Skopje

Skopje (see also different names) is the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia. It has approx. 650,000 inhabitants (2000 estimate) and is located on the upper Vardar river. Skopje is located at 42°0' North, 21° 26' East (42.0, 21.4333). http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/cntry_files.html

History

Classical era

Skopje was known to the ancient Greeks as Skopidia, and appears to have been founded in the 3rd century BC by the Dardanians, a people on the fringes of the Kingdom of Macedon. In Roman times, there was a town on the site called Justiniana Prima, but this settlement was destroyed by an earthquake in 518.

Related Topics:
Ancient Greeks - Dardani - Macedon - Roman - Earthquake - 518

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Medieval era

Skopje was refounded following the earthquake, perhaps by Vlachs, and in Byzantine times, it was known as Skupi. Skopje often changed hands between the Byzantines and the Bulgarians in medieval times, until it was conquered by the Serbs in the late 13th century. In 1346 it was named the capital of the Serbian Empire of Stefan Du?an.

Related Topics:
Vlachs - Byzantine - Serbs - Serbian Empire - Stefan Du?an

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The Ottoman city

Shortly after Serbian defeat in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the city was captured by the Ottomans in 1392. Since then it was known by the Turkish name Üsküb or Üsküp during the half-millennium of Ottoman rule. Ottoman Üsküb was the capital of the vilayet (or district) of Kosovo, which occupied a much greater area than the modern Serbian province of Kosovo. The Turkish writer Dulgar Dede visited the city in the 17th century and wrote: "I travelled for many years across that country of Rumelija and I saw a many beautiful cities and I was amazed at Allah's blessings, but not one impressed and delighted as much as the heavens city of Skopje across which passes the Vardar River."

Related Topics:
Battle of Kosovo - 1389 - Ottomans - 1392 - Turkish - Kosovo - Dulgar Dede - 17th century

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In 1689, however, Skopje was burned by the Austrian general Engelberto d'Ugo Piccolomini to eradicate an epidemic of cholera menacing the city. It only revived in the 19th century with the building of the railway from Belgrade to Thessaloniki, which passed through Skopje.

Related Topics:
1689 - Austria - Engelberto d'Ugo Piccolomini - Cholera - 19th century - Railway - Belgrade - Thessaloniki

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In the 20th century

In 1905, Skopje had a population of approximately 32,000, which was comprised of a mixture of ethnic groups, including Macedonian Slavs, Bulgarians, Serbs, Turks, Albanians, and Roma. The city was the seat of an Greek Orthodox archbishop, an archbishop of the Roman Catholic faith, and a Bulgarian Orthodox bishop. In 1910, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, later to become famous as Mother Teresa, was born in Skopje into a Catholic Albanian family.

Related Topics:
1905 - Macedonian Slavs - Bulgaria - Serbs - Turks - Albanians - Roma - Greek Orthodox - Roman Catholic - Bulgarian Orthodox - 1910 - Mother Teresa

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In 1913, the city fell again to the Serbs during the Balkan War and was ceded to Serbia. As with other Serbian territories, Skopje became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918 and then Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. The city was under Bulgarian rule during both World Wars, but in 1945 it became the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Following the wars, Skopje and the rest of this part of Macedonia was incorporated into Tito's socialist Yugoslavia.

Related Topics:
1913 - Serbs - Balkan War - Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes - 1918 - Kingdom of Yugoslavia - 1945 - Tito's - Socialist Yugoslavia

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In 1963, Skopje was struck by another major earthquake, which killed about 3,000 people and made another 120,000 homeless. Eighty percent of the city was destroyed by the 1963 eartquake, and numerous cultural monuments were seriously damaged. A major international relief effort saw the city rebuilt quickly, though much of its old Turkish aspect was lost in the process.

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Under Yugoslav rule Skopje grew rapidly and became a major industrial centre for the southern Balkans region. In 1991 the Yugoslav federation broke up and Skopje became the capital of the independent Republic of Macedonia. Greece objected to the use of the name Macedonia by the new state, and imposed an economic blockade on the country, which severely damaged Skopje's economy by closing its access to the sea through Thessaloniki. The blockade was lifted in 1995 following an agreement between Athens and Skopje. Most Greeks refer to the country as the "Republic of Skopje" or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and its inhabitants as "Skopjans" (Skopianoí in Greek).

Related Topics:
Balkans - 1991 - Greece - 1995 - Athens - Greek

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