Kosovo field (Kosovo)


The Kosovo field is a large karst field, a plain located in the eastern part of Kosovo. It is mostly known for being the battlefield of the Battle of Kosovo between the Serbian and Ottoman armies, and many other battles.

Geography

The large karst field is directed northwest–south. The plain stretches from Mitrovica southwards including Obilić, Kosovo Polje, Lipljan, and almost to Kaçanik. The region of Kosovo stretches roughly from Ferizaj to Vučitrn.
It is situated 500–600 m above sea level.
In the central part, to the west, is the Drenica valley.

History

Medieval

The region was an economic hub of the early Eastern Roman Empire in the province of Dardania. Praevalitana, 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 of Florus and Laurus of the 4th century AD, which was recorded no earlier than the 6th century AD. In the recorded version in Constantinople, the geographical location of Ulpiana, which was a settlement in the field of Kosovo, is described in Greek as Eucharis Koilas.
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The Kosovo field was the site of the Battle of Kosovo in June 1389, the battlefield northwest of Pristina where the Serbian army fought the Ottoman army. It is for this field, and the battle, that the Kosovo region and contemporary Kosovo, and in turn the historical Kosovo Vilayet and Yugoslav Kosovo and Metohija is named. The modern city of Kosovo Polje is also named after the field.
Serbian ruler Stefan Lazarević erected a marble column with inscriptions on the field, in memory of his father.
Another Battle of Kosovo was fought between the Ottoman Empire and Kingdom of Hungary.

Modern history

In 1877, the Kosovo Vilayet was established by the Ottoman Empire.
During World War I the Serbian army retreated to the Kosovo plain by November 1915, then under attack from both sides, the army withdrew across the mountains into Albania.