Factors that contributed to the development of transylvania

The Transylvania of the 10th century and its cities were developed due to different factors of various nature. The first factor was the pre-existence of some regional roads, dating back to the Romans that lived on the (now) Romanian territory. The second factor is that the cities were home to the first religious and episcopal centres in the country, thus attracted many believers in the area. The third factor is the pre-existence of proto-urban nuclei that were superimposed to ancient dwellings, such an example being both Cluj and Alba-Iulia. These dwellings had the exact configuration of ancient cities, with the two main axis (Cardo and Dehumanus), as well as an esiscopal centre and being surrounded by fortifications (maintaining the image of a Roman castrum). The fourth factor is the pre-existence of some territorial defense posts for the military, being the case for the city of Sighisoara. The fifth factor is the way each city exploited the natural resources found nearby, such an example being the city of Bistrita-Nasaud. The last factor is the development of increasing trade and craftsmanship and of commercial roads (such as in Brasov or Sibiu). Moreover, these cities also had the right to use some halls with the functionality of storage for the commercial goods.