The Administrative System of Cities in Kosovo during the XVI-XVIII centuries

Abstract

The period from the 16th to the early 18th century marks a new stage with new historical conditions and circumstances for the Albanians. The Albanian society had lost a significant part of the human vital forces and had been stripped to some extent by the craftsmen, traders, and cultural ones. On the other hand, the new economic and political phenomena that originated and acted after the Ottoman conquest, such as the generalization of the timar regime as units with separate natural economies, the ongoing wars and military expeditions to strengthen Ottoman power, the putting into service of the enemy and the Albanian feudal lords, the great political-administrative fragmentation, etc., became the main causes that slowed the pace of the country's economic, social and cultural development, which influenced the slowdown in the dynamics of different aspects of life. Archival research on writing this study also focuses on funds of Oriental, Cyrillic and Latin manuscripts stored in the libraries of Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia etc. The study analysis is also based on archival research of oriental funds in Pristina, Sarajevo, and Skopje. However, first-hand sources for drafting this paper remain the ones that have been researched in Turkey's archives, especially in Istanbul and Ankara. In the context of this scientific research, a special interest is also the confrontation of the historical theses of Albanian historiography with Serbian historiography. The work of this research suggests that it offers rich source material. It deals with a chronology and approach to the use of contemporary scientific-methodological techniques.