Serbian and Croatian Skoplje, Albanian Shkup, Turkish Usküb,
ancient (Latin) Scupi.
Standing on the banks of the Vardar River amid mountainous country, Skopje began
as ancient Scupi, an Illyrian tribal centre. It became the capital of the district
of Dardania (part of the Roman province of Moesia Superior) under the emperor
Diocletian in the 4th century.
In 518 it was totally destroyed by an earthquake. A brief Slav incursion
occurred in the 7th century, and in the 9th and 10th centuries the town grew
rapidly. The Serbs first captured Skopje in 1189, and in 1392 the Turks after
conquering Macedonia made it their provincial capital and an important
commercial centre.
In 1689 it was burned to the ground by Austrian forces to eradicate a cholera
epidemic, after which it declined until a revival in the 19th century with
the building of the Belgrade-Thessaloníki railway.
By treaty Skopje was in 1913 incorporated into Serbia, and in 1918 it
became part of the new Yugoslavia. During World War II the Germans occupied
it in April 1941, and it was then garrisoned by Bulgarian troops. Liberated
in 1944, it became the capital of Macedonia in 1945.
The old city is located on the terraced riverbank dominated by an ancient
fortress, north of which is a Roman aqueduct. Medieval monasteries in the
vicinity include that of Nerezi (1164), with fine 12th-century frescoes.
Other notable buildings are a medieval Turkish inn, the Kuršumli Han, and
several mosques. The former strongly Turkish aspect of the city has been
altered, however, by reconstruction since 1963, when a severe earthquake left
some 80 percent of Skopje in ruins, with 1,070 persons dead and more than
120,000 homeless. Relief in money and kind, including medical, engineering,
and building teams with supplies, came from 78 countries. From this, Skopje
was called the "City of International Solidarity." A completely new
earthquake-resistant town plan was formulated, with several satellite
residential nuclei and four industrial regions.
