Politics and Society in Late Ottoman Kosovo 1870-1913

Today Kosovo constitutes one of the central conflict regions in Europe and since the NATO-intervention in 1999 as well as the administration of the region by the UNO and subsequently also by the EU has entered European consciousness and politics. The deeper origins of the present conflict, however, go back to the period between 1870 and 1913, when processes of nation state formation and nationalisation influenced the region of Kosovo and led to far-reaching changes. Until now, however, this period has only rarely been the focus of systematic study. Austro- Hungarian consular reports constitute one of the most significant sources for the understanding of historical processes in late Ottoman Kosovo, but have been included in previous scholarly research only to a small degree. At the same time, source editions are completely missing. This project represents the first scholarly edition of Austro-Hungarian diplomatic accounts of Kosovo. The aim is to publish selected consular reports between 1870 (the foundation of the Bulgarian Exarchate) and 1912/13 (the First Balkan War), that are available in the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv in Vienna. The publication will consist of two volumes each with approximately one hundred reports in a commented edition. In addition to political issues, questions of cultural and social concern will constitute the main criteria for the selection of the sources. The intention is to show that ethno-national concepts were of little importance and that the history of Kosovo cannot be reduced to a conflict history between Albanians and Serbs. The project aims to make these documents easily accessible for scholars from different academic disciplines (History, Ottoman Studies, Historical Anthropology and Ethnology) in order to develop the issues and studies connected to particular questions of historic concern regarding Kosovo. At the same time the project will also address a broader public. Because of the high social relevance that Kosovo possesses in Europe and also because of the fascinating contents of the well written consular reports, it can be expected that the publication will generate considerable interest. In the publication will be included the relevant accounts from the consulates in Mitrovica, Prizren and Skopje (since 1888 the capital of the vilayet) from 1870 until 1913, that are stored mainly in the collections of the Hof- und Staatsarchivs. Additionally, significant reports from the consulates in Shkodra and Monastir (today Bitola) with their references to Kosovo will be edited. The documents will be arranged chronologically. They will be published in full, in their original linguistic form and annotated with footnotes. The contents will be summarised at the top of each report. A historical overview at the beginning of the edition will give an introduction to the topic. Furthermore, the volumes will contain a catalogue of the documents, three separate indices of personal names, toponyms and historical terms, and several historical maps of Kosovo.

The project presents the first scholarly edition of Austro-Hungarian consular reports from late Ottoman Kosovo (18701914) in a commented edition of four volumes plus a separate appendix volume. Austro-Hungarian consular reports constitute one of the most significant sources for the analysis of historical processes in late Ottoman Kosovo. While scholarly research utilizes parts of these sources more and more, source editions in international research are completely missing. The significance of the present edition becomes even more evident when considering the fact that editing key sources regarding the history of the Ottoman Balkans apart from regional South East European research has not been pursued since the Second World War except for only a few examples. The edition represents a central source for both, the history of Austro-Hungarian foreign policy and the Ottoman administrative practice as well as the political, social, religious and economic developments not only in present day Kosovo, but in the North Western periphery of the Ottoman Empire in general including North Eastern Albania, South Western Montenegro, South Serbia and Northern Macedonia. The four volumes are chronologically arranged (18701884; 18841899; 19001907 and 19081914) and present a wide selection of Austro-Hungarian diplomatic accounts from Prizren, Mitrovica and Skopje (since 1888 the capital of the vilayet of Kosovo) that are stored in the collections of the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchive in Vienna. Several reports from Shkodra, Bitola, Belgrade, Istanbul and Vienna with reference to matters in Kosovo were also included. The reports are published in full and in their original linguistic form, commentated and with a summary at the top of each report. Each of the volumes contains a catalogue of the documents with the summaries of the single documents. The first volume also comprises a detailed introduction to the topic of the edition, including references to the published documents and scientific literature and sources. The significance of the edition is made particularly clear by its elaborate scientific commentary in the footnotes and the separate appendix volume. A special research effort has been put into eliciting more detailed information concerning particular persons and toponyms mentioned in the reports and the consuls that functioned in Kosovo making the edition an especially valuable reference book. Persons, geographic terms and Ottoman technical terms are explained in the footnotes when mentioned for the first time in each of the four volumes. The separate appendix volume contains a biographical appendix of the diplomats and three separate indices of personal names, geographical terms and subjects with reference to the volume and page number. The subject index makes it possible for users of the edition to search for a wide range of themes and terms. Additionally, a selection of photographs as well as a modern and a historical map of late Ottoman Kosovo are reproduced in the appendix volume. The edition makes the documents easily accessible for scholars from different academic fields (History, Ottoman Studies, Historical Anthropology and Ethnology). At the same time a broader public is addressed. Especially diplomats and politicians, but also readers generally interested in history can benefit from the edition.