Having been raided twice by the Mongols within a single year, Transylvania felt the consequences of the invasion of 1241–1242 for more than two decades. The administrative centers of the province, such as Alba Iulia and Cetatea de Baltă, had been destroyed. Due to the severe depopulation, a process of organized colonization commenced that lasted for several decades. For example, a new wave of colonization resulted in the establishment of the Saxon seats of Sighişoara and Mediaș; and the lord of Ilia received, in 1292, royal permission to settle Romanians in the lands he owned.