Originally posted by snapper
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Most of the Serbian population from Kosovo went to exile, during the Great War of 1683-1699 when the Holly alliance of European Christians lead the counter attack on the advancing Ottomans. Those whom stayed, were either slaughtered, converted to Islam or became future exiles. What is known for sure is that from the 17th century, the Serbs in Kosovo are minority.
There are records from that time that show the presence of Albanians but in what percentage and what were the relationships between them and the rest of the population is a bit unclear. From what I saw, during my deployment there, by analyzing the Albanian villages was that there is a very specific architectural blueprint of the villages it self. The typical Albanian village wasn't the village in the classical sense, it is more an union of two or more families and it is built like a small fort, with huge walls and the narrow street that runs trough it. The Albanian walls are well known type of architectural design, since combined with the narrow street they form a perfect bottle neck and a killing ground for the enemy. That is one of the reasons, why they were devastated so often. You simply can't take them out by any other mean. The way how they call themselves is also an indication toward mountain life style, since in Albanian they call themselves Shqiptar which means the ones whom speak clearly. Voice in a mythology is a sound and the sound is carried by the air and the air is a predominant element on the mountains. Also the analysis of the massacres they performed on the captured Serbs indicate a strong attachment to the cults of the mountain.
So most likely the Albanians lived in the mountains while the Serbs populated the valleys and plains below. Than, when the Ottomans emerged, they removed the Serbs from the lands and Albanians descended from the mountains where they accepted the Islam and became the dominant ethnic group.
But the role of religion in Albanian ethnic group is secondary, the primary principle is bloodline and ethnicity.
I will get to that in a moment.
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