Skopje, also Skoplje (Turkish Üsküb), capital city of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in the north central part of the country, on the Vardar (Axiós) River. Skopje is a market center for the tobacco, cotton, and grain grown in the surrounding region. Industries include the manufacture of machinery, chemicals, cement, carpets, pottery, and processed food. The city is home to the University of Skopje (1949).
Skopje dates at least from Roman times, when the town was known as Scupi. Beginning in the 4th century it served as the capital of the Roman province of Dardania. It was later included in the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian kingdoms. The city changed hands between Serbia and the Byzantine Empire as the two powers vied for regional control between the 11th and 13th centuries. The Serbs eventually prevailed, and Skopje became a wellspring of Serbian culture. The Serbs lost the city to the Ottoman Turks in 1392. Over the next five centuries the city developed into one of the major commercial centers of the Ottoman Empire. A rail line connecting Belgrade and Greece was built through Skopje in the 1800s, and Skopje became even more pivotal as a trade hub. The Ottomans maintained control of Skopje until 1913, when the Balkan Wars left the city in the hands of Serbia. After World War I (1914-1918) Skopje became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929).
