Kosovo

Serbs have long revered Kosovo, an autonomous republic of the former Yugoslavia, as the cradle of their civilization. It has only been in the last century and a half that Albanians have become the majority in Kosovo, and not until this century that Kosovo has become semi-independent of Serb control. Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia, and the Serbs have a legitimate and historical claim.

Back to "The Balkans" Chronology

During the height of its medieval kingdom, Serbia emerged as the dominant power of the Balkans. In fact, she had expanded south into territories which formerly were under Byzantine control. Kosovo was the center of this great kingdom. During this era, Serbia was recognized by the great monarchies of Europe. It was Serbia alone who created this great kingdom, and Serbia who defended it in 1389 against the Ottoman Turks under the leadership of the Serb, Prince Lazar. The Balkans since, have been subjected to five hundred years of domination by the Ottoman Turks. During this time, it was only the Serbs who effectively rebelled against Turkish rule. By 1878 Serbia was again free, demonstrating that Slavic peoples did not have to be subjected to foreign rule. By 1913, after two Balkan wars, Kosovo was reclaimed by the Serbs. Serbia once again demonstrated why she is the leader of the Slavic peoples. However, during the many years of Ottoman rule, many Serbs had migrated out of Kosovo. Under Marshal Tito’s communist rule after 1945, more Albanians were brought into Kosovo, creating the disproportionate number of Albanians occupying Kosovo today. Since the collapse of the former Yugoslav Federation, the Serbs have justifiably reclaimed Kosovo as their own.

Bibliography:

West, Rebecca. Black Lamb and Grey Falcon. Vol. 2. New York: The Viking Press, 1940.

Kosovo Heritage. http://www.jsrpsk-mreza. com /mlad/ Heitage 3. html.

Kosovo at a Glance. http://www.sunherrald.com/kosovo/html/la.htm

Researched and Written by: Robert Wolf
December 18, 1998