Albanian–Venetian War
Albanian-Venetian War of 1447–48 | |||||||||
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Part of the Albanian–Turkish Wars | |||||||||
Rivers Drin and Buna in Shkodër as seen from Rozafa Castle, the former Venetian fortress. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
League of Lezhë |
Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Mustafa Pasha (POW) | |||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
9,000 concentrated against the Venetians under Skanderbeg. 6,000 fought against the Turks, 3,000–4,000 of which were placed beforehand in Dibra under Vrana Konti to hold off a possible Ottoman incursion. |
15,000 Venetian soldiers and local mercenaries stationed in the area of Shkodër; small numbers of soldiers stationed in Durrës and Lezha. 15,000 Ottoman soldiers were sent to Dibra. | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Venetian:
Ottoman :
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The Albanian–Venetian War of 1447–48 was waged between Venetian and Ottoman forces against the Albanians under
However, the
Background
In 1444,
The two princes had been in dispute over who should marry Irene Dushmani, the only daughter of Lekë Dushmani, prince of Zadrima. In 1445, the Albanian princes had been invited to the wedding of Skanderbeg's younger sister, Mamica, who was being married to Muzaka Thopia. Irene entered the wedding and hostilities began.[4] Dukagjini asked Irene to marry him, but Zaharia, who was drunk, saw this, and assaulted Dukagjini. Some princes attempted to stop the fight, but only more people became involved. Several people died or got injured before peace was established.[1][5] Neither of the two antagonists had suffered any physical damage, but after the event Dukagjini was morally humiliated.[3]
The death of Zaharia left his princedom with no successor. As a result, his mother handed the fortress over to Venetian Albania, a stretch of possessions of the Republic of Venice.[2][6][7] Skanderbeg urged the Venetian legates that Dagnum (along with Sati, Gladri and Dushmani which had been taken by Venice) should be restored to the League since it guarded an important trade route, but Venice refused and, consequently, Skanderbeg prepared for war against the Republic itself.[2][8][9]
The League soon sent envoys to its neighbors,
Initial campaigns
In December 1447,
By then Venice treated Skanderbeg as a rebellious Ottoman vassal, so on 4 March 1448 a life pension of 100 gold ducats per month was offered to anyone who would assassinate Skanderbeg.[12][13] In May, Ottoman forces besieged Svetigrad, putting great strain on Skanderbeg's campaigns.[14] On 27 June 1448 Venice sent Andrea Venier, then provveditore at Scutari's Rozafa Castle,[15] to attempt to persuade the Ottomans to invade Albania.[2] After, Venice also sent Venier to meet with Skanderbeg in order to convince him to break off hostilities,[16] and also attempted to push the Dukagjini clan away from their alliance with Skanderbeg. Despite measures taken by the Venetians, Skanderbeg marched towards Scutari unabated. He also dared the Venetians to send out a force to defeat him.[17] The siege of Dagnum continued, however, with a force of 4,000 that Skanderbeg had left behind.[18]
Battle of the River Drin
On 23 July 1448 Skanderbeg crossed the
Skanderbeg instructed his troops on what to expect and opened battle by ordering a force of archers to open fire on the Venetian line.[22] Soon, the Albanian right wing advanced to engage first and managed to push the Venetian left wing back, while the center and the right engaged the Venetian center and left. The breakthrough was soon accomplished by attacking the gaps in the Venetian lines, causing disorder among their ranks. The battle continued for hours until large groups of Venetian troops began to flee. Skanderbeg, seeing his fleeing adversaries, ordered a full-scale offensive, routing the entire Venetian army.[21][23] The Republic's soldiers were chased right to the gates of Scutari, and Venetian prisoners were thereafter paraded outside the fortress.[21][23][24]
The Albanians managed to inflict 2,500 casualties on the Venetian force, capturing 1,000. Skanderbeg's army suffered 400 casualties, most on the right wing.[13][21] The Venetian presence in Albania was weakened and the garrisons in the cities were stretched thin.[2]
Skanderbeg retreated from the area to fight off an Ottoman invasion. Before leaving, he garrisoned the fort of
Battle of Oranik
Despite the setbacks while he was away, Skanderbeg continued to focus on campaigning against the Venetian-requested Ottoman incursion at the Battle of Oranik in August 1448. The Ottoman expeditionary force was crushed on 14 August, with Ottoman commander Mustafa Pasha captured. The loss of Balsha to the Venetians, however, forced Skanderbeg to continue raiding Venetian territory.
Aftermath
With Durazzo, Scutari, and Dagnum on the point of surrender and seeing a victorious Albanian army after the Battle of Oronichea, the Venetians sent
Wary of Skanderbeg, Venice no longer openly challenged him. Another treaty was signed in 1463, when Venice went to war with the Turks. However, no peace was made between the Ottomans and Skanderbeg until 1463, before the Ottoman-Venetian war was of the same year, who retreated to Macedonia and prepared for another invasion of Albania after their defeat at Oronichea.[25] During the Albanian-Venetian war, they had taken Svetigrad after several months of siege. Thence, they could cross into Albania uninhibited.[26][27]
References
- ^ a b Hodgkinson 1999, p. 83
- ^ a b c d e f g Fine 1994, p. 557
- ^ a b Frashëri 2002, p. 146
- ^ Francione 2003, p. 61
- ^ Francione 2003, p. 62
- ^ Franco 1539, p. 84
- ^ Hodgkinson 1999, pp. 83–84
- ^ a b Franco 1539, p. 85
- ^ Hodgkinson 1999, p. 84
- ^ a b Hodgkinson 1999, p. 85
- ^ Schmitt 2009, p. 87
- ^ Myrdal 1976, p. 48
- ^ a b c d Noli 1947, p. 40
- ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 156
- ^ O'Connell 2009, p. 124
- ^ Hodgkinson 1999, p. 86
- ^ Hodgkinson 1999, p. 87
- ^ a b Francione 2003, p. 67
- ^ Schmitt 2001, p. 490
- ^ Univerzitet u Beogradu. Filozofski fakultet (1964). Zbornik Filozofskog fakulteta, Volume 8. Belgrade: Naučno delo. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ^ a b c d Francione 2003, p. 68
- ^ Franco 1539, p. 87
- ^ a b Franco 1539, p. 88
- ^ a b Hodgkinson 1999, pp. 87–88
- ^ Noli 1947, p. 41
- ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 158
- ^ Schmitt 2009, p. 93
Sources
- Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994), The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5
- Francione, Gennaro (2003), Skenderbeu: Një hero modern (in Albanian), Shtëpia botuese "Naim Frashëri", ISBN 99927-38-75-8
- ISBN 99943-1-042-9
- Frashëri, Kristo (2002), Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu: jeta dhe vepra, 1405–1468 (in Albanian), Botimet Toena, ISBN 99927-1-627-4
- Hodgkinson, Harry (1999), Scanderbeg: From Ottoman Captive to Albanian Hero, Centre for Albanian Studies, ISBN 978-1-873928-13-4
- Myrdal, Jan (1976), ISBN 978-0-85345-356-7
- Nicol, MacGillivray Nicol (1993), The last centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-43991-4
- Noli, Fan Stilian (1947), George Castroiti Scanderbeg (1405–1468), International Universities Press, OCLC 732882
- O'Connell, Monique (2009), Men of empire: power and negotiation in Venice's maritime state, JHU Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-9145-8
- Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2001), Das venezianische Albanien (1392–1479), München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag GmbH München, ISBN 3-486-56569-9
- ISBN 978-99956-667-5-0