[6] In the 15th century the Italian architect Paolo Santini de Duccio claimed that he had built fortifications in Timișoara over old Avar earthworks.

[12][21][22][23][24][25] The reason for choosing this site was that the Mureș and Tisza rivers, the Danube and the mountain passes of western Romanian Carpathians prevented surprise attacks.

[26] Paul Niedermaier and Mihai Opriș have speculated that the fortress was composed of two rectangular parts of about 170 x 110 m, having a total area of about 2 hectares.

[20][27][28][29] The fort was situated within the perimeter of the current Alba Iulia – Dimitrie Cantemir – Carol Telbisz Streets and Huniade Square.

Between 1443 and 1448 the walls were rebuilt higher and stronger, except the west side which remained as Scolari had built it because it was less exposed to attack due to the swamp stretching approximately 2–3 kilometers (1.2–1.9 mi).

[44][45] From the north to the current Eugeniu of Savoia Street, the fortifications were extended with an earthen wall reinforced with palisades and a moat.

[58][59] On 15 June 1514 the fortress, defended by Stephen VII Báthory, was besieged by a peasant army led by György Dózsa.

He ordered the digging of a 7-kilometre-long (4.3 mi) channel from the area of the current Fabric Quarter to the vicinity of the modern Giroc, it was not completed before John Zápolya’s army arrived and defeated the peasants on 15 July.

In 1550, following the treaty with John Zápolya's widow, the Habsburgs took over the city of Timișoara and brought in Italian architects, such as Martino de Spazio, who reinforced the walls, fortified the Water Tower for harquebusiers and built bastions to strengthen the city against the threat posed by the Ottomans, despite the previous good relations between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans.

As there was a bottleneck on the Danube at the Iron Gates, there were numerous fortresses in the Clisura Dunării: Turnu Severin, Ada Kaleh, Orșova, Dubova (Peci), Svinița and Drencova.

He continued along the River Mureș to Lipova, occupying the fortresses of Dudeștii Vechi, Cenad, Igriș, Felnac, Zădăreni, Nădlac, Ciala, Arad, Mândruloc, Păuliș and Chelmac.

[53][74][75] The garrison of the fortress, led by István Losonci [hu], consisted of 200 hussars from Ardeal, 600 Spanish,[Note 2] German and Italian mercenaries and Hungarians, Romanians and Serbs; altogether more than 2,000 cavalry and 1,500 infantry.

The Ottomans began digging trenches in the area that would become Palanca Mare and placed two siege guns to bombard the fortifications from the north, but the intervention of the defender's cavalry prevented the attack.

On 4 November the Imperial troops commanded by Giovanni Battista Castaldo [de; hu; it; ro] arrived in Lipova and, after a two-week siege, the town surrendered.

They crossed the Danube together with the army of Rumelia commanded by Sokollu Pasha and reached Timișoara on 24 June with a vanguard of 1,500 horsemen.

The garrison of the fortress was about 2,500 men – including 1,000 Hungarians, 400 Spanish, 200 Austrians, 300 Czechs – and 17 cannon, Losonci István was still in command.

The local inhabitants demanded the surrender of the fortress, but the soldiers, hoping for help from Castaldo – who did not arrive – wanted to continue the fight and used the two days truce to repair the fortifications as much as they could.

Nevertheless, as a reprisal for the massacre of the Lipova garrison the previous year, the Ottomans violated the armistice conditions and launched an attack that led to the murder of the defenders, including István Losonci.

[69] The town was cordoned off by tall earthen walls reinforced by palisades made of tree trunks tied with wickerwork.

[106][107][108] In 1597 the Habsburgs offered an annual tribute of 12,000 ducats (about 40 kg of fine gold) for the restitution of Timişoara, but the Ottomans refused.

In February 1600, the troops of Michael the Brave, under the command of Baba Novac, attacked Timișoara and burned down the suburbs, but they did not besiege it and moved to Pančevo.

Meanwhile, another army corps, consisting of 14 squadrons and 4 infantry battalions under the command of General Steinville, arrived from Alba Iulia.

However, the proposed bastions were designed in Italian style, already obsolete, and the form of the fortification was unsuitable for the principles of an ideal city.

In it the elements depicted in red were buildings that had already been raised (the Casemated Barracks and the fodder supply warehouse of the Theresia Bastions).

A zinc plaque inscribed was with "Imperante Carolo VI, Duce Eugenio Sabaudiae Principe per cladem Petro-Varadini MDCCXVI a Turcis recuperata Provincia, sub preadisio Claudii Comitis a Mercy anno a patru Virginis MDCCXXIII die XXV.

[citation needed] The state of siege required the banning of riots, of groups larger than 6 persons and also imposed the surrender of the arms.

In response, to the decree of Lajos Kossuth of 8 October – which demanded the flying of the Hungarian flag and loyalty to Hungary – the garrison of the city replied that Kossuth was declared outlaw by the decree of 3 October and therefore it was no longer obliged to follow Hungarian orders and would remain faithful to the Emperor and defend the Fortress.

However, the suburbs had to have the streets drawn radially towards the fortress to allow good sighting and enfilade fire in case of attack.

[161] The demolition involved the dismantling of the walls, the filling of the moats with the earthworks above the bastions, and the cleanup of the scrap materials by the municipal authorities.

In the southern part of Lucian Blaga Street a mortar floor with fragments of brick was discovered, probably the market mentioned by Evliya Çelebi.