Modern Skopje

Skopje (Macedonian: Скопје, Albanian Shkup, Latin Scupi; Turkish: Üsküb) is the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia. It has approx. 650,000 inhabitants (2000 estimate) and is located on the upper Vardar river. It is the political, economic and cultural centre of Macedonia and a major centre for the metal-processing, chemical, timber, textile, leather and printing industries. Industrial development has been accompanied by an intensive development of internal and external trade and banking, as well as activities in the fields of culture and sport. The Macedonian language (Македонски, Makedonski) is a language in the Eastern group of South Slavic languages. ... The word Albanian can mean: From or related to Albania. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Turkish (Türkçe or Türk dili) is a Turkic language, spoken natively by over 100 million speakers in Turkey, Cyprus, and worldwide. ... National motto: None Official languages Macedonian2 Capital Skopje President Branko Crvenkovski Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 145th 25,713 km² 1. ... The Vardar (or Axios) is the principal river of the Macedonian region of south-eastern Europe. ...

Skopje was not known to the Ancient Greeks, and appears to have been founded in the 3rd century BC by the Dardanians, a people on the fringes of the Kingdom of Macedon. In Roman times there was town on the site called Justiniana Prima, but this was destroyed by an earthquake in 518. The town was refounded, perhaps by the early Romanians (or Vlachs), and in Byzantine times it was known as Skupi. Skopje often changed hands between the Byzantines and the Bulgarians in medieval times until it was conquered by the Serbs in the late 13th century. It was captured by the Ottomans in 1392 and known by the Turkish name Üsküb or Üsküp during the half-millennium of Ottoman rule. Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... The Dardani were an ancient Indo-European tribe that lived in Dardania and was likely of mixed Illyrian-Thracian descent. ... Macedon (aka. ... The Roman Empire is not the Holy Roman Empire (843-1806). ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998. ... Events July 9 - Justin becomes Roman emperor September 29 - Severus, Patriarch of Antioch is deposed by a synod for his Monophysitism. ... The Romanians (români in present-day Romanian and rumâni in historical contexts) are an ethnic group; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania and of Moldova (where they are also called Moldovans, a disputed term); each of these countries also has other significant ethnic minorities, and the Romanians constitute an... Vlachs (also called Wlachs, Wallachs, Olahs) are the Romanized population in Central and Eastern Europe, including Romanians, Aromanians, Istro-Romanians and Megleno-Romanians, but since the creation of the Romanian state, this term was mostly used for the Vlachs living south of the Danube river. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Events Korean founder of the Joseon Dynasty General Yi Seonggye leads a coup détat, overthrowing the kingdom of Goryeo and founding the kingdom of Joseon Afyonkarahisar in western Turkey is conquered by Sultan Beyazid I Louis de Valois is created the 1st Duke of Orléans, the second time... Turkish (Türkçe or Türk dili) is a Turkic language, spoken natively by over 100 million speakers in Turkey, Cyprus, and worldwide. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul ( Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 12+ million km² Establishment 1299 Dissolution October 29, 1923...

Ottoman Üsküb was the capital of the vilayet (district) of Kosovo, which occupied a much greater area than the modern Serbian province of Kosovo. The Turkish writer Dilger Zede visited the city in the 17th century and wrote: "I travelled for a long time across that country of Rumelija and I saw a lot of beautiful cities and I was amazed from the Alah blessings, but not one has impressed and delighted me so much as the heavens city of Skopje across which passes the river Vardar." In 1689, however, it was burned by the Austrian general Ennea Silvia Piccolomini to eradicate an epidemic of cholera. It only revived in the 19th century with the building of the railway from Belgrade to Thessaloniki, which passed through Skopje. Kosovo (disambiguation). ... Events Louis XIV of France passed the Code Noir, allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies. ... The Republic of Austria ( German: Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. ... distribution of cholera Cholera (also called Asiatic cholera) is an infectious disease of the gastrointestinal tract caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacterium. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Belgrade (disambiguation). ... The White Tower The Arch of Galerius Map showing the Thessaloníki prefecture Thessaloníki (Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and is the principal city and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. ...

In 1905 Üsküb had a population of about 32,000, a mixture of Macedonian Slavs (who were commonly described as Bulgarians at the time), Serbs, Turks, Albanians and Gypsies. It was the seat of an Orthodox Greek archbishop, of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Albanians and of a Bulgarian Orthodox bishop. In 1910 Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, later to become famous as Mother Teresa, was born in Üsküb into a Catholic Albanian family. 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Macedonian Slavs are an ethnic group which inhabits the geographical region of Macedonia in south-eastern Europe and speaks the Macedonian language. ... The Bulgarians are a southern Slavic people generally associated with Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language. ... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Areas settled by Turkic peoples in the late 19th and early 20th century The Turkic people are any of various peoples whose members speak languages in the Turkic family of languages. ... The Albanians or Shqiptarë are a people of the western Balkan peninsula, speaking the Albanian language and numbering today approximately six million worldwide. ... The Rroma people (pronounced rahma, singular Rrom) along with the closely related Sinti people are commonly known as Gypsies. ... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu Mother Teresa of Calcutta (August 27, 1910–September 5, 1997) was an internationally renowned Catholic nun and founder of the Missionaries of Charity whose work among the poor of Calcutta was widely reported. ...

In 1913 the city fell to the Serbs during the Balkan War and was ceded to Serbia, which became the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918 and Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. It was under Bulgarian rule during both World Wars but in 1945 it became the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. In 1963 Skopje was struck by a major earthquake, in which 1,070 people were killed and another 120,000 were made homeless. 80% of the city was destroyed and numerous cultural monuments were seriously damaged. A major international relief effort saw the city rebuilt quickly, though much of its old Turkish aspect was lost in the process. 1913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912-1913 in the course of which the Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria) first conquered Ottoman-held Macedonia and most of Thrace and then fell out over the division of the spoils, Bulgaria suffering defeat at the... The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a Balkan state which existed from December 1, 1918 to mid-April 1941. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a Balkan state which existed from December 1, 1918 to mid-April 1941. ... Events January-February January 11 - The Whisky A Go-Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the USA, is opened. ...

Skopje at night

Under Yugoslav rule Skopje grew rapidly and became a major industrial centre for the southern Balkans region. In 1991 the Yugoslav federation broke up and Skopje became the capital of the independent Republic of Macedonia. Greece objected to the use of the name Macedonia by the new state and imposed an economic blockade, which severely damaged Skopje's economy by closing its access to the sea through Thessaloniki. The blockade was lifted in 1995 following an agreement between Greece and Macedonia. Many Greek nationalists still refer to the republic as "the Republic of Skopje" and its inhabitants (pejoratively) as "Skopjeans" (Skopiani in Greek). The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ... The White Tower The Arch of Galerius Map showing the Thessaloníki prefecture Thessaloníki (Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and is the principal city and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. ... The Greek language (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of some 3,000 years. ...

External link

• Skopje website (http://www.skopjeonline.com.mk/)