Historical Islamic demographic warfare in Kosovo

In the early 7th century, Serbs settled in Balkans (including Kosovo). In the 12th century, according to the Byzantine Empress Anna Angelina Komnenos, the Serbs were the main inhabitants of Kosovo (Eastern Dalmatia and former Moesia Superior). Archaeological findings from the 7th century onwards show a Serb (Slavic) cultural domination in case of glagolithic letters, pottery, cemeteries, churches and monasteries.

Th century

The Dečani Charter from 1330 contained a detailed list of households and chartered villages in Metohija and north-western Albania:

3 of 89 settlements were Albanian, the other being Serb.

Th century

The ethnic composition of Kosovo's population during this period included Serbs, Albanians, and Vlachs along with a token number of Greeks, Armenians, Saxons, and Bulgarians, according to Serbian monastic charters or chrysobulls (Hristovulja). A majority of the given names in the charters are overwhelmingly Serbian (Of 24,795 names, 23,774 were ethnic Serb names, 470 of Roman origin, 65 of Albanian origin and 61 of Greek origin). This claim is supported by the Turkish cadastral tax-census (defter) of 1455 which took into account religion and language and found an overwhelming Serb majority.

1455: Turkish cadastral tax census (defter) of the Brankovic dynasty lands (covering 80% of present-day Kosovo) recorded 480 villages, 13,693 adult males, 12,985 dwellings, 14,087 household heads (480 widows and 13,607 adult males). Totally there were around 75,000 inhabitants in 590 villages comprising modern-day Kosovo. By ethnicity:

13,000 Serb dwellings present in all 480 villages and towns

75 Vlach dwellings in 34 villages

46 Albanian dwellings in 23 villages

17 Bulgarian dwellings in 10 villages

5 Greek dwellings in Lauša, Vučitrn

1 Jewish dwelling in Vučitrn

1 Croat dwelling

1487: A census of the House of Branković

Vučitrn district:

16,729 Christian housing (412 in Priština and Vučitrn)

117 Moslem households (94 in Priština and 83 in rural areas)

Ipek (Peć) district:

City of Ipek - 68% Serbs

121 Christian household

33 Moslem households

Suho Grlo and Metohija:

131 Christian household of which 52% in Suho Grlo were Serbs

Kline e Poshtme/Donja Klina - 50% Serbs

Dečani - 64% Serbs

Rural areas:

6,124 Christian housings (99%)

55 Moslem houses (1%)

Th - 18th century

The Great Turkish War of 1683–1699 between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs led to the flight of a substantial part of Kosovan Serbian population to Austrian held Vojvodina and the Military Frontier - about 60-70,000 Serb refugees total settled in the Habsburg Monarchy in that time of whom many were from Kosovo. Following this an influx of Muslim Albanian[14] from the highlands (Malesi) occurred, mostly into Metohija. The process continued in 18th century.

Noel Malcolm suggests that the Great Migration of the Serbs from Kosovo is only a myth created by Serbian nationalism to justify the Albanian majority already in Kosovo[15], but a number of historians who reviewed his work, including Mile Bjelajac, Istvan Deak, Thomas Emerat and Tim Judah refute this[16].

A study done in 1871 by Austrian colonel Peter Kukulj for the internal use of the Austro-Hungarian army showed that the mutesarifluk of Prizren (corresponding largely to present-day Kosovo) had some 500,000 inhabitants, of which:

318,000 Serbs (64%),

161,000 Albanians (32%),

10,000 Roma (Gypsies) and Circassians

2,000 Turks

Miloš S. Milojević travelled the region in 1871–1877 and left accounts which testify that Serbs were majority population, and were predominant in all cities, while Albanians were minority and lived mostly in villages. According to his data, Albanians were majority population in southern Drenica (Muslim Albanians), and in region around Djakovica (Catholic Albanians), while the city was majorly Serbian. He also recorded several settlements of Turks, Romas and Circassians.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_history_of_Kosovo

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 630