The first documented reference to Timișoara dates back to 1266, when it appeared in a Hungarian royal charter. In the early fourteenth century, during the reign of King Charles I of Hungary, a fortified royal castle was constructed between 1307 and 1313, establishing the city as an important administrative and military center of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. During the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, Timișoara played a prominent political role and even hosted sessions of the Hungarian Diet. At the same time, the city increasingly faced Ottoman pressure and repeated military threats. In 1552, after a prolonged siege lasting forty-eight days, the city fell to the Ottoman Empire. Despite promises of safe conduct, many of the defenders, including the commander István Losonczy, were executed. For the next 164 years, Timișoara served as