Battle of Oranik (1448)
First Battle of Oranik | |||||||
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Part of Albanian-Venetian War (1447-1448) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
League of Lezhë | Ottoman Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Skanderbeg | Mustafa Pasha (POW) | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
6,000 | 15,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown |
3,000 casualties Fifteen standards Twelve major officers | ||||||
The First Battle of Oranik took place during the
Background
In 1447, war broke out between Skanderbeg's League of Lezhë and the Venetians over the town of
Battle
With an army of 15,000 Ottoman soldiers, Mustafa Pasha penetrated Upper Dibra, and believing that Skanderbeg was still occupied at Dagnum, he marched quickly towards inner Albania. On the 14th of August, 1448, Skanderbeg and his army of 6,000 men surprised the Ottomans by deploying near Oranik. The Albanians proceeded to deliver a severe defeat upon the Ottoman Turks.[1][2][3][4][5]
Aftermath
The Ottomans lost 3,000 men, and a large number of Turks were taken prisoner, including Mustafa Pasha and twelve high officers. Skanderbeg pursued the fleeing Ottoman forces in order to avenge the massacres and pillages committed by Mustafa Pasha in Albania. Skanderbeg then once again headed northwards to resume his siege on Dagnum, where his absence had proved detrimental. Skanderbeg's nephew Hamza had acted recklessly by initiating a failed assault on Drisht, and in reaction to this failure, he burnt much of Drisht's surroundings. Additionally, whilst Skanderbeg was fighting the Ottomans in Oranik, the Venetians attacked Balec, which was at this time defended by Marin Spani. Due to the fact that the fortress was half-rebuilt and would have therefore been impossible to defend against a heavily numerically-superior army, Spani withdrew his troops south of the Drin river, resulting in the Venetians razing the abandoned castle.[4]
Skanderbeg learned about the loss of Balec from the captured Ottoman officers and that it was the Venetians who pushed the Ottomans to invade Albania in order to break the siege of Dagnum. The Venetians, upon hearing of the defeat of the Ottomans at Oranik, urgently wished to establish peace. Mustafa Pasha was soon ransomed for 25,000 ducats to the Ottomans.[6][4]
After months of inconclusive campaigning against the Venetians around Dagnum and Shkodër, Skanderbeg realized that he would need to reach an agreement with Venice if he wished to carry on his resistance against the Ottomans. On the 4th of October, a peace treaty was concluded between the two parties in which Dagnum and Drisht were abandoned to the Republic of Venice in exchange for a strip of territory along the Drin river and an annual payment of 1,400 ducats. Skanderbeg was also given a loan of 1,500 ducats to help John Hunyadi against the Ottoman Turks in Kosovo, as well as an annual tribute of two hundred horses loaded with salt among other commodities.[7][4]
References and notes
- ^ ISBN 978-0801891458.
- ^ a b Sula, Abdul B. (1967). Albania's Struggle for Independence. p. 22.
- ^ a b Xhufi, Pëllumb (2018). "Academy of Sciences of Albania". Studia Albanica. 55 (1): 116.
- ^ ISBN 978-0244110161.
- ISBN 9788868438371.
- ^ Scanderbeg: From Ottoman Captive to Albanian Hero by Harry Hodgkison, page 89
- ^ Elsie, Robert (1993). "Benjamin Disraeli and Scandebeg. The novel 'The Rise of Iskendar' (1833) as a contribution to Britain's literary discovery of Albania" (PDF). Südost Forschungen. 52: 25–52.
External sources
- Francione, Gennaro (2006) [2003]. Aliaj, Donika (ed.). Skënderbeu, një hero modern : (Hero multimedial) [Skanderbeg, a modern hero (Hero multimedia)] (in Albanian). Translated by Tasim Aliaj. ISBN 99927-38-75-8.