Siege of Krujë (1467)

[3] However, Skanderbeg's successful liberation of Krujë in the second siege, together with the demise of Ballaban Pasha and heavy losses for the Ottomans, marked a notable shift.

[6] During the spring of 1467, Mehmed II embarked on a military campaign into Albania, choosing Berat as the point of entry, located south of the territories under the control of Skanderbeg.

[7] In the historical account, Tursun Beg chronicles the initial engagement in the Buzurshek valley near Elbasan, characterized by its rugged terrain flanked by towering mountains.

Under cover of night, the Anatolians launched a surprise assault, resulting in the deaths of adult males and the enslavement of women, girls, and boys.

As described by Michael Critobulus, they systematically traversed the region, asserting control over mountains, ravines, gullies, valleys, defiles, and other natural features, indiscriminately subjugating the populace and laying waste to the land for a period of two weeks.

[19] Mehmed II's second campaign against Albania ended in mid-to-late summer without achieving its goals,[20] as the Sultan's involvement was hesitant and sporadic.

wieder gegen Kruja, das aber von 1000 Kriegern Skanderbegs und venezianischen Söldnern unter Einsatz von Feuerwaffen entschlossen verteidigt wurde.Mehmed II probably planned to send a fleet against the Venetians, to the Morea or Negroponte, in 1467, and for this reason he ordered the construction of new ships.Events, however, did not follow the planned course: In Albania, Skanderbeg attacked the Ottoman force that was besieging Kruje and killed Balaban, its leader.

This forced the Sultan to turn his attention once more to Albania and he decided to proceed to a new campaign there.Mehmed would now do everything in his power to take Durres, in order to establish himself on the Adriatic and gain a strong base opposite the Italian coast for operations against the peninsula.When the Ottoman army arrived, Skanderbeg took refuge in the Albanian mountains.

However, they did not find Skanderbeg, who had managed to flee to the coast.According to Tursun Bey and İbn Kemal, before his return, the Sultan sent Mahmud Pasha to raid the city of Shkoder (Scutari), which was held by the Venetians.

Drei Tage lang verwüsteten die Osmanen den reichen Bezirk Skutari, wobei sie große Mengen Vieh erbeuteten.On July 8 Skanderbeg had written the Venetian council from Shkoder, pleading for help.

He received a reply to the effect that the Venetian rcttori had been instructed to give him all possible assistance and that 1,000 foot soldiers and 300 horsemen were being dispatched to the threatened zone.On the following day (July 4) he was expected before Durres, which was well supplied but whose inhabitants had fled in droves.

The Turkish troops pretended to withdraw, but when the peasants and shepherds returned to their homes, they were mercilessly cut down or carried off into slavery.Die Einwohner hatten den Angriff nicht abgewartet, sondern sich mit Hab und Gut nach Apulien geflüchtet; sogar die Kirchenglocken, aus denen Geschütze gegossen werden konnten, nahmen sie mit.Everywhere the bronze bells had been carried away to safety lest they provide the Turks with metal from which to cast cannon.Increasingly grim reports reached the West concerning the flight of great masses to the mountains and the butchering of all those who fell into the hands of the enemy; no one over seven years of age was spared.The sultan had sent 12,000 horsemen into the harbor region, but from the reports reaching the Signoria we must conclude that the attack on Durres and its environs failed ...