page_title: Mehmed II's first Albanian campaign
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Mehmed II's first Albanian campaign / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: English: Siege of Constantinople, Chronique de Charles VII by Jean Chartier. Français&#160;: Siège de Constantinople.Deutsch: Belagerung von Konstantinopel von Jean Chartier, 3. Viertel des 15. Jahrhunderts.
context_page_description: In 1452, the newly acceded Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II ordered his first campaign against Skanderbeg, the chief of the League of Lezhë. Shortly after the First Siege of Krujë, Murad II died in Edirne, only to be succeeded by his son Mehmed II. Mehmed always supported more aggressive strategies of conquest which his father had continually rejected. Once in power, Mehmed ordered nearly annual invasions of Albania which often resulted in multiple battles in one year. The first of these expeditions was sent in 1452 under the dual-command of Hamza Pasha and Tahip Pasha, with an army of approximately 25,000 men. This campaign was the first major test for the new Sultan against western Europe and a high point of a diplomatic struggle between the major Mediterranean powers.
  Albania at the time was suffering a crisis of power as Skanderbeg, the chief of the League of Lezhë, became a vassal of Alfonso the Magnanimous, the king of Aragon. Worried about another growing adversary in the Venetian Gulf, the Republic of Venice tried to turn Skanderbeg's allies against him in order to weaken Alfonso's influence. Realizing his opportunity, Mehmed ordered an invasion of Albania.
context_section_description: In the battles of Modrica and Meçad 7,000 Ottoman forces were left dead on the battlefield along with thousands of horses. The Albanians had suffered 1,000 casualties themselves and, in their exhaustion, they refused to pursue the fleeing Ottoman forces. Hamza Pasha and his staff were ransomed to the sultan. Raimon d'Ortafà reported Skanderbeg's victory to Alfonso who received it with great exuberance. Skanderbeg's victory over a ruler even more powerful than Murad came as a great surprise to the Albanians. Skanderbeg's reputation among his allies was redeemed and the Dukagjini opted for a reconciliation.
  In order to reduce the risk of Ottoman expeditions prompted by Venice, Skanderbeg took several steps to soften relations with the Republic. In the autumn of 1452, Đurađ Branković attacked the Venetian city of Cattaro. Skanderbeg sent a troop of men to aid the Venetians to thwart the attack, but Venice, despite thanking the Albanian, still held its animosity towards him. Skanderbeg took another step. He sent an "orator", Ezop Zguri, to Alfonso in order to ask for military aid and to convince Alfonso to urge for a reconciliation with Venice. The first request could not be fulfilled: Alfonso responded that he had neither the men nor the means to help Skanderbeg. The second request, however, was satisfied and on 5 March 1453, Alfonso sent a letter censuring Venice for not paying its dues to Skanderbeg and also for supporting Skanderbeg's enemies. He thus urged for a peremptory measure to all Albanian-Venetian conflicts.
  On 22 April 1453, Mehmed sent another expedition to Albania under Ibrahim Pasha, only to be defeated at Pollog with Ibrahim killed in action. The Albanian victory, however, was shadowed by Mehmed's conquest of Constantinople only five weeks after, which deeply troubled the Christian states of Europe. Mehmed, by then called el-Fātiḥ ("the Conqueror"), turned his attention to finally defeating the Kingdom of Hungary and crossing into Italy.
  The European powers were locked in internal conflicts: e.g. the war in Lombardy. Skanderbeg believed that the threat of Mehmed launching his withheld European campaigns was at its highest. He sent urgent requests to Venice to prepare for a new Ottoman offensive, thus attempting to develop an Albanian-Venetian alliance. While recognizing the threat and Skanderbeg's sovereignty over Albania, Venice withheld an establishment of an alliance. Alfonso promised to send men and an annual pension of 1500 ducats to Skanderbeg, whereas Pope Nicholas V sent 5,000 florins. Albania, Ragusa, Serbia, and Hungary then made a loose anti-Ottoman coalition to halt any future Turkish expansions.
caption: The Fall of Constantinople.
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