Krujë managed to withstand the siege put on it by Ballaban Badera, sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Ohrid, an Albanian brought up in the Ottoman army through the devşirme.

Mehmed had decided to construct a fortress in what is now Elbasan which would provide a perennial base for future Ottoman assaults on Skanderbeg's domains.

The fortress especially worried Venice since Elbasan was constructed on the banks of the Shkumbin River which would allow the Ottomans to send ships into the Adriatic and threaten Venetian colonies.

Seeing that his situation had become unfavorable, Skanderbeg made a trip to Italy where he would try to convince Pope Paul II and Ferdinand I of Naples to give him aid for his war.

Skanderbeg gathered 13,400 men, among whom were many Venetians, to launch an assault on the Ottoman besieging camp, who had taken command once Mehmed left Albania after the construction of Elbasan.

This did not signal the end of the war, however, as soon after, Skanderbeg took up some assaults on Elbasan after being urged to by Venice, but was not able to take the fortress due to lack of artillery.

On 14 August 1464, Pope Pius II, one of Skanderbeg's major benefactors, died and his plans for a crusade against the Ottoman Empire disintegrated.

[3] The alliances and promises for help from the major Christian powers were canceled with the exception of the Kingdom of Hungary under Matthias Corvinus and the Republic of Venice.

He thus attempted to sign a peace agreement with Hungary and Venice so that his forces could focus on Albania to gain a base for future campaigns in the Italian peninsula.

[4] Skanderbeg led an incursion into Ottoman territory near Ohrid with the aid of Venetian forces under a condottiero named Antonio da Cosenza, also known as Cimarosto, on 6 September 1464.

Venice began to consider peace with the Ottomans since its resources had significantly decreased, while Hungary adopted a defensive strategy, however, pressure from the Pope and Skanderbeg forced them to abort their efforts.

He kept Pal Engjëlli, his ambassador, in constant correspondence with the Signoria (Venetian Senate), which sent him to Albania to inform Skanderbeg that troops were being raised, although only 300 had been recruited at the time, with Cimarosto as the commander.

Unlike his father Murad II, Mehmed considered that the only way Albania could be conquered would be through isolating Krujë, the main Albanian fortress, by reducing Skanderbeg's manpower, supplies, and political and moral backing.

Both fielded men in the frontier regions, right and left of both valleys, and would engage in massacring the local populations, raiding inhabited areas, and burning every village which offered resistance.

According to an act released Monopoli in Apulia, an army of 300,000 soldiers (a figure considered to be exaggerated) had marched into Albania, massacred 7,000 people, and sacked many populated areas, while Skanderbeg was preparing to flee to Italy.

The arrival of Albanian refugees further distressed the pope and many Italians who had come to believe that Albania had been conquered and that Mehmed was now preparing to march into Italy.

Idris Bitlisi, however, says that Mehmed's campaign was a response to the breaking of the ceasefire in 1463 when Skanderbeg learned that the crusade against the Ottomans organized by Pius II was ready to set off from Ancona.

[18] The resistance itself was described by Tursun Bey: the Albanians had gained control of the mountaintops and valleys where they had their kulle (fortified towers) which were dismantled when captured; those inside, especially the young men and women, were sold to slavery for 3,000–4,000 akçe each.

He also decided to build a powerful fortress in central Albania to counterbalance Krujë's position and to form a base for further Ottoman campaigns.

Since the resources had been gathered and stored beforehand, Elbasan was built within a short time (one month[37]) and Franz Babinger believes the work to have begun in July.

This is further testified by the message Mehmed gave to his son, the future Bayezid II, describing how he had devastated the country and at its center built a powerful fortress.

Upon his exit from Albania, Marin Barleti says that Mehmed passed through Dibra and massacred 8,000 people, a figure close to the number given by the Ottoman chronicler Oruc ben Adil of 7,500.

[45] During October 1466, Skanderbeg travelled to Italy to reach an agreement with Ferdinand of Naples and Pope Paul II over the provisions, which they would be willing to provide.

Since Paul was Venetian, Ferdinand was also worried that his interests could be inhibited by the pope and eventually he didn't send any resources to Skanderbeg until disagreements with his neighbors were resolved.

[53] By 22 November, news came to Venice about the campaigns of Sinan bey against Albania Veneta[55] in order to pressure the Republic to accept a peace or a ceasefire.

The Signoria was slow to come to terms with Mehmed due to the pressure put on it by Pope Paul, Hungary, and Naples to remain at war.

His pessimism grew once he found out that Venice was now pressuring Paul into refusing Skanderbeg aid since they wished to put an end to the war and capitulate Krujë.

During the first days of February, news arrived from the Republic of Ragusa that the campaign was nearing its end and that if the necessary actions were not brought up to speed, Albania would fall along with Venice's possessions.

Skanderbeg met with Dukagjini and other northern Albanian nobles in Alessio (Lezhë) where they gathered an army to assault Ballaban's forces.

[69][71] With the death of Ballaban, Ottoman forces were left surrounded and according to Bernandino de Geraldinis, a Neapolitan functionary, 10,000 men remained in the besieging camp.