ultimately, the Mongols and then the Tatars. Later on, the Transylvanian Saxons further fortified both their rural and urban settlements agains the invading Ottoman Empire. Slowly but steadily, the Saxon colonists managed to build solid and prosperous communities in the Carpathian Basin, more specifically in south-eastern, southern, and north-eastern Transylvania. These Transylvanian Saxons are very tied with their initial origin which stems from Western Europe, more specifically from Luxembourg and the Rhine-Moselle river valley. Their dialect, Transylvanian Saxon, is a strong testimony to this as it reflects many similarities with Luxembourgish. Subsequently, as the Teutonic Knights left Transylvania (forced by the Hungarian rulership), the Transylvanian Saxon colonists remained and were given more rights through local autonomies, according to Diploma Andreanum (, ) issued by Andrew II of Hungary in the early 13th century. Their autonomous lands were later known as the 'Royal Lands' or 'Saxon Lands'. In these lands, they lived together with the Romanian ethnic majority as well as with the Hungarians (who formed a significant minority). Eventually, they also sporadically rebelled against the Hungarian rulership, most notably in the proximity of Rupea (, Transylvanian Saxon: Räppes) led by graf () Henning of Petersdorf/Petrești in 1324. Across the Carpathians, the Saxons settled along with the Romanians in Wallachia and Moldavia and contributed to the establishment of the first major urban centres and capitals of these two Romanian medieval principalities. Noteworthy towns and medieval capitals co-founded by Saxons include Baia in present-day Suceava County or Târgu Neamț () in Neamț County as well as Târgoviște () in Dâmbovița County or Câmpulung Muscel () in Argeș County. Here they brought urbanisation and German laws as they did in Suceava as well, in which the local administration had operated for some time under the Magdeburg law, just like Siret (), Baia, or Neamț. They even briefly served as Schultheiß (), or the equivalent of the administrative title of medieval mayor in these communities. Nonetheless, along with the passing of time, the Saxons were assimilated in the larger Romanian communities of Romanians, both of the Wallchians and Moldavians. Back in Transylvania, they managed to thoroughly fortify their villages and towns. In bygone times, there used to be as many as 300 (or approximately 300) villages with fortified churches built by the Transylvanian Saxons. Now their number is close to half, but among these there are many very well preserved ones which are both