The name Castrum Tymes (Thymes, Temes, Castrum Temesiensis, Castrum Temesvariensis) is found for the first time in documents in the 13th century. After his first visit to Timișoara, in the fall of 1307, Charles I of Hungary built the first stone fortress () between 1308 and 1315, on the site of an existing clay fortress, using Italian craftsmen. The reason for choosing this site was that the Mureș and Tisza rivers, the Danube and the mountain passes of western Romanian Carpathians prevented surprise attacks.