History
The vilayet of Kosovo was created in 1877, and consisted of a much larger area than modern Kosovo, as it also included the sanjak of Novi Pazar, the sanjak of Nis (until 1878), the region around Plav and Gusinje as well as the Dibra region. These regions had belonged to the eyalet of Nis, the eyalet of Skopje and, after 1865, the Danube Vilayet. In 1868 the Vilayet of Prizren was created with the sanjaks of Prizren, Dibra, Skopje and Nis, but it ceased to exist in 1877.
Kosovo encompassed the Sandžak region cutting into present-day Central Serbia and Montenegro along with the Kukës municipality and surrounding region in present-day northern Albania. Between 1881 and 1912 (its final chapter), it was internally expanded to include other regions of present-day Republic of Macedonia, including larger urban settlements such as Štip (İştip), Kumanovo (Kumanova) and Kratovo (Kratova) (see map).
The province's boundaries shifted as the Ottoman Empire lost territory to neighboring states in the Treaty of Berlin following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and parts were also internally transferred to Monastir Vilayet and from Salonica Vilayet. In 1878, the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a subdivision of the Province of Kosovo, fell under Austro-Hungarian occupation in accord with the Berlin treaty which also allowed the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There it would remain until 1908.
Read more about this topic: Kosovo Vilayet
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