League of Lezhë

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League of Lezhë
Lidhja e Lezhës
Participant in Albanian–Venetian War
Ottoman-Albanian Wars
Active 1444–50
Ideology Christianity
Leaders Skanderbeg
Area of operations Albania Veneta
Sanjak of Albania[citation needed]
Sanjak of Dibra
Strength 8,000
Opponents Venetian Albania
Ottoman Army
Battles and wars See list

The League of Lezhë (2 March 1444 – ca. 1450) was a military alliance of feudal lords in Albania forged in Lezhë on 2 March 1444, initiated and organised under Venetian patronage[1] with Skanderbeg as leader of the regional Albanian and Serbian chieftains united against the Ottoman Empire.[2] The main members of the league were the Arianiti, Balšić, Dukagjini, Muzaka, Spani, Thopia and Crnojevići. All earlier and many modern historians accepted Marin Barleti's news about this meeting in Lezhë (without giving it equal weight), although no contemporary Venetian document mentions it.[3] Barleti referred to the meeting as the generalis concilium or universum concilium [general or whole council]; the term "League of Lezhë" was coined by subsequent historians.[4]

Background

After the death of Serbian Emperor Stefan 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 that of Balša II, the Lord of Zeta, whose forces were defeated in the battle of Savra (18 September 1385) and Balša II himself was killed.[citation needed]

In the 15th century, the Ottoman Empire established itself in the Balkans with no significant resistance offered by local Christian nobles during this period. Many of them were still fighting amongst themselves and didn't see the advance of the Ottoman Empire as a threat to their power. Although a civil war broke out between Bayezid I sons', during 1402–1413, none of the Christian noblemen in the Balkans at the time seized the opportunity to repel the Ottomans; in the contrary, Bulgarians, Serbs and Hungarians even helped the future Sultan Mohammed I seize power, by participating as his allies in the final battle against his brother.[5] After the Ottoman civil war was over in favor of Mehmed I, his forces captured Kruja from the Thopia family in 1415, Berat in 1417 from Muzaka, Vlora and Kanina in 1417 from the widow of Balsha and Gjirokastër in 1418 from the Zenevisi family. Under pressure from the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, the Albanian principalities began to vacillate.[6]

Together with occupation, new rulers were appointed and the registration process of the population and properties was done by Ottoman tax officers. Local populations and old nobility were not happy with that and various local rebellions took place, the most famous ones being those of Gjon Kastrioti in 1429–1430 and Gjergj Araniti in 1432–1435.[citation needed]

In November 1443, Skanderbeg captured Kruja with his troops and declared its independence from the Sultan.[7]

History

Formation

The League of Lezhë was founded on 2 March 1444 by:[8][full citation needed]

The military alliance[11] was made up of the feudal lords in Albania, and was according to Georges Castellan "a precarious alliance".[12] Skanderbeg was elected its leader and commander-in-chief of its combined armed forces numbering 8,000 warriors.[13][14] 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, as primus inter pares.[15][16]

Through treaties, the league was put under King Alfonso V, with Skanderbeg as captain general.[17]

After Peter Spani and George Dushmani left the League of Lezha,[18] and after the Arianiti and Dukagjini left it in 1450, members of Dukagjini family concluded peace with the Ottoman Empire and started their actions against Skanderbeg.[19] Robert Elsie emphasizes that Gjergj Arianiti was often Skanderbeg's rival and that he actually left his alliance with Skanderbeg by 1459.[20]

Success

Albanian assault on a Turkish encampment

For 25 years, from 1443–1468, Skanderbeg's 10,000 man army marched through Ottoman territory winning against consistently larger and better supplied Ottoman forces.[21] Threatened by Ottoman advances in their homeland, Hungary, and later Naples and Venice – their former enemies – provided the financial backbone and support for Skanderbeg's army.[22] On May 14, 1450, an Ottoman army, larger than any previous force encountered by Skanderbeg or his men stormed and overwhelmed the castle of the city of Kruja. This city was particularly symbolic to Skanderbeg because he had been appointed suba of Kruja in 1438 by the Ottomans. The Ottoman forces were unable to capture the city and fell back as winter arrived. In June 1466, Mehmed II led an army of 150,000 soldiers back to Kruja but failed to capture the city.[23]

Demise

Though 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 Scanderbeg and Araniti Comino continued to fight on.[24] After Skanderbeg's death in 1468, the sultan "easily subdued Albania," but Skanderbeg's death did not end the struggle for independence,[25] and fighting continued until the Ottoman siege of Shkodra in 1478–79, a siege ending when the Republic of Venice ceded Shkodra to the Ottomans in the peace treaty of 1479.

Battles

The League of Lezhë fought the following battles against the Ottoman Empire and Republic of Venice:

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Legacy

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The League has been regarded as the first unified Albanian state.[26][27][28][disputed ][need quotation to verify] The period of the Albanian League has been perceived as a peak in Albanian historiography, especially if compared with the subsequent failed attempts, until the beginning of the 20th century, to constitute an independent statehood.

References

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  3. Božić 1979, p. 363<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

    Мада ниједан савремени млетачки документ не помиње овај скуп, сви старији и многи новији историчари прихватили су Барлецијеве вести не придајући им, разуме се, исти значај.

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  5. Sedlar 1994, p. 264
  6. Frashëri 1964, p. 57
  7. Noli 1947, p. ?[page needed]
  8. Noli 1947, p. 36
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Schmitt 2001, p. 297<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

    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

  10. Noli 1947, p. 36<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

    Andrea Thopia of Scuria between Tirana and Durazzo with his nephew, Tanush Thopia

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  21. Housley 1992, p. 90
  22. Fine 1994, p. 558
  23. Housley 1992, p. 109
  24. http://www.albanianhistory.net/texts21/AH2008_2.html
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Sources

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