page_title: History of Albania
section_title: Ottoman-Albanian Wars
hierarchical_section_title: History of Albania / Middle Ages / Ottoman-Albanian Wars
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Skanderbeg in the Uffizi, Florence. Source: [1]
context_page_description: The history of Albania forms a part of the history of Europe. During the classical times, Albania was home to several Illyrian tribes such as the Ardiaei, Albanoi, Amantini, Enchele, Taulantii and many others, but also Thracian and Greek tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established on the Illyrian coast. In the 3rd century BC, the area was annexed by Rome and became part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. Afterwards, the territory remained under Roman and Byzantine control until the Slavic migrations of the 7th century. It was integrated into the Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century.
  In the Middle Ages, the Principality of Arbër and a Sicilian dependency known as the medieval Kingdom of Albania were established. Some areas became part of the Venetian and Serbian Empire, but passed to the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. It remained under Ottoman control as part of the province of Rumelia until 1912, when the first independent Albanian state was founded by an Albanian Declaration of Independence following a short occupation by the Kingdom of Serbia.
context_section_description: Many Albanians had been recruited into the Janissary corps, including the feudal heir George Kastrioti who was renamed Skanderbeg (Iskandar Bey) by his Turkish officers at Edirne. After the Ottoman defeat in the Battle of Niš at the hands of the Hungarians, Skanderbeg deserted in November 1443 and began a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
  After his desertion, Skanderbeg re-converted to Christianity and declared war against the Ottoman Empire, which he led from 1443 to 1468.  Skanderbeg summoned the Albanian princes to the Venetian-controlled town of Lezhë where they formed the League of Lezhë. Gibbon reports that the "Albanians, a martial race, were unanimous to live and die with their hereditary prince", 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". Under a red flag bearing Skanderbeg's heraldic emblem, an Albanian force held off Ottoman campaigns for twenty-five years and overcame a number of the major sieges: Siege of Krujë (1450), Second Siege of Krujë (1466–67), Third Siege of Krujë (1467) against forces led by the Ottoman sultans Murad II and Mehmed II. For 25 years Skanderbeg's army of around 10,000 men marched through Ottoman territory winning against consistently larger and better supplied Ottoman forces.
  Throughout his rebellion, Skanderbeg defeated the Ottomans in a number of battles, including Torvioll, Oranik, Otonetë, Modric, Ohrid and Mokra; with his most brilliant being in Albulena. However, Skanderbeg did not receive any of the help which had been promised to him by the popes or the Italian states, Venice, Naples and Milan. He died in 1468, leaving no clear successor. After his death the rebellion continued, but without its former success. The loyalties and alliances created and nurtured by Skanderbeg faltered and fell apart and the Ottomans reconquered the territory of Albania, culminating with the siege of Shkodra in 1479.  However, some territories in Northern Albania remained under Venetian control. Shortly after the fall of the castles of northern Albania, many Albanians fled to neighbouring Italy, giving rise to the Arbëreshë communities still living in that country.
  
  Skanderbeg's long struggle to keep Albania free became highly significant to the Albanian people, as it strengthened their solidarity, made them more conscious of their national identity, and served later as a great source of inspiration in their struggle for national unity, freedom and independence.
caption: Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, the National Hero of the Albanians successfully rebelled against the Ottomans for 25 years.
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