Gjergj Kastrioti (1405?-1468) was born into a noble Albanian family based in Krujë or a nearby region. His father, Gjon, ruled north-central Albania and initially resisted the Ottoman invasion but was eventually forced into submission to the Sultan. As part of the Devşirme system – the so-called ‘blood tax’, which required Christian families to send their sons as tribute to the Ottoman court – the young Gjergj was taken hostage and raised within the Ottoman military system. He was converted to Islam and trained in the imperial military schools. After completing his education, he served in the Ottoman army under Sultan Murad II (reign: 1421-1444 and 1446-1451), where he distinguished himself in campaigns against the Greeks, Serbs, and Hungarians. In recognition of his military skills, he was given the title Iskender Bey, meaning ‘Lord Alexander’, a reference to Alexander the Great. In Albanian, this became Skënderbeu, and in English, Skanderbeg.

Despite his upbringing within the Ottoman system, Skënderbeu’s connection to Albania remained central to his identity. In 1443, during a campaign against the Hungarian crusader forces led by János Hunyadi (1407-1456), he deserted the Ottoman army along with approximately 300 Albanian soldiers under his command. Returning to his homeland, he seized control of Krujë by deceiving the Ottoman governor [subaşi] with a forged letter allegedly issued by the Sultan. Once in control, he established the castle as his headquarters, raised the Albanian flag bearing the double-headed eagle, and declared a rebellion against Ottoman rule.

In 1444, Skënderbeu succeeded in uniting several Albanian principalities into a military alliance known in historiography as the League of Lezhë. Although politically fragmented for centuries, these territories now formed a coordinated resistance against the Ottoman Empire. The alliance fielded a relatively small army of around 20,000 men, with Skënderbeu directly commanding approximately 4,000. To compensate for this numerical inferiority, he developed a highly mobile defensive strategy based on hit-and-run tactics, using the mountainous terrain and local support networks to disrupt Ottoman operations. His first major victory came at Torvioll in 1444, a battle that resonated across Europe as one of the rare occasions on which an Ottoman force was defeated by a European army. This success was followed by further victories at Mokra (1445) and Otonetë (1446), reinforcing his reputation as a formidable military commander.

Skënderbeu’s struggle also involved shifting political alliances. The Republic of Venice initially supported him, viewing his forces as a buffer against Ottoman expansion. However, as his influence grew, Venice came to regard him as a regional threat, leading to the Albanian-Venetian War of 1447-1448. Despite facing pressure on multiple fronts, Skënderbeu maintained his position and eventually reached a peace agreement with Venice, partly influenced by calls to join János Hunyadi in broader anti-Ottoman campaigns in the Balkans.

One of the defining features of Skënderbeu’s resistance was his prolonged defense of Krujë, which became a symbol of Albanian defiance. In 1450, Ottoman forces laid siege to Krujë Castle but failed to breach its formidable defenses, ultimately withdrawing due to the rapid spread of disease and growing disorder within their camp. In 1455, the strategic situation briefly reversed when Skënderbeu laid siege to Berat Castle. Although the Ottoman commander initially agreed to surrender, Skënderbeu made a critical error by leaving one of his generals to oversee the final stages of the capitulation. Seizing this opportunity, Ottoman forces mounted a surprise counterattack, inflicting one of the most significant defeats of his otherwise successful campaign. Despite this setback, Skënderbeu continued to resist. Following a renewed Ottoman offensive in 1466, a third siege of Krujë was launched in 1467. Attacking from multiple directions, the Ottomans aimed to cripple his mobility and sever his supply lines; nevertheless, the defenders once again held firm. Skënderbeu, however, did not live to see the outcome of this resistance, as he died of malaria in 1468. He was reportedly buried in the Cathedral of Lezhë.

For 25 years, Skënderbeu led a sustained resistance against one of the most powerful empires of the time, which had already conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and large parts of the Balkans. Traditional accounts attribute him with 24 victories out of 25 major battles, though these figures are often debated and should be understood within the framework of historical tradition and later historiography. Regardless of the exact numbers, his campaigns significantly slowed Ottoman expansion into Western Europe. His legacy also grew into legend. Over time, Skënderbeu became a symbol of Christian resistance against Ottoman Islam in European memory, though this interpretation is partly shaped by later cultural and political narratives. Stories emerged describing supernatural aspects of his strength – such as a sword so heavy that only he could wield it, and so sharp that it could cut a man vertically from head to waist. Similarly, the sound of his horse’s neigh alone was sad to be enough to instill terror in his enemies. According to legend, when the Ottomans later discovered his grave, they opened it and made amulets from his bones, believing they would make the wearer invincible.

Skënderbeu’s reputation extended far beyond Albania. The French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire highly respected the Albanian military leader, while Ludvig Holberg, a Danish writer and philosopher, regarded him as one of the greatest generals in history. His legacy also inspired a range of artistic works. The Italian Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi composed an opera titled Scanderbeg in his honor. The English poet Lord Byron wrote admiringly about him and his warrior nation in his epic poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. He is also mentioned by the Montenegrin poet and philosopher Petar II Petrović-Njegoš in his epic poems The Mountain Wreath and The False Tsar Stephen the Little. In modern literature, the Albanian writer Ismail Kadare reinterprets his historical role in The Siege, offering a more complex philosophical reflection on his legacy and symbolism.

““Once, if I am not mistaken, I told you about Skanderbeg,” the Quartermaster went on. “He’s much talked about. He’s said to be the greatest warrior of our era, and he’s been called at one and the same time a lion, a renegade, a traitor to Islam, a champion of Christ, and who knows what else. As far as I can see all these epithets do apply to him, but I would prefer to describe him differently. To my mind he’s a man ahead of his time. We are striking at his visible part, but there is another part we can do nothing about, absolutely nothing, because it has escaped us already. For the moment he is dragging Albania into the abyss, believing that he is making his nation unattainable, in his own image, by making it also pass out of its own time into another dimension. He may well be right. It would be pointless for us to try to separate Skanderbeg from Albania. Even if we wanted to we would not be able to do it… “What he’s working towards,” the Quartermaster continued, “is to give Albania a cloak of invulnerability, to give it a form which casts it up and beyond the vicissitudes of the present — a metaform, if I may say, which makes it able to resuscitate, or to put it another way, he is trying to prepare his nation for another world. I don’t know if you follow my drift … He is trying to crucify Albania, as their God was crucified, so that like Christ, Albania will be resurrected. He doesn’t care whether it is on the third day, the third century or the third millennium after his death that Albania rises! What matters is his vision of the future …””

Ismail Kadare: Siege (1970)

Today, Skënderbeu remains deeply embedded in Albanian national memory. The National History Museum Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu [Muzeu Historik Kombëtar Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu], located within Krujë Castle, showcases his life, military campaigns, and cultural impact. Although only four artifacts attributed to him have survived – his famous goat-headed helmet, two swords, and a prayer book – they remain powerful symbols of his legacy. The helmet and swords are displayed at the Collection of Arms and Armour in Vienna’s New Castle [Neue Burg], affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts [Kunsthistorisches Museum]. The prayer book is archived at the Shelley Publishing House in Chelsea, London. Skënderbeu is also commemorated through numerous statues in Albania and around the world, with his equestrian monuments in Krujë and Tirana being particularly striking. His memorial tomb, the Tomb of Gjergj Kastriot Skënderbeu [Vendvarrimi i Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu], is located in Lezhë.

Sources
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_skanderbeg.html
Gibbon, Edward (1789) The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 6