Athleta Christi: George Kastrioti Skanderbeg

Elton Varfi

The Battle of Torviollo

On June 29, 1444, two armies faced each other on the plain of Torviollo. At dawn, the Ottomans moved against the Albanian army. It was not easy for the Albanians to remain still, waiting for the enemy to position itself for battle on the terrain chosen by George Kastrioti, and not on the plain occupied by the Islamic forces. Skanderbeg charged at the head of his army to confront them. The Muslims engaged all their forces to break through the center of the Albanian formations, but that core, led by their commander, resisted. Then, from the woods emerged the Albanian cavalry, attacking the invading army from behind, while Uranacont's forces struck them head-on.

George Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Uffizi Gallery, Florence

The Ottomans, finding themselves between two fires, realized they were lost. Ali Pasha tried in vain to contain the defeat with his best soldiers. George Kastrioti launched another attack, personally throwing himself among the enemies, reaping victims and scattering the last Muslim fighters. The battle lasted until three in the afternoon, and by sunset, the Turks, in disordered retreat, left 8,000 dead, 2,000 prisoners, and 24 flags on the field, along with the entire camp, thousands of horses, provisions, and spoils of all kinds. While the victors tended to the wounded, buried the dead, and pursued the rearguard of the defeated army, messengers of victory ran to announce the glory of the arms in every Albanian province. Timid messengers also arrived in Adrianople to inform the Sultan of the bitter defeat of his army at the hands of soldiers vastly inferior in number and means of armament.

News reached Rome, where Pope Eugene IV thanked the Eternal for the triumph achieved by the Christian arms, as well as Naples, Venice, Budapest, and Burgundy. The Courts of Europe learned that besides Hunyadi, another man was ready in the East to confront the Turk. Meanwhile, Pope Eugene IV, encouraged by the successes of Skanderbeg and Hunyadi, worked to organize a new crusade against the Turks, which would include Hungary, Venice, Genoa, the Byzantine Empire, and the Prince of Karamania. Skanderbeg was also invited to this crusade. Sultan Murad II, worried about these preparations, sought peace with the Hungarians, and despite the efforts of Cardinal Giuliani, closely tied to the Pope, a ten-year truce was signed in Szeged on July 12, 1444. By this treaty, Sultan Murad returned Serbia to George Brankovich, to whom he also returned his two sons held as hostages, committing not to enter Albanian territory ruled by Skanderbeg, thus officially recognizing the Albanian kingdom. As soon as peace was established, Sultan Murad II abdicated in favor of his son, Sultan Mehmed II, and retired to Magnesia to spend his last years in peace.

The truce lasted no more than six weeks. Cardinal Giuliani advised King Ladislaus of Hungary and Poland to disregard this treaty and take advantage of Sultan Murad II's abdication to attack the Turks. Supported by the powers that had joined the crusade, he aimed to expel them from Europe to liberate Constantinople and avoid the risk of it falling into the hands of the infidels. King Ladislaus broke the treaty, declared war on the Turks, and with an army of 14,000 Hungarians, Poles, and Wallachians, entered Bulgaria and camped on the plain of Varna, where the crusaders were to join him. Before moving, he had asked for help from Skanderbeg. Ladislaus' letter, dated June 28, 1444, was submitted to the League's Council, and after much discussion and disagreement, Skanderbeg, with the support of Paul Dukagjin, convinced the Albanian leaders to aid Ladislaus with an army of 15,000 men. This army was assembled with great effort. Paul Dukagjin, who would have brought 5,000 men, fell ill, and his son Lek Dukagjin opposed sending the army. Additionally, Uranacont and Tanush Thopia disagreed with the expedition, arguing that the Turkish Empire could not be easily destroyed and feared that the Turks, taking advantage of Skanderbeg's absence, would enter Albania.

Skanderbeg, determined to keep his word to Ladislaus, gathered the army, delaying several months and jeopardizing every purpose, as he gave George Brankovich of Serbia time to occupy the border passes and block his way. After leaving Uranacont as regent, Skanderbeg departed on October 15 but found the road through Serbia blocked, as George Brankovich, hostile to the Hungarians who had taken some fortresses from him, and allied with Sultan Murad II to whom he had given his daughter in marriage, did not allow Skanderbeg to cross his country. Unable to persuade him peacefully, Skanderbeg ordered his army to force the passages. After crossing two gorges, he advanced into Serbia but then learned from fleeing Hungarian and Polish soldiers that Ladislaus had been killed and Hunyadi captured (he would later ransom his freedom at a high price) at the Battle of Varna on November 10, 1444.

Skanderbeg, regretting not having participated in this battle, ravaged Serbia throughout its territory, laying it to waste to teach the traitor Brankovich a lesson. By the end of November, he returned to Krujë discouraged. Hundreds of Poles and Hungarians, survivors of the Battle of Varna, starving and barefoot, sought refuge in Albania in the heart of winter. Skanderbeg did what he could for these unfortunate souls. He gathered them, clothed them, and sent them back to their countries via Ragusa. In this way, the obstacles posed by the Albanian leaders on one side and Brankovich's betrayal on the other prevented Skanderbeg from participating in the Battle of Varna, which, if won by the allies, would have completely changed the history of Albania by ending the war against the Turks definitively.

Depiction of the Battle of Varna

The defeat at Varna could have had disastrous consequences for the allies if Sultan Murad II had wanted to take greater advantage of the victory by continuing the war operations; Hungary, almost defenseless and subject to discord, regained strength following Ladislaus's death, declaring itself ready to oppose the Muslim army. Hunyadi would have struggled to assemble an army capable in numbers and morale to oppose the victor's advances in those days. The Greek emperor, trembling, remained confined in Constantinople, as if sensing the possible and imminent fall of his weak empire, yet firmly decided to defend it. Only Albania, sustained by unshakable confidence in Skanderbeg, refused to acknowledge the Sultan's authority, reaffirming its independence. Everything thus led to the belief that Murad II would continue his wars of conquest or at least attack Albania to subdue it and punish Skanderbeg for his rebellion.

But none of this happened. The Sultan preferred to make friendly agreements over new wars, driven not so much by the heavy losses suffered, as some claim, but by a deep political thought that made him realize that this was the opportune moment to further consolidate his empire in Europe without risking new wars. Consequently, he initiated peace negotiations with Hunyadi and, overcoming his inner resentment towards Skanderbeg, sent Hairedin Bey as an ambassador to negotiate peace, with a letter containing the conditions under which the Sultan would grant it; this letter, dated June 15, 1445, and sent from Adrianople, was written in authoritative and proud tones (as is customary hierarchically from Lord to Vassal) and spoke more of forgiveness than peace but on the conditions accepted by George Kastrioti's father in 1421, namely that the Sultan would recognize Skanderbeg as Prince of Krujë and Mati, provided he paid a tribute, granting him the fortress of Sfetigrad, the regions of Dibra, and the plain of Mocrena. Hairedin Bey added that if he did not accept these conditions, Skanderbeg would suffer the same fate as Hunyadi at Varna.

The peace conditions included in this letter were rejected by the General Council convened by Skanderbeg for examination; and Skanderbeg, proud of himself and his people, hastened to inform the Sultan that peace would be possible only when he recognized the absolute independence of Albania. The response letter, dated August 12, 1445, and sent from Krujë, began: "George Kastrioti, surnamed Skanderbeg, soldier of Jesus Christ and Albanian Prince and of the Epirotes, to Ottoman Prince of the Turks, greetings." If the Sultan's letter was haughty, Skanderbeg's response was even more haughty and proud, treating him as an equal and, in absolutely rejecting the proposed peace, ended by saying, "what a strange thing it was that the defeated dared to impose conditions on the victor."

Murad II, indignant at such courage, decided to punish the rebellious subject and put an end to an insurrection that, if prolonged further, could cause other troubles for his empire. He ordered the immediate assembly of a strong army of 60,000 armed soldiers, who, under his direct command, would soon invade Albania and lay it to waste. But after reasonable advice and considering that the situation was again worsening in Hungary, where Hunyadi, based on the already signed peace negotiations, had recovered from the damage suffered in the disaster of Varna and had again assembled a vigorous army, Murad II suspended the deployment of all those forces. It was neither convenient nor seemed to him in keeping with his dignity to leave Skanderbeg peacefully and quietly in possession of Albania, so he entrusted a small army of about 15,000 men, mostly cavalry, to Feriz Pasha, with orders to march quickly and secretly and enter Albania before news of his advance became public. The Sultan probably hoped that the small army would easily succeed in the surprise, almost believing and hoping that Skanderbeg had lessened his usual vigilance. Not least, he thought that the sudden appearance of his troops would instill a healthy fear among the Albanian populations, inducing them to detach from Skanderbeg and abandon him to his fate. But it was only an illusion. None of his predictions came true, and a new grave mistake manifested; the first mistake was pausing after the victory of Varna, the second was opening peace negotiations with enemies, giving them time to repair the damage suffered and prepare for new wars.

Feriz Pasha's march had been reported to Skanderbeg, who, from the direction taken, understood that the small Turkish army coming from Skopje would attempt to penetrate Albania through the Kalkandelen pass, near the sources of the Vardar, and descend to Prizren on the White Drin, almost at the confluence of this with the Black Drin; a difficult route through narrow valleys and wooded areas well suited for ambushes and surprises. Skanderbeg, after ensuring surveillance of some border passes, moved with just over 4,000 men into the narrow gorges of the Prizren mountains and positioned his small troop there to surprise the enemy. His foresight was correct. He thus lured Firuz Pasha into the Mocrena forest and gave battle there on October 10, 1445. The Turkish cavalry, hindered at every step by oaks and bushes, harassed and ambushed from all sides by the Albanians who had occupied all the passes, dispersed and fled, leaving 1,500 dead on the ground and a large number of prisoners. The victory at Mocrena, though smaller in scale than that of Torviollo, was celebrated more in the West, where it was received as a welcome revenge after the disaster of Varna. The Christians of Europe rejoiced that another leader had taken Hunyadi's place. Pope Eugene IV, who was grieving for the defeat at Varna, where his dreams had been buried in a sea of blood, upon receiving news of the victory at Mocrena, lifted from all sorrow, solemnly thanked Providence for giving Christendom another powerful defender, who with the victories achieved against the Turks adorned his pontificate and offered him the support of the Catholic Church, assuring him that he would do everything possible to persuade Christian princes to help him against the common enemy.

Bibliography

"Historia e Skënderbeut," Marin Barleti. Tirana 1968.

"L’Albania ed il Principe Scanderbeg," F. Cuniberti, Roux Frassati e C° Editori, Torino 1898.

"Storia di Scanderbeg," Fan S. Noli, (translated by Francesco Argondizza), Rome 1924.

"Scanderbeg," Alessandro Cutolo, Milan 1940.