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Siege of Svetigrad Rrethimi i Sfetigradit
Part of Albanian–Ottoman Wars (1432–1479)
Engraving of an engagement during the siege of Svetigrad.
Date 14 May – 31 July 1448 Location Svetigrad41°27′N 20°36′E / 41.450°N 20.600°E / 41.450; 20.600 Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
League of Lezhë	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Skanderbeg Pjetër Perlati	Murad II Prince Mehmed
Strength
2,000 men garrisoned; 8,000 men stationed in the surrounding countryside	80,000–120,000
Casualties and losses
Fortress surrendered but the garrison was spared.	20,000 casualties
class=notpageimage| Location within North Macedonia

The siege of Svetigrad or Sfetigrad (Albanian: Rrethimi i Sfetigradit) began on 14 May 1448 when an Ottoman army, led by Sultan Murad II, besieged the fortress of Svetigrad (now Kodžadžik, North Macedonia). After the many failed Ottoman expeditions into Albania against the League of Lezhë, a confederation of Albanian Principalities created in 1444 and headed by Skanderbeg, Murad II decided to march an army into Skanderbeg's dominions in order to capture the key Albanian fortress of Svetigrad. The fortress lay on an important route between present-day North Macedonia and Albania, and thus its occupation would give the Ottomans easy access into Albania.

At the same time, Skanderbeg had been at war with Venice. Realizing the magnitude of his challenge, Skanderbeg attempted to relieve the garrison by engaging in skirmishes with the Ottoman army. His forces succeeded in inflicting heavy casualties on the Turkish forces through guerrilla-style attacks. Efforts were made by Skanderbeg to use intelligence forces, operating as far as Constantinople, to gather information on Murad's plans of action. Meanwhile, near Scutari, he had been able to defeat a Venetian force and managed to considerably weaken the Venetian presence in Albania. Despite these efforts, on 31 July the garrison of Svetigrad surrendered due to a disruption in the water supply. The garrison was spared and a force of Ottoman Janissaries was stationed inside the fortress instead. Two years later, Murad would march against Krujë, only to suffer a heavy defeat.

Prelude

In 1444 the major princes of the Albanian Principalities, which up to that point had been vassals of the Ottoman Empire, united and formed the League of Lezhë, an anti-Ottoman confederacy under Skanderbeg's lead. As a result, the Ottoman Empire sought to crush the League and re-establish control over Albania. As of 1448, all Ottoman expeditions into Albania had failed and Murad II chose to lead a force in person into Albanian territory and fragment the League. The sultan decided to capture the fortress of Svetigrad. This fortress served the strategic purpose of protecting the Albanian eastern frontier, while also allowing the Albanians to launch their own assaults on Ottoman territory. In late 1447, war began between Venice and the League, but had not yet escalated into full-scale conflict. Skanderbeg had declared war on Venice as a result of a diplomatic impasse. This left him open to invasion from the East.

Albanian intelligence groups informed Skanderbeg—the main leader of the revolt—that a large Ottoman army was preparing to march into Albania, the number of which was reported by some as being as high as 170,000. This army, however, is likely to have contained no more than 80,000 soldiers. Nevertheless, Murad marched his army into Monastir. Skanderbeg urgently called for material aid from Venice. The answer, however, was negative. Instead, the only aid received came from the Neapolitans and the Ragusans. Nonetheless, Murad soon marched into Ohrid and Black Drin valley, traveling near Svetigrad. In response, Skanderbeg strengthened the garrisons of Krujë, Stellushi, Svetigrad, and Berat by ordering the populations around these fortress to take up arms.

Shortly before the Ottoman siege began, Skanderbeg positioned himself, and 4,000 cavalry, 7 miles (11 km) from the Turkish camp. The force also included 8,000 other soldiers. Skanderbeg ordered that no campfires should be lit in order to keep his position secret. Moisi Arianit Golemi and Muzaka of Angelina were ordered, with thirty horsemen, to dress as peasants and enter the fortress. The plot was discovered, however, and the company was attacked, but the attackers were driven off. Upon returning to the main Ottoman camp, one of the commanding pashas saw that this was one of Skanderbeg's plots and sent 4,000 horsemen to find out where Skanderbeg was camping by following Moisi's band. Moisi led the Ottoman force into a valley, and Skanderbeg, who was ready for such an enterprise, surrounded the valley with his forces. When the Ottoman force was within distance, the Albanians sprung the ambush and the Ottoman force was annihilated. This happened on 14 May 1448, after which Murad ordered the siege to begin.

Siege

Ottoman arrival

Murad's force contained approximately 80,000 men and two cannons, which could fire 200 pounds (91 kg) balls. His army contained a fresh corps of Janissaries, and 3,000 debtors and bankrupts fighting to regain their freedom. The Count of Gurrica persuaded Skanderbeg to incorporate a scorched earth strategy, by destroying all supplies that might be used by the Ottoman army. The Ottoman force paraded around the fortress and offered 300,000 aspras (Turkish currency) to those who would open the gate and let the Ottoman army in the fortress without a fight. The heralds proposing these offers went into the fortress at night time and the garrison commanders gave them a splendid dinner, so that they would get the impression that the enemy was well prepared for a lengthy siege. After the dinner their offers were rejected and they were sent back to the Sultan. The size of the Ottoman army troubled Skanderbeg because of the effects it could have on the morale of his soldiers and on the local population which supported the princes. Skanderbeg thus moved from village to village, disguised as a common soldier, and invoked the fighting spirit of the population. As a result of this activity, the local chieftains agreed to fight the Ottomans and persuaded Skanderbeg to draw up his plans in concert with theirs.

Albanian guerrilla attacks

To relieve the garrison of Svetigrad, Skanderbeg continually harassed the Ottoman army. Many of these attacks had been surprise ambushes of isolated Ottoman forces. Hoping to evade Ottoman patrols, Skanderbeg moved towards the Ottoman camp. On 22 June Skanderbeg led a night attack on the Ottoman camp which disillusioned the Ottoman soldiers who had been expecting a quiet campaign. Soon after, when the besiegers were taking their afternoon naps, Skanderbeg sent Moses with some men, again dressed as peasants, inside the Ottoman camp to reconnoiter for a future assault. Skanderbeg spoke to his troops, encouraging them not to take booty from the camp as this might give the Ottoman forces time to react and launch a counterattack. That night, the Albanians launched their attack, but the noise of the armor and the neighing of the horses inhibited a complete surprise. The periphery of the camp was thrown into confusion, but the bulk of the Turkish troops gathered and organized themselves, pushing the Albanians out of the camp but not before suffering heavy casualties. To prevent further attacks of this sort, Murad detached a contingent of troops under Firuz Pasha to watch the Albanians but it was prone to desertion and thoroughly destroyed with its baggage train being captured. A breach in the walls of Svetigrad was made, but the following infantry assault was repulsed. The Albanians began to hope that the sultan would now be returning to Edirne.

Stalemate

The fighting had reached a stalemate and Murad contemplated his next move. He was advised to pillage the countryside, but the surrounding fields had already been burned by Skanderbeg. The sultan decided to stop chasing bodies of men into the forests to prevent further casualties. Mehmed, Murad's son, proposed leaving Svetigrad to strike at Krujë. Murad sternly rejected this, reasoning that the supplies to take Svetigrad would have been wasted and that Krujë would be more strongly defended than Svetigrad. The sultan thus decided to remain at Svetigrad in an attempt to starve the garrison into submission. Meanwhile, the garrison under the leadership of Peter Perlati made several successful sorties against the Ottomans, in order to ease the encirclement and strengthen his soldiers' morale.

Surrender of the fortress

While campaigning against Venetian forces, Skanderbeg managed to inflict a serious defeat on 23 July 1448, seriously weakening Venetian power in Albania. The siege of Svetigrad continued, however, and Marin Barleti writes that the Ottomans bribed a soldier to throw a dead dog into the well of the fortress, forcing the garrison to refuse to drink out of it. It is more likely, however, that the Ottomans had cut off the water supply and induced the garrison to surrender. Given the circumstance, Perlati promised a surrender if the garrison were allowed a safe passage through the Ottoman lines. Prince Mehmed suggested that the garrison should be promised safe passage and then massacred, but Murad rejected his son's proposal, in fear that the rebellion would only be intensified through such an act; he decided to instead return the garrisoning force to Skanderbeg. On 31 July 1448 the garrison of Svetigrad surrendered.

Aftermath

Once the fortress had been captured, Murad placed his own garrison of Janissaries and ordered his men to repair the walls. Perlati and his soldiers came to Skanderbeg, begging for mercy. Skanderbeg pardoned his soldiers for the surrender and even thanked them for holding out for as long as they did. Skanderbeg continued to shadow the Ottoman army as it headed back home in the hopes of dealing some serious damage, but his forces were not strong enough to risk provoking them. In October of the same year, Murad managed to inflict a serious a defeat on John Hunyadi's forces in Kosovo. Skanderbeg had planned to join Hunyadi's offensive with 20,000 men, but he was not able to get there in time due to Đurađ Branković blocking the roads to Kosovo.

The loss of Svetigrad allowed the Ottomans easy access into Albania from the northeast. They could now launch three coordinated invasions from south, southeast, and northeast into Albania. A few weeks after the siege, Mustafa Pasha led 15,000 men into Albania, as requested by Skanderbeg's Venetian rivals, only to be heavily defeated with Mustafa being captured. Skanderbeg tried to regain Svetigrad the next year, but he did not have the proper artillery to do so. He surrounded the fortress, but he realized that his position was hopeless and lifted the siege. In early 1450, the Turks would take Berat through a night-time stratagem and later that same year, Murad would besiege Krujë

References

1. Some sources refer to the siege occurring in 1449. Most original documents, however, only refer to it happening in 1448. See: Schmitt p. 93.
2. Fatih devri üzerinde tetkikler ve vesikalar Halil İnalcık
3. ^ Francione p. 77.
4. ^ Hodgkinson p. 102.
5. Francione p. 79.
6. Rrezja, Agon. Zbulohen varret e betejës së Sfetigradit!. Weblog entry. Humanisticus. August 2, 2007. July 8, 2009 .
7. The graves for the soldiers who died during the siege of Sfetigrad have been found in the village of Kodžadžik near Debar. They contain approximately 300 Christian corpses and approximately 900 Muslim corpses; the graves were separated to correspond to the religious affiliations of the fallen.
8. Aleksandar Stojanovski (1989). Makedonija vo turskoto srednovekovie: (od krajot na XIV-početokot na XVIII v.). Kultura. p. 412. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
9. Hodgkinson p. 95.
10. Frashëri p. 152.
11. Schmitt p. 87.
12. ^ Francione p. 74.
13. Francione p. 76.
14. ^ Franco p. 98.
15. ^ Franco p. 99.
16. Francione pp. 76–77.
17. Hodgkinson p. 97.
18. Hodgkinson p. 98.
19. Hodgkinson p. 99.
20. Hodgkinson p. 100.
21. Hodgkinson 101.
22. Frashëri p. 155.
23. Noli p. 199, note 95.
24. ^ Hodgkinson p. 103.
25. Frashëri p. 161.
26. Frashëri pp. 159-160.
27. Francione p. 69.
28. Noli p. 43.

Sources

• Francione, Gennaro (2006) . Aliaj, Donika (ed.). Skënderbeu, një hero modern : (Hero multimedial) [Skanderbeg, a modern hero (Hero multimedia)] (in Albanian). Translated by Tasim Aliaj. Tiranë, Albania: Shtëpia botuese "Naim Frashëri". ISBN 99927-38-75-8.
• Franco, Demetrio (1539), Comentario de le cose de' Turchi, et del S. Georgio Scanderbeg, principe d' Epyr, Altobello Salkato, ISBN 99943-1-042-9
• Frashëri, Kristo (2002), Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu: jeta dhe vepra, 1405–1468 (in Albanian), Botimet Toena, ISBN 99927-1-627-4
• Hodgkinson, Harry (1999), Scanderbeg: From Ottoman Captive to Albanian Hero, Centre for Albanian Studies, ISBN 978-1-873928-13-4
• Noli, Fan Stilian (1947), George Castroiti Scanderbeg (1405–1468), International Universities Press, OCLC 732882
• Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2009), Skënderbeu, K&B Tiranë, ISBN 978-99956-667-5-0

v t e Major sieges involving the Ottoman Empire by century
13th-14th	1285 Kulaca Hisar 1326 Bursa 1328–1331 Nicaea 1333–1337 Nicomedia 1360s Adrianople 1385 Sofia 1393 Tarnovo 1394–1402 Constantinople
15th	1411 Constantinople 1422 Constantinople 1422–1430 Thessalonica 1428 Golubac 1440 Belgrade 1440–41 Novo Brdo 1448 Svetigrad 1450 Krujë 1453 Constantinople 1455 Berat 1456 Belgrade 1461 Trebizond 1462 Mytilene 1463 Jajce 1464 Jajce 1466–67 Krujë 1467 Krujë 1470 Negroponte 1474 Scutari 1477–78 Krujë 1478–79 Scutari 1480 Rhodes 1481 Otranto 1484 Chilia
16th	1500 Cephalonia 1517 Cairo 1521 Belgrade 1522 Knin 1522 Rhodes 1529 Peñón of Algiers 1529 Vienna 1531 Diu 1532 Güns (Kőszeg) 1532 Maribor 1533–34 Coron 1534 Tunis 1534 Baghdad 1537 Klis 1537 Corfu 1538 Diu 1539 Castelnuovo 1541 Buda 1543 Nice 1543 Esztergom 1548 Aden 1548 Van 1551 Tripoli 1552 Muscat 1552 Hormuz 1552 Temesvár 1552 Eger 1556 Oran 1559 Bahrain 1563 Oran 1565 Malta 1566 Szigetvar 1570–71 Famagusta 1574 Tunis 1578 Gvozdansko 1592 Bihać 1593 Sisak 1596 Eger
17th	1601 Nagykanizsa 1621 Khotyn 1638 Baghdad 1663 Uyvar 1664 Novi Zrin 1648–1669 Candia 1672 Kamenets 1683 Vienna 1684 Buda 1684 Santa Maura 1685 Érsekújvár 1686 Buda 1686 Pécs 1688 Negroponte 1688 Belgrade 1690 Belgrade 1695 Azov 1696 Azov
18th	1711 Brăila 1715 Nauplia 1716 Corfu 1716 Temeşvar 1717 Belgrade 1733 Baghdad 1734–35 Ganja 1737 Ochakov 1739 Belgrade 1788 Ochakov 1788 Khotin 1789 Belgrade 1789–90 Izmail 1799 El Arish 1799 Jaffa 1799 Acre
19th	1801 Cairo 1806 Belgrade 1821 Patras 1821–22 Acropolis 1821 Tripolitsa 1822 Missolonghi 1823 Missolonghi 1825–26 Missolonghi 1826–27 Acropolis 1828 Kars 1828 Varna 1854 Calafat 1854 Silistra 1854–55 Sevastopol 1855 Kars 1877 Plevna
20th	1912–13 Scutari 1912–13 Adrianople 1915 Van 1915–16 Kut 1916–1919 Medina
Ottoman defeats shown in italics.

• Warfare by Skanderbeg
• Battles involving Albania
• 1448 in Europe
• Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire
• Conflicts in 1448
• 1448 in the Ottoman Empire
• Battles of Mehmed the Conqueror