Late Antiquity and Medieval sites in Kosovo

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Part of series of articles upon Archaeology of Kosovo

Late Antiquity in Kosovo brings different currents of change that reverberate and affect it as well as the whole extent of the Roman Empire. It starts at the time of Constantine the Great, who was born in ancient Dardania with the acceptance and spread of Christianity, and continues as a tumultuous period because of the different barbaric invasions that plague the empire at that time, be that by Goths, Avars, Slavs, etc. Kosovo was always in an interesting strategic position, being situated between the old-world East and West, at that time the eastern and western Roman empire.

With the decline of the western Roman Empire, we see an intriguing development where some of the emperors of Rome are Illyrians or Dardanians. To list a few prominent ones: Justinian, Constantine, and Diocletian. They bring a breath of fresh air to the antiquated system of government of Rome and replace the capital to Constantinople, which brings forth a new surge of civilization and knowledge.^[1] While the Dark Age is in full swing in Europe, Kosovo and Balkans in general see a migration of new people in its territories, and even though not in peace, see a period of progression. The old knowledge of the Classics is not lost nor forgotten, and a new development in art and architecture starts. This puts Kosovo in an interesting position being that it becomes a bridge through which we see these different influences of civilization happen, whereas we see an influence of Romanesque, Byzantine, and later Ottoman styles of life, philosophy, religion and architecture. We also see during this tumultuous period the building of many fortifications to protect the population from the uncertainties of conquest from abroad.^[2]

Below we will see some of the settlements and fortresses in Kosovo. Being that this is an archaeological article, we excluded the sacral monuments, but it would be interesting to study them as well, considering their age and continuous use, since the first days of Christianity until today, through different creeds and nationalities. As an example we will take the Gračanica monastery which is built on top of an ancient Christian basilica, a continuation of the ancient town of Municipium Ulpiana.