Kosovo Polje Research Articles

Shahids and martyrs: Conflicting national narratives and places of memory in Kosovo

Kosovo Field (Kosovo Polje), the core region of the newly independent Kosovo, experienced several key historical events, each of which left important memories in the space. As political control over territory changed, different memories connected to the area became stronger, while others were pushed into the background. The first battle of Kosovo (1389) and the death of their ruler Lazar, is a key event in Serbian history, identified through spectacular landmarks in the region. Connected to this event, Turkish monuments also exist, commemorating the death of the martyr Sultan Murad I. Following independence, memorials of Albanian fighters started mushrooming as a core element of Kosovar identity building, with the martyrdom of the “legendary commander” Adem Jashari being central to this emblematic memory project. All three nations have an “official” martyr connected to the space, around which different nation-building narratives have been constructed. As the struggle over the control and influence of the region continues, so does the competition of different memories and memorials. Territorialisation and de-territorialisation of memories are ongoing projects in the country by the three nations, linked to competing nation-buildings and political power struggles.

Priština: od varošice do grada (1929-1941)

Priština, within the Gračanica county, belonged to the Vardar Banovina. Based on the population census in 1931, it was one of the largest cities in Southern Serbia. However, at the beginning of the thirties of the 20th century, it was an underdeveloped town that needed state investments. The Yugoslav state made efforts to modernize Priština, as well as other cities in Kosovo and Metohija. Investments were made in construction, so nine buildings were built in Priština, electric lighting was introduced, streets and roads were improved. The railway line Kosovo Polje - Priština was built. However, even during attempts at modernization, there were problems, especially with members of the Albanian population, who were in the majority in this area, and who were uninterested in Yugoslav state measures or were afraid of changes. There were industrial companies in Priština, and an automatic mill was built. Trade showed signs of improvement, although like other industries, it was difficult to tear people away from the way they had worked generations before. Craftsmanship, which was traditional in Kosovo and Metohija, was stagnating in Priština, which was evident in the number of commercial, catering and craft shops, primarily because it began to develop as an economic center. Educational and health opportunities were in the beginning of development. In the Priština district, there were the fewest buildings that corresponded to the school’s needs, and the teaching staff was not adequate either. The conditions for the modernization of education were generally difficult in the area of Kosovo and Metohija. The arrangement of health conditions was of indisputable importance for the population of Kosovo and Metohija. Banovina Hospital was built in Priština, which was one of the largest, but people’s awareness of going to the doctor was low. The efforts and investments of the Yugoslav state in the area of Kosovo and Metohija, and therefore Priština as an economic center in development, were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War.

The serbs and the war against the Turks in the letters of Francesco Filelfo

Francesco Filelfo (Tolentino 1398 ? Florence 1481) was one of the humanists to gain a thorough knowledge of Greek in Constantinople, where he lived in the 1420s. The young learned man was integrated into the Byzantine establishment. In particular, the heir and joint emperor John VIII Palaiologos appointed him as his personal secretary. On behalf of John, Filelfo attended the international congress in Buda in 1423; he met personally with the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, Despot of Serbia Stefan Lazarevic and other European leaders. He also went to Kovin on his return to Constantinople. In his Letters to Roman popes, kings and princes, the Italian humanist proposed to serve as an alter Nestor, a man who would give better advice on the war against the Turks. He is particularly interested in Serbian history. In this respect, he mentions the most important events relating to the Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire, such as the sacrifice of Lazar in the Battle of Kosovo polje (1389), the legendary defense of Belgrade in 1456, and the fall of the fortress of Smederevo in 1459. Filelfo?s Letters represent an extraordinary testimony on Western Balkan history.

Odlazak Ivana Stambolića u Kosovo Polje 6. aprila 1986. godine

The Serbian resistance movement, centered in Kosovo Polje, was a new factor in the complicated political relations of Communist Yugoslavia. In the spring of 1986, this grassroots movement was becoming a formidable political force and a possible source of wider social unrest. The most influential politician in the Serbian leadership, Ivan Stamoblić, came to Kosovo Polje on April 6, 1986. During a short visit, he missed an opportunity to gain the movement's support and showed a lack of understanding of the deep changes in Yugoslav society.

Kosovo Crucified—Narratives in the Contemporary Serbian Orthodox Perception of Kosovo

In contemporary Serbian Orthodox texts, Kosovo is often referred to as the Serbian “Jerusalem”: a city calling for a Christian defense. All Serbs are bound to heed the call in keeping with the Kosovo “covenant” or “pledge” dating back to the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, when Serbian troops, led by Prince Lazar, were defeated by the invading Muslim Ottoman army. The battle and Kosovo in general have since then assumed a central symbolic role in Serbian nationalism and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Furthermore, it has been claimed that the imagery and narratives of Kosovo were the ideological backdrop for the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s. This article investigates the development of the Serbian narratives and imagery pertaining to Kosovo and their modern form in the Serbian Orthodox Church in order to trace what type of imagery is dominant. The main focus will be on whether and to what extent the narratives of Christian defense and holy Serbian warriors fighting in the name of Christ are dominant. This investigation seeks to discuss whether the Kosovo imagery and narratives are formed upon and influenced by a broader Christian European antemurale myth.

Resurgence of the past: political and media discourse during the breakup of the former yugoslavia

The wars and conflicts that accompanied the breakup of the former Yugoslavia are inextricably linked to “language”. The “breakup” of Serbo-Croat into several national languages and the determination of Slovenes and, to a lesser extent, Ma­cedonians to restrain the influence of Serbo-Croat on their respective languages ​​was a prelude to the country’s political breakup. Military violence was carefully prepared by linguistic means: hate speech, which quickly turned into war speech, dominated the words of politicians, media, culture and everyday conversation. This would not have been possible without resorting to the past and to the mythologized history of the warring parties (the Battle of Kosovo Polje, Yugoslavia before the Second World War, the Second World War itself). The analysis of the political and media discourses carried out in this study revealed three major types of semantic inversions on which the underlying discursive mechanisms largely rely: diachronic inversions (the resurgence of the terms “Ustashe”, “Chetniks”, “Turks”), semantic and logical travesties (in which terms such as “defend” and “liberate” lose their primary meanings) and semantic asymmetries (the enemy is an inhuman “aggressor” and “slaughterer”, while “our” side is made up of “innocent victims”, “martyrs” or “heroes”). As a result, the terms and utterances used lose their semantic and referential “basis”, so that they can no longer fully function except within the discursive universe that generated them.

He’s Just Not That Into Yu(goslavia)

The Former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is an interesting case study that is applicable to various aspects of international relations scholarship. During a time where different regions struggled to coexist, questions of nationalism and ethnicity evolved into conflict. Slobodan Milošević was a Serbian politician, and capitalizing on the discontent of the Serbian nation, rallied support, and mobilized an army dedicated to achieving the dream of a “Greater Serbia”. It can be argued that rhetoric and discourse played an important role in formulating the view of a superior Serbian nation, while assembling a population ready for war. Long after Milošević’s death, his words still resonate with the Serbian nation, and severely impede reconciliation efforts. To illustrate how ancient hatred prevents states from moving forward, in the Serbian context, this essay specifically takes into consideration Milošević’s 1987 Kosovo Polje Speech and his 1989 Gazimestan address.

Zločin OVK - granatiranje srpske pijace u selu Bresje

After completion of the NATO aggression on Yugoslavia started much suffering of the Serbian and other minority communities in Kosovo and Metohija. Members of the Albanian paramilitary formations were escorted planning organized violence and terror, and for ethnic cleansing and destruction of the Serbian people in this region. The agreement that was signed between KFOR and the so-called KLA 'The agreement K + 90' enabled the KLA carried out violence and terror against minority populations. One of the crimes that have taken place after the so-called the demilitarization of the KLA was an attack with explosives on the Serbian market in the village Bresje 28 September 1999. The crime was ethnically motivated to intimidate, pressure and the like oppression and ethnic cleansing of the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija. On the Serbian market in the village Bresje, where there were several hundred civilians were fired two grenades. This crime has produced three deaths and several dozen persons were injured. KFOR soon arrived at the scene and the injured persons drove in the Russian hospital in Kosovo Polje. The attack is the intention of the Albanian paramilitaries to kill large numbers of civilians of Serbian nationality, which would produce feelings of fear, anxiety, insecurity and inequality, and led to the displacement of a large number of people. When it comes to Serbian victims in Kosovo and Metohija justice remains blind, and so for this crime no one has been prosecuted. For the investigation of the crime was in charge of UNMIK police, with the assistance of KFOR. Immediately after the shelling of the market, were arrested two ethnic Albanians who were suspected of a crime, but were soon freed from detention. It is interesting also that this crime had expected, because the earlier sent anonymous reports of a possible attack, but that KFOR and UNMIK have failed to prevent his execution. Fear that appeared among the Serbian population in Bresje led to barricades. After the attack, the Italian KFOR troops are responsible for security of the Serbian population in Kosovo Polje, because the Serbs no longer had confidence in British KFOR troops. One of the reasons for shelling the market place was also intended to prevent the creation of a large Serbian enclave in Kosovo Polje and the surrounding area and that the Serb population from such a region displace. Consequences of shelling the market place are numerous: loss of 3 lives, wounding about 40 people, to cancel the agreement on the integration of Serbian and Albanian municipal authorities in Kosovo Polje, a sense of fear, inequality, insecurity and anxiety among the Serbian population, but also better protection of the Serbian population in Kosovo Polje and the environment.

Dinaride evaporite mélange: Diagenesis of the Kosovo polje evaporites

Permian to Triassic age and floored by the various Adriatic carbonate platform units. The tectonic history of the Dinaridic evaporite melange is related to long term burial and Palaeogene to Neogene exhumation processes. Evaporiterocks of the Kosovo polje deposits are associated with carbonates, clastic and minor albitized, subvolcanic, neutralto basic rocks. They are capped by a clayey Quaternary cover of variable thickness, and a several metres thick cavernouscarbonate breccia – rauhwacke. Evaporite rocks show two distinct facies: laminated evaporite-carbonate, composed of evaporite and dolomicrite (± organic matter, pyrite, halite) intercalations, and evaporite-carbonate breccia, composed of fragments of laminated evaporites, carbonate and siltite, cemented by massive gypsum ± sulfur, occurringat the shallower levels and related to the emplacement. The Quaternary cover is composed of 47-88% clayey material, comprising illite, kaolinite and most likely vermiculite, 9-49 % carbonate and 3-4% evaporite minerals. The thickness of the evaporite rehydration zone correlates negatively with the thickness of the overlying Quater nary cover and with the amount of clayey material within it. Rauhwacke are composed of partly dedolomitized dolostone and leachedgypsum fragments, cemented with late stage calcite. Diagenetic processes are related to early diagenesis and the burialphase began with the formation of diagenetic halite from an oversaturated subsurface or surface (lagoon) brine, and was followed by the biochemical reduction of evaporite sulphate to sulfide and formation of pyrite within organic-richcarbonate laminae. These processes triggered early dolomitization (in a shallow burial realm), and the formation of idiomorphic planar-e type of dolomite crystals at temperatures below 50-60°C. Planar dolomite suppressed diagenetichalite. With an increase in burial depth, gypsum dehydrates to anhydrite and when temperatures exceed ~50 °C, precipitation of fine grained non-planar –a type of dolomite began. Halite molds are partly replaced with non-planar-atype of dolomite. During regional uplift and exhumation, anhydrite rehydrated to gypsum under the influence of low-temperature undersaturated fluid (meteoric water), whereas hydrogen-sulfide oxi dized to elementary sulfur, observed as cement in the evaporite-carbonate breccia. Rauhwacke at the uppermost part of the deposit are formed by severe tectonic movements associated with the gypsum-driven dedolomitization process.

Golubarska leksika Ugljara kod Prištine

This paper deals with pigeon fancier's lexicology and terminology used in Ugljare village which is situated on the right bank of Prištevka River, in the area between Kosovo Polje and Priština. Terminology and lexics of pigeon fanciers were recorded after the Kosovo and Metohija occupation in 1999. Research materials were mainly collected from local pigeon fanciers. Certain amount of the answers was collected with the use of questionnaires specifically made for this research. We have also conducted lexical, semantical and pronunciation analyses of the recorded materials. A dictionary of registered names has also been made. Materials were classified within nine semantical groups. Dictionary contains one hundred and thirty units.

The Political Mobilization of Serbian Communists in the First Phase of the „Antibureaucratic Revolution“

This paper offers an analysis of concrete actions and legitimations, and also of the elements of the action- and legitimation basis of the Serbian communists’ political moblization conducted during the first phase of the so-called Antibureaucratic Revolution, which began in April 1987 with Slobodan Milošević’s speech in Kosovo Polje, and came to an end with the intra-party showdown at the Eighth Session of the Serbian Communist Party’s Central Committee in September of the same year. The paper also provides a reconstruction of the political context in which the mobilization was conducted.

Kosovo futures, Western Dilemmas

After Kosovo's Illyrian beginnings two millennia ago, history records an almost unbroken sequence of invasion, annexation, and subjugation. Roman legions conquered and colonised. Byzantine armies followed, finally defeated at Pantina in 1170 by the Serbs. The Serb occupation and settlement in the Middle Ages was thorough, creating a capital at Prizren and an Orthodox patriarchy at Peae. After the infamous Kosovo Polje battle (Gazimestan) in 1389, the defeated Serbs were pushed out and a five hundred year Ottoman domination commenced. With the Turks came Islam. And, when the disintegrating Ottoman Empire was expelled from Kosovo in the First Balkan War of the last century (1912), Serbs reasserted their control and held it until 1999. Such a cursory summary of Kosovar history does great injustice to the intellectual and cultural substance of Albanian Kosovo's society. Yet, without question, these geopolitical highlights evoke the suffering that one small territory and its inhabitants were forced to endure because of competing great powers and empires. As these forces' armies marched, Kosovo

The myth of the trauma/the trauma of the myth: Myths as mediators of some long-term effects of war trauma.

This article attempts a systematic comparison of the myths surrounding the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, that of the Boyne in 1690 in Ireland, that of Mohacs in Hungary in 1526, and finally the Battle of Alcazarquivir in Morocco in 1578. The purpose of the comparison is to establish some of the ingredients that account for a perpetuation of the trauma and cause havoc in future generations. The working hypothesis put forward is that 2 noxious factors playing a central role in the causation of inter-ethnic war are (a) unmourned traumata with (b) the associated rage being directed outward and not inward, and that both are significantly mediated by the myths associated with the traumata.

The Kosovo Quagmire

BEFORE LATE FEBRUARY OR EARLY MARCH 1998, most Canadians could probably not have located Kosovo (Kosova in Albanian) on a map with any confidence. (It is in the southwest corner of Serbia, also bordering Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro.) Since then, it has been prominent in the news because of the civil war that has developed between Serbian government forces and a Kosovo Albanian (Kosovar) insurgent group loosely identified as the Kosovo Liberation Army. The international community has become involved; the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is poised for action; six Canadian aircraft are to take part in pressure by the international community to force the Serbian/Yugoslav authorities to end their repression and the insurgents to join them in negotiations.Although many people speak of another Bosnia, the two situations are quite different. The war in Bosnia was a by-product of Yugoslavia's collapse; conflict between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo dates back at least to 1912.The insurgents in Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians make up more than 90 per cent of the population, seek independence, which would probably be followed by union with Albania - a traditional goal about which most Kosovars are now reticent but which many certainly espouse. The Yugoslav and Serbian governments wish to maintain the status quo of Serbian domination over Kosovo, but have offered some form of 'cultural' autonomy. They say that they are ready to negotiate; it is the Kosovars who walked away from the table.The international community has consistently stated its opposition to Kosovo independence on the grounds that it would be destabilizing for the region - particularly for neighbouring Macedonia with its own restive Albanian minority. Publicly, at any rate, even the Albanian government does not support independence for Kosovo, much less its union with Albania, although the issue of policy towards the Kosovo crisis has been contentious in Albanian domestic politics. What Albania professes to favour, and the international community is pushing for, is the broadest possible autonomy for Kosovo, either within Serbia or as a separate constituent republic of Yugoslavia. So far, this is acceptable to neither the Serbs nor the Kosovars.As usual in the Balkans, there is a lot of history tied up in the dispute. Kosovo is both the Serbian Camelot, and, for the last eighty-six years, a burr under Serbia's saddle. For the Albanians, it is part of their historic territory and the place where, in the late 19th century, aspirations for an independent Albanian state began to take shape.ANCIENT HISTORY(both Serbs and Albanians care about this)The Serbs believe that Kosovo was basically empty before the Slav migrations of the sixth and seventh centuries. The Albanians assert that they have always lived there - at least since Roman times, when it was populated by the Illyrians, from whom Albanians claim to be directly descended. Much academic ink, on both sides, has been spilt in defence of these positions.MEDIEVAL HISTORY(Serbs particularly care about this)Kosovo was the geographical and ecclesiastical centre of the mediaeval Serbian empire. It reached its height under Tsar Stefan Dusan (1331-55), who made Prizren (in Kosovo) one of his major capitals and was buried there. His realm included most of what is now Albania, and there were probably as many Albanians as Serbs in his victorious armies.What made Kosovo the central point of heroic Serbian mythology, however, was the glorious defeat of Tsar Lazar's army at Kosovo Polje (the Field of Blackbirds) on 28 June 1389 (St Vitus Day, or, in Serbian, Vidovdan) by the invading Ottoman Turks. The Serbs see their role as having valiantly, if unsuccessfully, defended Christendom against the infidel. In fact, there were Serbs on both sides of this battle, and Tsar Lazar's forces included Albanians and a contingent from Bosnia - at the time perhaps the strongest Slav state in the region. …

Der Krieg im Früheren Jugoslawien

The War in Former Yugoslavia The causes of the war and the role of religion and the churches in former Yugoslavia are discussed. History is often mentioned as an explanation for the war. However, not history itself but the current interpretation of historical events has caused great division between the peoples of former Yugoslavia: for example, the different opinions about the Battle of Kosovo Polje and about the Archbishop Stepinac. The churches have not been able to enter into a real dialogue and to prevent the exploitation of history.

ALBANIAN LITERATURE IN THE MOSLEM TRADITION

On 28 June 1389, the Turks defeated a coalition of Balkan forces under Serbian leadership at Kosovo Polje, the plain of the blackbirds, and established themselves as masters of the Balkans. By 1393 they had overrun Shkoder, although the Venetians were soon able to recover the city and its imposing citadel. The conquest of Albania continued into the early years of the 15th century. The mountain fortress of Kruje was taken in 1415 and the equally strategic towns of Vlore, Berat and Kanine in southern Albania fell in 1417. By 1431, the Turks had incorporated southern Albania into the Ottoman Empire and set up a sanjak administration with its capital in Gjirokaster, captured in 1419. Feudal northern Albania remained in the control of its autonomous tribal leaders, though now under the suzerain power of the Sultan. The Turkish conquest did not meet without resistance on the part of the Albanians, notably under George Castrioti, known as Scanderbeg (1405-1468), prince and now national hero. Sent by his father as a hostage to Sultan Murad II, the young Castrioti was converted to Islam and was given a Moslem education in Edirne (Adrianople). The Turks called him Iskender and gave him the rank of bey, hence the name Scanderbeg. In 1443, Scanderbeg took advantage of the Turkish defeat at Nish at the hands of John Hunyadi to abandon the Ottoman army, return to Albania and reembrace Christianity. His first great achievement was to unite the feudal and independent-minded tribes of northern Albania into the League of Lezhe in 1444. By a ruse, he took over the fortress of Kruje and was proclaimed commander-in-chief of an Albanian army which, though independent, could be no match for the huge military potential of the Turks. In 1453, Constantinople itself fell to the forces of Mehmet II Fatih (the Conquerer), thus putting an end to the thousand-year-old Byzantine Roman Empire of the East. But Albania, though abandoned to its fate, was not to give up easily. In the following years, Scanderbeg successfully repulsed thirteen Ottoman