History of Kosovo - Early History

Early History

During the Neolithic Period, Kosovo lay within the areal of the Vinča-Turdaş culture which is characterised by West Balkan black and grey pottery. The Bronze Age begins c. 1900 BC, and the Iron Age begins c. 1300 BC. Bronze and Iron Age tombs have been found only in Rrafshi i Dukagjinit, and not in Kosovo.

In the 4th century BC, the area was in the eastern parts of Illyria which borderd on Thrace. At that time it was inhabited by the Thraco-Illyrian tribes of the Dardani, by Celts and the Thracian tribe of the Triballi.

The region of Illyria was conquered by Rome in 168 BC, and made into the Roman province of Illyricum in 59 BC. The Kosovo region probably became part of Moesia Superior in AD 87, although archaeological evidence suggests that it may have been divided between Dalmatia and Moesia.

After 284 Diocletian further divided Upper Moesia into the smaller provinces of Dardania, Moesia Prima, Dacia Ripensis, and Dacia Mediterranea. Dardania's capital was Naissus, previously a Celtic settlement. The Roman province of Dardania included eastern parts of modern Kosovo, while its western part belonged to the newly formed Roman province of Prevalitana with its capital Doclea. The Romans colonized the region and founded several cities.

The Hunnic invasions of 441 and 447-49 were the first barbarian invasions which saw a barbarian ability to take Eastern Roman fortified centers and cities. Most Balkan cities were sacked by Attila, and their riches (and useful slaves) taken, and recovered only partially if at all. While there is no direct written evidence of Hunnic invasion of Kosovo, its economic hinterland will anyway have been affected for centuries.

Justinian I, who assumed the throne of the Byzantine Empire in 527, oversaw a period of Byzantine expansion into former Roman territories, and re-absorbed the area of Kosovo into the empire. Historians consider him to be the last Roman emperor because his native tongue was Latin and he was the last emperor to attempt reuniting the Latin-speaking West with the East.

Slavic migrations to the Balkans took place between the 6th to 7th centuries. In the absence of written or archaeological evidence of genocide or mass relocation of existing populations, it may be assumed that the genetic origins of the Slavic-speaking populations today include large elements of pre-existing populations, who adopted Slav languages for economic or social reasons; and genetic studies on Serbs seem to confirm this. (The haplogroup E1b1b1a2-V13 has its highest frequency in Kosovo, its second highest in Albania, and its third highest in Serbia).