Cumania: land of the Cumans (c. 1060–1241) The arrival of the Cumans in the Lower Danube region was first recorded in 1055. A 17th-century version of the Turkic chronicle Oghuzname relates that Quipchaq, the ancient Cuman hero, fought against the Ulak (Romanians), along with other nations. Cuman groups assisted the rebelling Bulgarians and Vlachs against the Byzantines between 1186 and 1197. "Dridu" villages of the lowlands east of the Carpathians were abandoned between 1050 and 1080, around which time new settlements appeared on higher land on both banks of the Prut. A sharp decrease from 300 to 35 in the number of archaeological sitessettlements, cemeteries and coin hordsevidences a population decline which continued well into the 13th century. Byzantine troops marching towards Transylvania through the territory east of the Carpathians encountered "a land entirely bereft of men" in 1166. A coalition of Rus' princes and Cuman tribes suffered a sound defeat by the Mongols in the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223. Shortly thereafter Boricius, a Cuman chieftain, accepted baptism and the supremacy of the king of Hungary. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cumania was set up in his territories in 1228. A letter of 1234 written by Pope Gregory IX refers to a "certain people within the Cuman bishopric called Walati" (Vlachs) who even persuaded Catholic Hungarians and Germans to accept the ecclesiastic authority of Orthodox prelates. Mongol invasion (1241–1242) The Mongols, who had decided to invade Europe in 1235, attacked the Cumans in 1238. Masses of Cumans sought refuge in Bulgaria and Hungary. The Mongols crossed the Carpathians in March 1241, and soon afterwards they destroyed "the rich village of the Germans" (Rodna), and took Bistrița, Cluj, and Oradea. Another Mongol army "proceeded by way of the Qara-Ulagh" ("Black Vlachs"), and defeated their leader named "Mishlav". They also entered Transylvania, sacked Alba Iulia, Sibiu, the abbeys at Cârța and Igriș, and Cenad. The Mongol invasion lasted for a year, and the Mongols devastated huge swathes of territory of the kingdom before their unexpected withdrawal in 1242. Matthew Paris and other contemporaneous scholars considered the Mongol invasion as a "sign of apocalypse". Whole villages were destroyed, and many were never rebuilt. According to a royal charter of 1246, Alba Iulia, Harina, Gilău, Mărişelu, Tășnad and Zalău were almost depopulated. Another charter from 1252 evidences that Zec, a village on the Olt, was totally deserted. Aftermath A new period