Kosovo field (Albanian:Fusha e Kosovës;Serbian:Косово поље,romanized: Kosovo polje,lit. 'Blackbird Field')[1] is a largekarst field, located in the middle part ofKosovo. It is mostly known for being the site of theBattle of Kosovo (1389) between the Balkan Alliance led byLazar of Serbia andOttoman armies led byMurad I, and many other battles.
The large karst field is directed northwest–south. The plain stretches fromMitrovica southwards includingObiliq,Kosovo Polje (which lies in the centre),Lipjan, and almost toKaçanik. The region ofKosovo stretches roughly fromFerizaj toVushtrri.[2]
It is situated 500–600 m above sea level.[3]
In the central part, to the west, is theDrenica valley.
The region was an economic hub of the earlyEastern Roman Empire in the province ofDardania.Praevalitana (the region before the valley), a province that bordered Dardania was named after the fact that it was located directly to the west of the field. A reference to the field may appear in the early Christian cult ofFlorus and Laurus of the fourth century AD, which was recorded no earlier than the sixth century AD. In the recorded version inConstantinople, the geographical location ofUlpiana, which was a settlement in the field of Kosovo, is described in Greek asEucharis Koilas (the Gracious Valley).[4]
The Kosovo field was the site of theBattle of Kosovo in June 1389, the battlefield northwest ofPristina where an army led byPrince Lazar of Serbia fought the Ottoman army.[5] It is for this field, and the battle, that the Kosovo region and contemporaryKosovo, and in turn the historicalKosovo Vilayet and YugoslavKosovo and Metohija is named. The modern city ofKosovo Polje is also named after the field.
Serbian rulerStefan Lazarević (1389–1427) erected a marble column with inscriptions on the field, in memory of his father.[6]
TheSecond Battle of Kosovo was fought between theOttoman Empire andKingdom of Hungary in1448.
The Ottoman cadastraltax census (defter) of 1455 in theDistrict of Branković took place in the Kosovo field which is in a part of eastern Kosovo[7]
In 1877, theKosovo Vilayet was established by theOttoman Empire a first-level administrative division. This area included the majority of the modernKosovo.
In 1912-13 theKingdom of Serbia conquered the Vilayet.
During World War I, the army of the Kingdom of Serbia retreated to the Kosovo plain by November 1915. Then, under attack from both sides,[clarification needed] the army withdrew across the mountains intoAlbania.[8]
TheKingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-1941) controlled Kosovo Field and its residents.
Kosovo andVojvodina, another formerly autonomous region of Serbia,[clarification needed] had practically comparable status with theother six Yugoslav republics according to constitutional revisions made in 1971. The provinces were granted the opportunity to create their own constitutions and were granted equal status under anew Yugoslav constitution that was adopted in 1974.
WhenSlobodan Milošević came to power in 1989, the provinces' autonomy was removed and Belgrade gained political control. Thus, theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (ended 1992) and theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia (its successor in theBreakup of Yugoslavia) managed Kosovo up until theKosovo War in 1998–1999, at the conclusion of which the forces of Milosevic left the field and the region was overseen by the UN with the installation of an interim government.
During the war, theKosovo Liberation Army andFR Yugoslavia forces actively battled around the region, especially the parts in which many Albanians resided.
In the 21st century, plans have been made to establish multiple coal mines around the Kosovo field.[9]
Kosovo plain (Rrafshi i Kosovés), which lies 500–600 in above sea level, and is characterised by a longtime annual precipitation of 640 mm year", and a longtime annual mean temperature of 10°C.
Dinaric Alps' karst fields | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |  | |
| Croatia | ||
| Kosovo | ||
| Montenegro | ||
| Serbia | ||
| Slovenia | ||
42°43′03″N21°05′06″E / 42.71750°N 21.08500°E /42.71750; 21.08500
