History of Prizren

t;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"" lang="EN-US">Bulgarian rulers controlled the Prizren area from the 850s, and Slav migrants arriving in the area were influenced by the Bulgarian orthodox church; Prizren had a bishopric subordinate to the archbishop in Ohrid. Bulgarian rule was replaced by Byzantine rule in the early eleventh century.

In 1180-90, the Serbian prince Stefan Nemanja conquered "the district of Prizren". this may refer to the Prizren diocese rather than the city itself, and he lost later control of these areas. Stefan regained control of Prizren sometime between 1208 and 1216. In 1220, the Byzantine Greek Orthodox bishop of the city was expelled as the Serbian rulers tried to impose their own ecclesiastical jurisdiction. In the next centuries before the Ottoman conquest the city would pass to the Mrnjavčević, Balsić and Dukagjini families.

The Catholic church retained some influence in the area; 14th-century documents refer to a catholic church in Prizren, which was the seat of a bishopric between the 1330s and 1380s. Catholic parishes supported Ragusan merchants and Saxon miners. Contemporary land-grants by the Serb monarchy refer to Vlach and Albanian populations, both peasants and noblemen,