Transylvania Transylvania Transylvania is a historical region which today is located in central Romania. Bound on the east and south by its natural borders, the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended westward to the Apuseni Mountains. The term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also parts of the historical regions of Crișana and Maramureș, and occasionally the Romanian part of Banat. The region of Transylvania is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history. It also contains major cities such as Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Sibiu, Târgu Mureș and Bistrița. The Western world commonly associates Transylvania with vampires,
Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711) West and north Royal Hungary, Ottoman Hungary, and the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom under Ottoman suzerainty, which later became the Principality of Transylvania where Austrian and Turkish influences vied for supremacy for nearly two centuries. The Hungarian magnates of Transylvania resorted to policy of duplicity in order to preserve independence. Transylvania was administrated by Isabella, John Sigismund's mother from 1541 to 1551, when it fell for 5 years (1551–1556) under Habsburg rule. The House of Zapolya gained again the control of Transylvania in 1556, when the Diet of Szászsebes elected Sigismund as prince of Transylvania. Transylvania was now beyond the reach