TIPOLOGJITË E KISHAVE TË PERIUDHËS SË KRISHTERIMIT TË HERSHËM NË KOSOVË
VARIETY OF CHURCH TYPOLOGIES IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN PERIOD IN KOSOVO

Summary/Abstract: The territory of Kosovo was located at the crossroads of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. As such, the new religion of Christianity reached the Balkans quite early. Archaeological traces of monuments appear at the end of the 4th century. The rapid spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire and beyond influenced the development of public buildings. During this period, a fundamental change began in the social life of the local people. The castles used during the prehistoric period by the Dardanians were being used again, but now were adapted for contemporary needs. A phenomenon in the rebuilt castles is that now the main place in the highest part of the castle is held by the church, with or without auxiliary buildings. To date, fifty-one buildings from this period have been identified. In the first part of the paper, a general introduction with historical facts about the period will be presented, followed by a detailed analysis of the churches according to their typology. Typological characteristics will be presented along with concrete examples. In conclusion, Christianity played a significant role in the life of the local community, and documenting architectural characteristics leads us towards a better understanding of this period.

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