Editing History of Albania (section)

=== Ottoman-Albanian Wars ===
{{Main|Albanian–Turkish Wars (1432–1479)}}

[[File:Muzeum Skanderbega w Kruji 2.jpg|thumb|277x277px|The [[Krujë Castle|Castle of Krujë]] was the center of [[Skanderbeg]]'s battle against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]].]]Many Albanians had been recruited into the [[Janissary]] corps, including the feudal heir [[George Kastrioti]] who was renamed [[Skanderbeg]] (Iskandar Bey) by his Turkish officers at [[Edirne]]. After the Ottoman defeat in the [[Battle of Nish (1443)|Battle of Niš]] at the hands of the [[Hungarians]], Skanderbeg deserted in November 1443 and began a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/altoc.html |title=Library of Congress Country Study of Albania |publisher=Lcweb2.loc.gov |date=27 July 2010 |access-date=27 August 2010}}</ref>[[File:League_of_Lezhë,_1448-1468.png|thumb|200px|[[League of Lezhë]], between 1448 and 1468 in the Albanian-Ottoman wars]]

After his desertion, [[Skanderbeg]] re-converted to Christianity and declared war against the Ottoman Empire,<ref name="autogenerated1" /> which he led from 1443 to 1468.  Skanderbeg summoned the Albanian princes to the Venetian-controlled town of Lezhë where they formed the League of Lezhë.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu: jeta dhe vepra (1405–1468)|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vwR3PQAACAAJ|publisher = Botimet Toena|date = 2002-01-01|isbn = 9789992716274|language = sq}}</ref> Gibbon 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".<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Analytical Review, Or History of Literature, Domestic and Foreign, on an Enlarged Plan|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bE4oAAAAYAAJ|date = 1788-01-01}}</ref> Under a red flag bearing Skanderbeg's heraldic emblem, an Albanian force held off Ottoman campaigns for twenty-five years and overcame a number of the major sieges: [[Siege of Krujë (1450)]], [[Second Siege of Krujë]] (1466–67), [[Third Siege of Krujë]] (1467) against forces led by the Ottoman sultans [[Murad II]] and [[Mehmed II]]. For 25 years Skanderbeg's army of around 10,000 men marched through Ottoman territory winning against consistently larger and better supplied Ottoman forces.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = The later Crusades, 1274–1580: from Lyons to Alcazar|last = Housley|first = Norman|year = 1992|isbn = 978-0-19-822136-4|pages = 90| publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref>[[File:Stradiot.jpg|thumb|323x323px|''[[Stratioti|Stratiot]], Auxiliary Albanian Cavalry,'' 16th c.]]Throughout his rebellion, Skanderbeg defeated the Ottomans in a number of battles, including [[Battle of Torvioll|Torvioll]], [[Battle of Oranik (1448)|Oranik]], [[Battle of Otonetë|Otonetë]], [[Mehmed II's first Albanian campaign|Modric]], [[Battle of Ohrid|Ohrid]] and [[Battle of Mokra (1445)|Mokra]]; with his most brilliant being in [[Battle of Albulena|Albulena]]. However, Skanderbeg did not receive any of the help which had been promised to him by the popes or the Italian states, Venice, Naples and Milan. He died in 1468, leaving no clear successor. After his death the rebellion continued, but without its former success. The loyalties and alliances created and nurtured by Skanderbeg faltered and fell apart and the Ottomans reconquered the territory of Albania, culminating with the [[siege of Shkodra]] in 1479.  However, some territories in Northern Albania remained under [[Venetian Albania|Venetian control]]. Shortly after the fall of the castles of northern Albania, many Albanians fled to neighbouring Italy, giving rise to the [[Arbëreshë people|Arbëreshë]] communities still living in that country.

Skanderbeg's long struggle to keep Albania free 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.<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/12472/Albania/42646/The-decline-of-Byzantium|title = Albania &#124; History, Geography, Customs, & Traditions| date=29 May 2023 }}</ref>