Kosovo’s Territorial Characteristics from the Roman Empire to the Fall of the Medieval Serbian State

Abstract

One of the most significant features of the more than 20-year long agony of the communist state in Yugoslavia in relation to the Kosovo question is the Serbian-Albanian conflict. The Serbians in general consider Kosovo as an ancient Serbian land and they object to its secession from Serbia. On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of the Albanians in Kosovo (over 90%) want to secede from Serbia, that is, Serbian historical interests oppose Albanian ethnic interests. The aim of our research partnership was to outline the history of the area called Kosovo today, and to analyse its characteristics from the age of the Roman Empire up to now. This study is to introduce the results of the first phase of the research. As it is suggested by the title, the history of Kosovo as a region is outlined in it, from the age of the Roman Empire to the fall of the medieval Serbian State (1458). Our research was also aimed at describing Kosovo’s 2000-year-old history from historical, political and geographical points of view. The migration routes between areas of power, the spatial development of various states and the historical spatial structures, which can be built on the formerly mentioned characteristics were our starting points, which were all helpful when interpreting the historical correlations of the ‘Kosovo problem’.