Peja is the fourth most populous city in Kosovo, and the capital of the eponymous municipality and district. Other names of the city include Latin Pescium and GreekEpiskion (Επισκιον). The city was first mentioned as Siparantum, by Ptolemy in his work Gheographia. The city is located in a strategic position on Peja’s Lumbardh, a tributary of the White Drin to the east of the Accursed Mountains. The medieval city was possibly built on the ruins of Siparant(um), a Roman municipium (town or city). The area has the most unearthed stelae in all of Kosovo. The city became a major religious center of medieval Serbia under the Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan, who made it the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1346. It retained this status until 1766, when the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was abolished. Peja came under Ottoman rule in 1455. In Turkish, the town was known as İpek. The town became the center of the Sanjak of İpek (or Dukagjin), governed by Mahmut Pasha Dukagjini as its first sanjakbey (lord).[8] The Sanjak of Dukagjin had four kazas: Peja, Gjakova, Gusinje and Berane.
The Albanian nationalist organization League of Peja established in 1899 was based in the city. The organization, led by Zenel beg, known also as Haxhi Zeka, adopted the character of the earlier League of Prizren to defend the rights of Ottoman Albanians and seek autonomous status within the empire. The architecture in Peja show different architectural styles, from the medieval Serbian, Ottoman, Yugoslav, and contemporary architecture. Because of this there are many churches, mosques, buildings which are attraction points in the city and were built by the aforementioned influences.