History of Kosovo

The history of Kosovo dates back to pre-historic times when the Starčevo culture, Vinča culture, Bubanj-Hum culture, and Baden culture were active in the region. Since then, many archaeological sites have been discovered due to the abundance of natural resources which gave way to the development of life.

In antiquity the area was part of the Kingdom of Dardania. It was annexed by the Roman Empire toward the end of the 1st century BC and incorporated into the province of Moesia. In the Middle Ages, the region became part of the Bulgarian Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Serbian mediaeval states. In 1389 the Battle of Kosovo was fought between a coalition of Balkan states and the Ottoman Empire, resulting in a Serbian decline and eventual Ottoman conquest in 1459.

Kosovo's modern history can be traced to the Ottoman Sanjak of Prizren, of which parts were organised into Kosovo Vilayet in 1877. This was when Kosovo was used as the name of the entire territory for the first time. In 1913 the Kosovo Vilayet was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbia, which in 1918 formed Yugoslavia. Kosovo gained autonomy in 1963 under Josip Broz Tito's direction. This autonomy was significantly extended by Yugoslavia's 1974 Constitution, but was lost in 1990. In 1999 UNMIK stepped in. On 17 February 2008, representatives of the people of Kosovo^[1] unilaterally declared Kosovo's independence and subsequently adopted the Constitution of Republic of Kosovo, which came into effect on 15 June 2008.

^ "Accordance With International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2012-08-19.

[auto-1] "Accordance With International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2012-08-19.

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