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Skanderbeg

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This article is about the Albanian hero. For other uses of "Skanderbeg", "Scanderbeg" or "Skënderbeu", see Skanderbeg (disambiguation).
File:Gjergj Kastrioti.JPG
Portrait of Skanderbeg in the Uffizi, Florence.

Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg (6 May 1405 – 17 January 1468) (Albanian: Gjergj Kastriot Skënderbeu, widely known as Skanderbeg, Turkish İskender Bey, meaning "Lord or Leader Alexander", Macedonian: Георги/Ѓорѓи Кастриот - Скендербег), or Iskander Beg, was a prominent historical figure in the history of Albania, Macedonia and of the Albanian people and Macedonian people. Known as the Dragon of Albania[1] he is the national hero of the Albanians and initially through the work of his main biographer, Marin Barleti, is remembered for his struggle against the Ottoman Empire, whose armies he successfully ousted from his native land for more than two decades.[2]

Service in the Ottoman Army

Portrait of Scanderbeg, ca. 1648.

Born in Dibër, Albania, Skanderbeg was a descendant of the Kastrioti family.

According to Gibbon,[3] Skanderbeg's father, was Gjon Kastrioti (John Castriot), lord of Middle Albania, that included Mat, Krujë, Mirditë and Dibër. His mother was Vojsava[4] from the Tribalda family,[5] (who came from the Pollog valley, north-western part of present-day Macedonia), or from the old noble Muzaka(Musachi) family[6]. Gjon Kastrioti was among those who opposed[7] the early incursion of Ottoman Bayezid I, however his resistance was ineffectual. The Sultan, having accepted his submissions, obliged him to pay tribute and to ensure the fidelity of local rulers, George Kastrioti and his three brothers were taken by the Sultan to his court as hostages. After his conversion to Islam,[8] he attended military school in Edirne and led many battles for the Ottoman Empire to victory. For his military victories, he received the title Arnavutlu İskender Bey, (Albanian: Skënderbe shqiptari, English: Lord Alexander, the Albanian) comparing Kastrioti's military brilliance to that of Alexander the Great.

He was distinguished as one of the best officers in several Ottoman campaigns both in Asia Minor and in Europe, and the Sultan appointed him General. He even fought against Greeks, Serbs and Hungarians, and some sources say that he used to maintain secret links with Ragusa, Venice, Ladislaus V of Hungary, and Alfonso I of Naples.[9] Sultan Murat II gave him the title Vali which made him General Governor. Skanderbeg came to lead a cavalry unit of 5,000 men with which he subdued a large part of Anatolia.[10]

Military campaigns in Albania

File:Skandeberginkruja.jpg
The castle of Kruja during Ottoman times.

On November 28, 1443, Skanderbeg saw his opportunity to rebel during a battle against the Hungarians led by John Hunyadi in Niš as part of the Crusade of Varna. He switched sides along with 300 other Albanians serving in the Ottoman army. After a long trek to Albania he eventually captured Krujë by forging a letter[7] from the Sultan to the Governor of Krujë, which granted him control of the territory. After capturing the castle, Skanderbeg[3] abjured Islam and proclaimed himself the avenger of his family and country. He raised the flag with the Double-headed eagle, an ancient symbol of the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, used historically and till today by various states and authorities of the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Europe, including Albania (See Albanian flag).

Skanderbeg allied with George Arianiti [11](born Gjergj Arianit Komneni, who shared a distant relation with the Byzantine Komnenos dynasty from one of his great grandmothers)[6] and married his daughter Andronike (born Marina Donika Arianiti).[12]

Following the capture of Krujë, Skanderbeg managed to bring together all the Albanian princes in the town of Lezhë[13] (see League of Lezhë, 1444). Gibbon[3] 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". With this support, Skanderbeg built fortresses and organized a mobile defense force that forced the Ottomans to disperse their troops, leaving them vulnerable to the hit-and-run tactics of the Albanians.[14] Skanderbeg fought a guerrilla war against the opposing armies by using the mountainous terrain to his advantage. Skanderbeg commanded an army of about 18,000 soldiers[15], but only had absolute control over 3,500 men from his own dominions and had to convince his colleagues that his policies and tactics were the right ones.[6]

Woodcut of confrontation between Skanderbeg's forces and Ottoman forces.

In the summer of 1444, in the field of Torvioll, the united Albanian armies under Skanderbeg faced the Ottomans under direct command of the Turkish general Ali Pasha, with an army composed of 25,000[16] to 40,000[17] men. Skanderbeg had under his command 7,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry. 3,000 cavalry were hidden behind the enemy lines in a nearby forest under the command of John Musachi (Albanian: Gjon Muzaka) . At the given signal, they descended, encircling the Turks and giving Skanderbeg a much needed victory. About 8,000[6] to 22,000[17] Turks were killed and 2,000 were captured. His victory echoed across Europe because this was one of the few times that an Ottoman army was defeated in a set piece battle on European soil. In the coming years, Skanderbeg defeated the Turks two more times, once in 1445 in Moker (Dibra), and once more in 1447 in Oranik (Dibra).

In 1448, Skanderbeg was also involved in a conflict with Venice, due to a capture of a castle in Northern Albania (Danja) by the Republic of Saint-Marc. During the conflict, Venice invited the Ottomans to attack simultaneously Skanderbeg from east, provoking a double-sided conflict for the Albanians. Skanderbeg, who had besieged a few castles that were possessed by Venice in Albania, was forced to fight an Ottoman Army under the conduct of Mustafa Pasha. He won the battle, some time after he had won another battle against a Venetian Army led by Andrea Venerio. However, he made a peace treaty with Venice because he wished to join John Hunyadi in Kosovo.

Although it is commonly believed that Skanderbeg took part in the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448, he actually never arrived. He and his army were en route to reinforce the mainly Hungarian army of John Hunyadi, but Hunyadi did not wait for Skanderbeg[18] since he was delayed by Brankovic.[2] About the time of the battle, Mehmed II also launched an invasion of Albania in order to keep Skanderbeg busy. Although Hunyadi was defeated in the campaign, Hungary successfully resisted and defeated the Ottoman campaigns during Hunyadi's lifetime.[9]

In June 1450, an Ottoman army numbering approximately 100,000 men led by Sultan Murad II himself laid siege to Krujë.[19] Leaving a protective garrison of 1,500 men under one of his most trusted lieutenants, Vrana Konti (also known as Kont Urani), Skanderbeg harassed the Ottoman camps around Krujë and attacked the supply caravans of the sultan's army. By September the Ottoman camp was in disarray as morale sank and disease ran rampant. Murad II acknowledged the castle of Krujë would not fall by strength of arms, and, after 4 months, he lifted the siege and made his way to Edirne. Soon thereafter in the winter of 1450–1451, Murad died in Edirne and was succeeded by his son Mehmed II.

Engraving of an Albanian assault on a Turkish camp.

For the next five years Albania was allowed some respite as the new sultan set out to conquer the last vestiges of the Byzantine Empire, though a couple of minor battles took place in the meanwhile at the Albanian frontiers, all of which were won by the Albanian Army. Christianity in the Balkans was dealt an almost fatal blow when the Byzantine Empire was extinguished after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. The first real test between the armies of the new sultan and Skanderbeg came in 1455 during the Siege of Berat, and would end in the most disastrous defeat Skanderbeg would suffer. Skanderbeg besieged the town's castle for months, causing the demoralized Turkish officer in charge of the castle to promise his surrender. At that point Skanderbeg relaxed the grip, split his forces and left the siege location. He left behind one of his generals, Muzake Topia and half of his cavalry at the bank of the river Osum to finalize the surrender. It would be a costly error.

The Ottomans saw this moment as an opportunity for attack. They sent a large cavalry force from Anatolia to Berat as reinforcements. The Albanian forces had become overconfident and lulled into a false sense of security. The Ottomans caught the Albanian cavalry by surprise while they were resting in the shores of the Osum. Almost all the 5,000 Albanian cavalry laying siege to Berat were killed.

In 1457, an Ottoman army numbering approximately 70,000 men[9] invaded Albania with the hope of destroying Albanian resistance once and for all; this army was led by Isa beg Evrenoz, the only commanders to have defeated Skanderbeg in battle (Berat), and Hamza Kastrioti, Skanderbeg’s nephew. After wreaking much damage to the countryside[9] the Ottoman army set up camp at the Ujebardha field (literally translated as "White water"), halfway between Lezhë and Krujë. After having avoided the enemy for months, calmly creating the impression to the Turks and European neighbours that he was defeated, on September 2nd, Skanderbeg attacked the Ottomans in their encampments and defeated them. This was one of the most important and glorious victories of Skanderbeg over the Ottomans, which led to a 5 years peace treaty with Sultan Mehmed II. Hamza was captured and sent to detention in Naples.

File:Beteja e Albulenës.jpg
Beteja e Albulenës by Fatmir Haxhiu

In 1462, Skanderbeg launched a successful campaign[13] against the Angevin noblemen and their allies (Francesco Piccinino) who sought to destabilize King Ferdinand I of Naples. For his services[20] he gained the title of Duke of San Pietro in the kingdom of Naples. After securing the Neapolitan kingdom, a crucial ally in his struggle, he returned home. In 1464 Skanderbeg fought and defeated Ballaban Badera, an Albanian Ottoman general who had captured a large number of Albanian army commanders,[21] including Moisi Arianit Golemi, a cavalry commander; Vladan Giurica, the chief army quartermaster; Muzaka of Angelina, a nephew of Skanderbeg, and 18 other noblemen and army captains. These men were sent immediately to Constandinople (Istanbul) and tortured for fifteen days.[21] Skanderbeg’s pleas to have these men back, by either ransom or prisoner exchange, failed.

In 1466 Sultan Mehmed II personally led an army into Albania and laid siege to Krujë as his father had attempted sixteen years earlier. The town was defended by a garrison of 4,400 men, led by Prince Tanush Topia. After several months of siege and destructions and killings all over the country, Mehmed II (Fatih-The Conqueror), like Murad II, saw that seizing Krujë was impossible for him to accomplish by force of arms. Subsequently, he left the siege to return to Constantinople (Istanbul). However, he left a force of 40,000 men under Ballaban Pasha to maintain the siege, even building a castle in central Albania, which he named Il-basan (the modern Elbasan), to support the siege. Durrës would be the next target of the sultan, in order to be used as a strong base opposite the Italian coast.[22] Skanderbeg spent the following winter in Italy, unsuccessfully seeking aid in Rome and Naples. However, on his return, his forces attacked Kruja and the second siege of Kruja was eventually broken, resulting in the death of Ballaban Pasha from an arquebus.[6]

In early 1467, his forces attacked Elbasan. Mehmed II responded by marching again against Albania. He energetically pursued the attacks against the Albanian strongholds, while sending detachments to raid the Venetian possessions to keep them isolated. The Ottomans failed again to take Kruja, and to subjugate the country, though the degree of destruction was immense. However, the winter brought an outbreak of plague, which would recur annually and sap the strength of the local resistance. Skanderbeg himself died of malaria during a new conference with the princes to discuss a new war strategy in the Venetian stronghold of Lezhë. The Albanians were left to their own devices, and were gradually subdued over the next decade.[23]

Papal relations

Skanderbeg's military successes evoked a good deal of interest and admiration from the Papal States, Venice, and Naples, themselves threatened by the growing Ottoman power across the Adriatic Sea. Skanderbeg managed to arrange for support in the form of money, supplies, and occasionally troops from all three states through his diplomatic skill. One of his most powerful and consistent supporters was Alfonso the Magnanimous, the king of Aragon and Naples, who decided to take Skanderbeg under his protection as a vassal in 1451, shortly after the latter had scored his great victory against Murad II. In addition to financial assistance, the King of Naples supplied the Albanian leader with a few troops, military equipment, and sanctuary for himself and his family if such a need should arise. As an active defender of the Christian cause in the Balkans, Skanderbeg was also closely involved with the politics of four Popes, including Pope Pius II, who hailed him as the Christian Gideon.[20]

Profoundly shaken by the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Pius II tried to organize a new crusade against the Ottoman Turks, and to that end he did his best to come to Skanderbeg's aid, as his predecessors Pope Nicholas V and Pope Calixtus III had done before him. The latter named him captain general of the Holy See. They gave him the title Athleta Christi, or Champion of Christ. But Pius II died in the crucial moment when the crusading armies were gathering and preparing to march in Ancona, on 1462.

After death

Mural comemorating a Skanderbeg battle. The Arms of Skanderbeg visible in the forefront are copies of the originals held at the Art Museum Vienna

The Albanian resistance went on after the death of Skanderbeg for an additional ten years under the leadership of Dukagjini, though with only moderate success and no great victories. In 1478, the fourth siege of Krujë finally proved successful for the Ottomans; demoralized and severely weakened by hunger and lack of supplies from the year-long siege, the defenders surrendered to Mehmed, who had promised them to leave unharmed in exchange. As the Albanians were walking away with their families, however, the Ottomans reneged on this promise, killing the men and enslaving the women and children.[22]

In 1479 the Ottoman forces captured the Venetian-controlled Shkodër after a fifteen-month siege.[24] Shkodër was the last Albanian castle to fall to the Ottomans and Venetians evacuated Durrës in 1501. Albanian resistance continued sporadically until 1912 when Albania was no longer part of the Ottoman Empire.

The union[1] which Skanderbeg had maintained in Albania did not survive him. Without Skanderbeg at their lead, their allegiances faltered and splintered until they were forced into submission. The defeats triggered a great Albanian exodus[24] to southern Italy, especially to the kingdom of Naples, as well as to Sicily, Greece, Romania, and Egypt. Albania remained a part of the Ottoman Empire until 1912.

Effects on the Ottoman expansion

The Ottoman Empire's expansion was ground to a halt during the timeframe in which Skanderbeg and his Albanian forces resisted. He has been credited with being the main reason for delaying Ottoman expansion into Western Europe, giving the Italian city-states time to better prepare for the Ottoman arrival [25][6]. While the Albanian resistance certainly played a vital role in this, it was one piece of numerous events that played out in the mid-15th century. Much credit must also go to the successful resistance mounted by Vlad III Dracula in Wallachia and Stephen III the Great of Moldavia, who dealt the Ottomans their worst defeat at Vaslui, among many others, as well as the defeats inflicted upon the Ottomans by Hunyadi and his major Hungarian forces. Stephen III the great and Hunyadi having also achieved the title of Athleti Cristi, Defenders of the Christian faith along with Skanderbeg. The particularity of Skanderbeg was the maintaining of such an important and difficult resistance for a long period of time (25 years) against the strongest power of the 15th century's world, by possessing very limited economical and human resources. His leading, political, diplomatical and military abilities was the main factor for the small Albanian principate to achieve such a success.

Descendants

Coat of arms of the Kastrioti family.

Skanderbeg’s family, the Kastrioti Skanderbeg,[3] were invested with a Neapolitan dukedom after the Turkish pressure became too strong. They obtained a feudal domain, the Duchy of San Pietro in Galatina and County of Soleto (Lecce, Italy). [26] Two lines of the Castriota Skanderbeg family live onwards in Southern Italy, one of which descends from Pardo and the other from Achille, both being natural sons of Duke Ferrante, son of John and Skanderbeg’s nephew. They are part of the Italian nobility and members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta with the highest rank of nobility.[27] The only legitimate daughter of Duke Ferrante, Erina, born from Adriana Acquaviva, inherited the paternal estate, bringing the Duchy of Galatina and County of Soleto into the Sanseverino family after her marriage with prince Pietrantonio Sanseverino.

Name

Albanian stamp

His names have been spelled in a number of ways: George, Gjergj, Giorgi, Giorgia, Giorgio, Castriota, Kastrioti, Castrioti,[7]Castriot,[20] Kastriot, Skanderbeg, Skenderbeg, Scanderbeg, Skënderbeg, Skenderbeu, Scander-Begh, Skënderbej or Iskander Bey.

The name, Skanderbeg has the following explanation: The name which can also be written "Skenderbeu" is the Albanian way of writing the Greek name Alexander (Skender or Skander from Turkish and Arab "Iskander") and the Turkish Bey (Lord or prince). The last name Kastrioti refers to a toponym in northern Albania called Kastriot in Debar, where Skanderbeg was born. Because the Albanian language was not written at that time, the written and used languages were Latin and Greek. His name was Gjergj Kastrioti and "Skander Bey" was not part of his name, "Skender" was given by the Sultan and he later also gave him the "Bey" title as he was awarded by the Turkish Sultan, meaning Lord Alexander, comparing Skanderbeg's military skill to that of Alexander the Great's. Thus his name was Gjerg Kastrioti and his title was "Lord Alexander".

Seal of Skanderbeg

Seal of Skanderbeg.

A seal ascribed to Skanderbeg has been kept in Denmark since it was discovered in 1634. It was bought by the National Museum in 1839. The seal is made of brass, is 6 cm in length and weighs 280 g. The inscription (laterally reversed) is in Greek and reads

ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ.ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ.ΕΛΕΩ.ΘΥ. ΑΥΤ.ΡΩΜ.ΟΜΕΓ. ΑΥΘ.ΤΟΥΡ.ΑΛΒ. ΣΕΡΒΙ.ΒΟΥΛΓΑΡΙ.

Most of the words are abbreviated, but an English translation might be: King Alexander, by the grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, the great ruler of the Turks, Albanians, Serbs, [and] Bulgarians.

If this seal is authentic, it indicates that George Kastrioti declared himself king, using the name Skender in its Greek form. (Greek or Latin were the customary languages for royal inscriptions in the Middle Ages.) The titles highly exaggerate his actual power, but this was often the case for Medieval rulers. Skanderbeg is apparently seen as a successor of the Byzantine emperors, as shown by the title and the double-eagled crest, during this period a symbol of Byzantine power. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD, such claims were also made by the Russian Czars.

Legacy

Gjergj Kastrioti has been classified as one of the hundred best generals of the human history.[28]

Skanderbeg Museum.

The "Dragon of Albania" Skanderbeg, is also credited with the greatest body count. He is said to have slain three thousand Turks with his own hand during his campaigns. Among stories told about him was that he never slept more than five hours at night and could cut two men asunder with a single stroke of his scimitar, cut through iron helmets, kill a wild boar with a single stroke and cleave the head off a buffalo with another.[29]

As part of his internal policy programs, Skanderbeg issued many edicts, like census of the population and tax collection, during his reign based on Roman and Byzantine law.[30]

When the Ottomans found the grave of Skanderbeg in Saint Nicholas, a church in Lezhë, they opened it and made amulets of his bones, believing that these would confer bravery on the wearer.[3]

Skanderbeg today is the national hero of Albania. Many museums and monuments, such as the Skanderbeg Museum next to the castle in Krujë, have been raised in his honor around Albania and in predominantly Albanian-populated Kosovo. Skanderbeg's struggle against the Ottoman Empire 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.

A division of the Waffen SS was named after Skanderbeg during the Second World War. The 21st SS Division was composed of ethnic Albanians and saw service on the Eastern Front.

James Wolfe, commander of the British forces at Quebec, spoke of Skanderbeg as a commander who "excels all the officers, ancient and modern, in the conduct of a small defensive army".[31] On October 27, 2005, the United States Congress issued a 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 Ottoman occupation."[32][33]

Skanderbeg is depicted on the obverses of the Albanian 1000 lekë banknote of 1992-1996, and of the 5000 lekë banknote issued since 1996.[34]

Skanderbeg in literature

File:BarletiSkanderbeg.jpg
Frontispiece of Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi, Epirotarum principis by Marin Barleti

Skanderbeg gathered quite a posthumous reputation in Western Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. With virtually all of the Balkans under Ottoman rule and with the Turks at the gates of Vienna in 1683, nothing could have captivated readers in the West more than an action-packed tale of heroic Christian resistance to the "Moslem hordes".

Books on the Albanian prince began to appear in Western Europe in the early 16th century. One of the earliest of these histories to have circulated in Western Europe about the heroic deeds of Skanderbeg was the Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi, Epirotarum Principis (Rome ca. 1508–1510), published a mere four decades after Skanderbeg's death. This History of the life and deeds of Scanderbeg, Prince of the Epirotes was written by the Albanian historian Marinus Barletius Scodrensis, known in Albanian as Marin Barleti,[2] who after experiencing the Turkish occupation of his native Shkodër at firsthand, settled in Padua where he became rector of the parish church of St. Stephan. Barleti dedicates his work to Donferrante Kastrioti,[13] Skanderbeg's grandchild, and to posterity. The book was first published in Latin and has since been translated in many languages.

The work was widely read in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and was translated and/or adapted into a number of foreign language versions: German by Johann Pincianus (1533), Italian by Pietro Rocca (1554, 1560), Portuguese by Francisco D'Andrade (1567), Polish by Ciprian Bazylik (1569), French by Jaques De Lavardin, also known as Jacques de Lavardin, Seigneur du Plessis-Bourrot (Histoire de Georges Castriot Surnomé Scanderbeg, Roy d'Albanie, 1576), and Spanish by Juan Ochoa de la Salde (1582). The English version, translated from the French of Jaques De Lavardin by one Zachary Jones Gentleman, was published at the end of the 16th century under the title, Historie of George Castriot, surnamed Scanderbeg, King of Albinie; containing his Famous Actes, his Noble Deedes of Armes and Memorable Victories against the Turkes for the Faith of Christ. Gibbon was not the first one who noticed that Barleti is sometimes inaccurate in favour of his hero;[35] for example, Barleti claims that the Sultan was killed by disease under the walls of Kruje.[36]

Kastrioti's biography was also written by Franciscus Blancus, a Catholic bishop born in Albania. His book "Georgius Castriotus, Epirensis vulgo Scanderbegh, Epirotarum Princeps Fortissimus" was published in Latin in 1636.

Voltaire starts his chapter "The Taking of Constantinople" with the phrase

Had the Greek Emperors acted like Scanderbeg, the empire of the East might still have been preserved.[37]

A number of poets and composers have also drawn inspiration from his military career. The French 16th century poet Ronsard wrote a poem about him, as did the 19th century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.[38] Antonio Vivaldi composed an opera entitled Scanderbeg[39]. For Gibbon, "John Huniades and Scanderbeg... are both entitled to our notice, since their occupation of the Ottoman arms delayed the ruin of the Greek empire."

In 1855, Camille Paganel wrote Histoire de Scanderbeg, inspired by the Crimean War.[5]

In the lengthy poetic tale Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1819), which Byron had begun writing while in Albania, Scanderbeg and his warrior nation are described in the following terms:

Land of Albania! where Iskander rose, Theme of the young, and beacon of the wise, And he his namesake, whose oft-baffled foes Shrunk from his deeds of chivalrous emprize: Land of Albania! let me bend mine eyes On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men! The cross descends, thy minarets arise, And the pale crescent sparkles in the glen, Through many a cypress grove within each city's ken." Canto II, XXXVIII. "Fierce are Albania's children, yet they lack not virtues, were those virtues more mature. Where is the foe that ever saw their back? Who can so well the toil of war endure? Their native fastnesses not more secure Than they in doubtful time of troublous need: Their wrath how deadly! but their friendship sure, When Gratitude or Valour bids them bleed Unshaken rushing on where'er their chief may lead.

Canto II, LXV.George Castriot, surnamed Scanderbeg, King of Albania.[40]

Ludvig Holberg, a Danish writer and philosopher, claimed that Skanderbeg is one of the greatest generals in history.[41] Sir William Temple considers Skanderbeg to be one of the seven greatest chiefs without a crown, along with Belisarius, Flavius Aetius, John Hunyadi, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Alexander Farnese, and William the Silent.[42]

Monuments outside Albania

List of Skanderbeg's battles

Skanderbeg fought 25 battles and 24 of them ended with victory. The one loss was a battle in Berat.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ a b c Marin Barleti, 1508, Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum principis
  3. ^ a b c d e Edward Gibbon, 1788, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 6, Scanderbeg section
  4. ^ M. Barleti, ibid.
  5. ^ a b Camille Paganel, 1855, "Histoire de Scanderbeg, ou Turcs et Chrétiens du XVe siècle"
  6. ^ a b c d e f Hodgkinson, Harry. Scanderbeg: From Ottoman Captive to Albanian Hero. I. B. Tauris. p. 240. ISBN 978-1850439417.
  7. ^ a b c James Emerson Tennent, 1845, The History of Modern Greece, from Its Conquest by the Romans B.C.146, to the Present Time
  8. ^ Rendina, Claudio (2000). La grande enciclopedia di Roma. Rome: Newton Compton. p. 1136. ISBN 88-8289-316-2.
  9. ^ a b c d Noli, Fan S.: George Castrioti Scanderbeg, New York, 1947
  10. ^ Scanderbeg: A Modern hero by Gennaro Francione, page 15
  11. ^ Fine, John V. (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. ISBN 0-472-08260-4.
  12. ^ Cenni storici sull'Albania (Italian)
  13. ^ a b c Minna Skafte Jensen, 2006, A Heroic Tale: Marin Barleti's Scanderbeg between orality and literacy
  14. ^ Stavrianos, L.S. (2000). The Balkans Since 1453. ISBN 1-85065-551-0.
  15. ^ [1] The Albanians by Edwin Jacques, pages 179-180
  16. ^ Albania, General Information published by 8 Nëntori Pub. House, page 23
  17. ^ a b George Castriot, Surnamed Scanderbeg, King of Albania by Clement Clark Moore
  18. ^ [2]Mehmed the Conquerer and His Time by Franz Babinger, page 55
  19. ^ Logoreci, Anton The Albanians, London, 1977
  20. ^ a b c Catholic World Encyclopedia VOL. XXIII, Number 134, 1876, Scanderbeg entry
  21. ^ a b John Musachi, 1515, Brief Chronicle on the Descendants of our Musachi Dynasty
  22. ^ a b Babinger, Franz (1992). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. ISBN 0-691-01078-1.
  23. ^ Wikipedia:Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–1479)
  24. ^ a b
  25. ^ [3] The Story of Turkey by Stanley Lane-Poole, Elias John Wilkinson Gibb, Arthur Gilman, page 135
  26. ^ The fall of Constantinople 1453, Cambridge University Press
  27. ^ Archivio del Gran Priorato di Napoli e Sicilia del Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta, Napoli
  28. ^ http://www.allempires.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=13436
  29. ^ Richard Cohen, 2003, By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions ISBN 978 0812969665 ref; page 151.
  30. ^ Barletius, 1508, Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum principis
  31. ^ Taken from Scanderbeg: From Ottoman Captive to Albanian Hero, page 2, by Harry Hodgkinson who claims his source from Life and Letters of James Wolfe, pages 296-7, by Beckles Wilson, (New York, 1909). [4]
  32. ^ COMMITTEE BUSINESS SCHEDULED WEEK OF OCTOBER 24, 2005
  33. ^ Congressmen Rohrabacher and Lantos Intoduce Congressional Resolution to Honor the 600th Anniversary of the Birth of Gjergj Castrioti Scanderbeg
  34. ^ Bank of Albania. Currency: Banknotes in circulation. – Retrieved on 23 March 2009.
  35. ^ see also Chalcondyles, l vii. p. 185, l. viii. p. 229
  36. ^ Gibbon, ibid, note 42
  37. ^ Voltaire, 1762, Works, Vol 3.
  38. ^ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1863, Scanderbeg
  39. ^ The Scanderberg Operas by Vivaldi and Francouer by Del Brebner
  40. ^ La personnalité, la pensée, l'oeuvre littéraire. (Didier, Paris 1963) 463 pp
  41. ^ Holberg on Scanderbeg by Bjoern Andersen
  42. ^ Works, vol ii, p. 285. ed. 1705
  43. ^ Delaney, Robert (29 September 2006). "Welcoming Skanderbeg — Cd. Maida, Albanian president unveil statue of Albanian hero". The Michigan Catholic. Archdiocese of Detroit.

Literature

Additional sources

  • Adapted from Fan S. Noli's biography George Castrioti Scanderbeg
Preceded by
Ballaban Pasha (Ottoman ocupation)
 Prince of Kastrioti
28 November 1443 - 2 March 1444 		Succeeded by
Post abolished
Preceded by
Post created
 Head of League of Lezha
2 March 1444 - 17 January, 1468 		Succeeded by
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