Rambouillet Peace Conference - Hawaii Pacific University

Chapter I
Section A; History of Violence
Boshkovich 6
Serbs arrived on the Balkan Peninsula in the 7 th century C.E. as pagan‘s tribe
from central Asia. The reason for this long voyage was probably protection from
barbarian tribes in Asia and also the warmer Mediterranean climate. Serbs settled this
area from Dalmatia, in today‘s Croatia, to a region that is known today as Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In the middle of this area is today‘s Kosovo (full name
would be Kosovo and Metohija), also known as ‗Old Serbia‘. This entire territory was
under control of Byzantine Empire, and that is the reason why Serbs during the time
became Christians, and later, after the schism between Christians in 1054, Orthodox
Christians.
Albanians were the Serbs‘ southern neighbors, and until the Ottomans conquest
they were allies. Albanians were part of the Serbian army during the King Dushan‘s
leadership. In the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Albanians stood along with Serbs against
Turks. 2 Unfortunately, Serbian King Lazar lost this battle, and Turks occupied this part of
Europe for the next 500 years. 3 The majority of Albanians saw this as an opportunity to
become Turks‘ ally and finally grows to be stronger than the Serbs. Most of Albanians
accepted Islam 4 in an effort to be closer to their new rulers. This tactic began to have
results very fast and Turks started to settle Albanians in territories that were 100%
populated by Serbs. The excuse for this process Albanians, even today, tried to find in a
2 Predrag Simic, Put u Rambuje:Kosovska Kriza 1995-2000 (Beograd: Nea, 2000), 13.
3 Christopher Bennett, Yugoslavia’s bloody collapse (New York: New York University Press, 1995), 18.
4 Predrag Simic, Put u Rambuje: Kosovska Kriza 1995-2000 (Beograd: Nea, 2000), 14.