MikeL, If Serbia indeed wrestled KosovO from the Ottomans – we must conclude that Ottoman’s home was in Asia Minor not in Europe – so the Ottomans (and their servants, the Arnauts) were on foreign land. How else do we explain all the Serbian presence in Kosovo prior to 1389?
It has been a cradle of Serbian natio, home to the early Christians for a good 600 years prior to the unwanted arrival of the intruders. There are documents that go much further back into the 4th, 5th and 6th Century BC. The Celtic tribes in this portion of Europe intermarried with the locals. The Roman mispronounced city of Singidunum was originaly named Sindidun by the early Celtic Scordiacs – burial sites found at the confluence of Savus and Danubius today’s Avala – showing a considerable presence of an ethnic mix. Lepenski Vir was another site where much wealth was found attesting to people living in these lands even before the arrival of the Roman conquerors. Pottery, jewlery and similar artifacts found in today’s Denmark, Normandy (France) had clearly identified artifacts hand-made on the grounds of today’s Serbia. Even the early cartographers dispatched by Alexander the Great 336-323 BC had maps made of the Morava river region – today’s Serbia and extensive contacts (sometimes even clashes) with the combined people from those regions (Celts and Serbians) – however by a series of treaties and agreements Alexander secured his Northern borders well enough so that he could go deep into Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia and India.
In short the Turkish imports (Arnauts) found themselves in this part of Europe a good 1000 years after the original Serbians. The following mass migration of Slavic tribes (6th century) is mistakingly thought of as the first arrival os Slavic tribes to the Balkans. It is completely baseless to have some alien tribe (Slavs) get into some unknown lands for no apparent reason. Reason they got there was that the prior early Slavs already worked the fertile lands and welcomed their kin-Slavs into the region. If ever there was an intruder in these parts of Europe it was the Muslims (Turks and their servants Arnauts).
Since Albanians are so proud of their achievements, culture, (all alien and unknown to me) they should not be prevented to returning back into Albania where they came from. There are native Arnauts, in any large numbers born on Serbian lands of Kosovo. They have been systematicaly inserted into the Serbian lands since WW1 – and their ethnic explosion (aided by the Muslim polygamy allowing for an abnormal birth rate) seemingly tilted the balance of a nominal head count.
Yes it would have definitely less traumatic for MikeL not to have arrived here and not have learned that Arnauts have been inserted by their Turkish sponsors into Europe
