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Concept
Metohija
Summary
Metohija (Метохија, mɛtɔ̌xija) or Dukagjin (Rrafshi i Dukagjinit, ˈrafʃi i dukaˈɟinit) is a large basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo. The region covers 35% (3,891 km2) of Kosovo's total area. According to the 2011 census, the population of the region is 700,577.
It encompasses three of the seven districts of Kosovo:
The name Metohija derives from the Greek word μετόχια (metóchia; singular μετόχιον, metóchion), meaning "monastic estates" – a reference to the large number of villages and estates in the region that were owned by the Serbian Orthodox monasteries and Mount Athos during the Middle Ages.
The oldest name for the region is Dukagjin or Dukagjini plain (Alb: 'Rrafshi i Dukagjinit') and the region was called Sanjak of Dukagjin in the 15th-16th century. According to historian Jahja Drançolli, the name 'Metohija' does not appear as a geographic term in the medieval period.
In Albanian the area is called Rrafshi i Dukagjinit and means "the plateau of Dukagjin", as the toponym (in Albanian) took the name of the Dukagjini family who ruled a large part of Metohija during the 14th-15th centuries.
The term "Kosovo and Metohija" (Косово и Метохија) was in official use for the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija (1945-1963), and also for the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (1963-1968). The term "Metohija" was dropped from the official name of the province in 1968, and thus the term "Kosovo" became the official name of the province as a whole. The change was not welcomed by Serbs, who continued to use the old name (for example in the 1986 Draft Memorandum of SANU). In September 1990, the new Constitution of the Republic of Serbia was adopted, changing the official name of the province back to the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. This time, the change was not welcomed by ethnic Albanians, who protested against the official use of the term "Metohija".
Official source
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