Mehmed II's Albanian campaign
Albania at the time was suffering a crisis of power as Skanderbeg, the chief of the League of Lezhë, became a vassal of Alfonso the Magnanimous, the king of Aragon.
Worried about another growing adversary in the Venetian Gulf, the Republic of Venice tried to turn Skanderbeg's allies against him in order to weaken Alfonso's influence.
[2] A large portion of Albanian territory laid waste by the long campaign where the Turkish forces had been stationed for more than half a year.
In 1451, the year after Murad's forces had devastated the country, Mehmed II gained control of the Ottoman Empire following his father's death.
Skanderbeg realized that if Mehmed struck now, he would be in great difficulty since he lacked the resources and the support to successfully hold off a large invasion.
[2] With an internal conflict, a destroyed economy, and a weakened army, Skanderbeg realized that he needed to make an alliance with a powerful state so that the league would continue its existence.
[citation needed] Alfonso himself had been offended when he asked Skanderbeg to attack Venice along with Đurađ Branković and the Albanian refused.
Alfonso was also a devout Christian and found it uneasy to ally with Skanderbeg who had previously practiced Islam in the Ottoman court.
In August 1451, along with Venice he sent messages to Francesco Sforza, then duke of Milan, and Siena to inform them of his victory over the Turks and of the desperate need for supplies to continue combating the Ottoman armies, but no aid was received.
[5] Skanderbeg's primary reason for allying with Alfonso was his fear of 21-year-old Mehmed II, whose ambition was to reconquer Justinian I's empire which stretched from Syria to Spain.
[8] Besides controlling a huge army, Mehmed was widely acknowledged for his far-reaching wisdom which allowed him to produce a highly advanced military armed with the newest models of the cannon.
[7] In May, Alfonso sent two experienced Catalan officers with 200 men and plenty of supplies to Krujë and, on 7 June 1451, he established an alliance with George Arianiti, the most powerful League member from southern Albania.
[10] Later that same year, Alfonso created similar alliances with John Musachi, George Stres Balsha, Muzaka Thopia, Peter Himariot, and Simon Zenevishi, all important Albanian nobles allied to Skanderbeg.
During this brief period of rest, Skanderbeg took up the rebuilding of Krujë and erected a new fortress in Modrica in the Drin valley near Svetigrad (which had been lost in a 1448 siege) where Turkish forces had previously slipped through unhindered.
In response, Alfonso sent Bernard Vaquer to be the governor of Krujë, only to be replaced later by Ramon d'Ortafà, whereas the commander of the garrison was Pedro Scuder with 100 men.
[14] Skanderbeg grew agitated from the Venetian subtleties and threatened a renewed war against Venice under the pretext that the Senate had not been annually paying the 1,400 ducats promised to the Albanian in 1448.
[13] In 1452, Turkish cavalry forces had begun raiding Albanian territories in the east, a common Ottoman tactic to weaken an enemy before beginning a full-scale invasion.
Francesco Sansovino, in Historia universale dell'origine et imperio de'Turchi, states that Hamza, fearing punitive measures, begged for mercy, arguing that he had only fought against Skanderbeg since he had been ordered to.
[19] Franco reports that Skanderbeg's magnanimity became known throughout Albania and the Ottoman Empire to the point where many of his men gained much more respect for him as a warrior.
Skanderbeg, however, had sent Moses of Dibra around Tahip's rear flanks in order to weaken the Ottoman army before launching his main attack.
[17] In order to reduce the risk of Ottoman expeditions prompted by Venice, Skanderbeg took several steps to soften relations with the Republic.
[13] Skanderbeg sent a troop of men to aid the Venetians to thwart the attack, but Venice, despite thanking the Albanian, still held its animosity towards him.
