| League of Lezhë | |
|---|---|
| Lidhja e Lezhës | |
 League of Lezhë between 1448 and 1468 | |
| Lord of Albania | Gjergj Kastrioti (1444–1468) Lekë III Dukagjini (1468–1479) |
| Dates of operation | 1444–1479[1] |
| Active regions | Within the League's territories:
Outside of the League's territories: |
| Allies |  Kingdom of Naples (1451–1479).svg) Republic of Venice (1463–1479) |
| Opponents | .svg) Ottoman EmpireRepublic of Venice (1447–1448) |
| Battles and wars | See list |
| Flag |  |
TheLeague of Lezhë (Albanian:Lidhja e Lezhës), also commonly referred to as theAlbanian League (Albanian:Lidhja Arbërore), was a military and diplomatic alliance of theAlbanian aristocracy, created in the city ofLezhë on 2 March 1444. The League of Lezhë is considered the first unified independentAlbanian country in the Middle ages, withSkanderbeg as leader of the regional Albanian chieftains and nobles united against theOttoman Empire.[2] Skanderbeg was proclaimed "Chief of the League of the Albanian People," while Skanderbeg always signed himself as "DominusAlbaniae" (Albanian:Zot i Arbërisë,English:Lord of Albania).[3][4]
At the assembly of Lezhë, members from the familiesKastrioti,Arianiti,Zaharia,Muzaka,Spani,Thopia,Balsha andCrnojević, which were linked matrilineally or via marriage to the Kastrioti, were present. The members contributed to the league with men and money while maintaining control of the internal affairs of their domains. Soon after its creation, the pro-Venetian Balsha and Crnojevići left the league in the events that led to theAlbanian–Venetian War (1447–48). The peace treaty of the Albanian-Venetian war signed on October 4, 1448, is the first diplomatic document on which the league appears as an independent entity.[5]Barleti referred to the meeting as thegeneralis concilium oruniversum concilium ("general council" or "whole council"); the term "League of Lezhë" was coined by subsequent historians.[6]
After the death ofSerbian EmperorStefan Dušan in 1355, the magnates in Albania established their own dominions. When Ottoman forces entered Albania, they were faced with small principalities that were engaged in vicious fights among themselves. The first battle against the Ottoman forces in Albania was thebattle of Savra, on September 18, 1385.Karl Thopia invited the Ottomans, who defeated and killedBalsha II, theLord of Zeta.[7][8]
In the 15th century, theOttoman Empire established itself in the Balkans with no significant resistance offered by local Christian nobles. Many of them were still fighting among themselves and did not see the Ottoman advance as a threat to their power. Although a civil war broke out betweenBayezid I's sons in 1402–13, none of the Christian noblemen in the Balkans at the time seized the opportunity to repel the Ottomans; on the contrary, Bulgarians, Serbs, and Hungarians even helped the future SultanMehmed I seize power by participating as his allies in the final battle against his brother.[9] After the Ottoman civil war was over in favor of Mehmed I, his forces captured Kruja from the Thopia in 1415,Berat in 1417 from theMuzaka,Vlorë and Kaninë in 1417 fromRugjina Balsha, andGjirokastër in 1418 from theZenevisi. Under pressure from the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, theAlbanian Principalities began to vacillate.[10] Some Albanian nobilityrevolted in 1432–36.
In November 1443, Skanderbeg captured Kruja with his troops and declared its independence from the Sultan.[11]
The League of Lezhë was founded on 2 March 1444 by:[12]
Delegates from Venice were present at the meeting.[15] The military alliance[16][page needed] was made up of feudal lords in Albania, who had to contribute to the league with men and money.[15] Skanderbeg was proclaimed "Chief of the League of the Albanian People."[15][17] Thus, he was the League's leader and commander-in-chief of its combined armed forces, which numbered 8,000 warriors.[18][19] All the territorial lords had their own domains and affairs; "Skanderbeg had no right to interfere with the affairs of the domains of other nobles", acting only as the supreme military leader, asprimus inter pares.[20][21] Barleti referred to the meeting as thegeneralis concilium oruniversum concilium ("general council" or "whole council"); the term "League of Lezhë" was coined by subsequent historians.[6]
Initiated and organized underVenetian patronage,[22][better source needed] through treaties, the league was put underKing Alfonso V, with Skanderbeg ascaptain general.[23]
The League's forces had victories against the Ottomans atTorvioll (1444),[24]Mokra (1445),[25]Otonetë (1446),[26]Oranik (1448),[26] a loss atSvetigrad (1448) victory inPolog (1453),[26] victory atKrujë (1450),Albulena (1457),Ohrid (1464),Mokra (1462) and many others.
Skanderbeg's first substantial victory against the Ottomans was at theBattle of Torvioll, and the news of the victory of the Albanians over the Turks spread very quickly in Europe. In the two years that followed, the Albanian-Tetan coalition won over the Ottomans. On May 14, 1450, the first siege of Kruja began, which the Ottomans had to end the following year without success. In 1451,Skanderbeg formed an alliance with theKingdom of Naples for the time being; however, the Albanians received no help from Naples. In 1452, the Ottomans were defeated at Mokrra and Meçadi. After the fall ofConstantinople, 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 without significantly weakening their superiority. Every year, the sultan was able to send a new army without difficulty. Only in 1460 and 1463 did ceasefires interrupt the fighting. In 1462, Skanderbeg succeeded in taking the important city ofOhrid.[citation needed]
In 1466, theSecond Siege of Krujë was defeated. However, the Ottomans constructed the fortress Elbasan south in the valley of the Shkumbin to support their campaigns. In 1467 a third siege of Kruje failed.[citation needed]
By 1468, the 10,000-strong Skanderbeg army could withstand the Ottomans. The Albanians received financial support from Venice and from the kings of Hungary and Naples. After Skanderbeg died in 1468, the League of Lezha began to disintegrate. Following the Venetians, the Northern Albanians in particular continued the fight against the Ottomans. When theShkodra, which until then had been dominated by the Venetians, was taken by the Ottomans in 1479, the resistance collapsed, and the entire Albanian settlement area was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed]
There was also a short war between Albania and Venice in 1447–1448, but on October 4, 1448, theAlbanian–Venetian War ended when Skanderbeg and Nicholas Dukagjini signed a peace treaty with Venice, which would keep its possessions in Albania, includingDagnum, under the conditions that Venice pay a yearly sum of 1,400ducats and that some league members would benefit from certain trade privileges, etc.[27]
The alliance was precarious.[28] Although an official date of dissolution is unknown, the League of Lezhë fragmented soon after its founding, with many of its members breaking away. By 1450, it had certainly ceased to function as originally intended, and only the core of the alliance under Skanderbeg andArianiti continued to fight against the Ottomans. Some members preferred to act in line with their own interests. During the attack on the sultan in 1450, they continued to change their positions between supporting the Ottomans and joining Skanderbeg.[29] After Pjetër Spani and Gjergj Dushmani left the alliance,[30] and after theArianiti and Dukagjini left it in 1450, members of theDukagjini family concluded peace with theOttoman Empire and even began to plot against Skanderbeg.[31]
For 25 years, from 1443–68, Skanderbeg's 10,000-strong army marched through Ottoman territory, winning against increasingly larger and better-supplied Ottoman forces.[32] Threatened by Ottoman advances in their homeland, Hungary, and laterNaples andVenice – their former enemies – provided the financial backbone and support for Skanderbeg's army.[33] After Skanderbeg's death in 1468, the Sultan "easily subdued Albania", but Skanderbeg's death did not end the struggle for independence.[34]
The League of Lezhë was the basis for an Albanian state.[35] The formation of the League meant that for the first time, Albania was united under an Albanian leader.[36] Some historians regard the League as an independent Albanian state.[37] Others do not accept this view, saying that it was only a military league.[6] However, the League provided the basic elements of Albanian unity.[38]
Skanderbeg and the League of Lezhë have become part ofAlbanian historiography. That period of history, categorized as a pre-communist time, is seen by many as mythical and unchallengeable. In these cases, struggles against the Ottoman Empire and other foreign powers and processes of national self-definition support the ideological framework linked to that period.[39]
| Picture | Title and name | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Dominus Albaniae Gjergj Kastrioti | 1444–1468 | Skanderbeg initiated the League of Lezhë in 1444 by bringing together prominentAlbanian noble families in the city ofLezhë. Proclaiming himself "Chief of the League of the Albanian People", Skanderbeg secured the support of the Albanian nobility to form a united front against theOttoman Empire. |
.jpg) | Prince of Dukagjini Lekë Dukagjini | 1468–1479 | As the last ruler of the League of Lezhë, Lekë played a pivotal role in sustaining Albanian resistance to the Ottoman Empire after Skanderbeg's death in 1468. Despite internal challenges and the eventual capture ofShkodër by the Ottomans in 1479, Dukagjini's leadership was instrumental in the League's efforts to maintain its independence and resist Ottoman conquest. |
... a solid military alliance was concluded among all the Albanian chieftains along the Adriatic coast from southern Epirus to the Bosnian border.
...the Ottomans supported Lord Carlo Thopia against Balsha II, defeating the latter...
...In 1385, Khaireddin pasha... was invited by Charles Thopia, lord of Durazzo, to aid him in a war against Balsa...
Nikola und Paul Dukagjin, Leka Zaharia von Dagno, Peter Span, Herr der Berge hinter Drivasto, Georg Strez Balsha sowie Johann und Gojko Balsha, die sich zwischen Kruja und Alessio festgesetzt hatten, die Dushman von Klein-Polatum sowie Stefan (Stefanica) Crnojevic, der Herr der Oberzeta
Andrea Thopia of Scuria between Tirana and Durazzo with his nephew, Tanush Thopia
[page needed]Even this was loose association of the territorial lords who felt free to go their own way if they so choose. The League functioned only in military domain, never as government, although it did provide the first rudiments of Albanian unity.
Scanderbeg too kept his domain. As president of the League he was merely primus inter pares. He had no right to interfere with the affairs of the domains of other nobles.
Skanderbeg, der scheinbar dabei war, seine Rolle als primus inter pares zu verlassen und sich zum Herren des ganzen nichtosmanischen Albanien zu machen, stieß auf zunehmenden Widerstand.
With this network of treaties, the League of Alessio was placed under King Alphonse V, with Skenderbeg as Captain General.78 When Musachi Thopia was apparently reluctant to collaborate with Skenderbeg, the King of Naples reminded him ...
In Albania the Ottomans continued to be confronted by Skanderbeg and feudal lords who in 1444 had formed the League of Alessio (Lezha). Yet this was a precarious alliance and ...
Por të pafuqishëm për t'i bërë ballë fuqisë së Skënderbeut, si rrugëdalje ata gjetën shkëputjen nga Lidhja. Të parët që ndërmorën një veprim të tillë ishin Pjetër Spani dhe Gjergj Dushmani.
Albanians under the Ottoman Empire | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History |
| ||||||||||
| Geography | |||||||||||
| Society |
| ||||||||||
