### Cumans, cuman chairs, székely chairs
The Cumans Nomadic people, who spoke a Turkic language. In the sources they appear in the Eastern European steppe in the 11th century. From the middle of the century they ruled the region lying between the river Ural and the Lower-Danube (Cuman country), threatening the neighbouring countries - such as the Hungarian Kingdom - with their raids. In 1223 they (together with their Russian allies) suffered a defeat from the Tartars in the battle near the river Kalka. After this some of them surrendered to the Tartars, other groups went westwards. From the 1220s the Hungarian Kingdom made successful efforts to conquer and convert the Cumans living east and west of the Carpathian mountains. After 1242 the Cumans who lived in Hungary either submitted to the Mongolian rule or mingled with the Rumanians, who occupied the western part of the Cuman country. ZSA Cuman Chairs The administration units of the Cumans in Hungary, which provided the Cumans with an independent government. They appear in different sources only from the first half of the 15th century, but they were organised in the 14th century. In some cases it can be proved that these "chairs" were formed from the residences of Cuman clans from the 13th century. There were six Cuman chairs: Halas, Hantos, Kara (Mizse), Kecskemét, Kolbáz and Szentelt. ZSA Székely "chairs" The regional administrative units of the Transylvanian Székelys. They were formed in the 14th century. There were six chairs in the Székelyföld [Székelyland] (Telegd [= Udvarhely], Maros, Csík, Sepsi, Orbai and Kézdi), the seventh one was in the west, near the river Aranyos (Aranyosszék). The leaders of the Székelys were the lieutenant and the judge, who were appointed from among Székely clans, according to a definite order. ZSA