IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 522 
Honoring the 600th anniversary of the birth of Gjergj Castrioti (Scanderbeg), 
statesman, diplomat, and military genius, for his role in saving Western 
Europe from Ottoman occupation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 27, 2005 
Mr. ROHRABACHER (for himself and Mr. LANTOS) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the 600th anniversary of the birth of Gjergj 
Castrioti (Scanderbeg), statesman, diplomat, and military 
genius, for his role in saving Western Europe from Otto-
man occupation. 
Whereas 600 years ago, in 1405 AD, in the White Castle of 
Kruja (formerly Croya), Albania, Gjergj Castrioti was 
born; 
Whereas at the age of 17 his father reluctantly left him with 
the Ottoman Turkish Sultan as a condition of peace; 
Whereas Castrioti excelled in studying history and classical 
languages and at an early age reached the rank of Gen-
eral in the Ottoman Turkish Army; 
Whereas Castrioti’s military genius and unique leadership 
qualities were praised by Sultan Murad, who called him
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Iskander Bey (now Scanderbeg), after Alexander the 
Great; 
Whereas while being away from his native Albanian lands, 
Castrioti never forgot his Albanian heritage and people; 
Whereas on October 28, 1443, after much soul-searching and 
in utmost secrecy, Castrioti finally decided to return 
home and liberate the Albanian people from Ottoman 
domination; 
Whereas the Battle of Nish on November 10, 1443, between 
Ottoman troops and the Hungarian Army (led by another 
freedom-fighter, Janos Hunyadi), gave Scanderbeg the 
perfect opportunity to accomplish his plan of return; 
Whereas on November 28, 1443, Scanderbeg returned to his 
native town of Kruja and raised again his flag with the 
double-headed eagle over the White Castle there, to the 
enthusiastic celebration of his people, an historical mo-
ment vividly described by the American poet Henry 
Wadsworth Longfellow in his lengthy epic poem, 
‘‘Scanderbeg’’; 
Whereas Scanderbeg thereafter successfully defended the Al-
banian people against countless attacks by the Ottoman 
Empire, the largest army of the period, including in 1450 
the onslaught of more than 150,000 Ottoman troops led 
by Sultan Murad, who was ultimately defeated by vastly 
outnumbered Albanian foot soldiers and cavalry led by 
Scanderbeg at the Castle of Kruja in a bloody Homeric 
struggle; 
Whereas Murad’s son, Sultan Mehmed, conquered Constanti-
nople in 1453, thus ending the Byzantine period, but was 
unable in 1466 and 1467 to conquer Albania, even
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though he commanded the largest army of the time, in-
cluding up to 300,000 foot soldiers and horsemen; 
Whereas during 1460 and 1461 Gjergj Castrioti Scanderbeg 
brought his army to southern Italy for the second time 
to defend his ally, King Alphonse of Naples, against the 
invasion of the Lombards of southern France; 
Whereas Gjergj Castrioti united the Albanian people and es-
tablished a free state of Albania, which endured for 25 
years; 
Whereas according to Major General James Wolfe, com-
mander of the British army at Quebec, ‘‘Scanderbeg . . . 
excels all officers, ancient and modern, in the conduct of 
a small defensive army . . ..’’; and, according to noted 
British historian Edward Gibbon, ‘‘the enthusiasm of 
chivalry and religion has ranked the Albanian prince with 
the names of Alexander the Great and Pyrrhus’’; 
Whereas Scanderbeg died at the town of Lyssus (now Lezha), 
Albania, on January 17, 1468, and Albanians resisted 
Ottoman occupation for another 20 years, after which the 
Ottomans overran Albania, forcing tens of thousands of 
Albanians to flee across the Adriatic Sea to the Kingdom 
of Naples for asylum, where their progeny still live today; 
Whereas the nation of Albania under Scanderbeg prevented 
the invasion of Rome and all of Italy by the Ottoman 
Empire, thus effectively paving the way for the Italian 
Renaissance; 
Whereas statues of Scanderbeg mounted on his stallion with 
sword in hand today grace the capitals of Italy, Austria, 
Hungary, Albania, and Kosova; 
Whereas Albania, including Kosova, became free again on 
November 28, 1912, after 425 years of Turkish Ottoman
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occupation, and today modern Albania and Turkey are 
both staunch allies of the United States of America; and 
Whereas the Republic of Albania today is resolute in joining 
NATO and the European Union as promptly as possible: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) commemorates the achievements of Gjergj 
Castrioti Scanderbeg and the 600th anniversary of 
his birth; 
(2) commends Albanians everywhere for paying 
tribute to and honoring their valiant leader, hero, 
and son, Gjergj Castrioti; and 
(3) urges the United States Government to 
work with its European partners to accelerate the 
integration of Albania and a free Kosova into the 
European Union, in recognition of the great con-
tribution and sacrifice made by Gjergj Castrioti and 
the Albanian people in saving Western Europe from 
Ottoman domination. 
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