e chief commander of the crusading forces of Pope Pius II, but the Pope died while the armies

were

The Kastrioti, in comparison to other Albanian noble families, so far remain absent from historical or
archival records until their first historical appearance at the end of the 14th century. [2] The historical
figure of Konstantin Kastrioti Mazreku is attested in Giovanni Andrea Angelo Flavio
Comneno's Genealogia diversarum principum familiarum. Angelo mentions Kastrioti
as Constantinus Castriotus, cognomento Meserechus, Aemathiae & Castoriae
Princeps (Constantinus Castriotus, surnamed Meserechus, Prince of Aemathia and Castoria). The
toponym Castoria has been interpreted as Kastriot, Kastrat in Has, Kastrat in Dibra or the
microtoponym "Kostur" near the village of Mazrek in the Has region.[3] In connection to the Kastrioti
family name, it is very likely that the name of one the different Kastriot or Kastrat which were fortified
settlements as their etymology shows (castrum) was as their family name. The Kastrioti may have
originated from this village or probably had acquired it as pronoia.[4] Angelo used the
cognomen Meserechus in reference to Skanderbeg and this link to the same name is produced in
other sources and reproduced in later ones like Du Cange's Historia Byzantina (1680).[5] These links
highlight that the Kastrioti used Mazreku as a name that highlighted their tribal affiliation (farefisni).
[6]
The name Mazrek(u), which means horse breeder in Albanian, is found throughout all Albanian
regions.[7]

Skanderbeg's first name was Gjergj (George) in Albanian. Frang Bardhi in Dictionarium latino-
epiroticum (1635) provides two first names in Albanian: Gjeç (Giec) and Gjergj (Gierg).[8]. In his
personal correspondence in Italian and in most biographies produced after his death in Italy, his
name was written as Giorgio. His name on his official seal and signature was Georgius Castriotus
Scanderbego (Latin). His correspondence with Slavic states (Republic of Ragusa), was written by
scribes like Ninac Vukosalić. Skanderbeg's name in Slavic is recorded the first time in the 1426 act
of sale of St. George's tower to his father Gjon Kastrioti in Hilandar as Геѡрг and appears
as Гюрьгь Кастриѡть in his later correspondence in the 1450s.[9]

The Ottoman Turks gave him the name ‫( اسکندر بگ‬İskender bey or İskender beğ), meaning "Lord
Alexander", or "Leader Alexander".[10] Skënderbeu and Skënderbej are the Albanian versions,
with Skander being the Albanian form of "Alexander".[11] Latinized in Barleti's version
as Scanderbegi and translated into English as Skanderbeg or Scanderbeg, the combined appellative
is assumed to have been a comparison of Skanderbeg's military skill to that of Alexander the Great.
[10][12]
This name was itself used by Skanderbeg even after his re-conversion to Christianity and was
later held by his descendants in Italy who became known as the Castriota-Scanderbeg. Skanderbeg
always signed himself in Latin: Dominus Albaniae ("Lord of Albania"), and claimed no other titles but
that in surviving documents.[1]

Early life
There have been many theories on the place where Skanderbeg was born. [13] One of the main
Skanderbeg biographers, Frashëri, has, among others, interpreted Gjon Muzaka's book of
genealogies, sources of Raffaele Maffei ("il Volterrano"; 1451–1522), and the
Ottoman defter (census) of 1467, and placed the birth of Skanderbeg in the small village of Sinë,
one of the two villages owned by his grandfather Pal Kastrioti.[14] Fan Noli's placement of the year of
his birth in 1405 is now largely agreed upon, after earlier disagreements, and lack of birth documents
for him and his siblings.[15] His father Gjon Kastrioti held territory between Lezhë and Prizren that
included Mat, Mirditë and Dibër in north-central Albania.[contradictory][16][17] His mother was Voisava, whose
origin is disputed. One view holds that she was a Slavic[18] princess from the Polog region, which has
been interpreted as her being a possible member of the Serbian Branković family or a
local Bulgarian noble family.[19][20][21][22] The other view is that she was a member of the
Albanian Muzaka family, daughter of Dominicus alias Moncinus a relative of Muzaka house.[20]
 Skanderbeg had three older brothers: Stanisha, Reposh and Constantine, and five
[23]

sisters: Mara, Jelena, Angelina, Vlajka and Mamica.[24]

According to the geopolitical contexts of the time, Gjon Kastrioti changed allegiances and religions
when allied to Venice as a Catholic and Serbia as an Orthodox Christian. [17] Gjon Kastrioti later
became a vassal of the Sultan since the end of the 14th century, and, as a consequence, paid
tribute and provided military services to the Ottomans (like in the Battle of Ankara 1402).[17][25] In 1409,
he sent his eldest son, Stanisha, to be the Sultan's hostage. According to Marin Barleti, a primary
source, Skanderbeg and his three older brothers, Reposh, Kostandin, and Stanisha, were taken by
the Sultan to his court as hostages. However, according to documents, besides Skanderbeg, only
one of the brothers of Skanderbeg, probably Stanisha,[24] was taken hostage and had been
conscripted into the Devşirme system, a military institute that enrolled Christian boys, converted
them to Islam, and trained them to become military officers.[contradictory][26] Recent historians are of the
opinion that while Stanisha might have been conscripted at a young age, and had to go through the
Devşirme, this was not the case with Skanderbeg, who is assumed to have been sent hostage to the
Sultan by his father only at the age of 18.[27] It was customary at the time that a local chieftain, who
had been defeated by the Sultan, would send one of his children to the Sultan's court, where the
child would be a hostage for an unspecified time; this way, the Sultan was able to exercise control in
the area ruled by the hostage's father. The treatment of the hostages was not bad. Far from being
held in a prison, the hostages were usually sent to the best military schools and trained to become
future military leaders.[28]

Ottoman service: 1423 to 1443

Skanderbeg and other students receiving military education in

the Enderun School
Skanderbeg was sent as a hostage to the Ottoman court in Adrianople (Edirne) in 1415, and again in
1423. It is assumed that he remained at Murad II's court as iç oğlan for a maximum of three years,
[27]
where he received military training at Enderun School.[29]

The earliest existing record of George's name is the First Act of Hilandar from 1426, when Gjon
(John) Kastrioti and his four sons donated the right to the proceeds from taxes collected from two
villages in Macedonia (in modern Mavrovo and Rostuša, North Macedonia) to the Serbian
monastery of Hilandar.[30] Afterwards, between 1426 and 1431,[31] Gjon Kastrioti and his sons, with the
exception of Stanisha, purchased four adelphates (rights to reside on monastic territory and receive
subsidies from monastic resources) to the Saint George tower and to some property within the
monastery as stated in the Second Act of Hilandar. The area which the Katrioti family had donated to
was referred to by the monks in Hilandar as the Arbanashki pirg or Albanian tower. Reposh Kastrioti
is listed as dux illyricus or Duke of Illyria in Hilandar.[30][32]

After graduating from Enderun, the sultan granted Skanderbeg control over one timar (land grant)
which was near the territories controlled by his father.[33] His father was concerned that the sultan
might order Skanderbeg to occupy his territory and informed Venice about this in April 1428. [34] In the
same year Gjon had to seek forgiveness from the Venetian Senate because Skanderbeg
participated in Ottoman military campaigns against Christians.[35] In 1430, Gjon was defeated in battle
by the Ottoman governor of Skopje, Ishak Bey, and as a result, his territorial possessions were
extremely reduced.[36] Later that year, Skanderbeg continued fighting for Murad II in his expeditions,
and gained the title of sipahi.[37] Several scholars[who?] have assumed that Skanderbeg was given a
fiefdom in Nikopol in northern Bulgaria, because a certain "Iskander bey" is mentioned in a 1430
document holding fiefs there.[38] Although Skanderbeg was summoned home by his relatives
when Gjergj Arianiti and Andrew Thopia along with other chiefs from the region
between Vlorë and Shkodër organized the Albanian revolt of 1432–1436, he did nothing, remaining
loyal to the sultan.[39]

Skanderbeg dueling a Tatar at the Ottoman court, some time

before 1439
In 1437–38,[38] he became a subaşı (governor) of the Krujë subaşılık[32] before Hizir Bey was again
appointed to that position in November 1438.[40] Until May 1438, Skanderbeg controlled a relatively
large timar (of the vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima) composed of nine villages which previously belonged
to his father (registered as "Giovanni's land", Turkish: Yuvan-ili).[32][41] According to İnalcık, at that time
Skanderbeg was referred to in Ottoman documents as Juvan oglu Iskender bey.[42] It was because of
Skanderbeg's display of military merit in several Ottoman campaigns, that Murad II (r. 1421–51) had
given him the title of vali. At that time, Skanderbeg was leading a cavalry unit of 5,000 men. [43]

After his brother Reposh's death on 25 July 1431[44] and the later deaths of Kostandin and
Skanderbeg's father (who died in 1437), Skanderbeg and his surviving brother Stanisha maintained
the relations that their father had with the Republic of Ragusa and the Republic of Venice; in 1438
and 1439, they sustained their father's privileges with those states. [38]

During the 1438–43 period, he is thought to have been fighting alongside the Ottomans in their
European campaigns, mostly against the Christian forces led by Janos Hunyadi.[38] In 1440
Skanderbeg was appointed sanjakbey of Dibra.[45][46]

During his stay in Albania as Ottoman governor, he maintained close relations with the population in
his father's former properties and also with other Albanian noble families.[32]

History
Rise
show
 v

 t

 e
Medieval Albanian–Ottoman Wars
Beside Barleti, other sources on this period are
the Byzantine historians Chalcocondylas, Sphrantzes and Critoboulos, and the Venetian documents,
published by Ljubić in "Monumenta spectantia historiam Slavorum Meridionalium". The Turkish
sources – the chroniclers of the early period (Aşıkpaşazade and the "Tarih-i Al-ı Osman"), and the
latter historians (Müneccim Başı) are not at all explicit, and regarding the dates, do not agree with
the Western sources. The Turkish chronicles of Neshri, Idris Bitlisi, Ibn Kemal and Sadeddin only
mention the first revolt of the "treacherous Iskander" in 846 H. (1442–43), the campaign of Sultan
Murad in 851 H. (1447–48) and the last campaign of Mehmed II in 871 H. (1466–67).

In early November 1443, Skanderbeg deserted the forces of Sultan Murad II during the Battle of Niš,
while fighting against the crusaders of John Hunyadi.[47] According to some earlier sources,
Skanderbeg deserted the Ottoman army during the Battle of Kunovica on 2 January 1444.
[48]
Skanderbeg quit the field along with 300 other Albanians serving in the Ottoman army. [47] He
immediately led his men to Krujë, where he arrived on 28 November,[49] and by the use of a forged
letter from Sultan Murad to the Governor of Krujë he became lord of the city that very day. [47][50] To
reinforce his intention of gaining control of the former domains of Zeta, Skanderbeg proclaimed
himself the heir of the Balšić family.[51] After capturing some less important surrounding castles
(Petrela, Prezë, Guri i Bardhë, Sfetigrad, Modrič, and others) he raised, according to Frashëri, a red
standard with a black double-headed eagle on Krujë (Albania uses a similar flag as its national
symbol to this day).[52] Despite his military valor, he was only able to hold his own possessions within
the very narrow area in today's northern Albania where almost all of his victories against the
Ottomans took place.[53]

Skanderbeg abandoned Islam, reverted to Christianity, and ordered others who had embraced Islam
or were Muslim settlers to convert to Christianity or face death.[54] From that time on, the Ottomans
referred to Skanderbeg as "hain (treacherous) İskender".[55] The small court of Skanderbeg consisted
of persons of various ethnicities. Ninac Vukosalić, a Serb, was the dijak ("scribe", secretary) and
chancellor at the court.[56][57] He was supposedly also the manager of Skanderbeg's bank account in
Ragusa. Members of the Gazulli family had important roles in diplomacy, finance, and purchase of
arms. John Gazulli, a doctor, was sent to the court of king Matthias Corvinus to coordinate the
offensive against Mehmed II. The knight Pal Gazulli was travelling frequently to Italy, and another
Gazulli, Andrea, was ambassador of the despot of Morea in Ragusa before becoming a member of
Skanderbeg's court in 1462. Some adventurers also followed Skanderbeg, such as a man named
John Newport; Stefan Maramonte, who acted as Skanderbeg's ambassador to Milan in 1456;
Stjepan Radojevic, who in 1466 provided ships for a trip to Split; Ruscus from Cattaro; and others.
The Ragusan Gondola/Gundulić merchant family had a role similar to Gazulli. Correspondence was
written in Slavic, Greek, Latin, and Italian. Documents in Latin were written by notaries from Italy or
Venetian territories in Albania.[58]

This widely adopted variant of the coat of arms of Skanderbeg is based on

an illustration found in the 1904 book Gli Albanesi e la Questione Balkanica[59] by
prominent Arberësh author and linguist Giuseppe Schirò.
In Albania, the rebellion against the Ottomans had already been smouldering for years before
Skanderbeg deserted the Ottoman army.[60] In August 1443, Gjergj Arianiti again revolted against the
Ottomans in the region of central Albania.[61] Under Venetian patronage,[55] on 2 March 1444,
Skanderbeg summoned Albanian noblemen in the Venetian-controlled town of Lezhë and they
established a military alliance known in historiography as the League of Lezhë.[62] Among those who
joined the military alliance were the powerful Albanian noble families
of Arianiti, Dukagjini, Muzaka, Zaharia, Thopia, Zenevisi, Dushmani and Spani, and also the Serbian
nobleman Stefan Crnojević of Zeta. This was the first time that much of Albania was united under a
single leader.[63]

For 25 years, from 1443 to 1468, Skanderbeg's 10,000-man army marched through Ottoman
territory, winning against consistently larger and better-supplied Ottoman forces. [64] Skanderbeg
organized a mobile defense army that forced the Ottomans to disperse their troops, leaving them
vulnerable to the hit-and-run tactics of the Albanians.[65] Skanderbeg fought a guerrilla war against
the opposing armies by using the mountainous terrain to his advantage. During the first 8–10 years,
Skanderbeg commanded an army of generally 10,000–15,000 soldiers,[citation needed] but only had
absolute control over the men from his own dominions, and had to convince the other princes to
follow his policies and tactics.[66] Skanderbeg occasionally had to pay tribute to the Ottomans, but
only in exceptional circumstances, such as during the war with the Venetians or his travel to Italy
and perhaps when he was under pressure of Ottoman forces that were too strong. [67]

In the summer of 1444, in the Plain of Torvioll, the united Albanian armies under Skanderbeg faced
the Ottomans who were under direct command of the Ottoman general Ali Pasha, with an army of
25,000 men.[68] Skanderbeg had under his command 7,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry. 3,000 cavalry
were hidden behind enemy lines in a nearby forest under the command of Hamza Kastrioti. At a
given signal, they descended, encircled the Ottomans, and gave Skanderbeg a much needed
victory. About 8,000 Ottomans were killed and 2,000 were captured. [66] Skanderbeg's first victory
echoed across Europe because this was one of the few times that an Ottoman army was defeated in
a pitched battle on European soil.

On 10 October 1445, an Ottoman force of 9,000–15,000[69] men under Firuz Pasha was sent to
prevent Skanderbeg from moving into Macedonia. Firuz had heard that the Albanian army had
disbanded for the time being, so he planned to move quickly around the Black Drin valley and
through Prizren. These movements were picked up by Skanderbeg's scouts, who moved to meet
Firuz.[69] The Ottomans were lured