo stato e passi
ove puo entrare l’inimico dalla parte di Moldavia, Valachia, é Temesvarer Frontiere á queste
Provincia. Marca in altre l’ingressi dalia partre dell’Ongaria communicationi dun luogho all’al-
tro…, scale [M. 1:700,000], with the fort accurately shown as an eight-pointed star
and its exact location in the field. significant are also the clues concerning the exis-
FIgurE 1. representation of the fort in the cartography of 17th and 18th centuries
tence of an alternative route of access through Fintoag, Bulza, Cãpâlnaş towards the
middle segment of the Mureş river and lipova fortress (fig. 4). The name mentioned
on the map is Nuovo Fortino (Fig. 1. d.).
in 1709 J.C. Müller drew another map, Augustissimo Romanor Imperatori Iosepho I.
Hungariae Regni invictissimo Mappam Hanc Regni Hungariae propitiis elementis fertilissi-
mi cum adjacentibus regnis et Provinciis nova et accuratiori forma ex optimis schedis collec-
tam D. D. D. …, on a scale of [M. 1:550,000]. as the map is done on a scale too big
to show details, the fort is shown only as a six-pointed star, yet somewhat accurately from
a topographic point of view (fig. 5). The cartographer uses the same name he has already
given it, namely, Dobra Schantz (Fig. 1. e.).
other cartographers may have borrowed the data from the initial maps by visconti
and Müller, as has done M. Kauffer with his Fines Hungariae Caroli VI. Caes. Aug. et Pace
Pasarovicensi ampliatos in hactabula Color Havus indicat, scale [M. 1:2,000,000], published
at an uncertain date [171?]. The map shows the fort as a seven-pointed star, while the
location is superficial (fig. 6). The name mentioned by the author is Dobra Schantz
(Fig. 1. F.).
Just as inaccurate is the map done by J.B. homann around 1716, Principatus
Transilvaniae in suas quasque nationes earumque sedes et regiones cum finitimis vicinorum
statuum Provinciis accurate divisus, scale [1:690,000], which shows a five-pointed star fort
bearing the same name (probably borrowed from Müller) of Dobra Schantz (Fig. 1.
g.).
a year later, in 1717, another map drawn by Count l.F. Marsigli and g. l’isle, Carte
particuliere de la Hongrie de la Transilvanie de la Croatie et de la Sclavonie, scale [1:1,336,000],
shows the fort as a five-pointed star on the main route from Timişoara to deva (fig.
8). The large scale and the lack of space compelled the authors to use only the name Dobra
(Fig. 1. h.).
as early as 1720 the map drawn by J.C. Müller and J.B. homann, Regnorum Hungariae
Dalmatiae, Croatiae, Sclavoniae, Bosniae et Serviae cum principatu Transylvaniae, maxi-
ma’qua parte Valachiae nova et exacta tabula ex archetypo Mülleriano, S. C. M. capit. i et
ingen. i desumta viisq. veredariis, ac novissimae pacis Passa, scale [1:800,000], no longer
focuses on accuracy, and the fort is shown imaginatively as a quadrangle with square bas-
tions at each corner (fig. 9). however, the name Dobra Schantz (Fig. 1. i.) is retained.
as regards a map completed around 1751, the shape of the fort was already forgotten
because, in his Royaume de Hongrie, Principauté de Transilvanie, Sclavonie, Croatie, et partie
de la Principauté de Valaquie, de la Bosnie, de la Servie et de la Bulgarie, scale [M. 1:1,470,000],
r. de vaugondy draws a square-shaped fortress, used rather as a symbol to differentiate
it from the settlements nearby (fig. 10). its name is simply Dobra (Fig. 1. J.).
one last interesting cartographic document dates back to 1762, when J.s.T. luchsenstein
draws a map called Magni principatus Transylvaniae tabula ex archetypo 1751, scale [M
1:156,000], which takes after the mid-18th century map, when the fort was still very
visible in the field but had probably fallen out of use because its shape, in the cartogra-
pher’s view, is in part accurate and in part either the fruit of his imagination or an
unsuccessful attempt at drawing the lines of the ditches in the first and second enclo-
sure (fig. 11). at this time not even the name of the fort is retained, as the map does
not mention any toponym. on the other hand, the location is extremely accurate,
proving once more that the author went on site and knew first-hand the reality in the
field (Fig. 1. K.).
nevertheless, the military topographic engineers who completed between 1764
and 1785 the First Topographic Survey of the Habsburg Empire/Joseph’s topographic survey,
originally known in german as Josephinische Landesaufnahme, drew relatively accurately
the fort’s irregular star shape, perhaps the closest rendition to the reality in the field.
at the same time, the fort drawn with an interrupted line points to the fact that it was
already dismantled and no longer operational (Fig. 1. l.).
at the time of the Second Topographic Survey/Zweite oder Franziszeische Landesaufnahme,
carried out between 1806 and 1869, the fort was no longer of interest, as it had long
been in ruin. it is for this very reason that the map, despite its many details, does not
even show the toponym that might have reminded of the fort’s existence.
T
Document Analysis
he village of dobra (dobrahaza estate), in hunedoara County, is first men-
tioned as early as 09.07.13353 under the name of Jóf . in a document of 02.02.1387
it is mentioned with the name of iwfiw4/Jóf /Jóf , and on 8.10.14415, the
estate is donated to John hunyadi. on 21.06.14536 there is another donation to John
hunyadi, with Joffy/Jóf becoming his property. it is interesting that on 05.09.14557
John hunyadi writes a letter in the Jof (Jofio) oppidum, proof of the fort’s impor-
tance. in 14758 the town of Jofw (Civitas nostra [regis]) is mentioned. The oppidum at
Jofyw is also mentioned in various other documents from 14919 and 149410.
on 28.10.150611 Jóf is mentioned as having a fair and a noble curia. dating back
to 150712, 151513 and 152614 there are several documents talking about Cives et inhab-
itatores oppidi Jofyw and Curia nobilitaris (with its variants Joffew, Jowfyw, Jofew). The
term oppidum Jof or Jofe is also repeated in documents from 1552, 1664 and 1702.
in a document from 01.08.159515, Jóf is still mentioned as a fair, and on 20.09-
14.11.161016 an oppidum at Jof is again mentioned.
another document dated 24-29.10.165017 and presenting a financial situation reminds
of two possible Jof : a military fort and a civilian settlement. after 1664 Jof pertains
to deva fortress. on 27.05.167518 a document mentions that the Turks plundered the
district of Jof , from which we infer that it was not under Turkish domination at the time.
all these documents thus talk about a fort (oppidum) with a fair nearby, both of which
bore the same name in the Middle ages. The fort mentioned in medieval documents is
most definitely not the one we have discovered. it is certainly a small-sized fort, yet uniden-
tified but near or right under the present-day area of dobra village.
after the defeat at Mohács, in 1526 Banat was divided into two parts: the western
and central region of the province of Banat together with Timişoara was occupied by the
ottomans in 1552 and transformed into a pashalik, while the region of Caransebeş–lugoj
managed to elude ottoman domination in exchange of a tribute and was until 1658
part of the autonomous principality of Transylvania.
For 164 years, until 1716, the Banat lowlands experienced a different administrative
form, the vilayet. nevertheless, the new administration had to face various revolts such
as the rebellion of 1594 or Transylvanian attacks, as were the ones in 1596, 1600 and
1603. prince-elector Friedrich august von saxen laid siege to Timişoara between 1695
and 1696, which forced sultan Mustafa ii himself to come to Banat.
The relief of vienna in 1683, the austrian offensive against the ottomans by the occu-
pation of the Buda fortress (1686), the victories at Mohács (1687) and Zenta (1697),
all these create favorable conditions for casting the Turks out of Banat. Through the peace
treaty of Karlowitz (1699) the house of austria occupied Transylvania, with the Caransebeş-
lugoj region of Banat, while the treaty of passarowitz in 1718 meant the definitive annex-
ation of the province.
The fort at dobra–lãpugiu de Jos hill was built in 1698 by the imperial army on
orders from general Jean-louis de rabutin-Bussy; it was repaired and enlarged in
1701 (-1702?) at the order of the same general. The dates and events of those years
are excellently presented in the newspapers of the time19.
The fort was not used for very long because, following the events of 1704, the
entire Mureş couloir, from Brãnişca to alba iulia, would be conquered by habsburgs,
who thus secured the two passage gates to Banat: dobra pass and the iron gate of
Transylvania (Bucova pass). it is likely the fort was only used in the context of the ottoman
conflicts between 1698 and 1716 (1720), after which it was abandoned and set on fire
(as shown by the plethora of clay brick fragments we found on location).
Non Invasive Research Results
T
a. Topographical survey
he siTe was identified in the autumn of 2015, following the initial localization
in historical cartography. satellite images and aerial photographs did not prove
useful because of the forest covering the area (fig. 13). For objective reasons,
the topographical survey started only in november 2016 and was performed with a leica
T1200 Total station. initially, two station points were determined in stereo 70 coordi-
nates with the help of a differential gps. work was carried out during several consecu-
tive days because the thick vegetation made up of trees and undergrowth hindered vis-
ibility over 20m. To cover the entire area of the fort we completed a line of sight of seven
stations, on the fort’s outer circumference, with the prism operators seeking to capture
all details of the military architecture in the field.
The topographic elevation completed after the computation of over 1,800 points
in the field shows a first enclosure shaped like an eight-pointed star with a maximum
length of 170m and a maximum width of 140m. From a geostrategic point of view,
the enclosure runs over the central plateau of the hill and was surrounded by a ditch
5m wide and 1.5-2m deep (presently mostly sealed). on the north side of this enclo-
sure there are two quasi circular mounds in the field, with a diameter of 4 to 5 metres,
probably traces of the two wooden towers marking the main gate.
FIgurE 2. aerial photograph of location, scale 1:5000. InIs viewer 2012
The second (outer) enclosure has an irregular shape but, from a geostrategic point
of view, it is completely adapted to the surrounding terrain. it has 11 sides of various
sizes and seven points. The second enclosure is 80m long on the ns axis and 62m
wide on the ew axis. The rampart of the second enclosure intelligently used the edge
of the natural platform on which the fort is built so that, although it is perfectly visible
in the field, it does not go more than one meter higher than the surrounding ground
level. The width of the rampart varies between two and four meters. on the other
hand, the ditch is very deep, dug in the steep slope of the hill. on most sides, the ditch
has an opening of about 15m and is 5m deep or even deeper. in the area between the
two enclosures, on the eastern and southern sides, there are two earth bastions, irregu-
larly oval in shape and approximately 20x35m in size, probably meant for cannons.
The two bastions had perfect command over the road at the foot of the hill, a road which
connects deva to Timişoara. on the northern side, where we identified the entrance gate
for the first enclosure, there is a hollow in the shape of a ditch perpendicular to the
rampart and representing the gate to the second enclosure. The defensive system was
devised in such a way that the two enclosures would form here a single fort guarded
by two wooden towers flanking the gate.
The third enclosure runs only on the nnw side and is formed of a rampart and a
ditch. The rampart is almost flattened but the ditch is four-meter wide and two-meter
FIgurE 3. digital model of Elevation
FIgurE 4. transversal profile along the fortification
deep. The entire defense system of the third enclosure has six sides and three points show-
ing north-westwards, i.e. towards the area with the gentlest natural slope, where we have
also identified the dirt road climbing towards the fort’s gate.
b. Geophysical prospection
due to the young forest covering the site, only a 50m by 30m grid was chosen on the
surface of the fort for geomagnetic measurements, which were carried out with a total
field caesium magnetometer. The data was collected by walking 30m profiles on a north-
FIgurE 5. the geophysical prospection overlapped by the fort elevation model
south axis at every 10 centimeters, with a 1 meter separation between the lines. The value
of raw data inside the grid was between -100-100 nT. some filters were applied for
better visualization of the data. Most of the magnetic anomalies are concentrated in
the center of the grid, which corresponds to the center of the fortification. The anom-
alies, positive and negative, are related to such archaeological features as walls, pits, debris
and maybe a road. Moreover, a small part of the inner defense structure and the gate
structure is visible on the magnetogram.
alongside geomagnetic measurements, geoelectrical prospections were taken into con-
sideration. The electrical resistivity tomography (erT) measurements were carried out
to determine the inner structure of ramparts and ditches. in this respect, two profiles
were designed to cover the key points of the fortification for our study. The first pro-
file was meant to provide information about the depths of the eastern inner and outer
ditches and also about the second enclosure rampart situated in this part of the site.
Judging from the fortification topography, the ramparts and the ditches must have had
the same structure along the enclosure. The second profile was meant to bring insights
about the biggest bastion of the fort situated in the fort’s southwestern part. The data
were collected using three arrays of electrodes (wenner, schlumberger and dipol-dipol)
but the most representative results were obtained using the wenner array due to the
vertical high sensitivity of the method. Twenty-five electrodes separated by a distance
of two meters were used, completing a fifty-meter-long profile for each side. additionally,
FIgurE 6. the magnetic amplitude inside the grid (all magnetic profiles loaded)
FIgurE 7. the representation of magnetic profile on the western side of the grid (all filters
represented)
we obtained information about the bedrock within the area, while the electrical resistivity
tomography proved the existence of conglomerates.
due to the low resistivity along the profiles, it was easy to identify the main differ-
ence in soil patterns within the site. To this respect, the depth of the ditches under the
visible topography was determined. Thus, the real depth of the outer ditch is two
meters higher than the one we can see on the field. also, the round shape of the bot-
tom is another thing that should be mentioned. The first profile (erT1) revealed the
shape and real depth of the inner ditch, which varies between 1.5 to 2 meters, and is 2
FIgurE 8. the Ert measurements results and interpretation
meters wide. The high resistivity located at the beginning of erT1 corresponds to the
magnetic anomaly located in the southeastern part of the grid and it could be one of
the bulwarks inside the inner enclosure. The depth of ramparts and other features
inside does not exceed 4 meters.
A
Conclusions
FTer CareFullY analyzing the topographic elevation and the results of the
geophysical prospections, as well as the documentation on the field, we can draw
some conclusions about the geostrategic significance of the fort and its mor-
pho-structural characteristics. The fort was built as a star-shaped with redan points, as
was the fashion of the age, copying the pagan/vauban type of bastion fortress, so that
it could be easily defended in case of an attack supported by heavy artillery and firearms.
The construction was made using clay and wood, on a local soil of limestone and quartzite
freestone. no other materials were identified on location, except fragments of clay bricks
with traces of wood.
FIgurE 9. ceramic fragments found on the fort’s central plateau
Military engineers put to excellent use the natural shape of the land, adapting both
the shape of the fort and its size to the geomorphological conditions provided by the
higher plateau of lãpugiu de Jos hill. The fort’s role was temporary and strictly mili-
tary: to control access to the western plain through the Coşeviþa pass. The military camp
proper, built as early as 1691 on the north side of the hill in the valley of the Brãdet
rivulet, provided soldiers for the fort up the hill. inside the central enclosure there
were several wooden buildings, arranged concentrically on the central plateau and
forming a small curtain wall. They were probably the soldiers’ barracks and household
extensions. The two earth bulwarks on the eastern and southern sides most likely sup-
ported two wooden towers that ensured great visibility over the entire lãpugiu depression,
all the way to the Mureş river. The cannons mounted here could probably control and
destroy any attempt at crossing the couloir of the valea Mare river (the lãpugiu river),
as well as the road winding at the foot of the hill. The geostrategic importance of the
depression is showed even later when, after the end of military conflicts, the village of
dobra will become a post-coach station on the road connecting deva, lugoj and Timişoara.
dobra schantz / nuovo Fortino20 was a unique engineering accomplishment in the
strategic military landscape of Banat and Transylvania, a temporary and intermediate solu-
tion between the materials and technique of the old Turkish palisade, and the shape
and technique of the vauban-type brick bastion fort.
although it was operational for a very short period of time, which we estimate to two
decades at the most, the fort on lãpugiu de Jos hill represents a significant political mil-
itary and geostrategic episode for the history of Banat and Transylvania at the cross-
roads of the 17th and 18th centuries. The fort reflects a period of continuous search for
solutions regarding the military strategy of the age, as well as the thorough topograph-
ical and engineering knowledge of military experts of the habsburg imperial army. To
the best of our knowledge, it is the first attempt at building a star-shaped bastion fortress
on the territory of romania.
given that the fort is located in a particular natural environment, only several meters
away from the motorway linking deva to Timişoara, dobra schantz/nuovo Fortino may
become a much sought after tourist attraction in the near future. Consequently, it must
be further preserved and protected, as it is only due to the forest covering it that this
extraordinary archaeological monument has been so well preserved until today.
q
Notes
1. d. rus, Culoarul Mureºului. Sectorul Brãniºca – Pãuliº. Studiu geografico-uman, (Cluj-napoca,
2006), 16.
2. g.p. pop, Dealurile de Vest ºi Câmpia de Vest, (oradea, 2005), 95.
3. Z. Jakó, Erdélyi okmánytár, ii. 1301–1339 (Magyar országos levéltár kiadványai, ii.
Forráskiadványok 40. (Budapest, 2004), 309, 462.
4. a. Fekete nagy, l. Makkai, Documenta historiam Valachorum in Hungaria illustrantia, usque
ad annum 1400 p. Christum, in Études sur l’europe Centre-orientale, 29 (Budapest, 1941),
326.
5. dl 29435, Diplomatikai Levéltár (Q szekció), erdélyi országos kormányhatósági levéltárak-
ból (F), gYKol, Cista comitatuum (Q 327), Q 327 / hunYad 1 1 16, https://archives.hun-
garicana.hu/en/charters/67705/?list=eyJxdwvyesi6iCiyoTQznsJ9
6. l. Thallóczy, a. Áldásy, Magyarország és Szerbia közti összeköttetések oklevéltára 1198-1526. in
Magyarország melléktartományainak oklevéltára. Codex diplomaticus partium regno hungariae
adnexarum, 2 (Budapest, 1907), 140.
7. l. Thallóczy, a. Áldásy, Magyarország és Szerbia közti összeköttetések oklevéltára 1198-1526, in
Magyarország melléktartományainak oklevéltára. Codex diplomaticus partium regno hungariae
adnexarum, 2 (Budapest, 1907), 193.
8. d. Csánki, Magyarország történelmi földrajza a Hunyadiak korában, v. Kötet, Hunyadvármegye,
városai, in arcanum dvd, iv (Budapest 2006).
ból (F), KKol, Cista comitatuum (Q 320), Q 320 / hunYad B 6 https://archives.hun-
garicana.hu/en/charters/228860/?list=eyJxdwvyesi6iCiynzu1niJ9
ból (F), gYKol, Cista comitatuum (Q 327), Q 327 / hunYad 1 6 42 https://archives.hun-
garicana.hu/en/charters/235686/?list=eyJxdwvyesi6iCiyoTu2nsJ9
11. dl 50243 and dl 27557, Diplomatikai Levéltár (Q szekció), gy jteményekb l (p és r
szekcióból és állagtalan fondok), hazai címereslevelek és nemesi iratok (Q 3), Q 3 / 1908
1 8
https://archives.hungaricana.hu/en/charters/259942/?list=eyJxdwvyesi6iCJKXhuwMgYzZlx
1Mde1MsJ9
12. dl 36399, dl 29924, dl 29925, dl 30973, may be read online or in d. Csánki, Magyarország
történelmi földrajza a Hunyadiak korában, v. Kötet, Hunyadvármegye., városai, in arcanum
dvd, iv (Budapest 2006).
13. d. Csánki, Magyarország történelmi földrajza a Hunyadiak korában, v. Kötet, Hunyadvármegye.,
városai, in arcanum dvd, iv (Budapest 2006).
ból (F), gYKol, Cista diversorum comitatuum (Q 330), Q 330 / 1 3 35 https://archives.hun-
garicana.hu/en/charters/308358/?list=eyJxdwvyesi6iCizMdi5MsJ9
15. l. Fenyvesi, Makó mint hódoltsági nagyváros a 16. Században, in a Makói Múzeum Füzetei
64 (Makó, 1989), 30-31.
16. K. géresi, A nagy-károlyi gróf Károlyi-család oklevéltára / Codex Diplomaticus comitum Károlyi de
Nagy-Károly, negyedik Kötet. Oklevelek és Levelezések 1600–1700 (Budapest, 1887), 63-64,
doc. XXXvii.
17. s. szilágyi (szerk.), Erdélyi Országgyðlési Emlékek, Tizenegyedik Kötet. 1649-1658 (Budapest,
1886), 109, 111.
18. s. szilágyi (szerk.), Erdélyi Országgyðlési Emlékek, Tizenhatodik Kötet. 1675-1679 (Budapest,
1893), 164-165.
19. Foglio Aggiunto All’Ordinario, issues of september-november, as well as the issue of 14
september 1701. Foglio Aggiunto All’Ordinario is the supplement of the newspaper entitled
Avisi italiani, ordinarii, e straordinarii, published in vienna.
20. Fortino, Fortilizio, translated into italian by Count M. visconti, the official cartographer of
general Jean-louis de rabutin-Bussy; it was taken from the local terms os slavic origin kulica
ºi šančić, meaning “ditch”.
Abstract
Beyond the maps. about a Forgotten Fort: dobra schantz / nuovo Fortino
Dobra Schantz / Nuovo Fortino was a bastion fort, made of clay and wood, which was operational
for about two decades at the crossroads of the 17 and 18 centuries. Built during the military
th th
conflicts between the ottoman and the habsburg empires for the domination of Banat and
Transylvania, the fortress on lãpugiu de Jos hill represented an important strategic point, con-
trolling one of the two passages from one province to another: Coşeviþa pass. as the war ended
in favor of the Court in vienna and the two abovementioned provinces passed under habsburg
domination, the fort next to the village of dobra lost its geostrategic significance and was for-
gotten. however, its presence on several imperial maps dating back to the war period spurred
our interest and, after having located it in the field, we aim to bring it to the forefront of the
academic world by means of some non-invasive research methods: archaeological topographic sur-
vey, electrical resistivity tomography, and magnetometry. we strongly believe that the local
authorities should seek its inclusion on the list of historical Monuments so that it will be pro-
tected and included in a cultural tourist circuit, because it has been very well preserved and may
become a local attraction.
Keywords
Fort, archaeological topographic survey, electrical resistivity tomography, magnetometry, dobra

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T h e M e d i e va l B a n aT

Angevin dynasty in the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries. actes du colloque international de szeged,

The Social Condition and the Appointment

iii 1317 paulus filius iwanka

vi 1318 petrus dictul Zeel de Budun

1327 Zeyhanum oficialem magistri nicolai comes Tymesiensis

X 1334 nicolao filius Barth

vi 1337 Jacobo de Twrwsd; Johanne fratre comiti puer

iii 1338 andrea filio simonis

v 1341 stephanus dictus Bogar

v 1341 nicolao filio Baruch

Xii 1346 Blasio fili Michaelis

v 1364 petrus orodiensis et nicolaus Chanadiensis ecclesiarum prepositi

1366 petro de Bok

vii 1368 stephani filio pouse de Zeer; petro preposito et prelato

ii 1369 nicolao dicto pycher

vii 1369 Michaele dicto pogan

iii 1370 Johanne filio nicolai

i 1371 nicolao filio Fabiani Bok

i 1375 nicolao filio Thome de Bok

vii 1375 ladislao de Chalya

iv 1377 stephanus de gyertyanus

vi 1377 laurencio de Checheleke

vi 1387 Mathia filio nicolai

viii 1387 georgio fili Benedicit de dersfalwa

Xi 1387 Michaele filio nicolai de heges

Xii 1387 petro de Berky

vii 1388 nicolao de erdewhat de curia regia

v 1389 georgio de Chechteleke

iv 1390 georgio eleuiarow om al vicecomitelui

i 1391 Cosma de Cyra

iv 1391 luca filio stephani notario curie regie

Xi 1392 andrea filio nicolai de Moiosfalwa

Xii 1392 augustino filio pauli de Zenthantal

iii 1393 Thomam de Mandla

v 1393 stephanum filium Konya de Muron

vi 1393 paulum filium Konya de Muron

viii 1393 petrum de Thoth

X 1393 Magister Corrardus neurmizegh de curia regia

i 1399 Jacobo literato de Jakabfalwa

Xi 1399 nicolao filio petri de Machedonia

iii 1401 Johanne dicto Tatar de Zeldes

X 1404 georgio de Chechteleky

iv 1405 vice Comitibus georgio parvo castellano de Themeswar

v 1406 andrea de Mayosfalua

Xii 1407 valentino de Berle

i 1408 Johanne dicto Tatar

i 1409 emerico nigro de papd

i 1409 lucas de surk

i 1409 emerico nigro de papd

i 1409 emerico nigro de papd

vi 1411 ladislao de Kenez

X 1411 sigismundo de Mezeusomlo notario et homine regio de curia regia

ii 1412 Michaele de Zala notario et homine regio de curia regia

X 1414 Blasio de Muron

X 1414 Blasio de Mondola

iv 1415 ioan de Mondola

vii 1415 Blasio de Mondola

iX 1415 nicolao fili laurentio de Mondola

Xii 1415 georgio de Chechtelek

Xii 1415 Maius filius nicolai de orozapathy

iii 1416 stephano de Mwron

iv 1416 Blasio de Mondola