Kosovo: a long history of space

The project deals with the analysis of the original historical maps, which are interpreted as historical sources that bear witness to the long history of Kosovo. Based on around 70 historical maps and 10 maps to be drawn by the author, the project would provide an overview of the history of Kosovo from Roman times to the present, offering new facts presented in an interdisciplinary discourse. For centuries, Kosovo was at the crossroads of different influences. Numerous battles were fought on its territory, demarcation lines touched it or passed through its territory, often dividing it according to the interests and needs of others. The circumstances of the development of Kosovo as a border area where different cultures, traditions and state organizations meet were throughout its history a decisive factor in its historical determination. The interests of the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, Serbia, Hungary and the Venetian Republic, which have been intertwined in the Balkans for centuries, put Kosovo in the center of attention, determining it as a key geostrategic area of ​​the Western Balkans. To understand Kosovo today, it is necessary to know the history of that area. The historical maps of Kosovo analyzed by the project reveal the roots of the problems and the history of tensions that in certain historical periods escalated to war conflicts, placing the Kosovo space in the role of the core of the instability of the entire region again and again. Analyzing authentic historical maps, we document the historical development of Kosovo from an ancient province, its role in the medieval Serbian empire, and then as a vilayet in the Ottoman Empire, to the creation of Yugoslavia and the realization of its independence.