When the Roman Empire divided into east and west in 395, the territories of modern Albania became a part of the Byzantine Empire. At the end of the 12th century, the Principality of Arbanon was formed which lasted until mid 13th century, after its dissolution it was followed with the creation of the Albanian Kingdom after an alliance between the Albanian noblemen and Angevin dynasty. After a war against the Byzantine empire led the kingdom occasionally decrease in size until the Angevins eventually lost their rule in Albania and led the territory ruled by several different Albanian chieftains until the mid 14th century which for a short period of time were conquered by the short-lived empire of Serbia. After its fall in 1355 several chieftains regained their rule and significantly expanded until the arrival of the Ottomans after the Battle of Savra.
The League of Lezhë, also commonly referred to as the Albanian League, was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The League of Lezhë is considered the first unified independent Albanian country in the Medieval age, with Skanderbeg as leader of the regional Albanian chieftains and nobles united against the Ottoman Empire. Skanderbeg was proclaimed "Chief of the League of the Albanian People," while Skanderbeg always signed himself as "DominusAlbaniae".
Gjergj Arianiti (1383–1462) was an Albanian feudal lord who led several successful campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. He was the father of Donika, Skanderbeg's wife, as well as the grand-uncle of Moisi Arianit Golemi. Gjergj Arianiti was Skanderbeg's ally within the League of Lezhë before abandoning the alliance after the defeat in Berat in 1450. He later returned. Robert Elsie emphasizes that Arianiti was often Skanderbeg's rival. He allied with the Kingdom of Naples in 1446, left his alliance with Skanderbeg by 1449 and allied with Venice in 1456. However, his daughter married Skanderbeg and he remained officially part of the League of Lezhe, continuing to fight Ottomans successfully up to his death in 1462.
The Arianiti were a noble Albanian family that ruled large parts of Albania and neighboring territories from the 11th to the 16th century. Their domain stretched across the Shkumbin valley and the old Via Egnatia road and reached east to today's Bitola.
The Kastrioti were an Albanian noble family, active in the 14th and 15th centuries as the rulers of the Principality of Kastrioti. At the beginning of the 15th century, the family controlled a territory in the Mat and Dibra regions. The most notable member was Gjergj Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg, regarded today as an Albanian hero for leading the resistance against Mehmed the Conqueror's efforts to expand the Ottoman Empire into Albania. After Skanderbeg's death and the fall of the Principality in 1468, the Kastrioti family gave their allegiance to the Kingdom of Naples and were given control over the Duchy of San Pietro in Galatina and the County of Soleto, now in the Province of Lecce, Italy. Ferrante, son of Gjon Kastrioti II, Duke of Galatina and Count of Soleto, is the direct ancestor of all male members of the Kastrioti family today. Today, the family consists of two Italian branches, one in Lecce and the other in Naples. The descendants of the House of Kastrioti in Italy use the family name "Castriota Scanderbeg".
Gjergj Kastrioti, commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia.
Hamza Kastrioti was a 15th-century Albanian nobleman and the nephew of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Probably born in Ottoman territory, after the death of his father Stanisha he was raised by Skanderbeg, who took him in his military expeditions. After the Battle of Nish he deserted Ottoman troops together with his uncle Skanderbeg, converted to Christianity and changed his name to Branilo. He supported Skanderbeg's uprising and was the vice captain of Skanderbeg's troops when they captured Krujë in 1443.
The Battle of Torvioll, also known as the Battle of Lower Dibra, was fought on 29 June 1444 on the Plain of Torvioll, in what is now Albania. Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg was an Ottoman Albanian general who decided to return to his homeland and take the reins of a new Albanian league against the Ottoman Empire. He and 300 other Albanians who fought in the Battle of Niš deserted the Ottoman Army and made their way to Krujë, which quickly fell due to subversion. He then formed the League of Lezhë, a confederation of Albanian princes united in war against the Ottoman Empire. Realising the threat, Murad II sent one of his most experienced generals, Ali Pasha, to crush the new state with a force of 25,000 men.
The term Albanian Principalities refers to a number of principalities created in the Middle Ages in Albania and the surrounding regions in the western Balkans that were ruled by Albanian nobility. The 12th century marked the first Albanian principality, the Principality of Arbanon. It was later, however, in the 2nd half of the 14th century that these principalities became stronger, especially with the fall of the Serbian Empire after 1355. Some of these principalities were notably united in 1444 under the military alliance called League of Lezhë up to 1480 which defeated the Ottoman Empire in more than 28 battles. They covered modern day Albania,western and central Kosovo, Epirus, areas up to Corinth, western North Macedonia, southern Montenegro. The leaders of these principalities were some of the most noted Balkan figures in the 14th and 15th centuries such as Gjin Bua Shpata, Andrea II Muzaka, Gjon Zenebishi, Karl Topia, Andrea Gropa, Balsha family, Gjergj Arianiti, Gjon Kastrioti, Skanderbeg, Dukagjini family and Lek Dukagjini.
Vrana, historically known as Vrana Konti was an Albanian military leader who was distinguished in the Albanian-Turkish Wars as one of the commanders of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, of whom he was one of the closest councillors. He probably belonged to the class of small lords who were tied to the Kastrioti family and possibly belonged to a common lineage (fis) with them. In his youth, he fought as a mercenary in the armies of Alfonso the Magnanimous. The term conte ("count") with which he became known in historical accounts didn't refer to an actual title he held, but to his status as a figure of importance.
Gjon II Kastrioti, was an Albanian prince and the son of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, the Albanian national hero, and of Donika Kastrioti, daughter of the powerful Albanian prince, Gjergj Arianiti. He was for a short time Lord of Kruja after his father's death, then Duke of San Pietro in Galatina (1485), Count of Soleto, Signore of Monte Sant'Angelo and San Giovanni Rotondo. In 1495, Ferdinand I of Naples gave him the title of the Signore of Gagliano del Capo and Oria. While in his teens, he was forced to leave the country after the death of his father in 1468. He is known also for his role in the Albanian Uprisings of 1481, when, after reaching the Albanian coast from Italy, settling in Himara, he led a rebellion against the Ottomans. In June 1481, he supported forces of Ivan Crnojević to successfully recapture Zeta from the Ottomans. He was unable to re-establish the Kastrioti Principality and liberate Albania from the Ottomans, and he retired in Italy after three years of war in 1484.
The Ottoman invasion of Albania in 1452 was a campaign by the newly acceded Ottoman sultan Mehmed II against Skanderbeg, the chief of the League of Lezhë. Shortly after the first siege of Krujë, Murad II died in Edirne, and was succeeded by his son Mehmed II. Mehmed ordered nearly annual invasions of Albania which often resulted in multiple battles in one year. The first of these expeditions was sent in 1452 under the dual command of Hamza Pasha and Tahip Pasha, with an army of approximately 25,000 men.
Pal Dukagjini was an Albanian nobleman, a member of the Dukagjini family. He and his kinsman Nicholas Dukagjini were initially subjects of Lekë Zaharia, a Venetian vassal who had possessions around Shkoder. Nicholas murdered Lekë, and the Dukagjini continued to rule over their villages under Venetian vassalage. Pal and Nicholas were part of the League of Lezhë, a military alliance that sought liberation of Albania from the Ottoman Empire, founded by the powerful Skanderbeg. In 1454, the Dukagjini accepted vassalage of Alfonso V of Aragon, as other chieftains had done three years earlier. Pal later abandoned Skanderbeg's army and deserted to the Ottomans.
Nicholas Dukagjini was a 15th-century member of the Dukagjini family.
Gojko Balšić or Gojko Balsha and his brothers George Strez and John were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the White Drin towards the Adriatic. The brothers were members of the house of Balšić, which earlier held the Lordship of Zeta. They participated in founding the League of Lezhë, an alliance led by their maternal uncle Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Gojko supported Skanderbeg until the latter's death in 1468, and then continued to fight against the Ottomans within Venetian forces.
This timeline lists important events relevant to the life of the Albanian feudal lord and military commander Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, widely known as Skanderbeg.
Ivan Strez Balšić or John Balsha fl. 1444–1469) and his brothers George Strez and Gojko Balšić were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the White Drin towards the Adriatic. The brothers were members of the Balšić family, which earlier held Zeta, but had now placed itself among the nobility in Albania. They participated in founding of the League of Lezhë, an alliance led by their maternal uncle Skanderbeg. Ivan and Gojko supported Skanderbeg until he died in 1468 and then continued to fight against Ottomans together with Venetian forces. After Skanderbeg's death Venice installed Ivan Strez Balšić as Skanderbeg's successor.
Andrea II Thopia was a 15th century Albanian nobleman whose domains included the territory of Scuria. He was a member of the Thopia family and one of the founders of the League of Lezhë.
Skanderbeg's rebellion was an almost 25-year long anti-Ottoman rebellion led by the Albanian military commander Skanderbeg in what is today Albania and its neighboring countries. It was a rare successful instance of resistance by Christians during the 15th century and through his leadership led Albanians in guerrilla warfare against the Ottomans.
The Albanian-Ottoman Wars (1432–1479) were a series of wars and revolts against the rising Ottoman Empire by Albanian feudal lords. The wars and revolts took place in present-day Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and South Serbia. In this period, Albanians under the leadership of Gjergj Arianiti and especially later under Skanderbeg resisted the Ottomans under two Sultans in over 30 battles. Skanderbeg continued this resistance until his death in 1468, and the Albanians persevered for another 11 years before being defeated.
