Concept

Kosovo

Summary
Kosovo (Kosova kɔˈsɔva; Косово kôsoʋo), officially the Republic of Kosovo (Republika e Kosovës; Republika Kosovo), is a country in Southeast Europe with partial diplomatic recognition. Kosovo lies landlocked in the centre of the Balkans, bordered by Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, Albania to the southwest, and Montenegro to the west. Most of central Kosovo is dominated by the vast plains and fields of Metohija and the Kosovo field. The Accursed Mountains and Šar Mountains rise in the southwest and southeast, respectively. Its capital and largest city is Pristina. The Dardani tribe emerged in Kosovo and established the Kingdom of Dardania in the 4th century BC. It was later annexed by the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC. The territory remained in the Byzantine Empire, facing Slavic invasions from the 6th-7th century AD. Control shifted between the Byzantines and the First Bulgarian Empire. In the 13th century, Kosovo became integral to the Serbian medieval state and the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Ottoman expansion in the Balkans in the late 14th and 15th century led to the decline and fall of the Serbian Empire; the Battle of Kosovo of 1389 is considered to be one of the defining moments. The Ottoman Empire fully conquered Kosovo after the Second Battle of Kosovo, ruling for nearly five centuries until 1912. Kosovo was the center of the Albanian Renaissance and experienced the Albanian revolts of 1910 and 1912. After the Balkan Wars, it was ceded to Serbia and Montenegro and became an Autonomous Province within Yugoslavia. Tensions between Kosovo's Albanian and Serb communities simmered through the 20th century and occasionally erupted into major violence, culminating in the Kosovo War of 1998 and 1999, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Yugoslav army and the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008, and has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by member states of the United Nations.
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