Taraxha (Tërni) lies about 8 km southwest of Theranda, in a valley near low hills, and is a compact settlement. The surrounding area has been inhabited since antiquity, and traces of early settlements have been recorded close to the village.
Ottoman yearbooks from 1893, 1896 and 1900 record the settlement under the form Tarsena. After the expulsion of Albanians from the Sanjak of Niš in 1878, muhajir families from several areas of Toplica and Pustareka settled here. In 1936, 17 Serbian colonist families were established in the village.
On 24 and 25 March 1999 Serbian paramilitary forces surrounded the settlement. During the attack, 46 civilians were killed and massacred, including women, children and elderly people; some victims were refugees from other villages. Twenty-nine of those killed were residents of Taraxha itself. The school, its records and library, and other public buildings were burned or destroyed.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Settlements of Kosovo 4 — Theranda (Suhareka), Prishtina, 2003.
Source entry: TARAXHA (Tërni)
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.