With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Islamic Ottoman Empire’s expansion into the Balkans was complete. In 1389 the Ottomans had narrowly defeated the Serbs at the Battle of Kosovo – an event that had ended their independence and became an important part of Serbian mythology. However, Islam was not spread at the point of the sword; conversions happened slowly and largely among the ethnic Albanians (who were trusted to be soldiers and administrators for the Ottomans). About 70% had converted by the end of the 19th century. Meanwhile, the Serbs and Croats (who benefitted less from Ottoman rule) generally retained their Catholic or Orthodox Christianity.

The tensions finally came to a head in during the Balkans Wars The tensions finally came to a head in during the Balkans Wars. The consequence was the final ejection of the Ottoman Turks from the region and a huge expansion in territory for the victorious Serbs. In order to prevent a further war between the emerging states (supported by a pro-Serbian Russia) and Austria-Hungary, the international community intervened by insisting that Albania (the next ‘prize’) should be granted full independence under the Treaty of London – this included Kosovo. This was a relief to the Albanians who feared loss of power / even persecution as they lost their privileged role in the Ottoman regime – since the late nineteenth century, this fear had caused them to be much more nationalistic than previously.

The internally divided Yugoslavia surrendered to Germany in just two weeks in 1939. The nation was dismembered and ruled in different ways. The Croatian elites were willing to side with the Axis powers and ruled their territories with their support – their home grown fascist units of Ustasa murdered ethnic minorities and particularly Serbs in their territories. A Serbian resistance movement, known as the Chetniks, emerged and bitterly fought the occupying forces. However, these began to be superseded by Tito’s communists (who were ethnically much more inclusive and effective). After the war this rivalry would be settled violently with Tito’s successful assumption of power.

Following World War 2, Tito asserted his authority over the whole of Yugoslavia. His regime was consciously ethnically blind (he was half Croat and half Slovene) and forcefully kept a lid on Serbian nationalism (the Serbian part of the federation was most numerous and powerful). He broke with Stalin in 1948 and managed to successfully plot an open course with the West and keep peaceable relations with the USSR after Stalin’s death. Relations with Albania were very strained in the earlier period as they remained in the Soviet orbit. Tito’s personality held everything together.

In the Middle Ages the Balkans was dominated by the Byzantine Empire in the south and the powerful kingdoms of Hungary and Bulgaria in the north. As power shifted between these rivals, Kosovo enjoyed brief periods of independence and autonomy. By this stage, the ethnic divisions in the Balkans were entrenched, with the exception of Islam which would arrive much later. The Serbs had adopted Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium, while regions on the coast (towards Italy) were increasingly influenced by Catholicism.

By this stage, the Ottoman Empire was in decline and would soon earn the nickname ‘The Sick Man of Europe’. As a consequence of her weakness, Serbian nationalists had seized independence in their core territories and now sought to realise their dream of creating a ‘Greater Serbia’ (a recreation of their much larger Medieval kingdom). This would lead them into conflict with Austria-Hungary who were also interested in gobbling up what they could of the region as the Ottoman power waned.

At the end of World War 1, Serbia took advantage of the collapse of Austria Hungary’s regional power to seize Kosovo – given its symbolic importance to Serbians this was a great victory. However, the allies were troubled by a Balkans that was a patchwork of potentially warring states – they therefore engineered the creation of a new Federal state (named ‘Yugoslavia from 1929) that included Serbia (considered Serbian), Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia. Albania remained independent. The Serbs, as the most powerful member, dominated the federation which meant that there was simmering tensions between them and the Croats and Slovenes in particular (see additional notes below). However, Yugoslavia would remain stable until the external pressure of World War 2 was brought to bear on these divisions.