Siege of Berat ( 1455 ) The Siege of Berat began July , 1455 at the Albanian city of Berat , when the Albanian army of Skanderbeg besieged the fortress held by Ottoman forces . Background . When Skanderbeg began his rebellion , Berat belonged to the Albanian prince Theodore Muzaka . When in 1449 Theodore Muzaka was dying he sent for Skanderbeg to take over the castle in the name of League of Lezhë . Skanderbeg sent an Albanian detachment led by Pal Kuka , to claim the castle . In the meantime a force of Ottoman soldiers came from their garrison in Gjirokastër , quietly scaled the poorly guarded walls of Berat at night , slaughtered the Albanian garrison of about 500 soldiers , hanged the dying Theodore Muzaka and claimed the castle , while the captain Pal Kuka was later ransomed . Berat was located on an important strategic position as it controlled much of southern Albania as well as the vital supply routes leading to southern Macedonia and Greece . Siege . Skanderbeg and his forces besieged the Ottoman - occupied castle and began pounding it with the help of the Aragonese artillery . The commander of the Ottoman garrison then proposed to hand over the city if no reinforcements would come for a month Believing the situation was well in hand and that the castle would fall , Skanderbeg left with a sizable contingent of his army in the direction of Vlorë . Although he tutored his commanders , Skanderbeg could never bring them up to his level of knowledge in military affairs . His formal training and experience in Anatolia and his service with the Ottoman army proved to be valuable for the Albanian resistance against the Ottomans . At the head of the remaining force he left Muzaka Thopia , his brother - in - law , since Berat was formerly a possession of Muzaka ’ s family . After a successful bombardment , the Ottoman commander of the garrison agreed to turn over the keys to the castle if the sultan had not sent reinforcements within a certain amount of time . This was a ploy to fool the Albanian forces into a false sense of security and delay any actions , giving reinforcements time to arrive . Battle . The sultan sent an army of 20 , 000 troops led by Issa beg Evrenoz . The reinforcements surprised the Albanian army in mid - July , 1455 . Only one Albanian commander , Vrana Konti ( Kont Urani ) , managed to resist the initial Ottoman onslaught and pushed back several attacking waves . When Skanderbeg returned , however , the Ottoman relief force was repulsed and defeated . But the Albanians were exhausted and their numbers had dwindled to the point where the siege could not be continued . More than 5 , 000 of Skanderbeg ' s men died , including 800 men of a 1 , 000 man strong contingent of Neapolitans from Alphonso V as experts in demolition , artillery , and siege warfare . The commander of the siege , Muzaka Thopia , also died during the conflict . Aftermath . Skanderbeg himself was not at the battle , having moved southwest to inspect the routes to Vlorë and hinder a potential surprise attack from the garrison there . Upon hearing the news , he rushed back , but by the time of his arrival the battle was already over . Italian chronicles of the time describe Skanderbeg as performing feats of bravery “ with sword and mace ” and that many owed their life to his opportune intervention . The results at Berat were disastrous and badly crippled the Albanian resistance for a time . Berat remained in the hands of the Ottomans and was never again to be taken by the League .