Xërxa lies in the Rahovec area near the White Drin. It is a compact settlement. Its elevation is about 317 metres above sea level. Archaeological traces in the settlement area include pottery fragments, roof tiles and bricks, building foundations, old burial grounds, pointing to earlier phases of habitation. The finds are associated with prehistoric, Dardanian, Roman periods.
Written records trace the settlement at least to 1330, with further references in 1530, 1591. Historical forms of the name recorded in documents include Zerzeva, Zirzova. A register from 1330 records 21 households. Around 1879, the settlement formed part of the Bajrak of Palluzhës and had 48 households. During the interwar period, 46 Slavic colonist or optant families were settled here.
During the 1998–1999 war, Serbian forces burned 25 homes in the settlement. 4 residents were killed during the war.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Settlements of Kosovo 2 — Rahovec, second edition, Prishtina, 2008.
Source entry: XËRXA
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.