Skanderbeg: Perbedaan antara revisi

 

===Fighting for freedom ===

In November 28th, [[1443]], Skanderbeg saw his opportunity to rebel during a battle against the Hungarians led by [[John Hunyadi]] in [[Niš]]. He switched sides along with 300 other Albanians serving in the Ottoman army. After a long trek to Albania he eventually captured Krujë by forging a letter<ref name="Tennent1845" /> from the Sultan to the Governor of Krujë, which granted him control of the territory. After capturing the castle, Skanderbeg<ref name="gibbon" /> abjured the prophet and the sultan, and proclaimed himself the avenger of his family and country. He raised his standard (that later became the [[Flag of Albania|Albanian flag]]) above the castle and reportedly pronounced: ''"I have not brought you freedom, I found it here, among you."'' Skanderbeg allied with George Arianite<ref name="Fine1994">John V Fine, 1994, ''The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest'', ISBN 0-472-08260-4</ref> and married his daughter Andronike.

 

Although it is commonly believed that Skanderbeg took part in the [[Battle of Kosovo (1448)|Second Battle of Kosovo]] in [[1448]], he actually never arrived. He and his army were en route to reinforce the mainly [[Magyars|Hungarian]] army of [[John Hunyadi]], but the Albanians were intercepted and defeated by [[Đurađ Branković]] of [[Serbia]]. Although Hunyadi was defeated in the campaign, Hungary successfully resisted and defeated the Ottoman campaigns during his lifetime.

 

In June [[1450]], an Ottoman army numbering approximately 150,000 men led by Sultan Murad II himself laid siege to Krujë. Leaving a protective garrison of 1,500 men under one of his most trusted lieutenants, [[Vrana Konti]] (also know as [[Kont Urani]]), Skanderbeg harassed the Ottoman camps around Krujë and attacked the supply caravans of the sultan's army. By September the Ottoman camp was in disarray as morale sank and disease ran rampant. Grudgingly, Murad acknowledged the castle of Krujë would not fall by strength of arms, and he lifted the siege and made his way to [[Edirne]]. Soon thereafter in the winter of [[1450]]-[[1451|51]], Murad died in Edirne and was succeeded by his son [[Mehmed II]].

 

The Ottomans saw this moment as an opportunity for attack. They sent a large cavalry force from [[Fushe]] in [[Kosovo]] to [[Berat]] as reinforcements. The Albanian forces had become overconfident and had been lulled into a false sense of security. The Ottomans caught the Albanian cavalry by surprise while they were resting in the shores of the Osam. Almost all the 5,000 Albanian cavalry laying siege to Berat were massacred. When Skanderbeg made it to the battlefield, everything was over; the Ottoman cavalry had already left for [[Anatolia]]. This was the worst military defeat that Skanderbeg suffered.

 

 

In [[1457]], an Ottoman army numbering approximately 80,000 men invaded Albania with the hope of destroying Albanian resistance once and for all; this army was led by [[Isa beg Evrenoz]], the only commander to have defeated Skanderbeg in battle, and [[Hamza Kastrioti]], Skanderbeg’s nephew. After wreaking much damage to the countryside{{fact}}, the Ottoman army set up camp at the [[Ujebardha]] field (literally translated as "Whitewater"), halfway between Lezhë and Krujë. After having evaded the enemy for months, Skanderbeg attacked there and defeated the Ottomans in September.

 

=== Papal relations ===

Skanderbeg's military successes evoked a good deal of interest and admiration from the [[Papal States]], Venice, and Naples, themselves threatened by the growing Ottoman power across the [[Adriatic Sea]]. Skanderbeg managed to arrange for support in the form of money, supplies, and occasionally troops from all three states through his diplomatic skill. One of his most powerful and consistent supporters was [[Alfonso V of Aragon|Alfonso the Magnanimous]], the king of Aragon and Naples, who decided to take Skanderbeg under his protection as a vassal in [[1451]], shortly after the latter had scored his second victory against Murad II. In addition to financial assistance, the King of Naples supplied the Albanian leader with troops, military equipment, and sanctuary for himself and his family if such a need should arise. As an active defender of the Christian cause in the Balkans, Skanderbeg was also closely involved with the politics of four Popes, including [[Pope Pius II]], who hailed him as the Christian [[Gideon]]<ref name="cwe1876" />.

 

 

=== After death ===

 

The Albanian resistance went on after the death of Skanderbeg for an additional ten years under the leadership of Dukagjini, though with only moderate success and no great victories. In [[1478]], the fourth siege of Krujë finally proved successful for the Ottomans; demoralized and severely weakened by hunger and lack of supplies from the year-long siege, the defenders surrendered to Mehmed, who had promised them to leave unharmed in exchange. As the Albanians were walking away with their families, however, the Ottomans reneged on this promise, killing the men and enslaving the women and children<ref name="Babinger" />.

 

==Seal of Skanderbeg==

A seal, that is assumed to be a seal of Skanderbeg, has been kept in [[Denmark]] since it was discovered in [[1634]]. It was bought by the National Museum in [[1839]]. According to the interpretation of the symbols and inscriptions on the seal as they have been studied and analysed by Danish scholars, the seal is made of brass, is 6 cm in length and weighs 280 g. The inscription is in [[Greek language|Greek]] and reads ''Alexander (Skender) is an Emperor and a King. Emperor of the [[Byzantine Empire|Romaic nation]] (Greeks) and King of the [[Ottoman Turks|Turks]], the [[Albanians]], the [[Serbs]] and the [[Bulgarians]].'' It naturally follows the inscription is laterally reversed. It is possible that the seal was made after the fall of Constantinople in [[1453]], since Skanderbeg is referred to as an Emperor of the [[Byzantines]]. The double eagle in the center of the seal is derived from the eagle of the Byzantine emperor, and this fact is also the most agreed upon among educated Albanians. Some claim it is a famous ancient Illyrian symbol. This seal is the origin of the flag of modern [[Albania]]. Furthermore, Skanderbeg never was a King of the Serbs or the Bulgars. It is possible the seal was 'designed' while Skanderbeg was organizing a crusade against the Ottomans or that it was manufactured when Skanderbeg served as a vassal to the King of Naples. It is also possible the seal was commissioned by the family of Skanderbeg some time in the 16th century, or even that it is a fake from the 15th or 16th century.

 

When the Ottomans found the grave of Skanderbeg in [[Saint Nicholas]] church of Lezhë, they opened it and made [[amulets]] of his bones<ref name="gibbon" />, believing that these would confer bravery on the wearer.

 

 

Skanderbeg today is the national hero of [[Albania]]. Many museums and monuments, such as the [[Skanderbeg Museum]] next to the castle in Krujë, are raised in his honor around Albania and in the predominantly Albanian-populated [[Kosovo]]. A monument is planned to be raised in [[Skopje]], the capital city of [[Republic of Macedonia]]{{fact}}. Skanderbeg's struggle against the Ottoman Empire 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.

 

== Skanderbeg in literature ==

 

Skanderbeg gathered quite a posthumous reputation in Western Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. With virtually all of the Balkans under Ottoman rule and with the Turks at the gates of Vienna in 1683, nothing could have captivated readers in the West more than an action-packed tale of heroic Christian resistance to the "Moslem hordes".