The history of Skopje, North Macedonia, goes back to at least 4000;[1] remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. The settlement appears to have been founded around then by the Paionians, a people that inhabited the region. It became the capital of Dardania, which extended from Naissus to Bylazora in the second century BC.[2] Roman expansion east brought Scupi under Roman rule on the eve of the 1st century AD. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the early medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire. It served as Bulgarian capital from 972 to 992. After 1018, it was a capital of Byzantine theme of Bulgaria after the fall the First Bulgarian Empire. In 1189 the town was part of the Serbian realm[3] later becoming the capital of the Serbian Empire. In 1392 the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and they named the town Üsküb. The town stayed under Ottoman rule for over 500 years. During that period it was famous for its oriental architecture.
In 1913, after the Balkan Wars, Skopje became part of Kingdom of Serbia, and after the First World War the city became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia). In the Second World War the city was conquered by the Bulgarian Army, which was collaborating with the Nazi Germans. In 1944 it became the capital city of Democratic Macedonia (later Socialist Republic of Macedonia),[4] which was a federal state, part of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (later Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). The city developed rapidly after World War II, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake. In 1991 it became the capital centre of independent Macedonia.
Skopje was the birthplace of the noted missionary Religious Sister, Mother Teresa of Calcutta.