Siege of Krujë (1477–1478)

This article is about the fourth siege of Krujë. For other events, see Siege of Krujë.

The Fourth Siege of Krujë (Albanian: Rrethimi i katërt i Krujës) by the Ottoman Empire of Krujë in Albania took place from early 1477 to June 1478, almost ten years after the death of Skanderbeg, the main military commander of the Albanian rebellion against the Ottomans. The long siege resulted in the capture of the city after three previous sieges had failed.

Fourth Siege of Krujë Rrethimi i katërt i Krujës
Part of Albanian–Ottoman Wars (1432–1479)
Date Spring 1477 – June 1478[1] Location Krujë, Albania Result Ottoman victory Territorial changes Ottomans successfully capture Krujë after many sieges of the city
Belligerents
League of Lezhë Republic of Venice	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Lekë Dukagjini Kararslan Kalogirou Gjinia Aleksi Lleshi †[2] [3]	Mehmed II Koca Davud Pasha[4] Mihaloğlu Ali Bey Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey Evranos-zâde Ahmed
Strength
Garrison of 2,000 to 5,000 infantry and 500 civilians[5] 10,000 (siege relief army)	Unknown

Demoralised and severely weakened by starvation and lack of supplies from the year-long siege, the defenders surrendered to Sultan Mehmed II, who had promised to let them go unharmed in return. However, the Ottomans massacred all the men in the city and took the women as slaves.^[1][6]

Defeat of the relief army

Evrenos-zâde Ahmed Bey and Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey were sent in front of the army to build roads and repair bridges. Despite this, the army's movements were made very difficult by the harsh Albanian terrain. Thus, the army, advancing in great difficulty, came to Krujë. Mehmed wanted the castle to be taken as the first objective of the Ottoman offensive of 1477-79 against the Venetian holdings in Albania. A small force was defending Kruje, which was in the hands of the Venetians. After a year-long siege, the city exhausted its supplies, which were mismanaged by the commanders of the defending troops. The Venetians sent auxiliary forces to relieve the city. However, Ahmed Bey defeated these forces, which were estimated to number more than 10,000, with a much smaller force and eliminated the possibility of helping the castle. After this, the garrison's hope was completely crushed. The defenders of Kruje, who ate cats and dogs because of hunger, were running low on weapons, and hearing that the Sultan himself had arrived, they surrendered, realizing that there was no other alternative for survival.^[6][7]

Krujë fell in June of 1478, and the Ottomans massacred all of the males within the city and carried off the women as slaves.^[6]

References

1. Setton 1978, p. 327
2. Barleti, Marin. The History of Skanderbeg.
3. Frashëri 2002
4. Babinger 1978, p. 247
5. Bešić 1970, p. 247: "Опсада Кроје, предузета с прољећа 1477. год., трајала јевише од године дана. Млечани су, шаљући веће снаге, покуша-вали да продру до града и да браниоцима дотуре помоћ. Јер, у Кроји је било само 250 пјешака и 500 стадавника, а хране и муницијесамо за шест мјесеци."
6. Fine Jr. 1994, p. 600
7. Tansel 1994, p. 143 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFTansel1994 (help)

Sources

• Setton, Kenneth Mayer (1978). The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571. Vol. II. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. ISBN 978-0-87169-127-9.
• Frashëri, Kristo (2002). Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu: jeta dhe vepra (1405-1468) (in Albanian). Tirana: Botimet Toena. ISBN 99927-1-627-4.
• Babinger, Franz (1978). Hickman, William C. (ed.). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Translated by Manheim, Ralf. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-01078-6.
• Bešić, Zarij M. (1970). Istorija Črne Gore, Volume 2, Part 2 (in Serbian). Titograd: Redakcija za istoriju Črne Gore.
• Fine Jr., John V. A. (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest (2. print ed.). Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08260-4.
• Tansel, Selâhattin (1953). Osmanlı kaynaklarına göre Fatih Sultan Mehmedʼin siyasî ve askerî faaliyeti (in Turkish).

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