Skanderbeg: Albanian Warrior King

In this video, we cover the life of Skanderbeg an Albanian warrior who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania.

Skanderbeg was not a name but a title. It is a corruption of the Turkish word for Lord Alexander, an appellation which his Ottoman captors gave him as a comparison of his military ability with that of Alexander the Great. His birth name was Gjergj Kastrioti and he was born in 1405 in a small Albanian village. At the time, Albania was being systematically conquered by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans pursued a policy of Islamisation toward the Christian Albanians, building mosques and forcing the local people to convert.

One of the methods used by the Turks to both indoctrinate the Albanians and force compliance was to seize the children of prominent citizens and have them raised in the Ottoman court. The Kastriotis were a noble Albanian family who ruled over the Principality of Kastrioti. In 1409, young Gjergj and his brother Stanisha were taken from his parents, Gjergj and Voisava, to be raised in the Devsirme system, by which foreign children were educated in Islam and taught to be military officers. Rather than being treated harshly, the indoctrinated children were given the best treatment and the finest instruction. But they were also forced to forget everything about their previous lives as Christian Albanians and to give their undying loyalty to the Turkish overlord, who at the time was Sultan Murad the Second.

Gjergj flourished under Ottoman military tutelage. By his mid-teens, he had developed into a powerful and skilled fighter with a mind that was destined for leadership. He quickly advanced through the military ranks. From 1423 onwards he fought for the Ottomans on the field of battle as they blazed their way through Asia Minor and eastern Europe. His skill as a war leader quickly became evident, giving rise to the nickname Skanderbeg.

By the time he was in his mid-twenties, Skanderbeg’s reputation as a fierce leader of Turkish forces had become international. Back in Albania, his father was compelled to apologize to the royal authorities in Venice for his son’s actions against Christians. By now, Gjergj had made the decision to abandon all allegiances with the Ottomans and throw in his lot with Venice. He attached himself to an uprising against the Ottomans. The revolt proved to be a dismal failure. It resulted in the seizure of all Kastrioti lands and Gjergj being exiled to Greece, where he was to die in poverty. Skanderbeg’s stellar military reputation prevented him from any direct punishment for his father’s rebellious actions. However, the confiscation of land included territory that belonged to him. When he appealed for it to be returned to him, his request was flatly denied. This was a decision that the Ottomans would come to regret.

By 1443, Skanderbeg’s allegiance to the Ottomans was becoming severely strained. The rebellion of his family meant that he no longer had to remain loyal in order to protect them. He was also still smarting at the confiscation of the land that was his birthright. Following a crushing defeat by the Crusaders under Hungarian leader John Hunyadi, he deserted from the Turkish army and made his way to his Albanian homeland. He had resolved to make full use of the military training and experience he had gained under the Ottomans and use it against them to fight for the freedom of his native people.

Skanderbeg entered Albania with a small force of three hundred native Albanians who had also deserted. He also had in his possession a forged letter of recommendation from the Sultan to the governor of the town of Kruje, in north-central Albania, which he used to exert authority in the guise of still being loyal to the Turks. This allowed him to gain control of the town and establish its castle as his base.

On the night of November 28th, Skanderbeg had his army put to death all of the Turkish guards in Kruje. He then proclaimed that the town was free of the Ottoman yolk and planted his distinctive flag - a black double-headed eagle - above the castle. He next set about liberating nearby towns. For decades the Albanian people had been chafing under Turkish oppression. All they needed was a dynamic leader to rally them in opposition against the Ottomans. Now, finally in the form of Skanderbeg they had found that leader.

Men from all over Albania flocked to bolster the rebel force. Skanderbeg was named commander in chief of the Albanian army. Within months he had grown that army to around 15,000 troops. However, he knew he needed more than that to withstand the might of the Ottoman fury which was about to be unleashed upon him. As a result, he sent envoys throughout Europe in order to build much-needed alliances.

Credits:
Illustration - Sara Paldanova
Script - Steve Theunissen
Voice Actor - James Fowler
Video Editor - Julia Nazario