The region was founded around the city of
Skopje, which was established as a
Roman settlement in the first century CE. It became part of various empires over the years, before the
Ottomans captured it at the end of the 14th century. It remained under the Ottoman rule until the early 20th century. During the
First Balkan War, the
Balkan League led by the
Serbian Empire defeated the Ottomans, and the region became part of the
Kingdom of Serbia. During the
First World War, Bulgaria occupied the territory briefly, before it was re-captured by Serbia in 1918, and later became part of Yugoslavia. In the
Second World War, the region was captured by the
Italian Empire in 1941. It was subject to severe bombing, which resulted in most of the infrastructure in the region being destroyed. It was freed in 1944, and became part of Yugoslavia again. The region has experienced many earthquakes in the past, and a
major earthquake in 1963 destroyed much of the infrastructure that was re-built after the war, and killed thousands. Most of the region had to be re-built after the disaster. The region became part of the independent nation of North Macedonia after the
dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991. == Geography ==