Bilinicë, treated in the volume as Bilishti (Bilinica), is a hill-and-mountain settlement about 18 km east of Gjilan. Its territory preserves traces of earlier habitation: at Kala and Dorotel the study records old remains, burials with Christian symbols and building material, while bricks and roof tiles have been found at Rosulet and Selishtë.
The form Bilinça appears in Kosovo Vilayet yearbooks from 1893, 1896 and 1900. After the expulsion of Albanians from the Sanjak of Niš in 1877–78, muhajir families settled in the area; over time many residents moved toward Kumanovo, Preshevë, Gjilan and elsewhere.
On 6 April 1999 the village population was expelled toward North Macedonia. During the war the settlement was also raided and looted by Serbian forces.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Vendbanimet e Kosovës 6 — Gjilani, Prishtinë, 2004.
Source entry: BILISHTI (Bilinica)
This page presents a selected summary from the published study of the settlement. For complete archival references, family histories, microtoponymy and the full treatment, consult the original volume.