Skanderbeg

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Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg
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This article is about the Albanian national figure. For other uses, see Skanderbeg (disambiguation).

Skanderbeg
Lord of Albania
Catholicism (1443–1468)
OccupationLord of the Principality of Kastrioti, Chief military commander of
League of Lezhë
SignatureSkanderbeg's signature

Gjergj Kastrioti (c. 1405 – 17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia.

A member of the noble

sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Dibra in 1440. During the Battle of Nish in 1443, he deserted the Ottomans and became the ruler of Krujë and nearby areas extending from Petrelë to Modrič. In March 1444, he established the League of Lezhë, with support from local noblemen, and unified the small Albanian principalities
.

In 1451, through the Treaty of Gaeta, he recognized de jure the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Naples over Albania, ensuring a protective alliance, although he remained a de facto independent ruler. In 1460–61, he supported Ferdinand I of Naples (r. 1458–1494) in his wars and led an Italian expedition against John II of Anjou (r. 1453–1470). In 1463, he was earmarked to be the chief commander of the crusading forces of Pope Pius II, but the Pope died while the armies were still gathering and the greater European crusade never took place. Together with Venetians, he fought against the Ottomans during the First Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–1479) until his death.

Skanderbeg ranks high in the military history of that time as the most persistent—and ever-victorious—opponent of the Ottoman Empire during its heyday. He became a central figure in the Albanian National Awakening of the 19th century. He is honoured in modern Albania, and is commemorated with many monuments and cultural works. Skanderbeg's military skills presented a major obstacle to Ottoman expansion, and many in western Europe considered him to be a model of Christian resistance against Muslims.

Name

The Kastrioti, in comparison to other Albanian noble families, so far remain absent from historical or archival records until their first historical appearance at the end of the 14th century.

Du Cange's Historia Byzantina (1680).[5] These links highlight that the Kastrioti used Mazreku as a name that highlighted their tribal affiliation (farefisni).[6] The name Mazrek(u), which means horse breeder in Albanian, is found throughout all Albanian regions.[7]

Skanderbeg's first name was Gjergj (George) in Albanian.

Hilandar as Геѡрг and appears as Гюрьгь Кастриѡть in his later correspondence in the 1450s.[9]

The Ottoman Turks gave him the name اسکندر بگ (İskender bey or İskender beğ), meaning "Lord Alexander", or "Leader Alexander".

Latin: Dominus Albaniae ("Lord of Albania"), and claimed no other titles but that in surviving documents.[1]

Early life

There have been many theories on the place where Skanderbeg was born.

Mamica.[24]

According to the geopolitical contexts of the time, Gjon Kastrioti changed allegiances and religions when allied to Venice as a Catholic and Serbia as an Orthodox Christian.

contradictory][26] Recent historians are of the opinion that while Stanisha might have been conscripted at a young age, and had to go through the Devşirme, this was not the case with Skanderbeg, who is assumed to have been sent hostage to the Sultan by his father only at the age of 18.[27] It was customary at the time that a local chieftain, who had been defeated by the Sultan, would send one of his children to the Sultan's court, where the child would be a hostage for an unspecified time; this way, the Sultan was able to exercise control in the area ruled by the hostage's father. The treatment of the hostages was not bad. Far from being held in a prison, the hostages were usually sent to the best military schools and trained to become future military leaders.[28]

Ottoman service: 1423 to 1443

Skanderbeg and other students receiving military education in the Enderun School

Skanderbeg was sent as a hostage to the Ottoman court in Adrianople (Edirne) in 1415, and again in 1423. It is assumed that he remained at Murad II's court as iç oğlan for a maximum of three years,[27] where he received military training at Enderun School.[29]

The earliest existing record of George's name is the First Act of Hilandar from 1426, when Gjon (John) Kastrioti and his four sons donated the right to the proceeds from taxes collected from two villages in

Mavrovo and Rostuša, North Macedonia) to the Serbian monastery of Hilandar.[30] Afterwards, between 1426 and 1431,[31] Gjon Kastrioti and his sons, with the exception of Stanisha, purchased four adelphates (rights to reside on monastic territory and receive subsidies from monastic resources) to the Saint George tower and to some property within the monastery as stated in the Second Act of Hilandar. The area which the Katrioti family had donated to was referred to by the monks in Hilandar as the Arbanashki pirg or Albanian tower. Reposh Kastrioti is listed as dux illyricus or Duke of Illyria in Hilandar.[30][32]

After

Ishak Bey, and as a result, his territorial possessions were extremely reduced.[36] Later that year, Skanderbeg continued fighting for Murad II in his expeditions, and gained the title of sipahi.[37] Several scholars[who?] have assumed that Skanderbeg was given a fiefdom in Nikopol in northern Bulgaria, because a certain "Iskander bey" is mentioned in a 1430 document holding fiefs there.[38] Although Skanderbeg was summoned home by his relatives when Gjergj Arianiti and Andrew Thopia along with other chiefs from the region between Vlorë and Shkodër organized the Albanian revolt of 1432–1436, he did nothing, remaining loyal to the sultan.[39]

Skanderbeg dueling a Tatar at the Ottoman court, some time before 1439

In 1437–38,

vali. At that time, Skanderbeg was leading a cavalry unit of 5,000 men.[43]

After his brother Reposh's death on 25 July 1431[44] and the later deaths of Kostandin and Skanderbeg's father (who died in 1437), Skanderbeg and his surviving brother Stanisha maintained the relations that their father had with the Republic of Ragusa and the Republic of Venice; in 1438 and 1439, they sustained their father's privileges with those states.[38]

During the 1438–43 period, he is thought to have been fighting alongside the Ottomans in their European campaigns, mostly against the Christian forces led by

Janos Hunyadi.[38] In 1440 Skanderbeg was appointed sanjakbey of Dibra.[45][46]

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.[32]

History

Rise

Beside

Neshri, Idris Bitlisi, Ibn Kemal and Sadeddin
only mention the first revolt of the "treacherous Iskander" in 846 H. (1442–43), the campaign of Sultan Murad in 851 H. (1447–48) and the last campaign of Mehmed II in 871 H. (1466–67).

In early November 1443, Skanderbeg deserted the forces of Sultan

Petrela, Prezë, Guri i Bardhë, Sfetigrad, Modrič, and others) he raised, according to Frashëri, a red standard with a black double-headed eagle on Krujë (Albania uses a similar flag as its national symbol to this day).[52] Despite his military valor, he was only able to hold his own possessions within the very narrow area in today's northern Albania where almost all of his victories against the Ottomans took place.[53]

Skanderbeg abandoned Islam, reverted to Christianity, and ordered others who had embraced Islam or were Muslim settlers to convert to Christianity or face death.

Gondola/Gundulić merchant family had a role similar to Gazulli. Correspondence was written in Slavic, Greek, Latin, and Italian. Documents in Latin were written by notaries from Italy or Venetian territories in Albania.[57]

This widely adopted variant of the coat of arms of Skanderbeg is based on an illustration found in the 1904 book Gli Albanesi e la Questione Balkanica[58] by prominent Arberësh author and linguist Giuseppe Schirò.

In Albania, the rebellion against the Ottomans had already been smouldering for years before Skanderbeg deserted the Ottoman army.[59] In August 1443, Gjergj Arianiti again revolted against the Ottomans in the region of central Albania.[60] Under Venetian patronage,[55] on 2 March 1444, Skanderbeg summoned Albanian noblemen in the Venetian-controlled town of Lezhë and they established a military alliance known in historiography as the League of Lezhë.[61] Among those who joined the military alliance were the powerful Albanian noble families of Arianiti, Dukagjini, Muzaka, Zaharia, Thopia, Zenevisi, Dushmani and Spani, and also the Serbian nobleman Stefan Crnojević of Zeta. This was the first time that much of Albania was united under a single leader.[62]

For 25 years, from 1443 to 1468, Skanderbeg's 10,000-man army marched through Ottoman territory, winning against consistently larger and better-supplied Ottoman forces.[63] Skanderbeg 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.[64] 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,[citation needed] 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.[65] Skanderbeg occasionally had to pay tribute to the Ottomans, but only in exceptional circumstances, such as during the war with the Venetians or his travel to Italy and perhaps when he was under pressure of Ottoman forces that were too strong.[66]

In the summer of 1444, in the Plain of Torvioll, the united Albanian armies under Skanderbeg faced the Ottomans who were under direct command of the Ottoman general Ali Pasha, with an army of 25,000 men.[67] Skanderbeg had under his command 7,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry. 3,000 cavalry were hidden behind enemy lines in a nearby forest under the command of Hamza Kastrioti. At a given signal, they descended, encircled the Ottomans, and gave Skanderbeg a much needed victory. About 8,000 Ottomans were killed and 2,000 were captured.[65] Skanderbeg's first victory echoed across Europe because this was one of the few times that an Ottoman army was defeated in a pitched battle on European soil.

On 10 October 1445, an Ottoman force of 9,000–15,000[68] men under Firuz Pasha was sent to prevent Skanderbeg from moving into Macedonia. Firuz had heard that the Albanian army had disbanded for the time being, so he planned to move quickly around the Black Drin valley and through Prizren. These movements were picked up by Skanderbeg's scouts, who moved to meet Firuz.[68] The Ottomans were lured into the Mokra valley, and Skanderbeg with a force of 3,500 attacked and defeated the Ottomans. Firuz was killed along with 1,500 of his men.[69] Skanderbeg defeated the Ottomans two more times the following year, once when Ottoman forces from Ohrid suffered severe losses,[70] and again in the Battle of Otonetë on 27 September 1446.[71][72]

War with Venice: 1447 to 1448

Main article: Albanian–Venetian War
Woodcut depicting an engagement between Albanian and Ottoman forces
Skanderbeg addressing the people, 16th-century engraving by Jost Amman

At the beginning of the Albanian insurrection, the

Albanian-Venetian War of 1447–48. After various attacks against Bar and Ulcinj, along with Đurađ Branković and Stefan Crnojević,[73] and Albanians of the area, the Venetians offered rewards for his assassination.[51] The Venetians sought to overthrow or assassinate Skanderbeg by any means, even offering a life pension of 100 golden ducats annually for the person who would kill him.[72][74] During the conflict, Venice invited the Ottomans to attack Skanderbeg simultaneously from the east, facing the Albanians with a two-front conflict.[62]

On 14 May 1448, an Ottoman army led by Sultan Murad II and his son

Sfetigrad. 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. On 23 July 1448, Skanderbeg won a battle near Shkodër against a Venetian army led by Andrea Venier. In late summer 1448, due to a lack of potable water, the Albanian garrison eventually surrendered the castle with the condition of safe passage through the Ottoman besieging forces, a condition which was accepted and respected by Sultan Murad II.[75] Primary sources disagree about the reason why the besieged had problems with the water in the castle: While Barleti and Biemmi maintained that a dead dog was found in the castle well, and the garrison refused to drink the water since it might corrupt their soul, another primary source, an Ottoman chronicler, conjectured that the Ottoman forces found and cut the water sources of the castle. Recent historians mostly concur with the Ottoman chronicler's version.[76] Although his loss of men was minimal, Skanderbeg lost the castle of Sfetigrad, which was an important stronghold that controlled the fields of Macedonia to the east.[75] At the same time, he besieged the towns of Durazzo (modern Durrës) and Lezhë which were then under Venetian rule.[77] In August 1448, Skanderbeg defeated Mustafa Pasha in Dibër at the battle of Oranik. Mustafa Pasha lost 3,000 men and was captured, along with twelve high officers. Skanderbeg learned from these officers that it was the Venetians who pushed the Ottomans to invade Albania. The Venetians, upon hearing of the defeat, urged to establish peace. Mustafa Pasha was soon ransomed for 25,000 ducats to the Ottomans.[78]

On 23 July 1448, Skanderbeg crossed the

better source needed
]

One of the reasons Skanderbeg agreed to sign the peace treaty with Venice was the advance of John Hunyadi's army in Kosovo and his invitation for Skanderbeg to join the expedition against the sultan. However, the Albanian army under Skanderbeg did not participate in this battle as he was prevented from joining with Hunyadi's army.[84] It is believed that he was delayed by Đurađ Branković, then allied with Sultan Murad II, although Brankovic's exact role is disputed.[85][86][87] Skanderbeg was outraged at the fact that he had been prevented in participating in a battle which could have changed the fate of his homeland if not the entirety of the Balkan Peninsula. As a result of this he let his armies raid into Kosovo, he then set fire to Serbian villages and slaughtered their inhabitants to punish Brankovic. He then returned to Krujë towards the end of November.[84][88][89] He appears to have marched to join Hunyadi immediately after making peace with the Venetians, and to have been only 20 miles from Kosovo Polje when the Hungarian army finally broke.[90]

Siege of Krujë (1450) and its aftermath

Main article: Siege of Krujë (1450)

In June 1450, two years after the Ottomans had captured Sfetigrad, they

better source needed
]

First Siege of Krujë, 1450, woodcut by Jost Amman

During the First Siege of Krujë, the Venetian merchants from

better source needed] The Ottomans suffered 20,000 casualties during the siege,[citation needed] and many more died as Murad escaped Albania.[96] A few months later, on 3 February 1451, Murad died in Edirne and was succeeded by his son Mehmed II (r. 1451–1481).[97]

After the siege, Skanderbeg was at the end of his resources. He lost all of his possessions except Krujë. The other nobles from the region of Albania allied with Murad II as he came to save them from the oppression. Even after the sultan's withdrawal, they rejected Skanderbeg's efforts to enforce his authority over their domains.[98] Skanderbeg then traveled to Ragusa, urging for assistance, and the Ragusans informed Pope Nicholas V. Through financial assistance, Skanderbeg managed to hold Krujë and regain much of his territory. Skanderbeg's success brought praise from all over Europe and ambassadors were sent to him from Rome, Naples, Hungary, and Burgundy.[98]

Consolidation

The Ardenica Monastery, where Skanderbeg married Donika

Although Skanderbeg had achieved success in resisting Murad II himself, harvests were unproductive and famine was widespread. After being rejected by the Venetians, Skanderbeg established closer connections with King Alfonso V

better source needed
]

Skanderbeg married Donika, the daughter of Gjergj Arianiti, one of the most influential Albanian noblemen, strengthening the ties between them,[106] a month after the treaty on 21 April 1451 in the Orthodox Ardenica Monastery,[107] Their only child was Gjon Kastrioti II, however an elder daughter named Voisava is mentioned in some sources as well.[citation needed]

In 1451, Mehmed was focused on defeating the

Menteşe in the East, but it was in his intentions to return to Albania. During this brief period of rest, Skanderbeg took up the rebuilding of Krujë and erected a new fortress in Modrica in the Drin Valley near Sfetigrad (which had been lost in a 1448 siege) where Ottoman forces had previously slipped through unhindered.[108] The fortress was constructed in the heat of summer within a few months when few Ottoman posts were present. This came as a huge blow to Ottoman efforts whose Albanian operations were thus inhibited.[109]

Right after the Treaty of Gaeta, Alfonso V signed other treaties with the rest of the most important Albanian noblemen, including

ordered his first campaign against Skanderbeg. An expedition was sent under the dual-command of Tahip Pasha, the main commander, and Hamza Pasha, his subordinate, with an army of c. 25,000 men split between the two.[81]

Skanderbeg's victory over the Ottomans in the Battle of Polog, 1453

Skanderbeg gathered 14,000 men and marched against the Ottoman army.

better source needed] During this period, skirmishes between Skanderbeg and the Dukagjini family, which had been dragging on for years, were put to an end by a reconciliatory intervention of the Pope, and in 1454, a peace treaty between them was finally reached.[118]

On 22 April 1453, Mehmed sent another expedition to Albania under Ibrahim Pasha.[119] The same day, despite the storms, Skanderbeg launched a swift cavalry attack which broke into the enemy camp causing disorder and chaos.[117] Ibrahim was killed in action[119] along with 3,000 of his men. Skanderbeg's army continued looting before returning to Debar.[117] He returned triumphantly with his army with whom he had split his booty.[115] Five weeks later Mehmed II captured Constantinople, which deeply troubled the Christian states of Europe. Mehmed, by then called "the Conqueror", turned his attention to finally defeating the Kingdom of Hungary and crossing into Italy.[120]

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 promised more troops and supplies. In the beginning of 1454, Skanderbeg and the Venetians

better source needed
]

In June 1454, Ramon d'Ortafà returned to Krujë, this time with the title of viceroy of Albania, Greece, and Slavonia, with a personal letter to Skanderbeg as the

better source needed] Along with d'Ortafà, King Alfonso V also sent the clerics Fra Lorenzo da Palerino and Fra Giovanni dell'Aquila to Albania with a flag embroidered with a white cross as a symbol of the Crusade which was about to begin.[124][125] 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 citadel of Berat

The Siege of Berat, the first real test between the armies of the new sultan and Skanderbeg, ended up in an Ottoman victory.

Osum River, and almost all the 5,000 Albanian cavalry laying siege to Berat was killed.[126] Most of the forces belonged to Gjergj Arianiti, whose role as Skanderbeg's greatest support diminished after the defeat.[126]
The attitude of other Albanian nobility was also somewhat affected.

Second Battle of Oranik, 1456

Moisi Golemi defected to the Ottomans and returned to Albania in 1456 as the commander of an Ottoman army of 15,000 men, but he was defeated by Skanderbeg in the Battle of Oranik[127] and lost his territory of Debar to Skanderbeg toward the end of March 1456.[128] On 5 April 1456, Skanderbeg entered Kruja and Moisi fled to him professing his willingness to take up arms against the Ottomans, and Skanderbeg pardoned him,[128] remaining loyal until his death in 1464.[127] From time to time, Venice succeeded in stirring up Skanderbeg's relatives and weaker neighbors, who set up in opposition to him the elderly Gjergj Arianiti as "captain of all Albania" from Scutari to Durazzo in 1456, but in clan warfare Skanderbeg usually had the upper hand.[128] Skanderbeg took over possessions of the Zenevisi and the Balšić as well.[128] Skanderbeg's followers that ruled over northern Albania and all of the chieftains on both sides of the Tomor mountains remained loyal to him.[128]

Engraving of an Albanian assault on the Ottoman camp during the Battle of Albulena, 1457

In 1456, one of Skanderbeg's nephews,

Ujebardha field, halfway between Lezhë and Krujë. After having avoided the enemy for months, calmly giving to the Ottomans and his European neighbours the impression that he was defeated, on 2 September Skanderbeg attacked the Ottoman forces in their encampments and defeated them[132] killing 15,000 Ottomans, capturing 15,000 and 24 standards, and all the riches in the camp.[128] This was one of the most famous victories of Skanderbeg over the Ottomans, which led to a five-year peace treaty with Sultan Mehmed II. Hamza was captured[133] and sent to detention in Naples.[134]

After the victorious

Pope Calixtus III were intensified. The reason was that during this time, Skanderbeg's military undertakings involved considerable expense in which the contribution of Alfonso V of Aragon was not sufficient to defray.[135] 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.[135] On 23 December 1457, Calixtus III declared Skanderbeg a Captain-General of the Curia (Holy See) in the war against the Ottomans. The Pope gave him the title Athleta Christi, or Champion of Christ.[135]

Nautical chart of medieval Albania in 1455 by Bartolomeo Pareto highlights the domains under the rule of Skanderbeg.

Meanwhile, Ragusa bluntly refused 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.

Rhomaeans", a figure known in Southern Epirus, as a lieutenant in his native land.[135]

On 27 June 1458, King Alfonso V died at Naples and Skanderbeg sent emissaries to his son and successor,

Pius II suggested entrusting Skanderbeg's dominions to Venice during his Italian expedition.[citation needed
]

After

Angelina Arianiti, the sister of Skanderbeg's wife Donika.[139] Skanderbeg gave the dethroned Despot Stefan an unknown estate as appanage.[140] With Skanderbeg's recommendations, Despot Stefan moved to Italy in 1461[141] or 1466.[142]

Italian expedition: 1460 to 1462

Main article: Skanderbeg's Italian expedition
Skanderbeg's military expedition to Italy 1460–1462. The northern route was taken by himself, whereas the southern one was taken by his subordinates.

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 Ottomans.[143] In the month of September 1460, Skanderbeg dispatched a company of 500 cavalry under his nephew, Ivan Strez Balšić.[144][[[Skanderbeg's Italian expedition#{{{section}}}|contradictory]]]

"The Prince of Taranto wrote me a letter, a copy of which, and the reply I made him, I am sending to Your Majesty. I am very surprised that His Lordship should think to turn me from my intention by his brusque words, and I should like to say one thing: may God guard Your Majesty from ill and harm and danger, but however things may turn out I am the friend of virtue and not fortune."

Skanderbeg's letter to Ferdinand I of Naples.[145]

Ferdinand's main rival

Trani, he managed to defeat the Italian and Angevin forces of Orsini of Taranto, secured King Ferdinand's throne, and returned to Albania.[146][147] King Ferdinand was grateful to Skanderbeg for this intervention for the rest of his life: at Skanderbeg's death, he rewarded his descendants with the castle of Trani, and the properties of Monte Sant'Angelo and San Giovanni Rotondo.[147]

Last years

After securing Naples, Skanderbeg returned home after being informed of Ottoman movements. There were three Ottoman armies approaching Albania. The first, under the command of Sinan Pasha, was defeated at

Mokra (in Makedonski Brod).[148] Upon hearing of the defeat, Mehmed II dispatched a second army under Hasan Bey. Skanderbeg and Hasan confronted each other in Mokra where the latter was defeated and lost the majority of his forces as well as being wounded himself, he surrendered to Skanderbeg and was imprisoned.[149] The second army, under the command of Hasan bey, was defeated in Ohrid, where the Ottoman commander was captured.[148] The third Ottoman army, a force of 30,000 under Karaza bey was defeated in the region of Skopje.[148] This forced Sultan Mehmed II to agree to a 10-year armistice which was signed in April 1463 in Skopje.[148] Skanderbeg did not want peace, but Tanush Thopia's willingness for peace prevailed. Tanush himself went to Tivoli to explain to the Pope why Skanderbeg had opted for peace with Mehmed II. He pointed out that Skanderbeg would be ready to go back to war should the Pope ask for it.[148]

Skanderbeg's victory with the Venetians over the Ottomans in the Battle of Ohrid in 1464

Meanwhile, the position of Venice towards Skanderbeg had changed perceptibly because it entered

Pope Calixtus III tried before. Pius II invited all Christian nobility to join, and the Venetians immediately answered the appeal.[151] So did Skanderbeg, who on 27 November 1463 declared war on the Ottomans when a force of 14,000 was sent under the command of Şeremet bey to reinforce fortresses in the area of Ohrid.[152] Due to the upcoming crusade the Republic of Venice decided to aid Skanderbeg by sending 500 cavalry and 500 infantry under the condottiero Antonio da Cosenza, also known as Cimarosto.[153] On 14 or 15 September after luring the Ottomans out of the gates of Ohrid and feigning a retreat, Skanderbeg's forces assaulted and defeated the Ottoman garrison. Şeremet lost 10,000 men and his son was captured. The remainder of the Ottoman forces were pursued by the Albanian-Venetian ones.[154][153] 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 marshalled in Durazzo under Skanderbeg's leadership and would have formed the central front against the Ottomans. However, 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.[151]

Oldest illustration of Skanderbeg. A miniature included in De Romanorum magistratibus, sacerdotiisque Romanorum of Lucio Fenestella (pseudonym of Andrea Domenico Fiocco [it]), first printed in 1475.

In April 1465, at the

Vladan Gjurica, Skanderbeg's nephew Muzaka, and 18 other officers.[151] These were immediately sent to Constantinople where they were skinned alive for fifteen days and later cut to pieces and thrown to the dogs. Skanderbeg's pleas to have them back, by either ransom or prisoner exchange, failed.[151] 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 Ottomans were defeated. This time, all Ottoman prisoners were slain in an act of revenge for the previous execution of Albanian captains.[74] The other Ottoman army, under the command of Jakup Bey, was also defeated some days later in Kashari field near Tirana.[74]

Second Siege of Krujë and its aftermath (1466–67)

Main article:
Siege of Krujë (1466–67)

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 16 years earlier.[156] The town was defended by a garrison of 4,400 men, led by Prince Tanush Thopia. 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.[156] 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.[156]

Skanderbeg Museum in Krujë

In 1466, on his return trip to Istanbul, Mehmed II expatriated Dorotheos, the Archbishop of Ohrid and his clerks and boyars because of their anti-Ottoman activities and collaboration with rebels from Albania during Skanderbeg's rebellion.[157][158]

Skanderbeg spent the following winter of 1466–67 in Italy, of which several weeks were spent 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 Ottomans.[159] 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. However, it is probably better to say that Skanderbeg financed and equipped his troops largely from local resources, richly supplemented by Ottoman booty.[160] 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 20 men over the whole period of conflict.[160]

Mehmed
II.

However, on his return he allied with

arquebusier[65][148] named George Aleksi.[161]

With the death of Ballaban, Ottoman forces were left surrounded and according to Bernandino de Geraldinis, a Neapolitan functionary, 10,000 men remained in the besieging camp. Those inside the encirclement asked to leave freely to Ottoman territory, offering to surrender all that was within the camp to the Albanians. Skanderbeg was prepared to accept, but many nobles refused.

Vettore Capello into the Aegean. Capello attacked and occupied the islands of Imbros and Lemnos after which he sailed back and laid siege to Patras. Ömer Bey, the Ottoman commander in Greece, led a relief force to Patras where he was initially repelled before turning on his pursuers, forcing them to flee, ending their campaign.[166]

After these events, Skanderbeg's forces besieged Elbasan but failed to capture it because of the lack of artillery and sufficient number of soldiers.[167]

The death of Skanderbeg – 16th-century German engraving

The destruction of Ballaban Pasha's army and the siege of Elbasan forced Mehmed II to march against Skanderbeg again in the summer of 1467. Skanderbeg retreated to the mountains while Ottoman

third Siege of Krujë, to take the city and subjugate the country, but the degree of destruction was immense.[169]

During the 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 to restructure what remained from the League of Lezhë. During that period, Skanderbeg fell ill – either with malaria, or, it was rumored, from poison[170] – and died on 17 January 1468, aged 62.[167]

Aftermath

In Western Europe, the death of Skanderbeg was mourned by princes and other rulers such as Ferdinand I.[171] In a condolence letter written to Skanderbeg's widow dated 24 February 1468, Ferdinand expressed pain of having lost his friend and promised assistance to Skanderbeg's family.[172][171][173] During Skanderbeg's lifetime, his assistance to King Alphonse I by sending troops to quell an uprising and later his expedition to suppress a revolt on behalf of King Ferdinand led to Albanian mercenaries and other soldiers being allowed by the Neapolitan monarchs to settle villages in Southern Italy.[174] With the death of Skanderbeg and the conquest of his domains by the Ottomans, Albanian leaders and other Albanians found refuge in the Kingdom of Naples.[174] These events and migrations contributed to the formation of the Arbëresh community and many of their settlements in southern Italy that still exist in the modern era.[174]

Petrela, woivodate of "Terra nuova" of Kruje (unknown position), territory between Kruje and Durrës and villages in the region of Bushnesh (today part of the Kodër-Thumanë municipality).[177] Venice largely conceded to the wishes of Ivan Balšić and installed him as Skanderbeg's successor.[178]

After Skanderbeg's death, Venice asked and obtained from his widow the permission to defend Krujë and the other fortresses with Venetian garrisons.

Progon Dukagjini and around 150–200 stratioti, went to Lezhë and organized a local uprising, but that too was unsuccessful.[183]
The Venetians evacuated Durazzo in 1501.

In 1594, there was a new attempt to liberate Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Albanian leaders gathered in Lezhë to plan a new revolt with the help of Pope Clement VII. But the Pope never sent his help, and the 40 thousand Albanian soldiers stopped their attempt.[184][185] After the fall of Albania to the Ottomans the

San Pietro in Galatina and the County of Soleto in the Province of Lecce, Italy.[187] His son, Gjon Kastrioti II, married Jerina Branković, daughter of Serbian despot Lazar Branković and one of the last descendants of the Palaiologos.[187] There are two patrilineal branches of the Kastrioti family that exist today: the branch of Lecce with two sub-branches and the branch of Naples with one sub-branch. Both branches are patrilineally descended from the sons of Ferrante (–1561), Duke of Galatina and Count of Spoleto.[188]

Physical appearance and personality

He was described as “tall and slender with a prominent chest, wide shoulders, long neck, and high forehead. He had black hair, fiery eyes, and a powerful voice.”[189]

Rather than challenge or break him, the brutal Janissary training young Skanderbeg was subjected to only complemented what was already in his soul: a penchant for war. Before being taken hostage, in his youth as an adolescent, he used to “vigorously train himself on the crest of Mount Croya or elsewhere. Come blizzard or frozen hell, he would then choose to sleep over improvised beds of snow. In the scorching heat of summer, he would again and again keep hardening himself like an invincible guerilla [fighter].”[190]

Accounts of his legendary strength state that his sword swing could, like Godfrey of Bouillon, cleave a man or animal in two.[191]

Marin Barletius, a contemporary and chief biographer of Skanderbeg, provides one of the earliest descriptions of him. After a Tatar who was envious of a young 21 year old Skanderbeg's growing reputation at the Ottoman court challenged him to a duel to the death, the Albanian stripped to his waist and warned his boastful contender not to violate the rules of honor:[192]

Scanderbeg, both by voice and countenance, betrayed a wonderful resolution and assurance. And the [Ottoman] audience was impressed with his manly perfection. His arms looked as if nothing like them had ever been seen. His neck was strong and somewhat bending, such as possessed by wrestlers. His shoulders were big and marvelously spread. The color of his visage was fair and white…. And the cast of his eyes was straight and pleasant, without any blemish or imperfection…. Like Alexander the Great, he was built like a giant. Physically he was invincible.

During their match, Skanderbeg struck off his opponent's head with a sword swing and held aloft the severed trophy before Murad, thereby winning the sultan’s favor.[193][194]

Legacy

The secret seal of Skanderbeg was likely made of a precious stone, a sort of engraved gem molded into a ring. It shows the mythological Aetolian princess Leda wearing a phrygian cap – similar to the one seen in a 1584 portrait of Skanderbeg by french author André Thevet[195] – with her back exposed and gently lifting her gown, while sitting upright next to the Zeus of Dodona in the form of a swan. The seal is thought to have been used around the year 1459.[196]

The Ottoman Empire's expansion ground to a halt during the time that Skanderbeg's forces resisted. He has been credited with being one of the main reasons for the delay of Ottoman expansion into

Hunyadi and his Hungarian forces.[198] Skanderbeg is considered today a commanding figure not only in the national consciousness of Albanians but also of 15th-century European history.[199] According to archival documents, there is no doubt that Skanderbeg had already achieved a reputation as a hero in his own time.[200] 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 Ottomans meant that none of Skanderbeg's victories permanently hindered the Ottomans from invading the Western Balkans.[200][201] He was greatly admired for this.[202]

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.[85][203] Skanderbeg's struggle against the Ottomans became highly significant to the Albanian people. Among the Arberesh (Italo-Albanians) the memory of Skanderbeg and his exploits was maintained and survived through songs, in the form of a Skanderbeg cycle.[204] During the Albanian National Awakening, Skanderbeg also became a central symbol to the emerging Albanian nationalism of late 19th century, and a symbol of cultural affinity with Europe. For the Albanians, Skanderbeg symbolised the sacrifice of their people in defending Europe from the Ottomans.[205][206] It strengthened Albanian solidarity, made them more conscious of their identity, and was a source of inspiration in their struggle for national unity, freedom, and independence.[207] Contemporary Muslim Albanians deemphasize the (Christian) religious heritage of Skanderbeg by viewing him as a defender of the nation and he is promoted as an Albanian symbol of Europe and the West.[208]

The trouble Skanderbeg gave the Ottoman Empire's military forces was such that when the Ottomans found the grave of Skanderbeg in the church of St. Nicholas in Lezhë, they opened it and made

21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian) in 1944, composed of 6,491 Kosovo Albanian recruits.[213]

  • Skanderbeg's mausoleum (former Selimie Mosque and St. Nicolas' Church) in Lezhë
    Skanderbeg's mausoleum (former
    Selimie Mosque and St. Nicolas' Church) in Lezhë
  • Honoring the Albanian National Hero, Scanderbeg. Albanians at the Tomb of Scanderbeg on His Death Day. Drawn by R. Caton Woodville, 17 January 1908.
    Honoring the Albanian National Hero, Scanderbeg. Albanians at the Tomb of Scanderbeg on His Death Day. Drawn by R. Caton Woodville, 17 January 1908.
  • A bust of Skanderbeg on Inverness Terrace, Paddington, London where there is a sizeable Albanian community. The bust was unveiled in 2012 on the 100th anniversary of Albanian independence
    A bust of Skanderbeg on Inverness Terrace, Paddington, London where there is a sizeable Albanian community. The bust was unveiled in 2012 on the 100th anniversary of Albanian independence

In literature and art

Main article:
Skanderbeg in literature and art
Sketch portrait of Skanderbeg by Rembrandt (1625–1647)

There are two known works of literature written about Skanderbeg which were produced in the 15th century. The first was written at the beginning of 1480 by

Ottoman Army.[218]

Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi, Epirotarum principis by Marin Barleti

Skanderbeg gathered quite a posthumous reputation in Western Europe. In the 16th and 17th centuries, most of the Balkans were under the suzerainty of the Ottomans who were

St. Stephan. Barleti dedicated his work to Don Ferrante Kastrioti, Skanderbeg's grandchild, and to posterity. The book was first published in Latin.[219] Barleti 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.[220] He made up spurious correspondence between Vladislav II of Wallachia and Skanderbeg wrongly assigning it to the year 1443 instead of to the year of 1444, and also invented correspondence between Skanderbeg and Sultan Mehmed II to match his interpretations of events.[221]

Portrait of George Castriota Skanderbeg, by Kolë Idromeno (1890)

Flavius Aetius, John Hunyadi, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Alexander Farnese, and William the Silent.[223] Ludvig Holberg, a Danish writer and philosopher, claimed that Skanderbeg was one of the greatest generals in history.[224]

The Italian

Prenkë Jakova composed a third opera, entitled Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu, which premiered in 1968 for the 500th anniversary of the hero's death.[226]

Flag of Skanderbeg by Hieronymus Henninges (1598)

Skanderbeg is the protagonist of three 18th-century British tragedies:

Ronsard wrote a poem about him, as did the 19th-century American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.[228] Gibbon
, the 18th-century historian, held Skanderbeg in high regard with panegyric expressions.

Fan S. Noli and Athanase Gegaj) had not discovered and used as source in their works.[231]

Skanderbeg is also mentioned by the Prince-Bishop of Montenegro,

Matica Srpska Jovan Subotić wrote an epic poem inspired by battles led by Skenderbeg.[236]

The first poetic work on Skanderbeg in the Albanian language was composed by N. Frasheri and published in 1898.[237]

The Great Warrior Skanderbeg (Albanian: Skënderbeu, Russian: Великий воин Албании Скандербег), a 1953 Albanian-Soviet biographical film, earned an International Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival.[238] The film was re-recorded and updated for high-definition for the 100th anniversary of Albanian independence.

Skanderbeg monument in Tirana's main square.

Skanderbeg's memory has been engraved in many museums, such as the

Tirana (in Skanderbeg Square by Odhise Paskali),(in and outside Skanderbeg Museum by Janaq Paço) Krujë, and Peshkopi. A palace in Rome in which Skanderbeg resided during his 1466–67 visits to the Vatican is still called Palazzo Skanderbeg and currently houses the Italian museum of pasta:[239] the palace is located in Piazza Scanderbeg, between the Fontana di Trevi and the Quirinal Palace. Also in Rome, a statue by florentine sculptor Romano Romanelli 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, in North Macedonia; Pristina, in Kosovo; Geneva, in Switzerland; Brussels, in Belgium; London, in England; 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 Church in Rochester Hills, Michigan. It is the first statue of Skanderbeg to be erected in the United States.[240]

His name is also commemorated in

Order of Skanderbeg.[citation needed
]

See also

Explanatory notes

Citations

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  2. ^ Omari 2014, p. 46.
  3. ^ Bela 2019, p. 229.
  4. ^ Omari 2014, p. 44
  5. ^ Malaj 2013, p. 43
  6. ^ Malaj 2013, p. 44
  7. ^ Malaj 2013, p. 45.
  8. ^ Demiraj 2008, p. 491.
  9. ^ Ndreca 2019, p. 66.
  10. ^ a b Hodgkinson 2005, p. 1.
  11. ^ Hasluck 2015, p. 15: "—both Lek and Skander are Albanian forms of Alexander—"
  12. ^ Rosser 2001, p. 363.
  13. ^ Frashëri 2002, pp. 54–62.
  14. ^ Frashëri 2002, pp. 62–66.
  15. ^ Frashëri 2002, pp. 72–77.
  16. ^ Anamali 2002, p. 335.
  17. ^ a b c Myhill 2006, p. 232.
  18. ^ Elsie 2010b, p. 398.
  19. ^ Schmitt 2009, pp. 44–45.
  20. ^
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  21. ^ Petrovski, Boban (2006). "Воисава Трибалда" [Voisava Tribalda] (PDF) (in Macedonian). Skopje.
  22. ^ Strashimir Dimitrov: Георги Кастриоти-Скендербег и неговата освободителна борба, В: Г. Кастриоти Скендербег 1468–1968 г. София, сп. "Балкани", БАН, No2, 1970, стр. 11: "It is known that his mother, Voisava, was of Slavic-Bulgarian origin, daughter of the lord of Polog, which is part of Macedonia and Bulgaria", says one anonymous Venetian chronicle...", cited by Antonina Zhelyazkova in "Albanian Identities, International Centre for Minority Studiesand Intercultural Relations (IMIR)" (PDF).
  23. ^ Hopf, Karl (1873). Chroniques gréco-romanes: inédites ou peu connues, pub. avec notes et tables généalogiques.
  24. ^ a b Anamali 2002, p. 341.
  25. ^ Fine 1994, p. 422.
  26. ^ Glassé 2008, p. 129.
  27. ^ a b Frashëri 2002, p. 86.
  28. ^ Zilfi 2010, p. 101.
  29. ISBN 978-0-299-10744-4
    . Retrieved 19 June 2013. Kastriota had been sent from Albania as a hostage to the sultan's court and trained at the military academy of Enderum in Adrianople
  30. ^ a b Frashëri 2002, pp. 86–92.
  31. OCLC 29549273
    , Повеља није датирана ... Стога ће бити најбоље да се за датум издавања ове повеље задржи временски оквир између 1426. и 1431. године ... This act was not dated ... Therefore it is best to assume that it was issued ... between 1426 and 1431.
  32. ^ a b c d Anamali 2002, p. 342.
  33. Gibb, Sir Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen; Lewis, Bernard; Pellat, Charles; Joseph Schacht (1973). The Encyclopaedia of Islam
    . Brill. p. 139. The son, raised in the pallace as ic-oglani, was according to the procedure of çıkma,... granted a timar near the territories of had a timar near his fathers' territories (Yuvan-eli)...
  34. Gibb, Sir Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen; Lewis, Bernard; Pellat, Charles; Joseph Schacht (1973). The Encyclopaedia of Islam
    . Brill. p. 139. ...who, in Radjab 831 April 1428, informed Venice of his growing anxiety that his Muslim son would be ordered by the sultan to occupy his territory.
  35. ^ Elsie 2010b, p. 399.
  36. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 98.
  37. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 99.
  38. ^ a b c d Anamali 2002, p. 343.
  39. ^ Fine 1994, p. 535.
  40. ^ İnalcık 1995, p. 76.
  41. ^ İnalcık 1995, p. 77.
  42. ^ Studia Albanica (in French). Vol. 8. L'Institut. 1971. p. 116. Dans deux de ces notes Skanderbeg est mentionné par le titre bey (Juvan oglu Iskender bey), et elles ont été datées par H. Inalcik en 1437/8, au contraire, dans la troisième note marginale, datée en mai 1438, Skanderbeg figure sans le titre de bey, tout comme sur le document dresse par le sandjakbey Mustapha.
  43. ^ Francione 2003, p. 15.
  44. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 92.
  45. ^ Zhelyazkova, Antonina. "Albanian identities". Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2016. In 1440, he was promoted to sancakbey of Debar
  46. ISBN 978-0-8448-0072-1
    . Retrieved 4 April 2011.
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  48. ^ a b Gegaj 1937, p. 120
  49. ^ Drizari 1968, p. 1.
  50. ^ Setton 1976, p. 72.
  51. ^ a b Fine 1994, p. 559.
  52. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 212.
  53. ^ Donald Edgar Pitcher (1972). An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire: From Earliest Times to the End of the Sixteenth Century. Brill Archive. p. 88. Yet in spite of this brilliance in the field, Castriota could do no more than hold his own; reference to the map will show that apart from the Uskiip campaign all these victories took place within the very narrow area of North Albania. ... Nor did the constant victories rob the Ottomans of the territory they held in southern Albania.
  54. ^ Ramet 1998, p. 209. "This happened in 1443 when Gjergj Kastrioti (called Skenderbeg), who had been reared as a Muslim in the sultan's palace, abandoned the Islamic faith and publicly reverted to the creed of his forefathers. But this conversion was not merely a public gesture of defiance. It was the first act in a revolutionary drama. For, after changing his religious allegiance, Skanderbeg demanded that Muslim colonists and converts alike embrace Christianity on pain of death, declaring a kind of holy war against the sultan/caliph."
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  56. ^ Ajeti 1969, p. 226.
  57. ^ Schmitt Oliver Jens, "Skanderbeg et les Sultans", Turcica, 43 (2011) pp. 68, 69.
  58. ^ Schiró, Giuseppe (1904). Gli Albanesi e la Questione Balkanica. Istituto Orientale di Napoli.
  59. Bury, John Bagnell; Whitney, James Pounder; Tanner, Joseph Robson; Charles William Previté-Orton; Zachary Nugent Brooke (1966). The Cambridge Medieval History
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  60. ^ Jireček, Konstantin (1923). Istorija Srba. Izdavačka knjižarnica G. Kona. p. 147. Искусни вођа Арнит (Арианит) поче у средњој Албанији већ у августу 1443 године поново борбу против турака.
  61. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 135.
  62. ^ a b Fine 1994, p. 557.
  63. ^ Housley 1992, p. 90.
  64. ^ Stavrianos 1958, p. 64.
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  66. ^ Momčilo Spremić (1968). Zbornik Filozofskog fakulteta. Naučno delo. p. 257. Retrieved 11 September 2013. Ђурађ Кастриот је био велики борац против Турака, али је ипак с времена на време морао да плаћа харач султану. Додуше он је то чинио само у изузетним приликама: или у време жестоких сукоба са млетачком републиком или када је напуштао родни крај и одлазио у Италију, или можда када притиснут огромном турском силом ни на који други начин
  67. ^ Noli 1947, p. 21.
  68. ^ a b Hodgkinson 1999, p. 81.
  69. ^ Francione 2003, p. 310.
  70. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 144.
  71. ^ Frashëri 1964, p. 72.
  72. ^ a b Myrdal 1976, p. 48.
  73. ^ Schmitt 2001, p. 302.
  74. ^ a b c d e Noli 1947, p. 40.
  75. ^ a b Hodgkinson 1999, p. 102.
  76. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 158.
  77. ^ Hodgkinson 1999, p. 85.
  78. ^ Hodgkinson 1999, p. 89.
  79. ^ Schmitt 2001, p. 490.
  80. ^ Franco 1539, p. 88.
  81. ^ a b c d e Francione 2003, p. 105.
  82. ^ Marković 2004, p. 207

    Već 1448. posredovao je u sklapanju mira u sukobu između Mletačke Republike i Skenderbega, koji je pustošio okolinu Bara i Ulcinja [...] U ime Skenderbega nudio je 1450. godine Mlečanima Kroju [...] Kako je Pelinović od 1453–1456. bio i apostolski pronotar,171 sastavljao je Skenderbegove povelje
  83. ^ a b c Noli 1947, p. 100.
  84. ^ a b Frashëri 2002, pp. 160–161.
  85. ^ a b Sedlar 1994, p. 393.
  86. ^ Babinger 1992, p. 40.
  87. ISBN 978-0-404-56332-5
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  88. ^ Ciriacono, Salvatore (15 October 2014). "Scanderbeg tra storia e storiografia" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2020. «Indignato per non aver potuto correre in aiuto di Hunyadi, in una guerra che forse poteva mutare il destino dell'Albania e dell'intera penisola balcanica, Scanderbeg corse per la Serbia saccheggiandola e mettendola a ferro e fuoco, per punire il krajl infedele. Se ne tornò poi a Croia, amareggiato, verso la fine di novembre»
  89. ^ Setton 1978, p. 100

    Scanderbeg intended to go "peronalmente" with an army to assist Hunyadi, but was prevented from doing so by Branković, whose lands he ravaged as punishment for the Serbian desertion of the Christian cause.
  90. ^ Malcolm, Noel. Kosovo: A Short History, 1998, pp 89–90
  91. ^ Francione 2003, p. 88.
  92. ^ Setton 1976, p. 101: "among whom were Slavs, Germans, Italians and others"
  93. ^ Babinger 1992, p. 60: "including many Slavs, Italians, Frenchmen and Germans"
  94. ^ a b c Noli 1947, p. 25.
  95. ^ Setton 1978, p. 101

    While the Venetians of Scutari sold food to the Turks, those of Durazzo aided the Albanians
  96. ^ Francione 2003, p. 94.
  97. ^ Setton 1975, p. 272.
  98. ^ a b Setton 1978, p. 102.
  99. ^ Božić 1979, p. 370

    ... и напуљског краља Алфонса, за кога ce, одбијен од Млечана, тесно везао ...
  100. ^ Babinger 1992, p. 151.
  101. ^ Frashëri 2002, pp. 310–316.
  102. ^ Marinesco 1923, p. 59.
  103. ^ Fine 1994, pp. 558–559.
  104. ^ Gegaj 1937, p. 92.
  105. ^ Frashëri 2002, pp. 320–321.
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  108. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 320.
  109. ISBN 978-99956-667-5-0
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  122. ^ ASM, Carteggio gen. Sforzasco, ad annum 1454.[full citation needed]
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  124. ^ Jorga 1908–1913, p. 46.
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  130. ^ a b Zbornik Odsjeka za Povijesne Znanosti Zavoda za Povijesne i Društvene Znanosti Hrvatske Akademije Znanosti i Umjetnosti. HAZU. 1999. p. 169. ...1456 rođen je princ Gjon Kastrioti, Skenderbegov sin ... Hamza ... pobjegao je kod sultana Mehmeda II 1456 godine...
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  132. ^ Noli 1947, p. 53.
  133. ^ Frashëri 1964, p. 80.
  134. ^ Anamali 2002, pp. 367–368.
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  141. ^ Samardžić, Radovan (1892). Istorija srpskog naroda: Doba borbi za očuvanje i obnovu države 1371–1537. Srpska knjiiževna zadruga. p. 375. ...Већ почетком 1461 отишао је са Скендербеговом препоруком у Италију.
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  144. ^ a b c Anamali 2002, p. 387.
  145. ^ Translated version provided by Hodgkinson 1999, pp. 163–164
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  147. ^ a b Frashëri 2002, pp. 370–390.
  148. ^ a b c d e f Noli 1947, p. 35.
  149. ^ Franco 1480, p. 329.
  150. ^ Noli 1947, pp. 35–36.
  151. ^ a b c d Noli 1947, p. 36.
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  153. ^ a b Frashëri 2002, p. 418.
  154. ^ Franco 1480, p. 337.
  155. ^ İnalcık 1995, p. 88. "Balaban Aga, qui a accordé des timar à ses propres soldats dans la Basse- Dibra et dans la Çermeniça, ainsi qu'à son neveu à Mati, doit être ce même Balaban Aga, sancakbeyi d'Ohrid, connu pour ses batailles sanglantes contre Skanderbeg."
  156. ^ a b c Babinger 1992, pp. 251–253.
  157. OCLC 276645834
    , retrieved 26 December 2011, deportation of the Archbishop of Ohrid, Dorotei, to Istanbul in 1466, together with other clerks and bolyars who probably were expatriated be-cause of their anti Ottoman acts during the Skender-Bey's rebellion.
  158. ISBN 978-9989613562
    . ...Една година подоцна, по неуспешниот обид да ја освои Албанија, Мехмед Втори на враќање, во Охрид, сомневајќи се дека црквата, болјарите и, веројатно, граѓаните, шуруваат со останатите Албанци, го сменил охридскиот архиепископ Доротеј и за нов епископ го наименувал Гркот Марк Ксилокаров. Имотот на оние Македонци што ги депортирал во Анадолија им бил одземен и разделен на новодојдените Турци.
  159. ^ Setton 1978, p. 282.
  160. ^ a b Housley 1992, p. 91.
  161. ^ Drizari 1968, p. 85.
  162. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 451.
  163. ^ Noli 1947, p. 333.
  164. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 455.
  165. ^ a b Frashëri 2002, p. 456.
  166. ISBN 978-1-59020-248-7
    .
  167. ^ a b c d e f Noli 1947, p. 38.
  168. ^ Stavrides 2001, pp. 163–164

    When the Ottoman army arrived Skanderbeg took refuge in Albanian mountains. Mehmed II sent Mahmud Pasha to the mountains, together with the most experienced part of the army, in order to pursue Skanderbeg, while he himself ravaged the rest of the land ... The Grand Vezier spent fifteen days in the mountains, ... However, they did not find Skanderbeg, who had managed to flee to the coast
  169. ^ Stavrides 2001, p. 163

    ...  taking much booty and many prisoners ... Mehmed II after ravaging the rest of the land, went to Kruje and besieged it for several days. When he realized that it would not be taken by assault, he decided to return ...
  170. ^ Volaterranus 1603, p. 295

    ...  Romam deinde cum venisset, mox domum remeauit, vbi paruo post tempore veneno absumptus dicitur. ...
  171. ^ a b Albania rivista mensile di politica, economia, scienze e lettere. Libreria e Rivisteria Ferraguti. 1940. p. 25. La sua morte, abbiam detto, gettò nel lutto la cristianità poichè i Principi di Europa perdevano con Scanderbeg l'uomo che permetteva loro di guardare con tranquillità alle vicende dell'Europa Orientale. Per Ferdinando invece il dolore fu profondo e disinteressato: egli perdeva l'amico della buona e della cattiva ventura. La lettera di condoglianze che fece rimettere alla vedova del Castriota non è certo un capolavoro di stile,...
  172. ^ Archivio storico di Malta. R. Giusti. 1929. p. 252. E che questa sia la data vera lo dimostra la lettera di condoglianze scritta da Re Ferdinando I di Napoli alla vedova dello Scanderbeg, lettera che porta appunto la data del 24 febbraio 1468.
  173. ^ Escusione storico-etnografica noi passi slavi della Provincia di Campobasso. Tip. d. R. Accad. d. Scienze fis. e mat. 1875. p. 7. Ma in una lettera del 24 febb. 1468 il re promette alla vedova di lui «non solamente li lassaremo quello che ce avemo donato, ma quando bisogno fosse li donaremo delli altri nostri beni»
  174. ^ a b c Nasse 1964, pp. 24–26.
  175. ^ Schmitt 2005, p. 167. "...Ivan Strez Balsics, des von Venedig anerkannten Nachfolgers Skanderbegs,..."
  176. ^ Schmitt 2001, p. 297

    die Skanderbegs Personlichkeit gelassen hatte, nicht zu füllen. Deshalb muste Venedig wie in den Jahrzehnten vor Skanderbeg mit einer Vielzahl von Adligen zusammenarbeiten; neben Leka, Progon und Nikola Dukagjin gehörten zu dieser Schicht auch Comino Araniti, wohl derselbe, der 1466 Durazzo überfallen hatte; die Söhne von Juani Stexi, di Johann Balsha, Machthaber zwischen Alessio und Kruja; Gojko Balsha und seine söhne der woiwode Jaran um Kruja (1477), und auch der mit seinem Erbe überforderte Johann Kastriota.
  177. ^ Schmitt 2005, p. 168. "Ivan Strez Balsa, ein Neffe Skanderbegs, verlangte dabei seinen enteigneten Besitz zurück, und zwar die Burg Petrela, das nicht weiter zu lokalisierende Woiwodat von "Terra nuova" um Kruja (kaum gemeint sein kann das ebenfalls als Terra nuova bezeichnete osmanische Elbasan), die Dörfer des Gebietes von "Bonese" (Bushnesh, WNW von Kruja gelegen), schließlich das Land zwischen Kruja und Durazzo."
  178. ^ Schmitt 2005, p. 168. "Tatsächlich kam Venedig den Wünschen Ivan Strezs weitgehend entgegen und setzte ihn damit zum Nachfolger Skanderbegs ein. [Venice largely conceded to the wishes of Ivan Strezs and installed him as Scanderbeg's successor]"
  179. ^ a b Anamali 2002, pp. 411–412.
  180. ^ Anamali 2002, pp. 411–413.
  181. ^ Anamali 2002, pp. 413–416.
  182. ^ Anamali 2002, pp. 416–417.
  183. ^ Anamali 2002, pp. 417–420.
  184. ^ Kuvendi i Shënmërisë, 1594, Radio Vatikani, 2009
  185. ^ Revista Leka (1935–1936), Shkodër. Guiseppe Valentini
  186. ^ Gibbon 1901, p. 467.
  187. ^ a b Runciman 1990, pp. 183–185.
  188. ^ "Official genealogical tree of the Kastrioti family". Castriota-Scanderbeg.
  189. ISBN 9780979630101
    .
  190. ^ Scanderbeg; His Life, Correspondence, Orations, Victories, and Philosophy. National Press. 1968.
  191. ISBN 9780307430748
    .
  192. ^ Scanderbeg; His Life, Correspondence, Orations, Victories, and Philosophy. National Press. 1968.
  193. ^ "Scanderbeg's battle with a Tartar swordsman". akg-images. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  194. ^ "Saber Combat: Turkey, 1436". 4 October 2011.
  195. ^ Thevet, André (1584). Les Vrais Poutraits et Vies des Hommes. Paris: Veuve Kerver & Guillaume Chaudiere. p. 304.
  196. ^ Pilika, Dhimitri (2005). Pellazgët: origjina jonë a mohuar. Tiranë: Botimet Enciklopedike. p. 448.
  197. ^ Lane–Poole 1888, p. 135.
  198. ^ Sedlar 1994, p. 396.
  199. ^ Hodgkinson 2005, p. ix.
  200. ^ a b c Hodgkinson 2005, p. xii.
  201. ^ Donald Edgar Pitcher (1968). An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire: From Earliest Times to the End of the Sixteenth Century. Brill. p. 88.
  202. ^ Frazee 2006, p. 33.
  203. ^ Hodgkinson 2005, p. xiii.
  204. ^ Skendi, Stavro (1968). "Skenderbeg and Albanian Consciousness". Südost Forschungen. 27: 83–84. "The memory of the Albanian national hero was maintained vividly among the Albanians of Italy, those who emigrated to Calabria and Sicily, following his death.... Living compactly in Christian territory, though in separate communities, the Italo-Albanians have preserved the songs about Skenderbeg and his exploits which their ancestors had brought from the mother country. Today one may even speak of the existence of a Skenderbeg cycle among them if one takes into account also the songs on other Albanian heroes who surrounded him."
  205. ISBN 0253341892
  206. ISBN 978-3030051921
  207. ^ Kabashi, Artemida (2007). "Creation of Albanian National Identity". Balkanistica. 20. Slavica Publishers: 63. The story of Scanderbeg ... rests at the heart of the Albanian nation, because it marks the creation of national identity for the Albanian people and their desire for freedom.
  208. ^ Endresen 2015, pp. 57–58, 69.
  209. ^ Gibbon 1901, p. 466.
  210. ^ Cohen 2003, p. 151.
  211. ^ Willson 1909, p. 296.
  212. ISBN 978-0-16-084826-1
    . Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  213. ^ Elsie 2010a, p. 261.
  214. ^ Zbornik Matice srpske za književnost i jezik (in Serbian). Novi Sad: Matica srpska. 1991. p. 91. Retrieved 2 April 2012. Мартина Сегона, по сопственој изјави "српског писца"
  215. ^ Zgodovinski časopis. Vol. 54. Zgodovinsko društvo za Slovenijo. 2000. p. 131. Martin Segon je eden najvidnejših humanistov s konca 15. stoletja.
  216. ^ Studi storici (in Italian). Istituto storico italiano per il medio evo. 1980. pp. 142–145. Narrazioni di Giorgio Castriotto, da i Turchi nella lingua loro chiamato Scander beg, cioe Alesandro Magno
  217. ^ Unvollständiger Textenwurf zur Diskussion am 2012 (PDF). p. 9. Retrieved 2 April 2012. Martinus Segonus verfasste eine der frühesten "Landeskunden" des spätmittelalterlichen Balkans und eine kurze, aber sehr wichtige biographische Skizze zu Skanderbeg[dead link]
  218. ^ Živanović, Đorđe. "Konstantin Mihailović iz Ostrovice". Predgovor spisu Konstantina Mihailovića 'Janičarove uspomene ili turska hronika' (in Serbian). Projekat Rastko, Poljska. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011. Taj rukopis je ... postao pre 1500. godine, a po svoj prilici još za vlade Kazimira Jagjelovića (1445–1492) ... Kao što smo već rekli, Konstantin Mihailović je negde između 1497. i 1501. napisao jedino svoje književno delo, koje je sačuvano u raznim prepisima sve do naših dana ... delo napisano verovatno između 1490. i 1497, i to zbog toga što se u njemu Matija Korvin spominje kao već mrtav, a poljski kralj Jan Olbraht kao živ.
  219. ^ Minna Skafte Jensen (2006). "A Heroic Tale: Edin Barleti's Scanderbeg between orality and literacy". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011.
  220. ^ Gibbon 1901, p. 465.
  221. ^ Setton 1976, p. 73.
  222. ^ Georgius Castriotus Epirensis, vulgo Scanderbegh. Per Franciscum Blancum, De Alumnis Collegij de Propaganda Fide Episcopum Sappatensem etc. Venetiis, Typis Marci Ginammi, MDCXXXVI (1636).
  223. ^ Temple 1705, pp. 285–286.
  224. OCLC 312532589
  225. ^ Del Brebner (1 March 1986). "The Scanderberg Operas by Vivaldi and Francouer". The Frosina Information Network. Archived from the original on 17 February 2005.
  226. ISBN 978-0-415-05928-2
  227. ^ Havard, 1733, Scanderbeg, A Tragedy; Lillo, 1735, The Christian Hero; Whincop, 1747, Scanderbeg, Or, Love and Liberty.
  228. ^ Longfellow 1880, pp. 286–296.
  229. ^ a b Frashëri 2002, p. 9.
  230. ^ Frashëri 2002, p. 10.
  231. ^ Setton 1978, p. 102

    Unfortunately Athanase Gegaj ... had not discovered that the "Anonymous of Antivari" was an invention of Biemmi, nor had Noli even by 1947.
  232. ^ The Mountain Wreath, Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian)
  233. ^ Psudo-Tsar Stephen the Small|False Tsar Stephen the Little, Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian)
  234. ^ Paganel 1855, p. [page needed].
  235. ^ Galt, John (1835). The life of Lord Byron. Harper & Brothers. p. 96.
  236. ^ Летопис Матице српске (in Serbian). У Српској народној задружној штампарији. 1969.
  237. ^ Γιοχάλας Τίτος (Yohalas Titos), Γεώργιος Καστριώτης ο Σκεντέρμπεης (Georgios Kastriotis ο Skenderbeis), p. 17, footnote 20. Archived 20 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine In Greek.
  238. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Great Warrior Skanderbeg". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  239. ^ "Palazzo Skanderbeg e la Cultura tradita" (in Italian).
  240. ^ Delaney, Robert (29 September 2006). "Welcoming Skanderbeg – Cd. Maida, Albanian president unveil statue of Albanian hero". The Michigan Catholic. Archdiocese of Detroit. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009.

General and cited sources

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skanderbeg.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Scanderbeg".
Skanderbeg
Kastrioti family
Born: 1405 Died: 1468
Political offices
Preceded by
Hizir Bey
 [Ottoman]
subaşi of Krujë

1437 – November 1438 		Succeeded by
Hizir Bey
Preceded by
Unknown
 [Ottoman sanjakbey] of the Sanjak of Dibra
1440 – November 1443 		Succeeded by
Unknown
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Post created
 Lord of Albania (or Krujë)
1450 – 17 January 1468 		Succeeded by
Post abolished
Military offices
Preceded by
Post created
 Head of League of Lezhë
2 March 1444 – c. 1450 		Succeeded by
Post abolished
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Skanderbeg&oldid=1217692033"