Kunság was raided during the Ottoman–Hungarian wars, as a result of which as many as 60% of Cuman settlements vanished; the process was only accelerated during the Ottoman occupation of Hungary. The Little Cumanian town of Kecskemét received personal protection from Mehmed III, symbolized by a gold-threaded kaftan. Kecskemét's mayor would wear this garment while meeting Ottoman troops, reminding them of the pledge. "Under continuous harassment", other inhabitants of Kunság took to the marshes bordering the region, or fled Hungary altogether. This process saw them identifying more closely with their Hungarian neighbors, and resulted in a more accelerated adoption of the Hungarian identity. However, historian Nathalie Kálnoky argues that Cuman and Jazyg identities were unwittingly protected by the Ottoman invasion, since it interrupted the two group's "dissolution" into the estates of the realm. The Ottoman traveler Sheikh Ali still identified a distinct Cuman presence in their new provinces, describing Cumans as similar to Tatars, and noting that they still maintained their customs. Initially, this also referred to a preservation of the Cuman language, which nevertheless died out during the mid 17th century.