Skanderbeg

Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg
Portrait of Skanderbeg in the Uffizi, Florence
Reign	1443–1468
Predecessor	Gjon Kastrioti
Burial	Saint Nicholas Church of Lezhë, Albania
Spouse	Donika Komneni
House	Kastrioti
Father	Gjon Kastrioti
Mother	Vojsava Tripalda
Religion	Roman Catholic

George Castriot Skanderbeg (6 May 1405 – 17 January 1468; widely known as Skanderbeg Albanian: Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu, Template:Lang-la, Turkish: İskender Bey, meaning "Lord Alexander", or "Leader Alexander") was a 15th-century Albanian lord^[D] who defended his land against the Ottoman Empire for more than two decades.

Born in 1405 to the noble Kastrioti family in a small village in the Dibër region, Skanderbeg was taken hostage at a young age and conscripted into the Devşirme system. On his return home the Ottomans gave him the title of bey and a zeamet to govern. Skanderbeg spent his early years governing the zeamet and fighting for the Ottoman Empire as a general. In 1443 he deserted the Ottomans during the Battle of Niš, and through a ruse became the ruler of Krujë. In March 1444 he organized local leaders into the League of Lezhë, a federation aimed at uniting their forces for war against the Ottomans. Skanderbeg's first victory against the Ottomans, at the Battle of Torvioll in June 1444, marked the beginning of more than twenty years of war between him and the Ottomans. Skanderbeg's forces achieved more than 20 victories in the field, and withstood 3 sieges of his capital, Krujë.

His success thrust Skanderbeg into the spotlight of contemporary international politics. In 1448 he tried to participate in Second Battle of Kosovo while in the same time he helped Alfonso V of Aragon putting down a rebellion. He recognized himself as a vassal of the Kingdom of Naples in 1451 through the Treaty of Gaeta, to ensure a major protective alliance. In 1460–1461 he personally participated in Italy's civil wars in support of Ferdinand I of Naples. In November 1463 he became the chief commander of the crusading forces of Pope Pius II, but the pope died while the armies were still gathering. Left alone to fight the Ottomans, Skanderbeg did so until his death in January 1468.

Skanderbeg's resistance presented a major obstacle to Ottoman expansion, and delayed their attack on Italy. His military skills and stubborn struggle made him a respected figure among friend and foe. His reputation spread throughout Western Europe, where he was considered a model of Christian resistance against the Ottoman Muslims. Skanderbeg is still regarded as Albania's greatest hero, a core figure of Albanian identity and the inspiration for the revival of Albanian statehood, which occurred in 1912 with the Albanian Declaration of Independence.

Skanderbeg's first name in Albanian language is Gjergj, the equivalent of the English form George. The form of his last name was given variously as Kastrioti,^[1] Castriota,^[2] Castriottis,^[3] or Castriot.^[4] The last name Kastrioti refers to a village name in northern Albania called Kastriot in Dibra; however Skanderbeg is thought to have been born in the village of Sinë.^[A]

The name given him by the Turks has been rendered as Skanderbeg or Scanderbeg in the English versions, whereas Skënderbeu or Skënderbej is the Albanian version. The name is derived from Iskender (Turkish word derived from Alexander) and the Turkish appellative Bey (for Lord or Prince).^[5] Latinized in Barleti's version as Scanderbegi and translated into English as Skanderbeg, the appellative is assumed to have been a comparison of Skanderbeg's military skill to that of Alexander the Great.^[6]

Skanderbeg is thought to have been born Gjergj Kastrioti in 1405 in Sinë, one of the two villages owned by his grandfather.^[A] Skanderbeg's father was Gjon Kastrioti, lord of Middle Albania, which included Mat, Mirditë and Dibër.^[8] His mother was Vojsava Tripalda, a princess from the Tripalda family,^[9] originary from the Polog valley, north-western part of present-day Republic of Macedonia. Gjon Kastrioti was among those who opposed the early incursions of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I (r. 1413–1421), however his resistance was ineffective. The Sultan, having accepted his submission after the fall of Krujë in 1415, obliged him to pay tribute, and in his turn to ensure the fidelity of local rulers.^[1] Skanderbeg was the youngest son of nine children, his older brothers were Stanisha, Reposh, and Kostandin; his sisters were Mara, Jelena, Angjelina, Vlajka, and Mamica.^[1]

In the aftermath of his defeat, Gjon had to send Skanderbeg and one of his brothers, probably Stanisha, to the Sultan's court.^[C] At that time, in 1415, Skanderbeg must have been about nine years old. He was taken to Edirne, then capital of the Ottoman Empire, and conscripted into the Devşirme system. It is assumed that he stayed there for a period of around 10 years.^[1] It is during this time that he was given the appellative İskender.^[1] Skanderbeg's name is mentioned in Albania for the first time in 1426, in the first Act of Hilandar, when Gjon Kastrioti and his four sons donated to the Serbian Orthodox monastery of Mount Athos, Hilandar, the right to the proceeds from tax collected from the two villages of Radostush and Trebisht and those of the church of Saint Mary in one of them.^[10] Shortly afterwards Gjon Kastrioti and his sons, with the exception of Stanisha (who had by then become a Muslim), purchased in a second act of Hilandar, the right to an adelphate (rights to reside on monastic territory and receive subsidies from monastic resources), to the Saint George tower and to some other property within the same Athonian monastery.^[11][10]

After the two Hilandar acts, Skanderbeg appears in contemporary sources as a sipahi, and in 1437–1438,^[12] he became vali (equivalent of governor) of the Krujë zeamet.^[11] Up to 1432 the vali of the city had been Zaganos Bey. In 1438, Zaganos became again vali of Krujë, but he must have come to the city one year later, because Skanderbeg is still mentioned as being in Albania twice, on July 7 and July 10, 1438.^[11] During the 1430s Skanderbeg controlled a relatively large timar, composed of nine villages, although which they were is unknown;^[11] historians believe that they may have been part of the vilayet of Dhimiter Jonima.^[11]

It was because of Skanderbeg's display of military merit in several Ottoman campaigns, both in Asia Minor and in Europe, that Murad II (r. 1421–1451) had given him the title of vali. At that time Skanderbeg came to lead a cavalry unit of 5,000 men.^[13] According to contemporary documents and sources, during his stay in Albania as Ottoman governor, he maintained close relations with the population in his father's former properties and also with other Albanian noble families.^[11]

After his brother Reposh's death on 25 July 1431,^[14] and the later deaths of Kostandin and Skanderbeg's father (who died in 1437), Skanderbeg and his surviving brother Stanisha continued to govern the zeamet that had earlier been governed by their father,^[12] until, in 1439, Murad II granted to Skanderbeg some fiefdoms elsewhere, probably in Nikopol in modern Bulgaria.^[12] It is safe to assume that this was seen by Skanderbeg as a demotion.^[12] In the 1439–1443 period Skanderbeg is no longer mentioned in Albania and is thought to have been fighting along the Ottomans in their European campaigns, mostly against the revolts led by Janos Hunyadi.^[12]

In November 1443 Skanderbeg saw his opportunity to rebel against the Sultan during the Battle of Niš against the Hungarians of John Hunyadi, during the Crusade of Varna.^[15] Skanderbeg quit the field along with 300 other Albanians serving in the Ottoman army.^[15] After a long trek to Albania he eventually captured Krujë on November 28, by forging a letter from the Sultan to the Governor of Krujë.^[16][15] After capturing some other minor surrounding castles, and eventually gaining control over more than his father Gjon Kastrioti's domains, Skanderbeg abjured Islam and proclaimed himself the avenger of his family and country.^[17] He raised a red flag with the double-headed eagle silhouette on: the same flag and symbol are still in use today by Albania (see Albanian flag).^[18]

On March 2 1444, Skanderbeg managed to bring together all the Albanian princes in the town of Lezhë and form the League of Lezhë.^[19] Particularly strong was his alliance with George Arianiti^[20] (born Gjergj Arianit Komneni, who was a distant relation of the Byzantine Komnenos dynasty through one of his great-grandmothers)^[21] and whose daughter Donika he later married.^[22] Gibbon reports that the "Albanians, a martial race, were unanimous to live and die with their hereditary prince",^[23] and that "in the assembly of the states of Epirus, Skanderbeg was elected general of the Turkish war and each of the allies engaged to furnish his respective proportion of men and money".^[23] With this support, Skanderbeg built fortresses and organized a mobile defense army that forced the Ottomans to disperse their troops, leaving them vulnerable to the hit-and-run tactics of the Albanians.^[24] Skanderbeg fought a guerrilla war against the opposing armies by using the mountainous terrain to his advantage. During the first 8–10 years, Skanderbeg commanded an army of generally 10,000-15.000 soldiers,^[25] but only had absolute control over the men from his own dominions, and had to convince the other princes to follow his policies and tactics.^[21]

In the summer of 1444, in the Plain of Torvioll, the united Albanian armies under Skanderbeg faced the Ottomans under direct command of the Turkish general Ali Pasha, with an army of 25,000 men.^[26] Skanderbeg had under his command 7,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry. 3,000 cavalry were hidden behind the enemy lines in a nearby forest under the command of Hamza Kastrioti. At a given signal they descended, encircled the Turks and gave Skanderbeg a much needed victory. About 8,000 Turks were killed and 2,000 were captured.^[21] Skanderbeg's first victory echoed across Europe because this was one of the few times that an Ottoman army was defeated in a set-piece battle on European soil. In following two years, Skanderbeg defeated the Turks two more times, on 10 October 1445, when Ottoman forces from Ochrid suffered severe losses,^[27] and again in the Battle of Otonetë on 27 September 1446.^[28][29]

At the beginning of the Albanian insurrection, the Republic of Venice was supportive of Skanderbeg, considering his forces to be a buffer between them and the Ottoman Empire. Lezhë, where the eponymous league was established, was Venetian territory, and the assembly met with the approval of Venice. The later affirmation of Skanderbeg and his rise as a strong force on their borders however was seen as a menace to the interests of the Republic, leading to a worsening of relations and the dispute over the fortress of Dagnum which triggered the Albanian-Venetian War of 1447–1448. The Venetians sought by every means to overthrow, or bring about the death of Skanderbeg, even offering a life pension of 100 golden ducats annually for the person who would kill him.^[29][30] During the conflict, Venice invited the Ottomans to attack Skanderbeg simultaneously from the east, facing the Albanians with a two-front conflict.^[31] Skanderbeg, who had besieged a few castles that were possessed by Venice in Albania, was forced to fight an Ottoman Army commanded by Mustafa Pasha. In 1448 he won a battle against Mustafa Pasha in Dibër; some days later, on 23 July 1448, he also won in Shkodër another battle against a Venetian army led by Andrea Venier. At the same time he besieged the towns of Durazzo (modern Durrës) and Lezhë which were then under Venetian rule.^[32] This forced the Venetians to offer a peace treaty to Skanderbeg. The peace treaty, signed between Skanderbeg and Venice on 4 October 1448 envisioned that Venice would keep Dagnum and its environs, but would cede to Skanderbeg the territory of Buzëgjarpri at the mouth of the river Drin, and also that Skanderbeg would enjoy the privilege of buying, tax-free, 200 horse-loads of salt annually from Durazzo. In addition Venice would pay Skanderbeg 1,400 ducats. Soon after the treaty Skanderbeg left to join John Hunyadi in Kosovo.^[33]

During the period of clashes with Venice, Skanderbeg intensified relationships with Alfonso V of Aragon (r. 1416–1458), who was the main rival of Venice in the Adriatic, where his dreams for an empire were always opposed by the Venetians.^[34]

Skanderbeg did not participate in the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448 because he was delayed by Đurađ Branković, who was then allied with the Sultan.^[35] He and his army were still en route to reinforce the mainly Hungarian army of John Hunyadi, when the Hungarian forces lost the battle.^[36]

In 1448 Alfonso V suffered a rebellion caused by certain barons in the rural areas of his kingdom in southern Italy. He needed reliable troops to deal with the uprising, so he called upon Skanderbeg for assistance. Skanderbeg responded to Alfonso's request for aid by sending to Italy a detachment of Albanian troops commanded by General Demetrios Reres. These Albanians were successful in quickly suppressing the rebellion and restoring order. Many of these troops settled there.^[37] King Alfonso rewarded Demetrios Reres for his service to Naples by appointing him governor of Calabria. One year later, in 1449, another detachment of Albanian troops was sent to garrison Sicily against a rebellion and invasion. This time the troops were led by Giorgio and Basilio Reres, the sons of Demetrios.^[38]

In 1448 an Ottoman army led by Sultan Murad II and his son Mehmed laid siege to the castle of Svetigrad. The Albanian garrison in the castle resisted the frontal assaults of the Ottoman army, while Skanderbeg harassed the besieging forces with the remaining Albanian army under his personal command. In late summer 1448 due to a lack of potable water^[B] the Albanian garrison surrendered the castle with the condition of safe passage through the Ottoman besieging forces, a condition which was accepted and respected by the sultan.^[39]

The next year, in June 1450, an Ottoman army numbering approximately 100,000 men led again by Sultan Murad II himself and Mehmed laid siege to Krujë.^[40] Following a scorched earth strategy (thus denying the Ottomans the use of necessary local resources), Skanderbeg left a protective garrison of 1,500 men under one of his most trusted lieutenants, Vrana Konti, while with the remainder of the army he harassed the Ottoman camps around Krujë by continuously attacking the supply caravans of the Sultan's army. Three major direct assaults on the city walls by the Ottomans were repelled by the garrison, causing great losses to the besieging forces. Ottoman attempts at finding and cutting the water sources failed, as did a sapped tunnel, which collapsed suddenly. An offer of 300,000 aspra (Turkish silver coins) and a promise of a high rank as a military in the Ottoman army made to Vrana Konti, were both rejected by him.^[41]

During the First Siege of Krujë, the Venetian merchants furnished the besieging Ottoman army. The attack by Skanderbeg on their caravans raised tension between him and the Republic, but the case was resolved with the help of the bailo of Durazzo who stopped any Venetian merchants from furnishing the Ottomans any longer.^[41]

By September 1450 the Ottoman camp was in disarray, as morale sank and disease ran rampant. Murad II acknowledged the castle of Krujë would not fall by strength of arms and in October 1450, he lifted the siege and made his way to Edirne, leaving behind several thousand dead soldiers.^[41] A few months later, on February 5, 1451, Murad died in Edirne and was succeeded by his son Mehmed II (r. 1451–1481).^[42]

Although Skanderbeg had achieved a great success at resisting the Sultan himself, harvests were unproductive and famine was widespread. Following Skanderbeg's requests, King Alfonso V helped him in this situation and the two parties signed in 1451 the Treaty of Gaeta, according to which Skanderbeg would be formally a vassal of Alfonso in exchange for military aid.^[43] More explicitly, Skanderbeg recognized King Alfonso's sovereignty over his lands, in exchange for the help that King Alfonso would give to him in the war against the Ottomans.^[E] King Alfonso pledged to respect the old privileges of Krujë and Albanian territories and to pay Skanderbeg an annual 1,500 ducats, while Skanderbeg pledged to make his fealty to King Alfonso only after the full expulsion of the Ottomans from the country, a condition never reached in Skanderbeg's lifetime.^[34] Also, in April 1451 Skanderbeg married Donika Kastrioti, nee Donika Arianit Komneni, daughter of Gjergj Arianit Komneni, one of the most influential Albanian noblemen, strengthening the ties between them.^[22]

At the same time Alfonso V signed different treaties with other Albanian noblemen, including Golem Arianit Komneni^[44] and also with the Despot of the Morea, Demetrios Palaiologos.^[45] These movements of Alfonso showed that he indeed was thinking about a crusade from Albania and the Morea, which in the event never took place.^[46] Following this treaty, in the end of May 1451, a small detachment of 100 Catalan soldiers, headed by Bernard Vaquer, was established at the castle of Krujë. In May 1452 another Catalan nobleman, Ramon d’Ortafà, came to Krujë with the title of viceroy.^[E] In 1453 Skanderbeg paid a secret visit to Naples and the Vatican, probably discussing the new conditions after the fall of Constantinople and the planning of a new crusade which Alfonso would have presented to Pope Nicholas V in a meeting of 1453—1454.^[47]

For five years following the First Siege of Krujë, Albania was allowed some respite as the new sultan set out to conquer the last vestiges of the Byzantine Empire, though a battle took place in 1452, when another Ottoman army sent to Albania was defeated again by Skanderbeg's forces. During this period, skirmishes between Skanderbeg and Dukagjin family were put to an end by the intervention of the Pope and in 1454 a peace treaty was reached.^[48]

In November 1453 Skanderbeg informed King Alfonso that he had conquered some territories and a castle and Alfonso replied some days later that soon Ramon d’Ortafà would return to continue the war against the Ottomans and also promised more troops and supplies. In the beginning of 1454 Skanderbeg and the Venetians^[49] informed King Alfonso and the Pope about a possible Ottoman invasion and asked for help. The Pope sent 3,000 ducats while Alfonso sent 500 infantry and a certain amount of money,^[50] along with a message directed to Skanderbeg.^[51] Meanwhile the Venetian Senate was resenting Skanderbeg's alliance with the Kingdom of Naples, an old enemy of the Republic. Frequently they delayed their tributes to Skanderbeg and this was long a matter of dispute between the parties, with Skanderbeg threatening at least three times war on Venice during the 1448–1458 period, and Venice conceding in a conciliatory tone.^[52]

In June 1454 Ramon d’Ortafà returned after a long absence to Krujë, this time with the title of viceroy of Albania, Greece and Slavonia with a personal letter to Skanderbeg as the Captain-General of the armed forces in Albania.^[53] Along with Ramon d’Ortafà, King Alfonso V also sent to Albania the clerics Fra Lorenzo da Palerino and Fra Giovanni dell’Aquila with a tabby flag with an embroidered white cross as a symbol of the Crusade which was about to begin.^[54][55] Even though this crusade never materialized, the Neapolitan troops were used in the Siege of Berat where they were almost entirely annihilated and were never replaced.

The Siege of Berat was the first real test between the armies of the new sultan and Skanderbeg. That siege would end up in a defeat for the League of Lezhë forces.^[56] Skanderbeg besieged the town's castle for months, causing the demoralized Turkish officer in charge of the castle to promise his surrender.^[56] At that point Skanderbeg relaxed his grip, split his forces and departed the siege, leaving behind one of his generals, Muzakë Topia, and half of his cavalry on the banks of the River Osum to finalize the surrender.^[56] It was a costly error; the Ottomans saw this moment as an opportunity for attack, and sent a large cavalry force led by Isa bey Evrenos from Anatolia to Berat as reinforcements.^[56] The Albanian forces had become overconfident and lulled into a false sense of security.^[56] The Ottomans caught the Albanian cavalry by surprise while they were resting on the banks of the River Osum, and almost all the 5,000 Albanian cavalry laying siege to Berat were killed.^[56] Most of the forces belonged to Gjergj Arianiti and this defeat reduced his role as the greatest supporter of Skanderbeg.^[56]

This defeat affected somewhat the attitude of other Albanian noblemen. One of them, Moisi Arianit Golemi, defected to the Turks and in 1456 returned to Albania as a commander of a Turkish army of 15,000 men, but was defeated by Skanderbeg in a swift battle.^[57] Later that year a remorseful Moisi Arianit Golemi returned to Albania asking for Skanderbeg's forgiveness, and once pardoned, remained loyal up to his death in 1464.^[57]

In 1456, one of Skanderbeg nephews (son of his sister Jelena), George Stress Balsha, sold the fortress of Modrichi to the Turks for 30,000 silver ducats. He tried to cover up the act but his treason was discovered, and he was sent to prison in Naples.^[58]

In the beginning of 1457, another nobleman, Hamza Kastrioti, Skanderbeg's own nephew and his closest collaborator, defected to the Turks when he lost his hope of succession after the birth of Skanderbeg's son John Castriot II. In the summer of 1457 an Ottoman army numbering approximately 70,000 men^[59] invaded Albania with the hope of destroying Albanian resistance once and for all; this army was led by Isa bey Evrenos, the only commander to have defeated Skanderbeg's forces, and Hamza Kastrioti, who knew all about Albanian tactics and strategy. After wreaking much damage to the countryside^[59] the Ottoman army set up camp at the Ujebardha field (literally translated as "White Water"), halfway between Lezhë and Krujë. After having avoided the enemy for months, calmly giving to the Turks and his European neighbours the impression that he was defeated, on 2 September Skanderbeg attacked the Ottomans in their encampments and defeated them.^[60] This was one of the most brilliant, important and glorious victories of Skanderbeg over the Ottomans, which led to a five-year peace treaty with Sultan Mehmed II. Hamza was captured^[61] and sent to detention in Naples.^[62]

After the victory of Ujëbardha, Skanderbeg's relations with the Papacy under Pope Calixtus III were intensified, the reason being that during this time Skanderbeg's military undertakings involved considerable expense, which the contribution of Alfonso V of Aragon was not sufficient to defray.^[63] In 1457 Skanderbeg requested help from Calixtus III. Being himself in financial difficulties, the pope could do no more than send Skanderbeg a single galley and a modest sum of money, promising more ships and larger amounts of money in the future.^[63] On December 23 1457, Calixtus III appointed Skanderbeg as Captain-General of the Curia in the war against the Turks and declared him Captain-General of the Holy See. The Pope also gave him the title Athleta Christi, or Champion of Christ.^[63] Meanwhile Ragusa refused bluntly to release the funds which had been collected in Dalmatia for the crusade and, which according to the Pope, were to have been distributed in equal parts to Hungary, Bosnia and Albania. The Ragusans even entered into negotiations with Mehmed.^[63] At the end of December 1457 Calixtus threatened Venice with interdict, and repeated the threat in February 1458. As the captain of the Curia, Skanderbeg appointed as a lieutenant in his native land, the duke of Leukas (Santa Maura), Leonardo III Tocco, formerly the prince of Arta and "despot of the Rhomaeans", a figure virtually unknown except in Southern Epirus.^[63]

On 27 June 1458, King Alfonso V died at Naples and Skanderbeg sent emissaries to his son and successor, King Ferdinand.^[64] According to the historian C. Marinesco, the death of King Alfonso marked the end of the Aragonese dream of a Mediterranean Empire and also the hope for a new crusade in which Skanderbeg was assigned a leading role.^[65] The relationship of Skanderbeg with the Kingdom of Naples continued even after Alfonso V's death, but the situation had changed; Ferdinand I was not as able as his father and now it was Skanderbeg's turn to help King Ferdinand to regain and maintain his kingdom.

In 1460 King Ferdinand had serious problems with another uprising of the Angevins and asked for help from Skanderbeg. This invitation worried King Ferdinand's opponents, and Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta declared that if Ferdinand of Naples received Skanderbeg, Malatesta would go to the Turks.^[66] Ferdinand's main rival, Giovanni Antonio Orsini, Prince of Taranto, in correspondence with Skanderbeg tried to dissuade him from this enterprise and even offered him an alliance. This did not affect Skanderbeg and in the beginning of 1461 Skanderbeg dispatched a company of 500 cavalry under his nephew, Gjok Stres Balsha. When the situation became critical, Skanderbeg made a three-year armistice with the Ottomans on 17 April 1461 and in late August 1461 landed in Puglia with an expeditionary force of 1,000 cavalry and 2,000 infantry. At Barletta and Trani, he managed to defeat the Italian and Angevin forces of Giovanni Antonio Orsini, Prince of Taranto, secured King Ferdinand's throne, and returned back to Albania.^[67][68] King Ferdinand was very grateful for Skanderbeg for this intervention and, at his death, he rewarded his descendants with the castle of Trani, properties of Monte Sant'Angelo and San Giovanni Rotondo.^[68]

After securing the Neapolitan kingdom, a crucial ally in his struggle, Skanderbeg returned home, informed of Ottoman movements within the borders of the League of Lezhë. There were three Ottoman armies approaching: the first, under the command of Sinan Pasha, was defeated at Mokra (near Dibër); the second, under the command of Hussain Bey, was defeated in the Battle of Ohër, where the Turkish commander was captured; and the third was defeated in the region of Skopje.^[69] This forced the sultan to agree to a ten-year armistice which was signed in April 1463 in Skopje.^[69] Skanderbeg did not want peace, but he was outvoted in the League of Lezhë, and Tanush Thopia's willingness for peace prevailed. Tanush himself went to Tivoli to explain to the Pope why the League had opted for peace with the Sultan. He pointed out that Skanderbeg would be ready to go back to war should the Pope ask for it.^[69]

In November 1463 Pope Pius II tried to organize a new crusade against the Ottoman Turks, similar to what Pope Nicholas V and Pope Calixtus III had tried to do before him. Pius II invited all the Christian nobility to join in and the Venetians immediately answered the appeal.^[70] So did Skanderbeg, who on 27 November 1463 declared war on the Ottomans and attacked the Turkish forces near Ohrid. Pius II's planned crusade envisioned assembling 20,000 soldiers in Taranto, while another 20,000 would be gathered by Skanderbeg. They would have been summoned in Durazzo under Skanderbeg's leadership and would have formed the central front against the Ottomans. But Pius II died in August 1464, at the crucial moment when the crusading armies were gathering and preparing to march in Ancona, and Skanderbeg was again left alone facing the Ottomans.^[70]

Meanwhile the position of Venice toward Skanderbeg had changed perceptibly because the Republic had entered in their first war with the Turks (1463–1479). During this period the Republic saw Skanderbeg as an invaluable ally, and on 20 August 1463 the peace treaty of 1448 was renewed and this time other conditions were added: the right of asylum in Venice; an article stipulating that any Venetian treaty with the Turks would include a guarantee of Albanian independence; and allowing the presence of several Venetian ships in the Adriatic waters around Lezhë.^[71]

In April 1465 at the First Battle of Vajkal Skanderbeg fought and defeated Ballaban Badera Pasha, an Albanian Ottoman general. However, during an ambush in the same battle, Ballaban managed to capture some important Albanian noblemen, including Moisi Arianit Golemi, a cavalry commander, Vladan Gjurica, the chief army quartermaster, Muzaka of Angelina, a nephew of Skanderbeg, and 18 other officers.^[70] These men were sent immediately to Constantinople (Istanbul) where they were skinned alive for fifteen days and later cut to pieces and thrown to the dogs.^[70] Skanderbeg's pleas to have these men back, by either ransom or prisoner exchange, failed.^[70]

Later that same year two other Ottoman armies appeared on the borders. The commander of one of the Ottoman armies was Ballaban Pasha, who, together with Jakup Bey, the commander of the second army, planned a double-flank envelopment. Skanderbeg however attacked Ballaban's forces at the Second Battle of Vajkal where the Turks were defeated. This time all the Turkish prisoners were slain in an act of revenge for the previous execution of Albanian captains;^[72] the other Turkish army, under the command of Jakup Bey, was also defeated some days later in Kashari field near Tirana.^[72]

In 1466 Sultan Mehmed II personally led an army of 30,000 into Albania and laid the Second Siege of Krujë, as his father had attempted sixteen years earlier.^[73] The town was defended by a garrison of 4,400 men, led by Prince Tanush Thopia.^[73] After several months of siege, destruction and killings all over the country, Mehmed II, like his father, saw that seizing Krujë was impossible for him to accomplish by force of arms. Subsequently, he left the siege to return to Istanbul.^[73] However, he left the force of 30,000 men under Ballaban Pasha to maintain the siege by building a castle in central Albania, which he named Il-basan (modern Elbasan), in order to support the siege. Durazzo would be the next target of the sultan, in order to be used as a strong base opposite the Italian coast.^[73]

Skanderbeg spent the following winter of 1466—1467 in Italy, spent several weeks in Rome trying to persuade Pope Paul II to give him money. At one point, he was unable to pay for his hotel bill, and he commented bitterly that he should be fighting against the Church rather than the Turks.^[74] Only when Skanderbeg left for Naples did Pope Paul II give him 2,300 ducats. The court of Naples, whose policy in the Balkans hinged on Skanderbeg's resistance, was more generous with money, armaments and supplies. But it is probably better to say that Skanderbeg financed and equipped his troops largely from local resources, richly supplemented by Turkish booty.^[75] It is safe to say that the papacy was generous with praise and encouragement, but its financial subsidies were limited. It is possible that the Curia only provided to Skanderbeg 20,000 ducats in all, which could have paid the wages of twenty men over the whole period of conflict.^[75]

However, on his return he allied with Lekë Dukagjini, and together on 19 April 1467 they first attacked and defeated, in the Krrabë region, the Turkish reinforcements commanded by Yonuz, Ballaban's brother: Yonuz himself and his son, Haydar were taken prisoners.^[72] Four days later, on 23 April 1467, they attacked the Ottoman forces laying siege to Krujë. The Second Siege of Krujë was eventually broken, resulting in the death of Ballaban Pasha by an Albanian arquebusier^[21][69] named Gjergj Aleksi.^[76]

After these events, Skanderbeg's forces besieged Elbasan, but lacked artillery and sufficient numbers to capture it by direct assault.^[77] The destruction of Ballaban Pasha's army and the siege of Elbasan forced Mehmed II to march again in summer 1467 against Albania. He energetically pursued the attacks against the Albanian strongholds, while sending detachments to raid the Venetian possessions (especially Durazzo) and to keep them isolated. The Ottomans failed again, in their third Siege of Krujë, to take the city and subjugate the country, but the degree of destruction was immense.^{[citation needed]}

During the annual Ottoman incursions, the Albanians suffered a great number of casualties, especially to the civilian population, while the economy of the country was in ruins. The above problems, the loss of many Albanian noblemen and the new alliance with Lekë Dukagjini caused Skanderbeg to call together in January 1468 all the remaining Albanian noblemen to a conference in the Venetian stronghold of Lezhë, to discuss the new war strategy and restructuring what remained from the League of Lezhë.^[77] During that period Skanderbeg fell ill with malaria and soon died, on 17 January 1468.^[77]

After Skanderbeg's death, Venice asked and obtained from his widow the permission to defend Krujë and the other fortresses with Venetian garrisons.^[77] Krujë held out during its fourth siege, started in 1477 by Gedik Ahmed Pasha, until 16 June 1478, when the city was starved to death and finally surrendered to the Sultan himself.^[77] Demoralized and severely weakened by hunger and lack of supplies from the year-long siege, the defenders surrendered to Mehmed, who had promised them to leave unharmed in exchange.^[78] As the Albanians were walking away with their families however, the Ottomans reneged on this promise, killing the men and enslaving the women and children.^[78] In 1479 an Ottoman army, headed again by the Sultan, besieged and captured Shkodër,^[77] reducing Venice's Albanian possessions only to Durazzo, Antivari, and Dulcigno.^[77]

Meanwhile, King Ferdinand of Naples' gratitude toward Skanderbeg for the help given during this Italian campaign continued even after Skanderbeg's death. In a letter dated to 24 February 1468, King Ferdinand expressively stated that "Skanderbeg was like a father to us" and "We regret this (Skanderbeg's) death not less than the death of King Alfonso", offering protection for Skanderbeg's widow and his son. It is relevant to the fact that the majority of Albanian leaders after the death of Skanderbeg found refuge in the Kingdom of Naples and this was also the case for the common people trying to escape from the Ottomans, who formed Arbëresh colonies in that area.

On 25 April 1479 the Ottoman forces captured the Venetian-controlled Shkodër, which had been besieged since 14 May 1478.^[79] Shkodër was the last Albanian castle to fall to the Ottomans. The Albanian resistance to the Ottoman invasion continued after Skanderbeg's death by his son, John Castriot II, who tried to liberate Albanian territories from Ottoman rule in 1481–1484.^[80] In addition, a major revolt in 1492 occurred in southern Albania, mainly in the Labëria region: Bayazid II was personally involved with crushing the resistance.^[81] In 1501 George Castriot II, grandson of Skanderbeg and son of John Castriot II, along with Progon Dukagjini and around 150–200 stratioti went to Lezhë and organized a local uprising, but that too was unsuccessful.^[82] The Venetians evacuated Durazzo in 1501.

Skanderbeg’s family, the Kastrioti Skanderbeg, were invested with a Neapolitan dukedom after their flight from the Ottoman conquest of Albania.^[83] They obtained a feudal domain, the Duchy of San Pietro in Galatina and the County of Soleto (Province of Lecce, Italy).^[84] John Castriot II, Scanderbeg’s son, married Irene Palaiologina, one of the last descendents of the Byzantine imperial family, the Palaiologos.^[84] Thus, the Kastrioti Skanderbeg (in Italian rendered Castriota Scanderbeg) today represent the only descendants left of the last imperial family of Byzantium.^[84]

Two lines of the Castriota Scanderbeg family lived from that time onwards to the present day in southern Italy, one of which has descended from Pardo Castriota Scanderbeg and the other from Achille Castriota Scanderbeg, both being natural sons of Duke Ferrante, son of John, and Scanderbeg’s nephew. They are part of the Italian nobility and members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta with the highest rank of nobility.^[85]

The only legitimate daughter of Duke Ferrante, Irene Castriota Scanderbeg, born to Andreana Acquaviva d'Aragona from the Nardò dukes, inherited the paternal estate, bringing the Duchy of Galatina and County of Soleto into the Sanseverino family after her marriage with Prince Pietrantonio Sanseverino (1508–1559). They had a son, Nicolò Bernardino Sanseverino (1541–1606), but the legitimate Castrioti name was forever lost with Irene Castriota.

The Ottoman Empire's expansion ground to a halt during the time that Skanderbeg's forces resisted. He has been credited with being the one of the main reasons for delaying Ottoman expansion into Western Europe, giving the Italian principalities more time to better prepare for the Ottoman arrival.^[21][86] While the Albanian resistance certainly played a vital role in this, it was one piece of numerous events that played out in the mid-15th century. Much credit must also go to the successful resistance mounted by Vlad III Dracula in Wallachia and Stephen III the Great of Moldavia, who dealt the Ottomans their worst defeat at Vaslui, among many others, as well as the defeats inflicted upon the Ottomans by Hunyadi and his Hungarian forces.^[87] Along with Skanderbeg, Stephen III the Great and Hunyadi achieved the title of Athleta Cristi (Defenders of the Christian faith). The particularity of Skanderbeg was the maintenance of such an effective resistance for a long period of time (25 years) against one of 15th century's strongest powers, while possessing very limited economical and human resources. His political, diplomatic and military abilities were the main factor for the small Albanian principalities to achieve such a success.

Skanderbeg is considered today not only a commanding figure in the national consciousness of Albania, but also of 15th-century European history.^[88] According to archival documents, there is no doubt that Skanderbeg had already achieved a reputation as a hero in his own time.^[89] The failure of most European nations, with the exception of Naples, to give him support, along with the failure of Pope Pius II's plans to organize a promised crusade against the Turks meant that none of Skanderbeg's victories permanently hindered the Ottomans from invading the Western Balkans.^[89] When in 1481 Sultan Mehmet II captured Otranto, he massacred the male population, thus proving what Skanderbeg had been warning about.^[89] Skanderbeg's main legacy was the inspiration he gave to all of those who saw in him a symbol of the struggle of Christendom against the Ottoman Empire.^[90]

Skanderbeg's struggle against the Ottomans became highly significant to the Albanian people. It strengthened their solidarity, made them more conscious of their identity, and was a source of inspiration in their struggle for national unity, freedom, and independence.^[91]

Probably one of the most important legacies of Skanderbeg lays with his military mastery. The trouble that he caused to the Ottoman Empire military forces was such that when the Ottomans found the grave of Skanderbeg in Saint Nicholas, a church in Lezhë, they opened it and made amulets of his bones, believing that these would confer bravery on the wearer.^[92] Indeed the damage inflicted to the Ottoman Army was such that Skanderbeg is said to have slain three thousand Turks with his own hand during his campaigns. Among stories told about him was that he never slept more than five hours at night and could cut two men asunder with a single stroke of his scimitar, cut through iron helmets, kill a wild boar with a single stroke and cleave the head off a buffalo with another.^[93] James Wolfe, commander of the British forces at Quebec, spoke of Skanderbeg as a commander who "excels all the officers, ancient and modern, in the conduct of a small defensive army".^[94] On 27 October 2005, the United States Congress issued a resolution "honoring the 600th anniversary of the birth of Gjergj Kastrioti (Scanderbeg), statesman, diplomat, and military genius, for his role in saving Western Europe from Ottoman occupation."^[95][96]

Skanderbeg is also remembered as a statesman. During his reign as part of his internal policy programs, Skanderbeg issued many edicts, such as those on carrying out a census of the population and on tax collection, based on Roman and Byzantine law.

Fully understanding the importance to the Albanians of the hero, Nazi Germany formed in February 1944 the 21st SS Division Skanderbeg, with 6,491 Kosovo Albanians. By October 1944 the division's strength had been reduced to about 3,500 through desertions. Often refusing to fight or take orders, the division never became a significant combat force, and their main activities were to terrorize the Serb population of Kosovo, and assisting German forces in rounding up 281 Jews to be sent to their deaths in Bergen-Belsen. They also assisted German troops in their withdrawal through and from Kosovo in November 1944.^[97]

Skanderbeg gathered quite a posthumous reputation in Western Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. With much of the Balkans under Ottoman rule and with the Turks at the gates of Vienna in 1683, nothing could have captivated readers in the West more than an action-packed tale of heroic Christian resistance to the "Moslem hordes".^[89]

Books on the Albanian prince began to appear in Western Europe in the early 16th century. One of the earliest of these histories to have circulated in Western Europe about the heroic deeds of Skanderbeg was the Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi, Epirotarum Principis (Rome, 1508), published a mere four decades after Skanderbeg's death. This History of the life and deeds of Scanderbeg, Prince of the Epirotes was written by the Albanian historian Marinus Barletius Scodrensis, known in Albanian as Marin Barleti, who after experiencing the Turkish occupation of his native Shkodër at firsthand, settled in Padua where he became rector of the parish church of St. Stephan. Barleti dedicated his work to Donferrante Kastrioti, Skanderbeg's grandchild, and to posterity. The book was first published in Latin.^[98]

In the 16th and 17th centuries Barleti's book was translated into a number of foreign language versions: in German by Johann Pincianus (1533), in Italian by Pietro Rocca (1554, 1560), in Portuguese by Francisco D'Andrade (1567), in Polish by Ciprian Bazylik (1569), in French by Jaques De Lavardin (French: Histoire de Georges Castriot Surnomé Scanderbeg, Roy d'Albanie, 1576), and in Spanish by Juan Ochoa de la Salde (1582). The English version was a translation from the French one of De Lavardin and made by one Zachary Jones Gentleman, and was published at the end of the 16th century under the title, Historie of George Castriot, surnamed Scanderbeg, King of Albinie; containing his Famous Actes, his Noble Deedes of Armes and Memorable Victories against the Turkes for the Faith of Christ. Barleti gives a good history of Skanderbeg, however he is sometimes inaccurate in favour of his hero, for example, according to Gibbon, Barleti claims that the Sultan was killed by disease under the walls of Krujë.^[99] Barleti's inaccuracies had also been noticed prior to Gibbon by Laonikos Chalkokondyles.^[100]

Kastrioti's biography was also written by Franciscus Blancus, a Catholic bishop born in Albania. His book "Georgius Castriotus, Epirensis vulgo Scanderbegh, Epirotarum Princeps Fortissimus" was published in Latin in 1636.^[101] Voltaire starts his chapter "The Taking of Constantinople" with the phrase

Had the Greek Emperors acted like Scanderbeg, the empire of the East might still have been preserved.^[102]

Skanderbeg is the protagonist of three 18th-century British tragedies, William Havard's Scanderbeg, A Tragedy (1733), George Lillo's The Christian Hero (1735), and Thomas Whincop'sScanderbeg, Or, Love and Liberty (1747).^[103] A number of poets and composers have also drawn inspiration from his military career. The French 16th century poet Ronsard wrote a poem about him, as did the 19th century American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.^[104] For Gibbon, "John Huniades and Scanderbeg... are both entitled to our notice, since their occupation of the Ottomanarms delayed the ruin of the Greek empire."

In 1855, Camille Paganel wrote Histoire de Scanderbeg, inspired by the Crimean War,^[105] whereas in the lengthy poetic tale Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1819), Byron writes about Skanderbeg and his warrior nation in the following terms:^[106]

Ludvig Holberg, a Danish writer and philosopher, claimed that Skanderbeg is one of the greatest generals in history.^[107] Sir William Temple considered Skanderbeg to be one of the seven greatest chiefs without a crown, along with Belisarius, Flavius Aetius, John Hunyadi, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Alexander Farnese, and William the Silent.^[108] Skanderbeg is also mentioned by Prince of Montenegro, Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, one of the greatest poets of Serbian literature in his most famous poem The Mountain Wreath.^[109]

The Italian baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi composed an opera entitled Scanderbeg (first performed 1718). Another opera entitled Scanderbeg was composed by 18th century French composer François Francœur (first performed 1763).^[110] A third opera was composed in the 20th century by Albanian composer, Prenkë Jakova, Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu, which premiered in 1968 for the 500 anniversary of the hero's death.^[111] The Great Warrior Skanderbeg (Albanian: Skënderbeu, Russian: Velikiy voin Albanii Skanderbeg) is a 1953 Albanian-Soviet biographical movie, which earned an International Prize in the 1954 Cannes Film Festival.^[112]

Skanderbeg's memory has been engraved in many museums, such as the Skanderbeg Museum next to the Krujë Castle. Many monuments are dedicated to his memory in the Albanian cities of Tirana (in the Skanderbeg Square by Odhise Paskali), Krujë, and Peshkopi. A palace in Rome in which Skanderbeg resided during his 1466–67 visits to the Vatican is still called Palazzo Skanderbeg. Currently the Italian museum of pasta:^[113] the palace is located between the Fontana di Trevi and the Quirinal Palace. Also in Rome, a statue is dedicated to the Albanian hero in Piazza Albania. Monuments or statues of Skanderbeg have also been erected in the cities of Skopje and Debar, (Republic of Macedonia), Pristina (Kosovo), Geneva (Switzerland), Brussels (Belgium), and other settlements in southern Italy where there is an Arbëreshë community. In 2006, a statue of Skanderbeg was unveiled on the grounds of St. Paul's Albanian Catholic Community in Rochester Hills, Michigan, the first Skanderbeg statue in the United States.^[114]

Skanderbeg fought in many major battles, most of which ended in victory for the Albanian side.

• Arms of Skanderbeg
• History of Albania
• History of Ottoman Empire

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skanderbeg.

• I Castriota Scanderbeg Template:It icon
• Heraldic Source on Scanderbeg
• Benjamin Disraeli, 1833, The Rise of Iskander, (Note this is historical fiction)
• Analysis of literature on Scanderbeg
• Scanderbeg: Warrior-King of Albania — trailer of a documentary
• Military History Timeline of Skanderbeg
• Marinus Barletius: History of George Castriot, surnamed Scanderbeg: Chapter XII

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