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Gjilan
Gjilan (Albanian definite form: Gjilani) or Gnjilane (Serbian Cyrillic: Гњилане), is the third most populous city in Kosovo and it serves as both a municipality and the administrative center of the Gjilan District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjilan has a population of 82,901 with the majority residing in the city.
The city is located in the east of Kosovo, in the region of Anamorava, and is well connected with the capital city of Kosovo, Pristina, as well as other surrounding cities such as Ferizaj, Kamenica, Preševo and Bujanovac.
The etymology of Gjilan is disputed. Albanian sources claim that the town (initially a village) obtained its name from Bahti Beg Gjinolli of Gjinaj clan that ruled the region of Vushtrri (Llap and Drenica), and populated this area in the 18th century (around 1750).[citation needed] On the other hand, Serbian sources claim that the origin of the city's name comes from the Serbo-Croatian word "gnjio" (English: rotten).
In 1342, a place called Morava was visited by Serbian King Stefan Dušan (later Emperor, r. 1331–1355). A fort was built nearby in the 14th century. Gornja Morava ("Upper Morava") was known simply as Morava under Ottoman rule, and it extended west of the Upper Žegra–Budriga–Cernica line, thus Gjilan stayed in the oblast (province) of Topanica, whose provincial seat was Novo Brdo.
In the 1455 Ottoman defter of the District of Branković, there were 41 Christian households registered in Gjilan. The town was served by the priest Božidar. After the conquest of Kosovo by the Ottoman Empire, Islam was introduced to the region.
Haji Kalfa (first half of the 17th century) mentions Morava being 17 days from Constantinople. Gornja Morava and Izmornik were organized into the Sanjak of Viçitrina up until the 18th century. Gjilan became a kadiluk around 1780, and 20–25 years later a large village.
The exact year of establishment of Gjilan to this day is not exactly determined. In the 17th century, Evlia Çelebija mentions Gjilan, but named Morava, as a cadillac within the Sanjak of Viçitrina. There is a tradition in the people that Gjilan as a settlement was formed around 1750, and as an urban center – in 1772. Gjilan as a town developed in addition to the extinction of Novo Brdo, which in the Middle Ages was one of the cities and the largest commercial, economic and mining centers in the Balkans. The feudal family "Gjinaj" in the second half of the nineteenth century transferred their headquarters from Novo Brdo and built their own houses in the place where Gjilani is now located.
In 1985, Gjilan was the site of an incident involving a Serbian farmer who had a glass bottle shatter inside his rectum, before going to the local police and blaming two Kosovar Albanians. The incident served to increase and inflame ethnic tensions throughout Yugoslavia, namely between Serbs and Albanians. The farmer later admitted that he put the glass bottle inside his rectum himself.
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Gjilan AI simulator
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Gjilan
Gjilan (Albanian definite form: Gjilani) or Gnjilane (Serbian Cyrillic: Гњилане), is the third most populous city in Kosovo and it serves as both a municipality and the administrative center of the Gjilan District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjilan has a population of 82,901 with the majority residing in the city.
The city is located in the east of Kosovo, in the region of Anamorava, and is well connected with the capital city of Kosovo, Pristina, as well as other surrounding cities such as Ferizaj, Kamenica, Preševo and Bujanovac.
The etymology of Gjilan is disputed. Albanian sources claim that the town (initially a village) obtained its name from Bahti Beg Gjinolli of Gjinaj clan that ruled the region of Vushtrri (Llap and Drenica), and populated this area in the 18th century (around 1750).[citation needed] On the other hand, Serbian sources claim that the origin of the city's name comes from the Serbo-Croatian word "gnjio" (English: rotten).
In 1342, a place called Morava was visited by Serbian King Stefan Dušan (later Emperor, r. 1331–1355). A fort was built nearby in the 14th century. Gornja Morava ("Upper Morava") was known simply as Morava under Ottoman rule, and it extended west of the Upper Žegra–Budriga–Cernica line, thus Gjilan stayed in the oblast (province) of Topanica, whose provincial seat was Novo Brdo.
In the 1455 Ottoman defter of the District of Branković, there were 41 Christian households registered in Gjilan. The town was served by the priest Božidar. After the conquest of Kosovo by the Ottoman Empire, Islam was introduced to the region.
Haji Kalfa (first half of the 17th century) mentions Morava being 17 days from Constantinople. Gornja Morava and Izmornik were organized into the Sanjak of Viçitrina up until the 18th century. Gjilan became a kadiluk around 1780, and 20–25 years later a large village.
The exact year of establishment of Gjilan to this day is not exactly determined. In the 17th century, Evlia Çelebija mentions Gjilan, but named Morava, as a cadillac within the Sanjak of Viçitrina. There is a tradition in the people that Gjilan as a settlement was formed around 1750, and as an urban center – in 1772. Gjilan as a town developed in addition to the extinction of Novo Brdo, which in the Middle Ages was one of the cities and the largest commercial, economic and mining centers in the Balkans. The feudal family "Gjinaj" in the second half of the nineteenth century transferred their headquarters from Novo Brdo and built their own houses in the place where Gjilani is now located.
In 1985, Gjilan was the site of an incident involving a Serbian farmer who had a glass bottle shatter inside his rectum, before going to the local police and blaming two Kosovar Albanians. The incident served to increase and inflame ethnic tensions throughout Yugoslavia, namely between Serbs and Albanians. The farmer later admitted that he put the glass bottle inside his rectum himself.