Đakovica (Komuna e Gjakovës)
Gjakova is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants.
Geographically, it is located in the south-western part of Kosovo, about halfway between the cities of Peja and Prizren. It is approximately 100 km inland from the Adriatic Sea. The city is situated some 208 km north-east of Tirana, 145 km north-west of Skopje, 80 km west of the capital Pristina, 435 km south of Belgrade and 263 km east of Podgorica.
The city of Gjakova has been populated since the prehistoric era. During the Ottoman period, Gjakova served as a trading centre on the route between Shkodra and Constantinople. It was also one of the most developed trade centres at that time in the Balkans.
The Albanian name for the city is Gjakova, while the Serbian name is Đakovica with the common -ica diminutive placename suffix. There are several theories on the origin of the village name, such as from the personal name Jakov; the Serbian word đak (pupil); or from the Albanian word for "blood" (gjak).
The "Jakov theory" derives its name from Jakov, a little known nobleman in the service of lord Vuk Branković who founded and ruled the city, and whose coins have been found, signed "Jakov". According to local Albanians, the name was derived from the name Jak (Jakov), with the village name meaning "Jakov's field".
Geographically, it is located in the south-western part of Kosovo, about halfway between the cities of Peja and Prizren. It is approximately 100 km inland from the Adriatic Sea. The city is situated some 208 km north-east of Tirana, 145 km north-west of Skopje, 80 km west of the capital Pristina, 435 km south of Belgrade and 263 km east of Podgorica.
The city of Gjakova has been populated since the prehistoric era. During the Ottoman period, Gjakova served as a trading centre on the route between Shkodra and Constantinople. It was also one of the most developed trade centres at that time in the Balkans.
The Albanian name for the city is Gjakova, while the Serbian name is Đakovica with the common -ica diminutive placename suffix. There are several theories on the origin of the village name, such as from the personal name Jakov; the Serbian word đak (pupil); or from the Albanian word for "blood" (gjak).
The "Jakov theory" derives its name from Jakov, a little known nobleman in the service of lord Vuk Branković who founded and ruled the city, and whose coins have been found, signed "Jakov". According to local Albanians, the name was derived from the name Jak (Jakov), with the village name meaning "Jakov's field".
Map - Đakovica (Komuna e Gjakovës)
Map
Country - Kosovo
In classical antiquity, the central tribe which emerged in the territory of Kosovo were the Dardani, who formed an independent polity known as the Kingdom of Dardania in the 4th century BC. It was annexed by the Roman Empire by the 1st century BC, and for the next millennium, the territory remained part of the Byzantine Empire, whose rule was eroded by Slavic invasions beginning in the 6th–7th century AD. In the centuries thereafter, control of the area alternated between the Byzantines and the First Bulgarian Empire. By the 13th century, Kosovo became the core of the Serbian medieval state, and has also been the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the 14th century, when its status was upgraded to a patriarchate. Ottoman expansion in the Balkans in the late 14th and 15th century led to the decline and fall of the Serbian Empire; the Battle of Kosovo of 1389 is considered to be one of the defining moments in Serbian medieval history. The Ottomans fully conquered the region after the Second Battle of Kosovo. The Ottoman Empire ruled the area for almost five centuries until 1912.
Currency / Language
ISO | Language |
---|---|
SQ | Albanian language |
SR | Serbian language |