This is a timeline containing events regarding the history of Kosovo.
Prehistory, Roman era – 13th century AD
5500–4500 BC: The Neolithic archaeological culture of Vinča occupied a large area of Central Balkans. 4th century BC: The establishment of the Dardanian Kingdom., The Cambridge ancient history: The fourth century B.C. Volume 6 of The Cambridge ancient history, Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards, , , Authors: D. M. Lewis, John Boardman, Editors: D. M. Lewis, John Boardman, Edition 2, Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1994 , . 393 – 358 - The reign of Bardyllis in Dardania. 335 – 295 - (approximately) The reign of Cleitus the Illyrian (the son of Bardyllis) in Dardania. 295 – 290 – The reign of Bardylis II in Dardania. 231 – 206 – The reign of Longarus in Dardania. 206 – 176 – The reign of Bato of Dardania. 2nd century BC: The Roman Empire conquered Illyria in 168 BC. The Central Balkans was prior to the Roman conquest held by Illyrians, Thracians and Celts,Pannonia and Upper Moesia: a history of the middle Danube provinces of the Roman Empire, The Provinces of the Roman Empire Tome 4, , , 1974, p. 9 while the Kosovo region was specifically inhabited by the Triballi, a Thracian tribe. 87–27 BC: The Dardani settled in the southwest of Triballi area in 87BC. The Dardani were possibly an Illyro-Thracian.: "... Whether the Dardanians were an Illyrian or a Thracian people has been much debated and one view suggests that the area was originally populated with Thracians who were then exposed to direct contact with Illyrians over a long period..." Dardanians were defeated by Gaius Scribonius Curio and the Latin language was soon adopted as the main language of the tribe as many other conquered and Romanised. Eastern Dardania was Thracian throughout Roman rule. The Thracian place names survives the Romanization of the region. 6–9 – The great Great Illyrian Revolt against the Roman Empire 2nd century AD: Ulpiana (later Byzantine Justiniana Secunda) is founded, most likely during the rule of Trajan. It was settled by Roman legionaries of unknown descent.Adrian Keith Goldsworthy, Ian Haynes, Colin E. P. Adams, The Roman army as a community, , 1997, p. 100 The Romans colonised and founded several cities in the region.Hauptstädte in Südosteuropa: Geschichte, Funktion, nationale Symbolkraft by Harald Heppner, p. 134 Florus and Laurus, Constantinopolitan twin brothers that worked as stonemasons, are killed together with 300 fellow Christians after building a Church on the site of a Greek temple in Ulpiana. They were proclaimed Christians martyrs.Velimirovic, 1985–1986, no. 3, p. 209-210Jan N. Bremmer, The apocryphal acts of Thomas, Peeters Publishers, 2001, . p. 56 284: Emperor Diocletian established Dardania into a separate province out of territory of Moesia Superior with its capital at Naissus (Niš). However, in Ptolemy's Geographia (written in the 2nd century), Dardania is a separate unit.Ronald Syme, Anthony Richard Birley: The provincial at Rome: and, Rome and the Balkans 80BC-AD14, p. 131 4th century: 325: Bishops from Dardania and Macedonia Salutaris attend the Council of Nicaea, to deal with the Arian heresy. 343–344: Bishops from Dardania, New Epirus and Old Epirus attend the Council of Sardica. 5th century: Christianity begins to spread throughout the region. 441: Invasion of Huns into Illyria.J.B. Bury, The Cambridge Medieval History volumes 1–5, p. 237 479: Ulpiana is destroyed. King Theodemir sent his son Theodoric the Great with 3,000 soldiers to destroy the city.The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites ,"ULPIANA (Gračanica) Yugoslavia.: "... Along the way the cities of Castrum Herculis-Kurvingrad Clisura, Ulpiana- Lipljan, Stobi near Gradsko, and Heraclea-Bitola, fell into his hands. ..." 6th century: 517: A "great barbarian incursion". 518: Earthquake, destroying 24 strongholds in Dardania. fl. 535–565: Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) rebuilt Ulpiana, naming it Justiniana Secunda after founding Justiniana Prima in 535.A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284–641: The Transformation of the Ancient World (Blackwell History of the Ancient World) by Stephen Mitchell, , 2006, page 363,"... Procopius claimed that Justinian also improved the city walls of Ulpiana (modern Ljubljana), Serdica, Naissus, and Pautalia, and refurbished the forts ..." Slavs are mentioned in the Balkans during Justinian I rule (527–565), when eventually up to 100,000 Slavs raided Thessalonica. The Balkans were settled with "Sclaveni", in relation to the Antes which settled in Eastern Europe.Hupchick, Dennis P. The Balkans: From Constantinople to Communism. Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Large scale Slavic settlement in the Balkans begins in the early 580s. The Slavs lived in the Sklavinia (lit. Slav lands). fl. 893–927: the church in Sočanica is, at latest, built during the reign of Bulgar Simeon I. It was in use in the 11th and 12th centuries according to grave finds. In the reign of Grand Prince Uroš II, the site was known as Sečenica and was defended from the Byzantines from the newly built fortress at Galič, protecting the bridge over Ibar and the road to Ras.Janković Đorđe N., On the church of Raška in pre-Nemanjić times , Glasnik Srpskog arheološkog društva 2004, vol. 21, iss. 20, pp. 63–80, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy The site draws continuity with municipium Dardanorum. ca 960: Constantine VII writes the De Administrando Imperio, in which "Serbia" has the city of Dresneïk, among others.Constantine Porphyrogenitus de Administrando Imperio, ed. Gyula Moravcsik, p. 161 possibly modern Drsnik, in Metohija.Relja Novakovic, Gde se nalazila Srbija od VII do X veka (Where Serbia was situated from the 7th to 10th centuries) [Serbia, Belgrade: Narodna knjiga, 1981], pp. 61–63.Vojislav Korac, "Architecture In Medieval Serbia", Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ca 1090: Serbian Grand Prince Vukan (r. 1083–1112) began raiding Byzantine territory, first in the vicinity of Kosovo. Between 1166 and 1168: Nemanja, a Serbian royalty who held parts of Kosovo and southern Serbia proper, defeats his older brother and Serbian Grand Prince Tihomir at Pantino (south of Zvečan), usurping the throne.The Serbs, p. 31. 13th century: between 1217 and 1235: The Peć metoh is founded by Saint Sava. 1253: the Serbian see was transferred from Žiča to the Monastery of Peć (future Patriarchate) by Archbishop Arsenije after a Hungarian invasion.István Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars: Oriental military in the pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185–1365, p. 100-101 The Serbian primates had since moved between the two.Serbia: the history behind the name, p. 11 In 1289–1290, the chief treasures of the ruined Žiča monastery, including the remains of Saint Jevstatije I, were transferred to Peja.Radivoje Ljubinković, The Church of the Apostles in the Patriarchate of Peć, p. viii
14th century 1306: Our Lady of Ljeviš-monastery (UNESCO item) is built in Prizren by King Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia (r. 1282–1321). 1315: Church of Virgin Hodegetria is built in Mušutište by kaznac Jovan Dragoslav. between 1313 and 1317: Banjska monastery and St. Stephen's church are built in Banjska, near Zvečan, by King Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia (r. 1282–1321). 1321: Gračanica monastery (UNESCO item) is built in Gračanica by King Stephen Uroš II Milutin. 1325: First mention of Albanians in the region of Kosovo by Venetian Marino Sanudo.The wars of the Balkan Peninsula: their medieval origins by Alexandru Madgearu, Martin Gordon, 2008,, page 26,"The first mention of the Albanians in this region comes from 1325 (inserted in a report of Venetian Marino Sanudo), who wrote that the Albanians had occupied" 1327: Zočište Monastery is mentioned in Orahovac (thought to be built in the 12th century). The building of Visoki Dečani-monastery (UNESCO item) begins in Peja (finished 1335), by King Stephen Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia (r. 1322–1331). 1330: The St. Saviour Church is built. between 1322 and 1331: Gorioč monastery is built in Istok, by King Stephen Uroš III Dečanski who also defeats the Bulgarians at Kyustendl (1330). 1331: St. Nicholas Church, at the centre of Prizren, is built. 1343 -47 – Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia invades Albania. 1346–1371: Prizren acts as capital of the Serbian Empire. 1345: King of Serbia Stefan Dušan around Christmas 1345. at a council meeting in Serres, which was conquered on 25 September 1345, proclaimed himself "Tsar of the Serbs and Romans" (Romans is equivalent to Greeks in Serbian documents). The Serbian Orthodox Church becomes the Serbo-Greek Imperial Patriarchate, its spiritual capital being in Kosovo (Patriarchal Monastery of Peć). 1347: The Saint Archangels Monastery is founded by Emperor Dušan.Михаило Милинковић, „New archeological excavation of St. Archangel complex near Prizren “ (in Serbian). 1352: As allies of Byzantine emperor John VI Kantakouzenos, the Ottomans defeat the Serbs at Didymoteicho. between 1331 and 1355: Kmetovce monastery is built in Kmetovce, near Gnjilane, by Emperor Dušan. 1355: Emperor Dušan dies and Stefan Uroš V of Serbia assumes the throne of the Serbian Empire. Simeon Uroš declares himself the rival Emperor in Thessaly. 1365: Prizren becomes part of King Vukašin's domain. 1371: 26 September: The Battle of Maritsa against the Ottoman Empire, results in a defeat, in which Vukašin and Uglješa are killed. 4 December: Emperor Uroš V dies. The Nemanjić dynasty is left without an heir, and the Serbian Empire fragments into a conglomeration of principalities. Lazar Hrebeljanović, a Serbian magnate, becomes the most powerful of Serbian nobles. He conquers Priština, while his subordinate Đurađ I Balšić takes Prizren, which were held by Marko, the son of Vukašin. Lazar was born in Novo Brdo. 1372: Đurađ I Balšić takes Peja, stripping most of Marko's lands north of Šar mountain. 1375: In 1375 the Serbian Patriarch was forced to send a delegation to Constantinopole to appeal for the lifting of the schism from the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć that was established during the time of Dušan. In the last decade of the 14th century, Macedonia was already under Ottoman rule. 1378: Vuk Branković, a subordinate to Lazar, holds all of modern Kosovo after the death of Đurađ I Balšić. 1381: Draganac monastery in Prilepac is mentioned in edicts of Lazar. 1389: 28 June [O.S. 15 June]: At the Kosovo field, the Serbian army led by Prince Lazar and Duke Vlatko Vuković fights the larger Ottoman army at the Battle of Kosovo. Casualties on both sides were extremely high – both leaders Lazar and Ottoman sultan Murad I died, together with most of the Serbian aristocracy. The southern provinces of the Serbian Empire were now in Ottoman hands, save for the Central Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia, which would soon follow. The Battle has a notable place in Serbian history and culture. 1389: Stefan Lazarević, the son of Lazar, succeeds as Prince (1389–1402) (see Serbian Despotate). 1392: The Ottomans capture Skoplje (renaming it Üsküp). Vuk Branković, remembered in epic tradition as a traitor who slipped away from the Battle of Kosovo, was forced to become their vassal. Stefan Lazarević followed suit. 1394: Stefan Lazarević participated in the Battle of Karanovasa as an Ottoman vassal. 1395: Stefan Lazarević participated in the Battle of Rovine as an Ottoman vassal. Vuk Branković refused to participate. 1396: The Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, widely regarded as the last large-scale crusade of the Middle Ages, failed to stop the advance of the victorious Ottomans. Vuk Branković refused to participate, and Bayezid I soon takes his lands and gives it to the Lazarević family, forcing Vuk to flee. 6 October 1397: Vuk Branković dies in exile.
15th century