Kosovo & Serbia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Kosovo & Serbia - Essay Example It was then that â€Å"the Slavonic tribes, mixed with the Avars, made their appearance in the Balkans, which was sparsely inhabited by many different tribes of the Illyrians, the Dardanians, the Thracians and probably others whose names have fallen into oblivion† (Almond, 1998). The present day hostility between Albanians and Serbians could be traced back to this period. Contemporary Albanians, who descended from the aforementioned tribal groups, were defeated in warfare by migrating Slavonic tribes. While some of the conquered were assimilated into Slavonic tribes, the rest took refuge in inaccessible geographic locations like mountain tops. The victorious Slavs on the other hand took control of the most fertile and irrigable lands in the region. Hence, the geography of the Balkans is an important aspect of ethnic rivalries there. â€Å"There is little doubt that the process of appropriating the possessions of the pre-existing population created a deeply felt resentment between those who lost their homes and their land and those who profited from the conquest. This hatred was transmitted from father to son over many generations and it became a constant factor in the relationship between the Serbs and the Albanians. Inherent to this feeling remained a strong desire to retake the lost areas if an opportunity appeared†. (Velebit, 1999) The other important historical development occurred during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when Serbian leader Nemanyitch made Kosovo his capital. This meant that Serbs who made Kosovo their home were forced out of this rich and fertile piece of geography. Serbian peasants suffered the most in the process. But the balance of power continued to change through the following centuries, with no particular ethnic group able to maintain dominance over other groups and geographic locations for long. Toward the end of the fourteenth century, some of the