city the right to organize fairs. In 1470 King Matthias Corvinus
granted the first judicial privilege to the city, and in 1482 declared the city
a royal settlement. In 1492, wayvoda István Báthory strengthened its monastery
with fortifications, this was a pentagon-shaped outer castle tower. In 1506,
the troops of Pál Tomori were beaten by the Szeklers rising against the payment
of an extraordinary Ox tax imposed on them on occasion of the birth of Louis II
of Hungary. In 1557, the Reformed Church College (i.e. Presbyterians) was
established as the oldest Hungarian school of Transylvania. In 1571, the
session of Transylvanian parliament under prince John II Sigismund Zápolya
accepted the free preach of the word of God, including the Unitarian Church. In
1600–1601, as a result of the siege of Giorgio Basta, the fortress turned to
ruins. In 1602, the troops of Gergely Németh put on fire the remaining houses
of the town, therefore, in 1602 the reconstruction of the fortress was started
further the advice of mayor Tamás Borsos, but it was actually built between
1614 and 1653. Mózes Székely the only prince of Szekler origin visited the city
in 1603, when liberated Transylvania from foreign domination. In 1616, it was
granted the status of a free royal city under the name of Maros-Vásárhely by
prince (fejedelem) Gábor Bethlen. In 1658, Turkish and Tartarian troops invaded
and burned it, 3000 people were taken into captivity. In 1661, as no one show
willingness to accept the duty of prince, under pressure from pasha Ali, Mihály
Apafi was elected prince here. In 1662, resulting from the negligence of the
Turkish military residing here, the city was almost completely burnt down. In 1687,
it was devastated by German imperial troops.
In 1704, the kuruc troops of Pál
Kaszás occupied the fortress, which was re-occupied by Lőrinc Pekry from the
labanc in 1706. On 5 April 1707,
