In 1257, Béla IV of Hungary (1235–1270) appointed his eldest son, the future Stephen V (1270–1272) to govern the kingdom's territories to the east of the Danube. Here the younger king ceded a significant part of his royal domains to noblemen. The first years of the reign of Ladislaus IV of Hungary (1272–1290), were characterized by civil wars throughout the entire kingdom. In Transylvania, the Saxons engaged in a local conflict with the bishop, took Alba Iulia and set fire to the cathedral. The series of wars continued in 1285 with a second Mongol invasion. During its initial stage, the Székelys, the Romanians and the Saxons successfully blocked the Mongols' access and later organized a series of ambushes provoking panic among the retreating invaders.