Place:Kumanovo, Kumanovo, Macedonia

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Kumanovo (  ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in North Macedonia and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the largest municipality in the country. Kumanovo lies above sea level and is surrounded by the Karadag part of Skopska Crna Gora mountain on its western side, Gradištanska mountain on its southern side, and Mangovica and German mountain on the Eastern side. Skopje airport also serves Kumanovo.

It has many historical sites. One of the most important sites is the 4,000-year-old megalithic astronomical observatory of Kokino, located northeast of Kumanovo and discovered in 2001. It is ranked fourth on the list of old observatories by NASA.

In 1912, during the First Balkan War, Serbian forces won a decisive victory over the Ottomans north of the town. The two-day Battle of Kumanovo ended Ottoman authority in Vardar Macedonia which contributed to the region's integration into Serbia, and consequently, into Yugoslavia. The entire region of Macedonia was split in three among Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria after the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913.

The rapid economic, administrative and cultural expansion of Kumanovo began in 1945. It was the site of the 9 June 1999 Agreement signed between FR Yugoslav Generals and the NATO Generals about bringing in a NATO peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo called, the Kosovo Force, or KFOR (Kumanovo Agreement). The town's metal-processing, tobacco, agriculture, footwear and textile industries have made it an economic, trading and cultural center of approximately 135,529 people. It is internationally known for a jazz festival hosting bands from all over the world.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Prehistory

The area boasts several prehistoric settlements, among which are

• the Kostoperska Karpa,
• the Bronze Age Gradiste near the village of Pelince,
• the Neolithic site of Mlado Nagoričane,
• the Iron Age tumulus Groblje at Vojnik,
• the Roman Necropolis Drezga of Lopate, and
• the Roman Settlement Vicianus at village of Klečovce.

Middle Ages

The first written mentioning of the individual modern villages of the Kumanovo region originate in the 14th century. These are, for the most part, found in Serbian charters:

• of King Stefan Milutin,
• Emperor Stefan Dušan,
• Sevastokrator Dejan,
  • Jevdokija Dejanović, and Dejan's sons,
  • Jovan and
  • Konstantin.

In this time, the Kumanovo region (old Žegligovo) received its geographical location and certain settlement picture.

According to a charter of the monastery of Arhiljevica dated 1355, sevastokrator Dejan held a major domain (oblast) east of Skopska Crna Gora. It included the old župe (counties) of Žegligovo and Preševo (modern Kumanovo region with Sredorek and Kozjačija).

Ottoman period

The town was mentioned in 1530 according to registry of Turkish Devlet Arşivleri as a village in Nogoriçe town, within Kaza of İştip. It was founded by Turkish colonists from Asia Minor and initially was settled by Turks and later by Muslim Albanians. Slavic population entered the town in the late 18th century but its number rose just during early 19th century. Evliya Çelebi described it in 1660–61: "The colony of Kumanovo is situated on the territory of the Skopje sanjak and represents one county. The city is embellished with many rivers and 600 tile-roofs houses. The mosque in the downtown is beautiful, there are tekke, madrassa, hammam, a number of shops and water mills; and the climate is pleasant and agreeable. There are many vineyards and gardens".

In 1689, Karposh, a brigand commander in the region of Dospat (present-day Bulgaria), who served as an Ottoman Christian auxiliary force commander, took advantage of the weakening of the Ottomans and discontent that arose concerning higher Ottoman taxation policies, and organized a revolt while Austria staged an attack on the Ottomans. Karposh's Rebellion quickly spread, resulting in the liberation of Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Kumanovo, Kačanik and other towns. Then, together with the Austrian army led by Emperor Leopold I, the local Christian population fought to liberate Skopje and Štip. Later changes in the military and political situation in the Balkans had crucial downwards effect on the revolt. The Austrian army was forced to withdraw and the reinforced Ottomans attacked the rebels, taking Kriva Palanka, the rebel stronghold, and then attacked Kumanovo and its newly constructed fortress, where they captured Karposh and put him to death on the Stone Bridge across the Vardar.

Kumanovo became an urban settlement and administrative center of the region at the end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th century. Following the turbulent events (including the Karpoš Uprising in 1689) the city experienced a period of stagnation, and by the end of 18th century Kumanovo epitomized an Ottoman provincial town.

In an 1861 book Austrian diplomat Johann Georg von Hahn stated that the town had 650 dwellings, of which 300 were Muslim and 350 were Christian Bulgarian, in addition to 30 Gypsy in the outskirts, while the total population of the town was 3,500.

The Kumanovo Uprising, led by Serb district chiefs of Kumanovo and surrounding districts, was active from 20 January to 20 May 1878 (4 months). The chiefs swore oath in the local church and appealed to Prince Milan IV of Serbia to aid the uprising, and they pledged their devotion and loyalty, and union with Serbia. The rebels were finally defeated by brigadier-general Hafuz Pasha.

The Skopje Revolutionary district of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) decided in 1894 that it would organize a committee in Kumanovo, which was later established in the house of Jordan Jovčev, member of the local Bulgarian school board. The committee included also the chief Bulgarian teacher in the town Iliya Levkov, the secretary of the Bulgarian metropolitan deputy Traiche Mitev, priest Andon, his son and Bulgarian teacher Psaltir Popandontov, the merchant Zafir Tasev, elder of the Kumanovo Bulgarian community the Bulgarian teacher Zafir Shaklev and Angel Prekodolka. They organized the assassination of Serbian priest Atanasije Petrovic.

First Balkan War

In October 1912, during the First Balkan War, Serbian forces under the command of General Radomir Putnik won a decisive victory over the Ottomans north of the town. The two-day Battle of Kumanovo ended Ottoman authority in Vardar Macedonia and contributed for region's integration into Serbia, and consequently, into Yugoslavia. The entire region of Macedonia was split in three among Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria after the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913.

World War II

The communist resistance in Kumanovo and Prilep began on 11 October 1941. The struggle ended with victory and formation of the Macedonian federated state within the Yugoslav Federation (SFRY). One of the famous partizans from Kumanovo was Hristijan Todorovski-Karpoš shown on the picture. After 1945 Kumanovo experienced fast economic, administrative and cultural development.

Modern history

It developed economically in the late 19th century (agriculture, handcrafts and trade). Still, industrial development occurred only at the end of the Second World War. The rapid economic, administrative and cultural expansion of Kumanovo began in 1945. Today, it is a modern city with approximately 100,000 inhabitants. It was also the site of the 9 June 1999 Agreement signed between FR Yugoslav Generals and the NATO Generals about bringing in a NATO peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo called, the Kosovo Force, or KFOR (Kumanovo Agreement).

2001 Albanian insurgency and Inter-community relations

The Albanian insurgency in Macedonia first started in the mountains outskirts of Tetovo and then spread in May 2001 to the region of Kumanovo mostly to the north. The armed conflict in Kumanovo mainly resulted in a division of the educational system along ethnic lines. All the Albanian-language students left the schools and demanded new schools to be opened. Following this process there is a visible separation in the town affecting the inter-community relations. The Law on Local Self-Government, Article 44 (Sl.vesnik br.5/2002), envisages the establishment of the Commission for Inter-community Relations (CICR). CICR is a consultative body in the Council of the Municipality of Kumanovo and is formed by 12 representatives of the

• Macedonian,
• Albanian,
• Roma,
• Serbian,
• Turkish and
• Vlach

ethnic groups. CICR aims to develop and improve relations between the ethnic communities and to ensure active participation of minorities in decision-making on issues that have ethnic nature and are found in the agenda of the Council of the Municipality of Kumanovo. Other organizations active in bridging the community divide include

• the Center for Intercultural Dialogue (CID),
• Roma community center DROM,
• National Roma Centrum,
• the local Red Cross and others.

One of the most effective systems for supporting the inter-community divide is through the youth centers MultiKulti managed by CID Kumanovo. These centers offer space for youngsters to meet, and apart from learning about each other, they also get youth work support.

2015 clashes

The NLA had claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on Kumanovo's police station in late 2014. During a police raid on 9 May 2015, a shootout erupted between Macedonian police forces and an armed group. Eight Macedonian policemen and 14 armed men were killed, while 37 officers were wounded and hospitalized. The attack ended on 10 May 2015 in an operation by the police and armed forces. Thirty men were arrested and charged with terrorism by Macedonian authorities.

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