İskender Bey İsyanlarının Dinî Boyutu ve Papalıkla İlişkileri
The Religious Aspect of Scanderbeg’s Revolts and his Relations with the Papacy
Yazar: Rruga, İlir
Dergi: Dini Araştırmalar, Vol. 21 No. 54 (15-12-2018), 2018
Anahtar kelimeler: Albania,Religion,Islam,Scanderbeg,Ottoman Empire,Pope,Revolt,Devshirme. ; Arnavutluk,İslam,İskender Bey,Papa,Osmanlı,İsyan,Devşirme

Arnavutluk’un millî kahramanı olan İskender Bey, hem Osmanlı Devleti’nde bulunduğu süreç içerisinde iyi bir eğitim alarak Doğu kültürünü hem de Osmanlı Devleti’ne karşı isyan başlatması ile birlikte Batı devletleri ile kurmuş olduğu sıcak ilişkiler sonucu, Batı kültürünü yakından tanımış bir kimse olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Osmanlı Devletinde belli mevkilere yükselmiş olmasına rağmen zaman içerisinde birtakım isteklerinin reddedilmesi, kendisine tanınan bazı ayrıcalıkların elinden alınması nedeniyle babasının hâkimiyet sürdürdüğü bölgeleri yeniden elde etme amacı doğrultusunda isyan etmiştir. İskender Bey’in, Osmanlı Devleti’ne isyan etmesinin arkasında yer alan ana nedenin anavatanı olan Arnavutluk’a dönme arzusu, şahsi menfaatleri ve Hıristiyan inancı ile ilgili olduğu şeklinde farklı görüşler ileri sürülmüştür. Osmanlı Devleti’ne karşı isyan etmesinden sonra Hıristiyan inancına dönmüş ve zamanında Osmanlı Devleti’nin en büyük düşmanı olan papalık ile yakın ilişkiler kurmuş, maddî ve askerî yardımlar almış olsa da isyanlarının dini kaynaklı olmadığı anlaşılmaktadır.

The national hero of the present-day Albania is Skanderbeg’s father, Gjon (Yuvan) Kastrioti. Despite the fact that the Albanians tried to resist the Ottomans expeditions during the reign of Gjon, they were eventually defeated. As a result of this defeat by Sultan Murad II in 1423, Gjon was forced to give his four sons as captives. The youngest of his children was Skanderbeg, who together with three older brothers was given as captive due to the defeat by the Ottomans, had to reside in the palace for many years. During this time, he had the opportunity to obtain a remarkable Ottoman education and to benefit from other privileges provided for them. It is obvious that the facilities provided by the Ottomans as well as the personal abilities and skills he gained in the Ottoman Empire enabled him to achieve successes in various fields. Therefore, he was able to be promoted to important positions within the Ottoman Empire. However, some of his demands were rejected and he became deprived from some of privileges granted to him due to the promises and incentives of the opponents of the Ottomans and some small victories resulting from his father's dominance in the direction of rebellion. During this rebellion against the Ottomans, they have received both material and spiritual aid Western powers as result the warm relations they enjoyed with the Western powers. In addition, these warm relations gave the opportunity to be acquainted with the Western culture. In the course of events, it can easily be said that Skanderbeg became a renowned figure not only in the Eastern culture but also in the Western culture. After his rebellion against the Ottomans, he denounced Islam and returned to his former Christian faith. There have always been controversies about the sect he adopted related to the Christian belief whether became a Catholic or Orthodox Christian. Although he had close ties with the Pope, the greatest enemy of the Ottoman Empire, his rebellions against the Ottomans did not originate from his religion.In this study, we appealed mostly to the daily reports of the priests of the time, primarily in Albanian and Turkish and English as well. In terms of Ottoman and Turkish - Albanian relations, the issue is a very important one and therefore has occasionally been evaluated in view of the historical perspective of religions.