Kosova during the XVIIIth century: The social and economic history

Dardania was an ancient region that many states and communities wanted to conquer. It was renamed Kosovo, since the Battle of 1389 occurred at the Plain of Kosovo. The social and economic issues of the administrative provinces (Ottoman Sandjaks) of Vushtrri, Dukagjin and Prizren, which fell under Ottoman rule during the first part of century fifteen, and that today comprise a part of modern Kosovo, have not adequately been treated by archival sources of the time. Therefore, this work aims to elaborate on some gaps regarding Kosovo, and at the same time to research the history of the Ottoman city. The thesis title Kosova in quotation marks represents an Ottoman administrative province and intends to reflect the real position of todays' Kosovo territory within the Ottoman administration during the eighteenth century. The wars that occurred during the seventeenth century were followed by disruption of peace and order in the territory given above. This disruption greatly impacted the physical and social issues in the administrative divisions (sandjaks and kazas) during the seventeenth century. The Sandjaks of Vushtrri, Prizren and Dukagjini were much wider than current Kosovo territory and were also listed within the Ottoman administrative divisions that provided significant revenues to the Ottoman state. This article was drafted based on sources researched and collected at the Ottoman Archive and the Temple Foundations Directorate (Waqf) in Ankara. In addition, the records of travelers, published documents and other materials related to the topic have been used as well. Keywords: Vushtrri, Dukagjin, Prizren, Kosova, XVIIIth century, socio-economic life.