Jayparth More

Islamic Conquest of Kosovo Before the Islamic Conquest: Kosovo was a very important cultural and political heartland of the Serbian state. The majority of Kosovo was Serbian, with a small Albanian minority, in the 14th century. Conquest: In 1389, the Ottoman Empire attacked Kosovo. (Battle of Kosovo) The Ottoman Sultan Murad I was killed on the battlefield by the Serbian knight Milos Obilic. The Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović was captured and executed. Officially, neither side won the battle. Serbia became an Ottoman vassal. An initial Turkish base was established in northern Kosovo that same year. In 1423, an Ottoman court was established in Pristina, (Kosovo) The Second Battle of Kosovo took place in 1448. The Ottoman Empire won the battle against a Hungarian-led coalition. The Ottoman Empire ruled Kosovo from 1459 until 1912 Islamization of Kosovo The Ottoman Empire settled Albanians in Kosovo. In 1690, many Serbs left Kosovo and headed northward into Habsburg lands to escape Ottoman rule. From 1455 to 1856, non-Muslims were required to pay the jizya. Initially, Albanians were predominantly Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Over the centuries, Albanians converted to Islam. By the end of the 19th century, Kosovo had become majority Muslim. Serbian attempts to regain Kosovo In 1918, Kosovo became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia or Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Since the demographics had changed during the Ottoman period, Serbia attempted to correct this. They settled several thousand Serbs in Kosovo and deported some Albanians from Kosovo. The project ended when Kosovo was occupied by Fascist Italy. After the 2nd World War , Tito forbade Serbs from returning to Kosovo. In 1989, Slobodan Milosevic stripped Kosovo of the autonomy that Tito had granted it in 1974. He positions himself as a defender of the Serbs in Kosovo. In 1996 The group name UCK (Kosovo Liberation Army) claimed responsibility for attacks on Serbian police and government targets. Milosevic responded with a crackdown on militants or supporters of the KLA. In February 1998, the Kosovo War began a conflict between the Serbian military and police and the KLA. On March 24, 1999, NATO launched a 78-day war against Serbia. On June 10, 1999, Milosevic accepted a UN-backed peace agreement; Serbien (Yugoslav ) forces begin withdrawing from Kosovo On October 5, 2000, Milosevic was toppled by a coalition consisting of leftists, pro-EU Serbs, nationalists, & monarchists. He refused to accept the election defeat. In 2008, Kosovo was declared independent. Not all countries have recognized Kosovo, including Serbia, Russia, China, Greece, and Spain. Today, 93% of Kosovo is Muslim. 7% of the population in Kosovo are Christians; most of them are Serbian Orthodox or Catholic Albanians.