League of Lezha

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Simplified representation of the area of ​​influence of the league under Skanderbeg (1444–1479)

The League of Lezha ( Albanian  Besëlidhja e Lezhës , sometimes also Lidhja e Lezhës ) was a defense alliance of several Albanian and Zetian princes against the Ottomans, concluded on March 2, 1444 . The union was organized and headed by Gjergj Kastrioti , called Skanderbeg , the prince of Kruja and the principality of Kastrioti . At times, the Kingdom of Naples , the Kingdom of Hungary , the Republic of Venice and the Papal States were among the league's supporters.

With the smashing of Shkodra , the last fortress of the League, the alliance was dissolved in 1479 and the Ottomans occupied Albania for over 400 years.

founding

League of Lezha, painting in the Skanderbeg Museum in Kruja

On March 2, 1444, Skanderbeg organized a meeting of the most important regional rulers in the city of Lezha ( Alessio in Italian ), which was then under Venetian rule . The biographers mention Komino Araniti and Andreas Thopia with his sons Komino and Muzaki and his nephew Tanush, former owners of Krujas, now masters on Petrela . Central Albania was represented by several gentlemen from the Muzaka family and by Georg Strez Balšići . From the north came Pal and Nikollë II. Dukagjini (father and son), the lords of the mountainous country east of Lezha; Peter Span with his sons Leš, Božidar, Uroš and Mirko, gentlemen in the Kirital near Drivasto , who had close ties to the Amselfeld (in today's Kosovo), where they were in the service of the Serbian despots ; and Lekë and Peter Dushmani , masters of a small estate north of the middle reaches of the Black Drin . Also present were Lekë Zaharia , the lord of the castle of Dagnum , whose power also encompassed the surrounding villages, and Stefan Crnojević , ruler of Montenegro , with his sons Gojčin and Ivan.

It was agreed to make peace with one another and fight together against the Ottomans. Skanderbeg, the leader of the House of Kastrioti , was elected military leader of the League. For more far-reaching political decisions, however, he needed the consent of all alliance members.

Course of war

The League of Lezha in the Skanderbeg Museum in Kruja
The siege of Kruja

In 1444 Skanderbeg was able to defeat the Ottomans on the Torvioll plain (between today's places Librazhd and Pogradec ). The news of the victory of the Christians over the Muslims spread very quickly in Europe. In the following two years the Albanian-Zetian coalition won victories over the Ottomans. On May 14, 1450, the first siege of Kruja began, which the Ottomans had to break off the following year without success. In 1451 Skanderbeg entered into an alliance with the Kingdom of Naples; For the time being, however, the Albanians have not received any help from there. In 1452 the Ottomans were defeated at Mokra and Meçadi . After the fall of Constantinople , the Albanians received financial aid from Naples and Venice as well as from the Pope. Until 1462, Skanderbeg's troops were able to defeat the Ottomans every year, but without significantly weakening their superiority. Every year the Sultan could send a new army without difficulty. Only in 1460 and 1463 did truces interrupt the fighting. In 1462 Skanderbeg succeeded in taking the important city of Ohrid .

In 1466 the second siege of Kruja Castle was repulsed. However, the Ottomans founded the Elbasan fortress south in the Shkumbin valley and thus finally established themselves in Albania. In 1467 a third siege of Kruja failed.

Up until 1468, Skanderbeg's 10,000-strong army was able to withstand the Ottomans. The Albanians received financial support from Venice and from the kings of Hungary and Naples. After Skanderbeg died in 1468, the Lezha League began to disintegrate. Following the Venetians, however, the northern Albanians in particular continued the fight against the Ottomans. When Shkodra, which had previously been ruled by Venetians, was conquered by the Ottomans in 1479, the resistance collapsed and the entire Albanian settlement area was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.

Members of the League of Lezha

In addition to Skanderbeg, the founding members of the Lezha League included:

Skanderbeg's commanders

Sieges and battles

Paolo Veronese (1528–1588): The Siege of Shkodra in 1478. Oil on canvas, 1585, Doge's Palace .
  1. Siege of Petrela (1443/1444)
  2. Siege of Stelluzi (1443/1444)
  3. First siege of Svetigrad (1443/1444)
  4. Battle of Torvioll (1444)
  5. Battle of Mokra (1445)
  6. Battle of Otoneta (1446)
  7. Albanian-Venetian War (1447-1448)
  8. Battle of the Drin (1448)
  9. Battle of Oranik (1448)
  10. Second siege of Svetigrad (1449)
  11. First siege of Kruja (1450)
  12. Siege of Modrica (1452)
  13. Battle of Mokra (1453)
  14. Siege of Berat (1455)
  15. Battle of Orange (1456)
  16. Battle of Albulena (1457)
  17. Macedonia Campaign (1462)
  18. Macedonia Campaign (1463)
  19. Battle of Ohrid (1464)
  20. Battle of Vajkal (1464)
  21. Battle of Vajkal (1465)
  22. Battle of Kashar (1465)
  23. Second siege of Kruja (1466)
  24. Third siege of Kruja (1467)
  25. Fourth siege of Kruja (1478)
  26. Siege of Shkodra (1478)

Honor

Plaque in honor of the League at the Skanderbeg mausoleum in Lezha

The Lezha League, together with Skanderbeg, plays an important role in the national feeling of the Albanians . It marks their first attempt in history to found an independent state structure and to unite for a cause. Even if the league failed in the end against the superior Ottomans, it is a symbol of national honor and pride for many Albanians. Many streets, squares and institutions in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia are named after the league today.

On the ruins of the St. Nicholas Church in Lezha - the Church of the Holy Sepulcher of Gjergj Kastrioti - a monument was erected in honor of him and the League during the communist era .

literature

  • Marinus Barletius : Of all the most stubborn and dear princes and lords, Mr. Georgen Castrioten, called Scanderbeg ... chivalrous deeds . Steiner, Augsburg 1533 ( online version in the Google book search).
  • Ivan Božić: Nemirno pomorje XV veka . Srpska književna zadruga, Belgrade 1979, OCLC 5845972 (Slovenian, online version ).
  • Robert Elsie : Historical Dictionary of Albania (= European Historical Dictionaries 42) . Lanham 2004. ISBN 0-8108-4872-4 .
  • Edwin E. Jacques: The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present . McFarland Publishing, 2009, ISBN 0-89950-932-0 (English).
  • Hasan Kaleshi: Dukagjini . In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe . tape 1 . Munich 1974 ( ios-regensburg.de ).
  • Fan Noli : George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405-1468) . International Universities Press, Madison 1947, OCLC 732882 .
  • Rob Pickard: Analysis and Reform of Cultural Heritage Policies in South-East Europe . Council of Europe, 2008, ISBN 92-871-6265-4 (English).
  • Oliver Jens Schmitt : Skanderbeg, The new Alexander in the Balkans . Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7917-2229-0 .
  • Oliver Jens Schmitt: The Venetian Albania (1392-1479) . R. Oldenbourg Verlag , Munich 2001, ISBN 3-486-56569-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rob Pickard, p. 16
  2. ↑ Skanderbeg, The New Alexander in the Balkans, p. 55
  3. ↑ Skanderbeg: The new Alexander in the Balkans , p. 56
  4. ↑ Edwin E. Jacques, pp. 179-180
  5. ^ Fan Noli, p. 36
  6. ↑ Ivan Božić, p. 364
  7. ↑ Oliver Jens Schmitt, p. 297
  8. ↑ Hasan Kaleshi