Skënder Rizaj (
Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
: Скендер Ризај, ''Skender Rizaj'') (14 March 1930 – 28 November 2021) was a Kosovar
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
scholar and historian born in
Peja
Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mount ...
,
Kingdom of Yugoslavia).
He specialised in the
Ottoman period of Balkan's history.
Career
Rizaj earned his
BA in History from
Skopje University in 1956 and his
doctorate from
Sarajevo University in 1965. He was one of the founders of the Department of History of the
University of Pristina
The University of Pristina ( sq, Universiteti i Prishtinës) is a public university located in Pristina, Kosovo. It is the institution that emerged after the disestablishment of the University of Pristina (1969–99) as a result of the K ...
, where he taught from 1965 until he retired in 1987. He also worked as a Special Consultant for Turkish State Archives in
Istanbul from 1989 to 1990. In 2010, Rizaj was awarded as "Educator Emeritus" by the
Kosovan government.
Works
Rizaj undertook extensive research in Turkish Archives in
Istanbul, and the
British Library in
London. During his studies, he mastered
Serbian language,
Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
, as well as modern
Turkish language and English. He has written extensively on Albanian history, with an emphasis on
Kosovo. His research gave him enough scientific material to produce several books, most prominent his 1982 book "
Kosovo during the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries" in which he emphasizes that
Kosovo was dominated by ethnic
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
during and after the
Middle Ages,
He also wrote a university textbook " History of the New Era (1453-1789)", published in 1985.
Publications
Rizaj's most notable publications include:
*''Mining in Kosovo and surrounding regions from the 15th to 17th Centuries (Doctoral Dissertation)'', Pristina, 1968
*''The Albanian League of Prizren in English Documents, 1878-1881'', Pristina, 1978
*''Kosovo during the 15th, 16th, and 17th Centuries'', Rilindja Publishing, Pristina, 1982
*''History of New Era 1453-1789, University of Pristina Textbook'', 1985
*''The Albanians and the Serbs in Kosovo'', Zeri i Rinise Publishing, Pristina, 1991
*''Kosova and Albanians, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow'', Pristina, 1992
*''Kosova, Albanians and Turks, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow'', Yayinevi Publishing, Istanbul, Turkey, 1993
*''English Documents on the Albanian League of Prizren and the start of the Disintegration of the Balkans, 1877-1885'', Pristina, 1996
*''The Albanian's Historical Right to Self-Determination'', Pristina, 2005
*''The Falsifications of Serbian Historiography'', Pristina, 2006
References
External links
Forumi ShqiptarPellazget Hyjnore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizaj, Skender
1930 births
2021 deaths
Kosovan historians
Yugoslav historians
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje alumni
University of Sarajevo alumni
Academic staff of the University of Pristina
Writers from Peja
Yugoslav Albanians
Date of birth missing