Albanian Expedition (1466)

Albanian Expedition (1466)
Part of Albanian–Ottoman Wars (1432–1479)
Mehmed II
Date 1466 Location Albania Result Ottoman victory [1]
Belligerents
League of Lezhë	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Skanderbeg	Mehmed II
Strength
Unknown	40,000
Casualties and losses
8,000 – 10,000 killed thousands of captives	Unknown

The Albanian Expedition (1466) The Ottoman Turks campaign against Skanderbeg in the spring of 1466.

Background

Mehmed II signed a 10-year peace treaty with Skanderbeg in 1463. However, when the Ottoman-Venetian war began that same year, Skanderbeg, amidst the Pope's objections, broke the peace treaty and launched attacks against the Ottomans. Mehmed II then commissioned Balaban Pasha to launch raids into Albania. Balaban Pasha initially achieved a few victories, but was defeated in 1465. Yakup Pasha was subsequently killed. The sultan then personally ordered an expedition against Albania. He gathered his armies and set out for Albania.

Campaign

In the spring of 1466, the Turkish army marched towards Albania under the command of Mehmed the Conqueror himself. When the army entered Albania, the Albanians abandoned their positions and retreated to the tops of steep mountains and narrow straits that were difficult to climb and took up defensive positions. Ottomans successful raided Skanderberg's army, which had fled into the harsh mountains, and put many to the sword. Villages were also plundered and thousands were taken captive.

References

1. The history of Mehmed the Conqueror. Tursun Beg. 1978. p. 263.

Sources

• Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time, Franz Babinger, ‎William C. Hickman · 1978
• Selahattin Tansel, Fatih Sultan Mehmed’in Siyasi ve Askeri Faaliyetleri, Türk Tarih Kurumu, · Ankara 1953 (in Turkish)