The Szekelys are a Magyar subgroup that lives in Hungary, central Romania, and parts of Serbia. The Szekelys claimed descent from the Huns and a mixture of other groups, including the Magyars and Germans; the Magyars sent the Szekelys to defend the borders of Hungary, fighting against the Turks during the Renaissance era. The Szekelys became a large ethnic group in the Transylvania region of Romania, remaining in the region until 1920, when the Romanian government gained control of the region and attempted to force the Szekelys to adopt Romanian culture. In 2016, there were 700,000 Szekelys in the world, making up 19.6% of the population of Transylvania.