Peja is the fourth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the Lumbardhi i Pejës River in the western part of Kosovo.
Prokuplje is a city and the administrative center of the Toplica District in southern Serbia. As of 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 38,054 inhabitants.
Kachaks is a term used for the Albanian rebels active in the late 19th and early 20th century in northern Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia, and later as a term for the militias of Albanian revolutionary organizations against the Kingdom of Serbia (1910–18) Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–24), called the "Kachak Movement".
The Vilayet of Kosovo was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan Peninsula which included the modern-day territory of Kosovo and the north-western part of the Republic of North Macedonia. The areas today comprising Sandžak (Raška) region of Serbia and Montenegro, although de jure under Ottoman control, were de facto under Austro-Hungarian occupation from 1878 until 1909, as provided under Article 25 of the Treaty of Berlin. Üsküb (Skopje) functioned as the capital of the province and the midway point between Istanbul and its European provinces. Üsküb's population of 32,000 made it the largest city in the province, followed by Prizren, also numbering at 30,000.
Muhaxhir and Muhaxher are Ottoman Albanian communities that left their homes as refugees or were transferred, from Greece, Serbia and Montenegro to Albania, Kosovo and to a lesser extent North Macedonia during and following various wars.
Albin Kurti is the Prime Minister of Kosovo, having been elected in March 2021 for a second time. He first served in the role between February and June 2020.
The Albanians of Kosovo, also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo.
Pristina, Prishtina or Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district.
The Sanjak of Niš was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire and its county town was Niš. It was composed of the kazas of Niš (Niş), Pirot (Şehirköy), Leskovac (Leskofça), Vranje (İvranye), Kuršumlija (Kurşunlu), Prokuplje (Ürküp) and Tran (Turan).
Classical music in Kosovo refers to the art music cultivated in Kosovo. The roots of classical music in Kosovo are found in the 1940s and include the time period from the times when Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia to this day. It can be said that there is a tradition of classical music in Kosovo, however, compared to other Balkan countries and especially European countries this tradition is younger. Classical music in Kosovo reaches back about 70 years. Even though in a short period of time, this music has evolved, passing through generations of composers and artists. In his book Albanian: Zhvillimi i stileve në veprat e kompozitorëve shqiptarë të Kosovës, Engjëll Berisha comments:
"The diversity of styles in Albanian music [of Kosovo], its national patterns with sound idea-aesthetic foundations are a characteristic of the European musical reality, so many many works are of interest abroad, too, because during this relatively short period Albanian classical music in Kosovo has compensated for the delay in its development."
Islamic monuments in Kosovo are commonly related with the Ottoman arrival in 1389, and respectively with their effective establishment in Kosovo in 1459. However, many historical evidences show that the first encounters of Islam with the Balkans happened well before the arrival of the Ottomans and their establishment in the Balkans. Because of its proximity to the centers of Islam, i.e., Middle East, the Byzantine Empire and parts of the Balkans, including the Albanian territories and Kosovo as well, were exposed to Islam as early as in the 8th century.
During the decline and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Muslim inhabitants living in territories previously under Ottoman control, often found themselves as a persecuted minority after borders were re-drawn. These populations were subject to genocide, expropriation, massacres, religious persecution, mass rape, and ethnic cleansing.
As of December 2012 Pristina, the capital city of Kosovo, had a population of 205,133 registered inhabitants.
The expulsion of the Albanians (1877–1878) refers to events of forced migration of Albanian populations from areas that became incorporated into the Principality of Serbia and Principality of Montenegro in 1878 after their initial expulsion from 1830–1876. These wars, alongside the larger Russo-Ottoman War (1877–78) ended in defeat and substantial territorial losses for the Ottoman Empire which was formalised at the Congress of Berlin. This expulsion was part of the wider persecution of Muslims in the Balkans during the geopolitical and territorial decline of the Ottoman Empire.
Bukosh, is a village in the Vushtrri municipality in Kosovo. It is inhabited by a majority of ethnic Albanians.
The Circassians in Bulgaria were a large ethnic minority in the territory that constitutes modern Bulgaria. In the late 19th century, they numbered around 150,000. In 1992, 573 people in the country identified themselves as Circassian.
Duboc Fortress is situated above the Ceçan, part of the Ciçavica mountain chain, in the village of Duboc, approximately 10–12 km in the south-west of the Municipality of Vushtrri.
Ujmir is a village in Klina municipality, Kosovo. It is located south of the Klina River.
Voksh is a village and tribal region situated in western Kosovo[a], which is inhabited by 570 people, all of whom are Albanians. The village of Voksh is also home to the Vokshi tribe which is part of the larger polyphyletic Thaçi tribe.
Kosovo during the First World War was initially, for about a year, completely filled with Serbian military forces, which retreated towards Albania to continue further to Corfu. After the occupation of the territories by Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Bulgaria as allies in the First World War, the occupied territories were divided. The years 1915–1918 in the occupied Bulgarian zone are considered the most tragic years of poverty and hunger for the population of this part of Kosovo. The lack of bread was felt not only because of the drought, but also because the invaders confiscated the people's grain. Unlike the Bulgarian occupation zone, the Austro-Hungarians pursued a policy aimed at benefiting the general populace. They began to disregard some national rights, which for Albanians had vital value.
