Editing Skopje (section)

== History ==
{{main|History of Skopje}}
{{For timeline}}

{{Quote box
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| title = Timeline of Skopje <br><small>Historical affiliations</small>
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| quote = {{Noflag|[[Dardanian Kingdom]]}}, 230–28 BC<br />
{{Noflag|[[Roman Empire]]}}, 28 BC–395 <br />
{{Noflag|[[Byzantine Empire]]}}, 395–836<br />
{{Noflag|[[First Bulgarian Empire]]}}, 836–1004<br />
{{Noflag|[[Byzantine Empire]]}}, 1004–1093<br />
{{Noflag|[[Grand Principality of Serbia]]}}, 1093–1097<br />
{{Noflag|[[Byzantine Empire]]}}, 1098–1203<br />
{{Noflag|[[Second Bulgarian Empire]]}}, 1203–1246<br />
{{Noflag|[[Empire of Nicaea]]}}, 1246–1255<br />
{{Noflag|[[Second Bulgarian Empire]]}}, 1255–1256<br />
{{Noflag|[[Empire of Nicaea]]}}, 1256–1261<br />
{{Noflag|[[Byzantine Empire]]}}, 1261–1282<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Serbian Empire, reconstruction.svg}} [[Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)|Kingdom of Serbia]], 1282–1346<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Serbian Empire, reconstruction.svg}} [[Serbian Empire]], 1346–1371<br />
{{flagicon image|Royal banner of Branković family.svg}} [[District of Branković]], 1371–1392<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the_Ottoman_Empire.svg}} [[Ottoman Empire]], 1392–1912<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Serbia (1882–1918).svg}} [[Kingdom of Serbia]] 1912–1915<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Bulgaria.svg}} [[Bulgarian occupation of Serbia (World War I)|Tsardom of Bulgaria]] 1915–1918<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Yugoslavia (1918–1941).svg}} [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]{{refn|group=Note|Officially known as the ''Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes'' until 1929}} 1918–1941<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Bulgaria.svg}} [[Bulgaria during World War II|Tsardom of Bulgaria]] 1941–1944<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Yugoslavia (1943–1946).svg}} [[Democratic Federal Yugoslavia]] ([[Socialist Republic of Macedonia|Democratic Federal Macedonia]]) 1944–1946<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg}} [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] ([[Socialist Republic of Macedonia]]) 1946–1992<br/>
{{flag|North Macedonia}}{{refn|group=Note|See [[Macedonia naming dispute]]}} 1992–present
}}

=== Origins ===

The rocky promontory on which [[Skopje Fortress]] stands was the first site to be settled in Skopje. The earliest vestiges of human inhabitance found on this site date from the [[Chalcolithic]] ([[4th millennium BC]]).<ref name="kalepre">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/prehistory.php |title=Prehistoric Kale |publisher=Archaeological exavations Skopsko Kale |year=2007 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304134515/http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/prehistory.php |archive-date=4 March 2012}}</ref>

Although the Chalcolithic settlement must have been of some significance, it declined during the [[Bronze Age]]. Archeological research suggests that the settlement always belonged to the same culture, which progressively evolved due to contacts with [[Balkan]] and [[Danube]] cultures, and later with the [[Aegean culture|Aegean]]. The locality eventually disappeared during the [[Iron Age]]<ref name="kaleant">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/antiquty.php |title=Kale in the antiquity |publisher=Archaeological exavations Skopsko Kale |year=2007 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212053952/http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/antiquty.php |archive-date=12 February 2012}}</ref> when [[Scupi]] emerged on Zajčev Rid hill, some {{cvt|5|km}} west of the fortress promontory. At the centre of the Balkan peninsula and on the road between the Danube and [[Aegean Sea]],<ref name="provincial">{{Cite book |title=Provincial at Rome: and Rome and the Balkans 80BC-AD14 |author=Ronald Syme |publisher=Anthony Birley, University of Exeter Press |year=2000 |isbn=9780859896320 |page=130}}</ref> it was a prosperous locality, although its history is not well known.<ref name="provincial"/>

During the Iron Age, the area of Skopje was inhabited by the [[Dardani]]. [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] tribes lived in most of the area west of Skopje and [[Thracians|Thracian]] groups ([[Maedi]]) to the east, whilst [[Paeonians]] lived to the south of Skopje.{{sfn|Duridanov|1975|p=17}} The Dardanians had remained independent after the Roman conquest of [[Macedon]], and it seems most likely that Dardania lost its independence in 28 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2006/0350-76530637007P.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006211424/http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2006/0350-76530637007P.pdf |url-status=dead |title=Vladimir P. Petrović, Pre-Roman and Roman Dardania Historical and Geographical Considerations, Balcanica XXXVII, p 10. |archivedate=6 October 2011}}</ref>

=== Roman Scupi ===
[[File:Shy venus statue skopje.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|A "Venus Pudica" found in Scupi, dated from the 2nd century AD<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Folia Archaeologica Balkanica |volume=II |year=2011 |first=Marina Ončevska |last=Todorovska |title=The Status of Venus from Skupi |url=http://periodica.fzf.ukim.edu.mk/fab/FAB_02_(2012)/FAB%2002.22.%20On%C4%8Devska%20Todorovska,%20M.%20-%20The%20Statue%20of%20Venus%20Pudica%20from%20Scupi.pdf |page=355}}</ref>]]

Roman expansion east brought Scupi under Roman rule as a colony of [[legionaries]], mainly veterans of the [[Legio VII Claudia]] during the reign of Emperor [[Domitian]] (AD 81–96). However, several legions from the [[Roman province of Macedonia]] of [[Crassus]]' army may already have been stationed there around 29–28 BC before the official imperial command was instituted.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1OTgAAAAMAAJ&q=scupi%20dardania |title=The Cambridge Ancient History: The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C.-A.D. 69, 2nd ed., 1996 |last2=Cook |first2=Stanley Arthur |date=1 January 1996 |publisher=University Press |last3=Adcock |first3=Frank Ezra |first1=John Bagnell |last1=Bury |isbn=9780521264303 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Nv6SPRKqs8C&q=scupi |title=The Illyrians |last=Wilkes |first=John |date=9 January 1996 |publisher=Wiley |via=Google Books |isbn=9780631198079}}</ref> The first mention of the city was made at that period by [[Livy]], who died in AD 17.<ref name="history"/> Scupi first served as a military base to maintain peace in the region<ref name="provincial"/> and was officially named "{{Lang|la|Colonia Flavia Scupinorum}}", ''{{Lang|la|Flavia}}'' being the name of the [[Flavian dynasty|emperor's dynasty]].<ref name="archeology">{{cite web |url=http://www.archaeology.org/1209/features/scupi_macedonia_roman_colony_bronze_age.html |title=Burial Customs, Death on the Roman Empire's eastern frontier |author=Matthew Brunwasser |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |year=2012 |access-date=6 October 2012 |archive-date=15 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015185034/http://www.archaeology.org/1209/features/scupi_macedonia_roman_colony_bronze_age.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Shortly afterwards it became part of the province of [[Moesia]] during [[Augustus]]'s rule. After the division of the province by Domitian in AD 86, Scupi was elevated to colonial status and became a seat of government within the new province of [[Moesia Superior]]. The district called [[Dardania (Roman province)|Dardania]] (within Moesia Superior) was formed into a special province by Emperor [[Diocletian]], with the capital at [[Naissus]]. In Roman times the eastern part of Dardania, from Scupi to Naissus, remained inhabited mostly by a local population, mainly of [[Thracian]] origin.{{sfn|Papazoglu|1978|p=242}}

The city's population was very diverse. Engravings on tombstones suggest that only a minority of the population came from [[Italia (ancient history)|Italia]], whilst many veterans were from [[Dalmatia]], southern [[Gaul]] and [[Syria]]. Because of the ethnic diversity of the population, [[Latin language|Latin]] maintained itself as the main language in the city at the expense of [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], which was spoken in most of the Moesian and Macedonian cities.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Pannonia and Upper Moesia |volume=4 |author=András Mócsy |publisher=Routledge |year=1974 |isbn=9780710077141 |page=117}}</ref> During the following centuries, Scupi experienced prosperity. The period from the end of the 3rd century to the end of the 4th century was particularly flourishing.<ref name="archeology"/> The first church was founded under the reign of Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] and Scupi became the seat of a [[diocese]]. In 395, following the division of the [[Roman Empire]] into two, Scupi became part of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]].<ref name="history"/>

An ancient funeral inscription of the [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] tribe [[Albanoi]] was found in [[Scupi]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=z0lmAAAAMAAJ Dragojević-Josifovska 1982] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111171931/https://books.google.no/books?id=z0lmAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y |date=11 November 2022 }}, p. 32</ref>

In its zenith, Scupi covered 40 hectares and was closed by a {{cvt|3.5|m|ft|adj=on}} wide wall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=5231293251&id=9&prilog=0&setIzdanie=22587 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525200751/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=5231293251&id=9&prilog=0&setIzdanie=22587 |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 May 2012 |title=Жителите на Скупи уживале во спа-центри |publisher=[[Nova Makedonija]] |author=Mimoza Petrevska Georgieva |access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref> It had many monuments, including four [[necropoles]], a theatre, [[thermae]],<ref name="archeology"/> and a large Christian [[basilica]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=91D0ED79D1994545B51D56D4677B3F81 |title=Откриена ранохристијанска базилика во Скупи |date=30 July 2008 |publisher=Dnevnik |author=Vesna Ivanovsa |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428173510/http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=91D0ED79D1994545B51D56D4677B3F81 |archive-date=28 April 2014}}</ref>

=== Middle Ages ===
[[File:Skopje Kale 3.jpg|thumb|right|[[Skopje Fortress]]]]

In 518, Scupi was destroyed by a violent earthquake,<ref name=damages/> possibly the most devastating the town had ever experienced.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kurir.mk/en/2012/07/26/49-years-after-the-disastrous-skopje-earthquake/ |title=49 Years after the Disastrous Skopje Earthquake |publisher=Kurir |year=2012 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031145850/http://kurir.mk/en/2012/07/26/49-years-after-the-disastrous-skopje-earthquake/ |archive-date=31 October 2012}}</ref> At that time, the region was threatened by [[Barbarian invasions]], and the city inhabitants had already fled to the forests and mountains before the disaster occurred.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration |author=Arthur Evans |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2007 |isbn=9781845111670 |page=234}}</ref> The city was eventually rebuilt by [[Justinian I]]. During his reign, many Byzantine towns were relocated on hills and other easily defendable places to face invasions. It was thus transferred to another site: the promontory on which [[Skopje Fortress]] stands.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Pannonia and Upper Moesia |author=András Mócsy |publisher=Routledge |year=1974 |isbn=9780710077141 |page=356}}</ref> Despite this, Scupi was sacked by [[Slavs]] at the end of the 6th century and the city seems to have fallen under Slavic rule in 595.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration |author=Arthur Evans |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2007 |isbn=9781845111670 |page=241}}</ref> The Slavic tribe which sacked Scupi was probably the [[Berziti]],<ref name="history"/> who had invaded the entire Vardar Valley.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Andrew Rossos |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5 |page=25}}</ref> However, the Slavs did not settle permanently in the region, which had been already plundered and depopulated, but continued south to the Mediterranean coast.<ref>Ivan Mikulčiḱ, Medieval towns and castles in the Republic of Macedonia, Book 5 of Makroproekt "Istorija na kulturata na Makedonija", [[Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts]], 1996, p. 27.</ref> After the Slavic invasion it was deserted for some time and is not mentioned during the following centuries.<ref name="history"/> It is possible that in the late 7th or the early 8th century the Byzantines again settled at this strategic location. Along with the rest of the Upper Vardar valley it became part of the expanding [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]] in the 830s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=svPkt-TIHK0C&pg=PA371 |title=History of the Eastern Empire from the Fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil: A.D. 802–867 |publisher=London Macmillan |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-60520-421-5 |pages=371–372 |author=J. B. Bury}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=History of the First Bulgarian Empire |author=Steven Runciman |publisher=LG. Bell & Sons |location=London |year=1930 |page=87 |url=http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/en/sr/sr_2_2.htm |access-date=17 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709081226/http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/en/sr/sr_2_2.htm |archive-date=9 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Coronation of Emperor Dušan, in "The Slavonic Epic" (1926).jpg|thumb|left|[[Coronation of the Serbian monarch|The coronation]] of Emperor [[Stefan Dušan]] in Skopje{{efn|By [[Alfons Mucha]], 1926}} ]]

Starting from the end of the 10th century Skopje experienced a period of wars and political troubles. It served as the Bulgarian capital from 972 to 992, and [[Tsar Samuel]] ruled it from 976<ref name="kalemed">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/mediaeval.php |title=Medieval Kale |publisher=Archaeological exavations Skopsko Kale |year=2007 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219235728/http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/mediaeval.php |archive-date=19 February 2012}}</ref> until 1004, when its governor surrendered it to Byzantine Emperor [[Basil the Bulgar Slayer]] in 1004 in exchange for the titles of [[Patrikios|''patrikios'']] and ''[[Strategos#Byzantine use|strategos]]''.<ref>([[John Skylitzes|Skylitzes]]-Cedr. II, 455, 13)</ref> It became a centre of a new Byzantine [[Theme (Byzantine district)|province]] called [[Theme of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]].<ref>Byzantine Military Organization on the Danube, 10th–12th Centuries, Alexandru Madgearu, BRILL, 2013, {{ISBN|9004252495}}</ref> Later Skopje was briefly seized twice by Slavic insurgents who wanted to restore the Bulgarian state. At first in 1040 under [[Peter Delyan]]'s command,<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Concise History of Bulgaria |author=R. J. Crampton |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780521616379 |page=22}}</ref> and in 1072 under the orders of [[Georgi Voyteh]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5 |pages=36–37 |author=Andrew Rossos}}</ref> In 1081, Skopje was captured by [[Normans|Norman]] troops led by [[Robert Guiscard]] and the city remained in their hands until 1088. Skopje was subsequently conquered by the Serbian Grand Prince [[Vukan, Grand Prince of Serbia|Vukan]] in 1093, and again by the Normans four years later. However, because of epidemics and food shortage, Normans quickly surrendered to the Byzantines.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cosmovisions.com/Bohemond.htm |title=Bohémond (Marc) |author=Serge Jodra |year=2006 |publisher=Imago Mundi |access-date=24 March 2011}}</ref>

During the 12th and 13th centuries, Bulgarians and Serbs took advantage of Byzantine decline to create large kingdoms stretching from the [[Danube]] to the [[Aegean Sea]]. [[Kaloyan of Bulgaria|Kaloyan]] brought Skopje back into the re-established [[Second Bulgarian Empire]] in 1203<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_mazcfdpVIC&pg=PA102 |title=Identities and Allegiances in the Eastern Mediterranean After 1204 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=9781409410980 |editor=Judith Herrin |editor2=Guillaume Saint-Guillain |page=102}}</ref><ref name="John Van Antwerp Fine 1994 175–184">{{Cite book |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-472-08260-5 |pages=175–184 |author=John Van Antwerp Fine}}</ref> until his nephew [[Strez]] declared autonomy along the Upper Vardar with Serbian aid only five years later.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-81539-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt/page/385 385] |author=Florin Curta |url=https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt/page/385}}</ref> In 1209, Strez switched allegiances and recognised [[Boril of Bulgaria]] with whom he led a successful joint campaign against Serbia's first internationally recognised King [[Stefan Nemanjić]].<ref name="John Van Antwerp Fine 1994 175–184"/> From 1214 to 1230, Skopje was a part of the Byzantine successor state of [[Despotate of Epirus|Epirus]] before being recaptured by [[Ivan Asen II]] and held by Bulgaria until 1246 when the Upper Vardar valley was incorporated once more into another Byzantine [[rump state]] – the [[Empire of Nicaea]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=John Van Antwerp Fine |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-472-08260-5 |page=156 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvVbRrH1QBgC&pg=PA156}}</ref> Byzantine conquest was briefly reversed in 1255 by the [[regents]] of the young [[Michael Asen I of Bulgaria]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=John Van Antwerp Fine |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-472-08260-5 |page=159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvVbRrH1QBgC&pg=PA159}}</ref> Meanwhile, in the parallel civil war for the Crown in [[Veliko Tarnovo|Tarnovo]], the Skopje [[boyar]] and grandson of [[Stefan Nemanja]] [[Constantine Tikh]] gained the upper hand and ruled until the [[Uprising of Ivaylo]], Europe's only successful peasant revolt, led to his deposition from power.

In 1282, Skopje was captured by Serbian King [[Stefan Milutin]].<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Valentina Georgieva |author2=Sasha Konechni|name-list-style=amp |title=Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0810833364 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000geor/page/9 9] |url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000geor/page/9}}</ref> Under the political stability of the [[Nemanjić]] rule, the settlement spread outside the walls of the fortress, towards Gazi Baba hill.<ref name="kalemed"/> Churches, monasteries and markets were built and tradesmen from the [[Republic of Venice]] and [[Dubrovnik]] opened shops. The town greatly benefited from its location near European, Middle Eastern, and African markets. In the 14th century, Skopje became such an important city that King [[Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia|Stefan Dušan]] made it the capital of the [[Serbian Empire]]. In 1346, he was crowned as [[Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks]] in Skopje.<ref name="history"/> After his death the Serbian Empire collapsed into several principalities which were unable to defend themselves against the [[Ottoman Turks]]. Skopje was first inherited by the [[Lordship of Prilep]] and finally taken by [[Vuk Branković]] in the wake of the [[Battle of Maritsa]] (1371)<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Serbs |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2004 |isbn=978-0631204718 |page=79 |author=Sima M. Ćirković |author2=Vuk Tošić}}</ref> before becoming part of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1392.<ref name="history"/>

In 1330, Serbian King [[Stefan Dečanski]] mentioned Albanians as being in the district of Skopje and regularly going to the Fair of [[Saint George]] which convened near the city.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Iseni |first1=Bashkim |title=La question nationale en Europe du Sud-Est : genèse, émergence et développement de l'indentité nationale albanaise au Kosovo et en Macédoine |date=25 January 2008 |publisher=P. Lang |location=Bern |isbn=978-3039113200 |page=77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gAdlqwCm_9sC&q=La+question+nationale+en+Europe+du+Sud-Est+:+gen%C3%A8se,+%C3%A9mergence+et+d%C3%A9veloppement+de+l%27indentit%C3%A9+nationale+albanaise+au+Kosovo+et+en+Mac%C3%A9doine}}</ref>

=== Ottoman period ===
[[File:Prvomajska proslava vo Skopje, 1909.jpg|thumb|left|First May Day celebration of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman period]] in Skopje, 1909]]

The [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] stayed in Skopje for over 520 years and the city's economic life greatly benefited from its position in the middle of [[Rumelia]], the European province of the Ottomans. The [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]], "one of the most imposing stone bridges to be found in Yugoslavia", was reconstructed under the patronage of [[Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror]] between 1451 and 1469.<ref name="jpm">{{cite book |last1=Popovski |first1=Jovan |title=Macedonia |date=1969 |publisher=Turistička štampa |page=66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elk9AAAAMAAJ}}</ref> The Ottomans drastically changed the appearance of the city. They organised the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Bazaar]] with its [[caravanserais]], mosques and [[Turkish bath|baths]].<ref name="ottoman">{{cite web |url=http://www.see-heritage-download.org/Ottoman_Monuments_EN.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104181001/http://www.see-heritage-download.org/Ottoman_Monuments_EN.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2020 |title=Macedonian Cultural Heritage – Ottoman Monuments |year=2008 |publisher=Unesco Venice|name-list-style=amp |author1=Zoran Pavlov M.A. |author2=Radmila Petkova |access-date=7 October 2012}}</ref>

In the [[cadastral]] register of 1451–52, the Skopje neighborhood ''{{Lang|sq|Gjin-ko}}'' ({{Lang|sq|Gjinaj}}), is mentioned, being named after the medieval Albanian [[Gjini family]]. The neighbourhood displayed mixed Christian Albanian [[anthroponymy]] with cases of [[Slavicisation]] present (e.g. {{Lang|sr|Palić}}; ''{{Lang|sr|Pal}}'' + Slavic suffix ''[[ić]]'').<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rexha |first=Iljaz |year=2011 |title=Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=70066 |journal=Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike |issue=41–42 |pages=167–218 |postscript=Në defterin kadastral të vitit 1451-52 për Rumelinë, në Shkup ishte regjistruar lagjeja Gjin-ko –(Gjinaj), me emrin e familjes fisnike mesjetare albane, ku në dokumente sllave të shek.XIV, por edhe në defterët osmanë të shek.XV-XIV, permenden 5 vendbanime me emrin Gjinofc në rrthinat e Shtipt, të Kriva Pallankes, të Gostivarit, Tetovës dhe të Dibres si dhe 2 tjera me emrin Gjinofc janë regjitruar në hapësirën në mes Radomirit dhe të Qystendilit në Bullgari, vendbanime këto qe në mesjetë i themeluan vëllezritë e Gjinajve. Në lagjen e sipërpërmendur Gjinko, në radhë të parë ishte regjistruar kryefamiljari Gjin-ko, me profesion (këpuctarë), dhe Todori, i vëllai i tij (Gjinit), siç shihet themelues i kësaj lagje, ndersa më vonë, në këtë lagjë, në vitin 1467 ishte regjistruar djali i tij Marko, i biri i Gjinit, pastaj në mesin e banorëve të tjerë, ishin regjistruar edhe banorë me antroponimi simbiotike krishtere tradicionale arbane: Milesh-a, bostanxhi, Dimitri, i biri i Prençes, Dragati, i biri i Male-s (Malja), Nikolla, i biri i Naneçit (Nano), Jovan i vëllai i tij, Jako i biri i Dodanit (Doda), Stepan, i biri i Andreas, Paliq (Pali) i biri i Stepanit, Nikolla i biri i Drralla, Roza, e vejë.}}</ref> During this time period, a number of [[timariots]] of the city are recorded as bearing the name {{Lang|sq|Arnauti}} (meaning [[Albanians|Albanian]]) alongside a Muslim name, i.e. {{Lang|sq|Hamza Arnauti}}'', {{Lang|sq|Shahin Arnauti}}, {{Lang|sq|Jusuf Arnauti}}''. Another group bore Slavic Christian names, whilst also carrying bearing the surname {{Lang|sq|Arbanas}}/''{{Lang|sq|Arnaut}}'', i.e. ''{{Lang|sq|Bogdan Arbanas}}'', ''{{Lang|sq|Bogoslav Arbanas}}'', ''{{Lang|sq|Milosh Arbanas}}'', ''{{Lang|sq|Bozhidar Arnaut}}'', etc. These individuals are noted as not having the Slavic appellatives ''{{Lang|sr|došlac}}'', ''{{Lang|sr|prišlac}}'' or ''{{Lang|sr|uselica}}'', which were given by Ottoman authorities to new settlers of a given region, likely indicating they were locals.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rexha |first=Iljaz |year=2011 |title=Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=70066 |journal=Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike |issue=41–42 |pages=167–218 |postscript=Si dëshmi tjetër për praninë e albanëve në territorrin e Maqedonisë së sotme ishin edhe spahinjtë vendas, me prejardhje albane e jo të ardhur nga Arbanoni politik mesjetar, që më parë kishin kaluar në fenë islame dhe ishin inkuadruar në sistemin e timarit të spahinjve osmanë. Sipas defterëve të shek. XV (1451/53 dhe 1467/68) ata i kishin timaret e veta në territorin e Maqedonisë dhe të Kosovës, kësaj radhe po i përmendim vetëm disa prej tyre: Hamza Arnauti,59 nga mëhalla Mentesheli e Shku-pit e kishte timarin e vet në fshatin Gumaleva. Hamza Arnauti, (tjetër) nga vendbanimi Niçevo (Nokova) e Shkupit kishte timarin e tij në fshatin Pa-garusha. Jusuf Arnauti, nga fshati Topçe Is’akli afër Draçevës së Shkupit. Shahin Arnauti59/a dizdar i kalasë së Shkupit i kishte timarin në tri fshatra të Shkupit... pranë individit me etno-nimin Arbanas ose Arnaut, apelativi sllav: doshlac prishlac, uselica, emigrant, që do thotë se kryefamiljarët shqiptarëme këtë etnonim si:Petro Arbanas, Dimitri Arbanas, Nikolla Arbanas, Bogdan Arbanas, Bogoslav Arbanas, Milosh Arbanas, Bozhidar Arnaut, Gjuro Arba-nas, Mihajl Arbanas, Todor Arnaut, Andreja Arnaut, Lzar Arnaut apo Jusuf Arnaut, ose Hamza Arnavut etj., nuk janë shënuar me cilë-sorin sllav doselic ose prishlec, çka dëshmon se ata ishin vendës në vendbanimet e tyre}}</ref> In the year 1451 or 1453 a neighborhood was registered bearing an [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]] name, {{Lang|rup|Mahalle-i Todor Vlaja-Vlaha}}. Amongst the 45 family heads of this neighborhood, Christian Slavic and Albanian anthroponyms were recorded ({{Lang|sq|Gjon-çe}}, son of {{Lang|sq|Noriç}}, ''Koljko Bibani'', ''{{Lang|sr|Tusho}}'', son of ''{{Lang|sr|Rada}}'', etc.), whilst a sizeable number of individuals bearing mixed Slavic-[[Vlach]] anthroponyms are also registered, such as: ''{{Lang|sr|Petko}}'', son of [[Vlachs|Vllah]] (''Iflak''), ''{{Lang|ro|Petru}}'', son of ''{{Lang|sr|David}}'', ''{{Lang|ro|Andreja}}'', {{Lang|ro|kozhuhar}}, {{Lang|sq|Nikul Çikun}}, etc.<ref name="Rexha 2011 167–218">{{cite journal |last=Rexha |first=Iljaz |year=2011 |title=Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=70066 |journal=Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike |issue=41–42 |pages=167–218}}</ref>

In the [[mahallah]] {{Lang|sq|Ahrijan Hasan}} in the year 1451 or 1453, a head of the family from the noble Albanian [[Muzaka family]], who had converted to Islam, was re-registered amongst the Muslim heads of the family. In the other register of 1467/68, now in the Christian mahallah named {{Lang|sq|Svetko Samarxhi}}, amongst the 29 heads of families with Slavic Christian anthroponyms, a number also carried Albanian anthroponyms.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rexha |first=Iljaz |year=2011 |title=Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=70066 |journal=Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike |issue=41–42 |pages=167–218 |postscript=Në lagjenAhrijan Hasantë Shkupit të vitit 1451/53 ishte re-gjistruar në mesin e kryefamiljarëve myslimanë edhe kryefamiljari me partonimin e familjes fisnike albane Muzak, që kishte kaluar në islam, duke mos e përmendur emrin e tij të mëhershëm të krishterë dhe pa e theksuar pozitën shoqërore apo profesionin e tij.77 Në defterin tjetër të vitit 1467/68, tani në lagjen e krishterë me emrin Svetko Samarxhi tëShkupit, në mesin e 29 kryefamiljarëve me antroponimi krishtere sllave janë regjistruar: Nikolla, i biri Muzak-es, Todor, i biri Shendre-es (Shen Andre-it), Gjuro, i biri Marin-it, Jovan, i biri Suteç-it ( Suta). Nga këto të dhëna të këtyre dy defterëve shihet qartë, se këta dy kryefamiljarë me mbiemrin Muzaka, njëri i krishterë e tjetri mysliman ishin farefis dhe banorë të vjetër të Shkupit, ngase të parët e familjeve të tyre që nga mesjeta e hershme banonin në hapësirat e rajoneve të Nishit, Kosovës dhe të Maqedonisë sotme, pra para depërtimit osman në Ballkan}}</ref> In the neighborhood of {{Lang|sq|Jazixhi Shahin}}, amongst the residents with Muslim names, the head of the family was registered only with the surname ''Zenebishi'', without mentioning his social position or his profession, indicating a higher social status. This may suggest a relation to Hasan Bey Zenebishi, a descendant of the [[Zenebishi family]] and the [[Soubashi]] of the [[Nahiyah]] of [[Kalkandelen]]. Individuals bearing Albanian anthroponyms, be they in conjunction with Islamic, Slavic or Christian ones, also appear in the neighbourhoods of ''Kasim Fakih'', ''Dursun Saraç'', ''Kujumxhi Mentesheli'', ''Çerep, Jandro, Stanimir, Vllah Dançu'' and ''Rela''.<ref name="Rexha 2011 167–218"/> A number of Sipahis were also of Albanian origin, with these individuals holding [[timar]]s in areas which had a Christian Albanian symbiosis with Slavic anthroponyms in the vicinity of Skopje. The defters noted that these were old [[sipahis]], likely having been landowners. These individual Sipahis were closely related by descent and blood, and taking account kinship ties, even though they had heterogeneous, Christian, Slavic and Oriental names, they appear to have been Albanians. Some have names indicating their origin, such as ''Shimerd Vardarli'' from Skopje, making it likely these timariotes were locals.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rexha |first=Iljaz |year=2011 |title=Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=70066 |journal=Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike |issue=41–42 |pages=167–218 |postscript=Në vijim po japim edhe disa të dhëna për spahinjtë e krishterë me prejardhje albane, që i kishin timaret e veta së bashku me individë të tjerë, në simbiozë me antroponimi sllave në rrethinën e Shkupit, ku shihet se edhe këta ishin vendas, meqë në defterë, posaçërisht theksohet se këta individë ishin spahinj të vjetër, çka kuptohet se edhe para viteve 1467-68, në regjistrimet e mëhershme, që nuk janë ruajtur, i kanë pasur timaret e tyre. Timari i Mirashit të birit të Todorit, i Dobroslavit, i të birit të Jaroslavit, i Kojçinit i të birit të Gjonit ,..... (dhe 4 individë të tjerë ). Timari i Gjurës i biri i Todorit, Petko i vëllai i Ibrahimit, Gjoni i vëlla i Petkos (Ibrahimit), Gjura i biri i Petko ( Ibrahimit ) dhe Lazori i biri Petko ( Ibrahimit ).Timari Hamzajt i vëlla i Ibrahimit, Gjoni i vëlla i Hamzait të vëllait të Ibrahimit, Nikolla i vëlla i tij Gjonit, Pavli i biri i Mihos, Pejo i biri i Pavlit, Petko i biri i Gjonit i vëllai i Hamzait të vëllait të Ibrahimit...Kemi edhe shumë spahinj tjerë me prejardhje albane si: Ali dhe Hamza Kërçovali, nga Kër-çova, Shimerd Vardarli i Shkupit, Mahmud Manastirli, Ali Arnauti etj. shihet qartazi se këta posedues të timareve ishin nga trojet e sotme të Maqedonisë e jo të ardhur nga Shqipëria e Qendrore e sotme.}}</ref>
[[File:Mustafa Paşa Mosque, Skopje.jpg|thumb|right|The 15th-century [[Mustafa Pasha Mosque]]]]

Around 1529, the Christians of Skopje were mostly non-converted [[Slavs]] and [[Albanians]], but also [[Republic of Ragusa|Ragusan]] and [[Armenians|Armenian]] tradesmen.<ref name="demographic">{{cite web |url=http://www.ibu.edu.mk/Skopje%20and%20its%20demograhic%20structure.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129002827/http://www.ibu.edu.mk/Skopje%20and%20its%20demograhic%20structure.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 January 2020 |title=The City of Skopje and its Demographic Structure in the 19th Century |publisher=International Balkan University |author=Mehmet İnbaşi}}</ref> [[Mustafa Pasha Mosque]], built in 1492, is reputed to be "one of the most resplendent sacral Islamic buildings in the Balkans."<ref name="haemus">{{cite news |title=Mustafa Pasha Mosque |publisher=HAEMUS : Center for scientific research and promotion of culture |url=http://haemus.org.mk/mustafa-pasha-mosque/ |access-date=3 April 2021}}</ref> In 1535 all churches were demolished by decree of the Ottoman governor.<ref name="oao">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2003 |title=Skopje |entry=Skopje [Lat. Skupi; formerly Turk. Uskup] |encyclopedia=Grove Art Online |doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T079129}}</ref>{{dubious|date=October 2023}} In 1555, the city was hit by another severe earthquake, collapsing much of the city. The [[Old Bazaar of Skopje]], the columns of the [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]], and the [[murals]] in the upper parts of the [[Church of Saint Panteleimon, Gorno Nerezi]] were all severely damaged.<ref name="Гергова 100">{{cite book |last=Гергова |first=Яна |title=Култът към светци безсребърници в България: образи, вярвания и ритуални практики |publisher=ИК „Гутенберг“ |year=2015 |isbn=978-619-176-046-6 |location=София |pages=100}}</ref> Some modern sources estimate this earthquake to have been a Category XII (Extreme) on the [[Modified Mercalli intensity scale]], although others believe this is an overestimate.<ref name="damages" />

In 1623–1624, [[Pjeter Mazreku]], a Roman Catholic [[prelate]], reported the town was inhabited by "Turks (Muslims), the majority of them being [[Albanians]], the rest are of Asiatic origin", Mazreku further wrote, "there are also Jews, Serbs and some Greeks in the town".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240229070012/https://dokumen.tips/documents/179876370-s-pulaha-popullsia-shqiptare-e-kosoves-gjate-shekujve-xv-xvi.html?page=1 Popullsia Shqiptare e Kosoves Gjate Shekujve] p. 488-489</ref><ref>[https://www.academia.edu/44590131/Dokumente_p%C3%ABr_historin%C3%AB_e_Shqip%C3%ABris%C3%AB_1623_1653_Documenti_per_la_storia_dellAlbania_1623_1653_Injac_Zamputti_Parafjala_Albert_Ramaj Dokumente për historinë e Shqipërisë (1623-1653) - Documenti per la storia dell'Albania (1623-1653). Injac Zamputti. Parafjala Albert Ramaj]</ref> In the Ottoman period, ''Turk'' was used within Christian writings as a name for a Muslim or for Islamised Albanians.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240229070012/https://dokumen.tips/documents/179876370-s-pulaha-popullsia-shqiptare-e-kosoves-gjate-shekujve-xv-xvi.html?page=1 Popullsia Shqiptare e Kosoves Gjate Shekujve] p. 489</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ti7wDwAAQBAJ Rebels, Believers, Survivors: Studies in the History of the Albanians] "Some elements of a conversionist approach can also be found in the text of the Cuneus prophetarum. At one point, for example, Bogdani declares: ‘It is better to be a Christian, the son of a Muslim, than to be a Muslim, the son of a Christian:”” (As always in Christian writings of this period, the word “Turk here is used to mean ‘Muslim:) " p. 116</ref> Sources from the years of 1689–1690 considered the town of Shkupi (Skopje) during those periods as part of [[Albania]].<ref>[https://www.google.no/books/edition/Popullsia_shqiptare_e_Kosov%C3%ABs_gjat%C3%AB_sh/AuwJAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=popullsia%20shqiptare%20e%20kosoves Popullsia shqiptare e Kosovës gjatë shek studime dhe dokumente. XV-XVI] - ' In the documents of the Austrian High Command, for example, in the promemorie on Albania of the General Marsiglio, a high ranking member of the Austrian General Staff dated April 1, 1690, in the letters of the Catholic Vicar of the Shkup, Thoma Raspasan who had substituted the leader of the Albanian uprising, the Archbishop of Albania, Pjetër Bogdani, it said clearly that “Prizren was the capital of Albania,” that “Peja and Shkup were parts of Albania,” and that in the area of Kosova people spoke the Albanian language.'</ref>

Until the 17th century, Skopje experienced a long golden age. Around 1650, the number of inhabitants in Skopje was between 30,000 and 60,000, and the city contained more than 10,000 houses. It was then one of the only big cities on the territory of future [[Yugoslavia]], together with Belgrade and [[Sarajevo]]. At that time, [[Dubrovnik]], which was a busy harbour, did not even have 7,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Yugoslavia as History: Twice there was a Country |author=John R. Lampe |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=9780521774017 |page=34}}</ref> The city severely suffered from the [[Great Turkish War]] at the end of the 17th century and consequently experienced recession until the 19th century. In 1689, the [[Habsburgs]] seized Skopje which was already weakened by a [[cholera epidemic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/turkish.php |title=Kale in the Turkish period |publisher=Archaeological exavations Skopsko Kale |year=2007 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212054253/http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/turkish.php |archive-date=12 February 2012}}</ref> The same day, general [[Enea Silvio Piccolomini (general)|Silvio Piccolomini]] began the [[Skopje fire of 1689]], attempting to end the epidemic.<ref name="history" /> It is however possible that he wanted to avenge damages that the Ottomans caused in the [[Battle of Vienna]] in 1683.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=10249102423&id=14&setIzdanie=21819 |title=Денот што го турна Скопје во двовековен мрак |publisher=[[Nova Makedonija]] |author=Ognen Čančareviḱ et Goce Trpkovski |access-date=12 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219224633/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=10249102423&id=14&setIzdanie=21819 |archive-date=19 December 2014}}</ref> Skopje burned for two days but the general himself perished of the plague and his leaderless army was routed.<ref name="Mark Avrum Ehrlich 2009 980">{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture |author=Mark Avrum Ehrlich |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2009 |isbn=978-1851098736 |page=980}}</ref><ref name="judah09">{{cite book |last=Judah |title=The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-15826-7 |page=46 |date=2009}}</ref> The Austrian presence in Macedonia motivated Slav uprisings. Nevertheless, the Austrians left the country within the year and the [[Hajduks]], the leaders of the uprisings, had to follow them in their retreat north of the Balkans.<ref name="history" /> Some were arrested by the Ottomans, such as [[Karposh's Rebellion|Petar Karposh]], who was impaled on Skopje's Stone Bridge.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Andrew Rossos |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |page=54 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5}}</ref>

After the war, Skopje was in ruins. Most of the official buildings were restored or rebuilt, but the city experienced new [[plague (disease)|plague]] and [[cholera]] epidemics and many inhabitants emigrated.<ref name="demographic"/> [[Ottoman Empire]] as a whole entered into recession and political decline. Many rebellions and pillages occurred in Macedonia during the 18th century, either led by Ottoman outlaws, [[Janissaries]] or [[Hajduk]]s.<ref name=rossos08>{{Cite book |author=Andrew Rossos |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |page=55 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5}}</ref> An estimation conducted by French officers around 1836 revealed that at that time Skopje only had around 10,000 inhabitants. It was surpassed by two other towns of present-day North Macedonia: [[Bitola]] (40,000) and [[Štip]] (15–20,000).<ref name="population1">{{Cite book |author=Andrew Rossos |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5 |page=70}}</ref>

Skopje began to recover from decades of decline after 1850. At that time, the city experienced a slow but steady demographic growth, mainly due to the rural exodus of Slavic Macedonians. It was also fuelled by the exodus of Muslims from the [[Principality of Serbia|Principalities of Serbia]] and [[Principality of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], which were gaining autonomy and independence from the Empire at that time.<ref name="history"/><ref name="demographic"/> During the [[Tanzimat reforms]], [[nationalism]] arose in the Ottoman Empire and in 1870 a new [[Bulgarian Exarchate]] was established and its separate diocese was created, based on [[ethnic identity]], rather than religious principles.<ref>{{cite book |title=For the Peace from Above: an Orthodox Resource Book on War, Peace and Nationalism |editor=Hildo Bos |editor2=Jim Forest |publisher=Syndesmos |year=1999 |pages=52–53}}</ref> The Slavic population of the bishopric of Skopje voted in 1874 overwhelmingly, by 91% in favour of joining the Exarchate and became part of the [[Bulgarian Millet]].<ref>Църква и църковен живот в Македония, Петър Петров, Христо Темелски, Македонски Научен Институт, София, 2003 г., стр. 105.</ref> Economic growth was permitted by the construction of the Skopje-[[Salonica]] railway in 1873.<ref name="history"/> The train station was built south of the [[Vardar]] and this contributed to the relocation of economic activities on that side of the river, which had never been urbanised before.<ref name="reconstruction"/> Because of the rural exodus, the share of Christians in the city population increased. Some of the newcomers became part of the local elite and helped to spread nationalist ideas<ref name="demographic"/> In 1877, Skopje was chosen as the capital city of the new [[Kosovo Vilayet]], which encompassed present-day [[Kosovo]], north-western Macedonia and the [[Sanjak of Novi Pazar]].

In statistics gathered by Bulgarian ethnographer [[Vasil Kanchov]] in 1900, the City of Skopje was inhabited by 31,900 people, of whom 15,000 were Turks, 13,000 Christian Bulgarians, 1,920 Romani, 800 Jews, 450 Vlachs, 150 Christian Albanians, 50 Christian Greeks, 30 [[Circassians]] and 500 inhabitants of various other ethnicities.<ref>Vasil Kanchov (1900). ''[http://www.promacedonia.org/vk/vk_2_39.htm Macedonia: Ethnography and Statistics]''. Sofia. p. 252.</ref> Kanchov wrote in the same year that many Albanians declared themselves as Turks. In Skopje, the population that declared itself Turkish "was of Albanian blood", but it "had been [[Turkified]] after the Ottoman invasion, including [[Skanderbeg]]", referring to Islamisation. Bulgarian literary historian [[Yordan Ivanov (literary historian)|Yordan Ivanov]] wrote in 1915 that Albanians, since they did not have their own alphabet, due to a lack of consolidated national consciousness and influenced by foreign propaganda, declared themselves as Turks, Greeks and Bulgarians, depending on which religion they belonged to. Albanians were losing their mother tongue in Skopje.<ref>Salajdin SALIHI. "DISA SHËNIME PËR SHQIPTARËT ORTODOKSË TË REKËS SË EPËRME". FILOLOGJIA - International Journal of Human Sciences 19:85-90.</ref> German linguist [[Gustav Weigand]] described that Skopje's Muslim population of "Turks" or "Ottomans" during the late Ottoman period were mainly Albanians who spoke Turkish in public and Albanian at home.<ref name=Hart214>{{citation |last=Hart |first=Laurie Kain |title=Culture, Civilization, and Demarcation at the Northwest Borders of Greece |journal=American Ethnologist |volume=26 |issue=1 |date=February 1999 |page=214 |doi=10.1525/ae.1999.26.1.196 |jstor=647505}} "Aarbakke notes that Weigand says of Skopje that the "Turks" are mostly Albanians who speak Turkish in public and Albanian at home, "but should be regarded as Osmanli" (Aarbakke 1992:10)."</ref> In 1905, the city had 32,000 inhabitants, making it the largest of the vilayet, although closely followed by [[Prizren]] with its 30,000 inhabitants.<ref name="britannica"/> At the beginning of the 20th century, local economy was focused on [[dyeing]], [[weaving]], [[Tanning (leather)|tanning]], [[ironworks]] and wine and flour processing.<ref name="britannica"/>

Skopje was one of the five main centres of the [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation]] when it organised the 1903 [[Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising|Ilinden uprising]]. Its revolutionary [[Skopje revolutionary district|network in the region]] led by [[Nikola Pushkarov]] was not well-developed and the lack of weapons was a serious problem. At the outbreak of the uprising, the rebel forces derailed a military train.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.promacedonia.org/ilpr1968/ilpr1968_6.html#2 |title=Илинденско-Преображенското въстание 1903–1968 – 6 |last=Karloukovski |first=Vassil |publisher=Издателство на Националния съвет на Отечествения фронт |date=1968 |language=bg}}</ref> On 3 and 5 August respectively, they attacked an Ottoman unit guarding the bridge on the Vardar River and fought a battle in the St. Jovan monastery. In the next few days, the band was pursued by numerous [[Bashibozuk]]s and moved to Bulgaria.

Following the [[Young Turk Revolution]] in 1908, the Ottoman Empire experienced democracy and several political parties were created.<ref name="history"/> However, some of the policies implemented by the [[Young Turks]], such as a tax rise and the interdiction of ethnic-based political parties, discontented minorities. Albanians opposed the nationalist character of the movement and led local uprisings in 1910 and 1912. During the latter, they managed to seize most of Kosovo and took Skopje on 11 August. On 18 August, the insurgents signed the Üsküb agreement which provided for the creation of an autonomous Albanian province, and they were amnestied the day later.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Hugh Poulton |title=Who are the Macedonians? |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers Ltd |year=2000 |isbn=978-1850655343 |page=109}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Ottoman Postcard of Huriet in Skopie2.jpg|[[Macedonian Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] manifestation in support of the [[Young Turk Revolution]]
File:Sv. Bogorodica Skopje 01.jpg|The [[Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, Skopje|Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos]], seat of the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Skopje, built in the 19th century
File:Skopje-couteliers 1919.jpg|Cutlers in the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]] around 1900
</gallery>

=== Balkan Wars to present day ===
[[File:Shkup1912.jpg|thumb|left|Skopje after being [[Capture of Üskup|captured by Albanian revolutionaries]] in August 1912 after defeating the Ottoman forces holding the city, later the Ottomans restored power over the city]]
[[File:PedroIEnUskub11031v.jpg|thumb|[[Peter I of Serbia]] visiting Skopje in 1914]]

Following an alliance contracted in 1912, [[Bulgaria]], [[Greece]] and [[Serbia]] declared war on the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Their goal was to definitively expel the Ottomans from Europe. The [[First Balkan War]] started on 8 October 1912 and lasted six weeks. Serbians reached Skopje on 26 October. Ottoman forces had left the city the day before.<ref name="history" /> During the conflict, [[Chetniks]], a Serb irregular force razed the Albanian quarter of Skopje and [[Massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars|killed numerous Albanian inhabitants from the city]].<ref name="Michailidis330">{{cite book |last=Michailidis |first=Iakovos D. |chapter=Cleansing the Nation: War related Demographic Changes in Macedonia |editor1-last=Boeckh |editor1-first=Katrin |editor2-last=Rutar |editor2-first=Sabine |title=The Wars of Yesterday: The Balkan Wars and the Emergence of Modern Military Conflict, 1912–13 |year=2018 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=9781785337758 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okMtDwAAQBAJ&q=burned |pages=330}}</ref> The Serbian annexation led to the exodus of 725 Muslim families which left the city on 27 January 1913. The same year, the city population was evaluated at 37,000 by the Serbian authorities.<ref name="demographic" />[[File:Centarot na Skopje pred zemjotresot.jpg|thumb|right|A view of the centre of Skopje in the 1930s]]
[[File:Nanev Skopje 1941.jpg|thumb|A Bulgarian officer looking at Skopje's centre, April 1941]]

In 1915, during the [[First World War]], Serbian Macedonia was invaded by Bulgaria, which captured Skopje on 22 October 1915. Serbia, allied to the [[Triple Entente]], was helped by France, [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]], [[Greece]], and Italy, which formed the [[Macedonian front]]. Following a great Allied offensive in 1918, the [[Armée française d'Orient]] reached Skopje 29 September and took the city by surprise.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://crbn-mk.courriers.info/IMG/pdf/_Orient_et_campagne_Macedoine.pdf |title=L'Armée d'Orient et la Macédoine |publisher=Basse-Normandie Macédoine, la coopération au service de la gouvernance locale |access-date=25 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331081809/http://crbn-mk.courriers.info/IMG/pdf/_Orient_et_campagne_Macedoine.pdf |archive-date=31 March 2010}}</ref> After the end of the World War, Vardar Macedonia became part of the new [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes]], which became "Kingdom of Yugoslavia" in 1929.<ref name="history"/> A mostly foreign [[Serbs|ethnic Serb]] ruling class gained control, imposing large-scale repression.<ref>Rossos, Andrew (2008) ''Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History'' Hoover Institution Press, Stanford, California, [https://archive.org/details/macedoniamacedon0000ross/page/135 page 135], {{ISBN|978-0-8179-4881-8}}</ref> The policies of de-Bulgarisation and assimilation were pursued.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHlpAAAAMAAJ&q=de%20bulgarisation%201941 |title=Balkans: A Mirror of the New International Order |last2=Saybaşılı |first2=Kemâli |date=1 January 1995 |publisher=EREN Yayıncılık ve Kitap, cılık |first1=Günay Göksu |last1=Özdoğan |via=Google Books |isbn=9789757622369}}</ref> At that time part of the young locals, repressed by the Serbs, tried to find a separate way of ethnic Macedonian development.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bNvbHCUs3tUC&pg=PA229 |title=Politics, Power and the Struggle for Democracy in South-East Europe |first1=Karen |last1=Dawisha |first2=Bruce |last2=Parrott |date=13 June 1997 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |via=Google Books |isbn=9780521597333}}</ref> In 1931, in a move to formally decentralise the country, Skopje was named the capital of the [[Vardar Banovina]] of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]. Until the [[Second World War]], Skopje experienced strong economic growth, and its population increased. The city had 41,066 inhabitants in 1921, 64,807 in 1931, and 80,000 in 1941.<ref name="demographic"/> Although in an underdeveloped region, it attracted wealthy Serbs who opened businesses and contributed to the modernisation of the city.<ref name="colophon">{{cite web |url=http://www.eahn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Newsletter_2010-4_lowres.pdf |title=eahn Newsletter, number 4/10 |publisher=European Architectural History Network |year=2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215001825/http://www.eahn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Newsletter_2010-4_lowres.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2014}}</ref> In 1941, Skopje had 45 factories, half of the industry in the whole of Socialist Macedonia.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Skopje between the past and the future |author=Ivan Tomovski |publisher=Macedonian Review Editions |year=1978 |page=17}}</ref>
[[File:Skopsko Kale, stara.jpg|thumb|left|The national theatre and the fortress around 1920]]

In 1941, during the Second World War, Yugoslavia was invaded by [[Nazi Germany]]. Germans seized Skopje on 8 April<ref name="history"/> and left it to their Bulgarian allies on 22 April 1941.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=139}} To ensure the [[Bulgarisation]] of the society, authorities closed Serbian schools and churches, opening new schools and a higher education institute, the King Boris University.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Concise History of Bulgaria |author=R. J. Crampton |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780521616379 |page=168}}</ref> The 4,000 Jews of Skopje were all deported in 1943 to the [[Treblinka extermination camp]] where almost all of them were killed.<ref name="jews p. 47">{{Cite book |title=The Expulsion of the Jews: Five Hundred Years of Exodus |author=Yale Strom |publisher=SP Books |year=1992 |isbn=9781561710812 |page=17}}</ref>
[[File:Chento Vlahov Apostolski - Parading in liberated Skopje.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Metodija Andonov-Čento|Čento]], [[Dimitar Vlahov]] and [[Mihajlo Apostolski]] parading in liberated Skopje, November 1944]]

[[Capture of Skopje (1944)|Skopje was liberated]] on 13 November 1944 by units of the [[Bulgarian People's Army]] (Bulgaria having switched sides in the war [[Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944|in September]]) aided by [[Yugoslav Partisans]] of the [[Macedonian National Liberation Army]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19441113/ |title=Stone & Stone: War Diary for 13 November 1944 |website=stonebooks.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HDQn3tJkyUcC&pg=PA560 |title=История на българите |last=Зафиров |first=Димитър |date=1 January 2007 |publisher=TRUD Publishers |via=Google Books |isbn=9789545287527}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EeYhAQAAIAAJ |title=The SS Hunter Battalions: The Hidden History of the Nazi Resistance Movement 1944–45 |last=Biddiscombe |first=Alexander Perry |date=1 January 2006 |publisher=Tempus |via=Google Books |isbn=9780752439389}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PLoeAAAAMAAJ |title=Bŭlgaro-I͡U︡goslavski politicheski otnoshenii͡a︡, 1944–1945 |last=Daskalov |first=Georgi |date=1 January 1989 |publisher=Universitetsko izd-vo "Kliment Okhridski" |via=Google Books}}</ref> Skopje became the capital city of the newly proclaimed [[Democratic Federal Macedonia]] as set up by the [[Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia|ASNOM]] on 2 August 1944 in the [[Bulgaria during World War II|Bulgarian occupation zone in Yugoslavia]].

After [[World War II]], Skopje greatly benefited from [[SFR Yugoslavia|Socialist Yugoslav]] policies which encouraged industry and the development of Macedonian cultural institutions. Consequently, Skopje became home to a national library, a philharmonic orchestra, a university, and the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. However, its post-war development was altered by the [[1963 Skopje earthquake|1963 earthquake]] which occurred on 26 July. Although relatively weak in magnitude, it caused enormous damage in the city and can be compared to the [[1960 Agadir earthquake]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Earthquake Engineering: Mechanism, Damage Assessment and Structural Design |author=Sidney F. Borg |publisher=World Scientific |year=1988 |isbn=9789971504359 |page=77}}</ref> The disaster killed 1,070 people, injuring 3,300 others. 16,000 people were buried alive in ruins and 70% of the population lost their home.<ref name="post">{{cite web |url=http://desastres.usac.edu.gt/documentos/pdf/eng/doc13793/doc13793-1.pdf |title=Post 1963 earthquake reconstruction: Long term effects |author=Vladimir B. Ladinski |publisher=Biblioteca Virtual en Salud y Desastres Guatemala}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Many educational facilities, factories and historical buildings were destroyed.<ref name="reconstruction"/>

[[File:US army in Skopje 1963.jpg|thumb|American soldiers in Skopje after the [[1963 Skopje earthquake|1963 earthquake]]]]
[[File:Centar, Skopje 1000, Macedonia (FYROM) - panoramio (151).jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Monument to the Macedonian partisans – Liberators of Skopje, next to the Government building]]

After the [[1963 Skopje earthquake|earthquake]], reconstruction was quick. It had a deep psychological impact on the population because neighbourhoods were split, and people were relocated to new houses and buildings they were not familiar with.<ref name="post"/> Many Albanians, some from Kosovo participated in the reconstruction effort.<ref name="Ragaru535"/> Reconstruction was finished by 1980, even if many elements were never built because funds were exhausted.<ref name="reconstruction"/> Skopje's cityscape was drastically changed, and the city became a true example of [[modernist architecture]]. Demographic growth was very important after 1963, and Skopje had 408,100 inhabitants in 1981.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Georges Castellan |year=2003 |title=La Macédoine : un pays inconnu |isbn=978-2910878245 |publisher=Ed. Armeline |page=17}}</ref> After 1963, rural youth migrated to Skopje and were involved in the reconstruction process resulting in a large growth of the urban Macedonian population.<ref name="Neofotistos893"/><ref name="Thiessen10">{{cite journal |last=Thiessen |first=Ilka |title='Leb I Sol'(Bread And Salt): The Meanings of Work in the Changing Society of Macedonia |url=https://is.muni.cz/el/1490/podzim2014/CZS05/re/Thiessen--Meanings-of-Work-Macedonia-AWR-2002.pdf |journal=Anthropology of Work Review |volume=23 |issue=1–2 |year=2002 |pages=10 |doi=10.1525/awr.2002.23.1-2.8}}</ref><ref name="Brown417442">{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=Keith S. |title=Beyond ethnicity: The politics of urban nostalgia in modern Macedonia |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/670307/summary |journal=Journal of Mediterranean Studies |volume=11 |issue=2 |year=2001 |pages=417–442}}</ref> The Albanian population of Skopje also increased as people from the northern villages migrated to the city and others came from Kosovo either to provide manpower for reconstruction or fled the deteriorating political situation, especially during the 1990s.<ref name="Ragaru535"/> However, during the 1980s and the 1990s, the country experienced inflation and recession, and the local economy heavily suffered. The situation improved during the 2000s thanks to new investments. Many landmarks were restored and the "[[Skopje 2014]]" project renewed the appearance of the city centre.{{Cit|date=March 2025}}