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The fourth siege of Shkodra of 1478–79 was a confrontation between the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and the Venetians together with the League of Lezhe and other
Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
at Shkodra (Scutari in Italian) and its Rozafa Castle during the First Ottoman-Venetian War (1463–1479). Ottoman historian
Franz Babinger Franz Babinger (15 January 1891 – 23 June 1967) was a well-known German orientalist and historian of the Ottoman Empire, best known for his biography of the great Ottoman emperor Mehmed II, known as "the Conqueror", originally published as ''Me ...
called the siege "one of the most remarkable episodes in the struggle between the West and the Crescent".Babinger, Franz. ''Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time''. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1978. A small force of approximately 1,600 Albanian and Italian men and a much smaller number of womenBuda, Aleks. "Hyrja" published in Barleti, Marin. ''Rrethimi i Shkodrës''. Tiranë: Instituti i Historisë, 1967. faced a massive Ottoman force containing artillery cast on site and an army reported (though widely disputed) to have been as many as 350,000 in number. The campaign was so important to
Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
"the Conqueror" that he came personally to ensure triumph. After nineteen days of bombarding the castle walls, the Ottomans launched five successive general attacks which all ended in victory for the besieged. With dwindling resources, Mehmed attacked and defeated the smaller surrounding fortresses of
Žabljak Crnojevića Žabljak Crnojevića ( sr-cyrl, Жабљак Црнојевића, ), commonly referred to as Žabljak, is an abandoned medieval fortified town (fortress) in Montenegro. The fortress is located on the confluence of the Morača river in Lake Skada ...
,
Drisht Drisht ( sq-definite, Drishti) is a village, former bishopric and Latin titular see with an Ancient and notable medieval history (Latin ''Drivastum,'' Italian ''Drivasto'') in Albania, 6 km from Mes Bridge (Albanian: ''Ura e Mesit''). It is l ...
, and Lezha, left a siege force to starve Shkodra into surrender, and returned to
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. On January 25, 1479, Venice and Constantinople signed a peace agreement that ceded Shkodra to the Ottoman Empire. The defenders of the citadel emigrated to Venice, whereas many Albanians from the region retreated into the mountains.Shpuza, Gazmend. “La Lutte pour la défense de Shkodër dans années 1474 et 1478–1479,” in ''Studia Albanica'', VI, 1968, pp. 181–90. Shkodra then became a seat of the newly established Ottoman
sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian language, Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησι ...
, the
Sanjak of Scutari The Sanjak of Scutari or Sanjak of Shkodra ( sq, Sanxhaku i Shkodrës; sr, Скадарски санџак; tr, İskenderiye Sancağı or ''İşkodra Sancağı'') was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Otto ...
. The Ottomans held the city until
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
captured it in April 1913, after a six-month siege.


Background

Shkodra, also known as Shkodër or as Scutari, was both a strategic town and an important region of
Albania Veneta Venetian Albania ( vec, Albania vèneta, it, Albania Veneta, Serbian and Montenegrin: Млетачка Албанија / ''Mletačka Albanija'', ) was the official term for several possessions of the Republic of Venice in the southeastern Adria ...
. After being held by the
Balšić noble family The House of Balšić ( sr-Cyrl, Балшић), or the Balsha ( sq, Balshaj) was a noble family that ruled " Zeta and the coastlands" (southern Montenegro and northern Albania), from 1362 to 1421, during and after the fall of the Serbian Empire. ...
since 1355, Shkodra was briefly taken by the
Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
in 1393, retaken by
Đurađ II Balšić Đurađ Stracimirović ( sr-cyr, Ђурађ Страцимировић; 1385 – April 1403), or Đurađ II, was the Lord of Zeta from 1385 to 1403, as a member of the Balšić noble family. He was the son of Stracimir Balšić, and succe ...
in 1395, then ceded (along with the nearby fortresses of
Drivast Drisht ( sq-definite, Drishti) is a village, former bishopric and Latin titular see with an Ancient and notable medieval history (Latin ''Drivastum,'' Italian ''Drivasto'') in Albania, 6 km from Mes Bridge (Albanian: ''Ura e Mesit''). It is l ...
,
Dagnum Dagnum ( sq, Danjë or Dejë, sr, Danj, it, Dagno) was a town, bishopric and important medieval fortress located on the territory of present-day Albania, which has been under Serbian, Venetian and Ottoman control and remains a Latin Catholic t ...
, and Šas) to the Republic of Venice in 1405.Prifti, Kristaq, et al. ''Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime'', vol. 1. Tirana: Toena, 2002. Sultan Mehmed II had already conquered Constantinople in 1453, but now desired to dominate the Albanian coastline and be better poised to cross the Adriatic and march upon Rome.Kinross, John Patrick Douglas Balfour. ''The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire''. New York: Harper Perennial, 2002.
Scanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...
had thwarted Ottoman success in Albania for a quarter of a century; his League of Lezha, a united front of Albanian forces which was formed in 1444 to resist the Ottomans, had collapsed in 1468. Scanderbeg died in 1468; nevertheless, Kruja and some northern Albanian garrisons were still holding with Venetian support. The Venetians and the Ottoman Empire had been at war since 1463, the Ottoman Empire seeking expansion and the Venetians seeking to secure their trading colonies. Venice held and was arming a number of Albanian towns, including Shkodra, which it had taken in 1396 and renamed Scutari. By 1466 Venice considered Shkodra the heart and capital of Albania Veneta.Schmitt, Oliver (translated by Ardian Klosi). ''Arbëria Venedike (1392-1479)'', Tirana: K&B, 2002. Shkodra was so important to the Empire's aims that, shortly after the siege, Ottoman chronicler
Ashik Pashazade An ashik ( az, :az:aşıq, aşıq, ; tr, :tr:Halk ozanı, âşık; fa, :fa:عاشیق, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, :hy:Աշուղական արվեստ, աշուղ; ka, :ka:აშუღი, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet ...
called it "the hope of passage to the lands of Italy". The Ottomans attempted to take Shkodra in the siege of 1474. Sultan Mehmed II's commander Suleiman Pasha failed; therefore the Ottomans retreated and the sultan planned a more powerful offensive. Meanwhile, Mehmed II had demanded that Venice surrender Kruja, Shkodra, and other Albanian towns in exchange for peace, and added leverage to this demand by instructing Iskender Bey, the
sanjak bey Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг ('' okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
of Bosnia to invade
Friuli Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia ...
. Count Carlo da Braccio repulsed the invaders, but before returning to Bosnia, "the Turkish bands nevertheless did enormous damage and carried away large numbers of men and cattle." Despite these losses, Venice refused to yield to Mehmed II's demands to surrender Shkodra, being its "last bastion in the East". In 1477 the Ottomans captured most of the nearby territory of
Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...
together with
Žabljak Žabljak (Serbian / Montenegrin: Жабљак, ) is a small town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 1,723. Žabljak is the seat of Žabljak Municipality (2011 population: 3,569). The town is in the centre of the Durmitor mountain ...
and defeated the main army of
Ivan Crnojević Ivan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Црнојевић, italics=no, lit=Ivan the Black) was the lord of Zeta and Serbian leader from 1465 to 1490. Having formed an alliance with the Republic of Venice, he led the Serb resistance against the expandi ...
late in 1477 or early 1478. Crnojević soon recovered Žabljak but held it only briefly while the Ottomans concentrated on their attack on Shkodra. Among the population of Shkodra there were people who were suspected to be connected to the Ottomans and who supported the surrender of the city.


Forces involved

The
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
was intent on defending Shkodra.Nadin, Lucia. ''Shqiptarët në Venedik: Mërgim e integrim 1479–1552''. Tirana: Shtëpia Botuese "55", 2008. Expecting the new Ottoman attack, the Venetians prepared vigorously, sending their expert engineers to reinforce the fortifications according to the most modern techniques and maintaining a garrison of about 800 mercenaries in the city. In late 1477, as the new Ottoman threat grew imminent, many Venetian mercenaries deserted Shkodra. Therefore, the Venetian Senate finally approved the locals' requests for arms and gave permission for the recruitment of warriors from the surrounding villages. The city of Shkodra would be defended by its strong walls and a mixed garrison of locals and the remaining Venetian mercenaries. In the spring of 1478, Mehmed II dispatched both the beylerbey of
Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...
,
Koca Davud Pasha Davud Pasha ( Turkish: ''Koca Davud Paşa''; 1446–1498), also known with the epithet "Koca", was an Ottoman Albanian general and grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1482 to 1497 during the reign of Bayezid II. He became a '' damat'' ("br ...
, and the new beylerbey of
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, Mustafa Bey, to Shkodra with the armies under their control. In his eyewitness testimony (book), '' The Siege of Shkodra'', Shkodran historian
Marin Barleti Marin Barleti ( la, Marinus Barletius, it, Marino Barlezio; – ) was a historian and Catholic priest from Shkodër who was a humanist. He is considered the first Albanian historian because of his 1504 eyewitness account of the 1478 siege o ...
recorded that there may have been up to 350,000 Ottoman soldiers involved in the attack. Ottoman chronicler Kivami wrote of 100,000 Ottoman soldiers in one attack alone.Pulaha, Selami (ed.). ''Lufta shqiptaro-turke në shekullin XV''. Burime osmane. Tiranë: Universiteti Shtetëror i Tiranës, Instituti i Historisë dhe Gjuhësisë, 1968 Venice wanted to aid the besieged and sent their galleys up the Bojana River from the Adriatic Sea, but they were prevented by an Ottoman blockade at Shirgj. When the Ottomans approached Shkodra in May 1478, Venetian commander Antonio da Lézze sent the women and children to the seaside villages,Barleti, Marin. ''Rrethimi i Shkodrës''. Tiranë: Instituti i Historisë, 1967, but some women stayed behind to help the men. Approximately 2,000 people defended the castle from within, whereas hundreds of Albanian men and youths from the region helped from without, making guerilla attacks on the Ottoman tent camps. Forces of
Ivan Crnojević Ivan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Црнојевић, italics=no, lit=Ivan the Black) was the lord of Zeta and Serbian leader from 1465 to 1490. Having formed an alliance with the Republic of Venice, he led the Serb resistance against the expandi ...
, with
Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...
n support, sailed over the lake and attacked Ottoman tents at night. Other notable figures in the defense of Shkodra were Friar Bartholomew of Epirus, who had fought alongside Scanderbeg before taking holy orders and gave rousing speeches to rally the defenders, and
Nicholas Moneta The Moneta family was a 15th-century noble family of Zeta, Serbian Despotate and Venetian Republic in the region of Scutari (modern day Albania). They first served Zeta's Lord Balša III and Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević before they became pr ...
.


Rozafa Fortress and the siege

The Rozafa Fortress was the focal point of the siege, the natural position and architectural reinforcements of which allowed the vastly outnumbered garrison to withstand bombardment and successive ground attacks by the besiegers. The castle (as it is sometimes called) was considered the central leg of a trivet (or
tripod A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...
) including Zabljak, Drisht, and Lezhë. The city of Shkodra had been burned and rampaged by the Turks in 1467, so from that time the citizens had moved into the fortress for greater security. The fortress was a natural bastion above
Lake Shkodra Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...
, three rivers ( Bojana, Drin, and Kir), and the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
; it was esteemed to have been "a kind of
Thermopylae Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...
where the high mountains narrowed the passage between the lake and the sea". All faces of the fortress mount were recorded as being steep, but the northern face was least steep and more easily climbed. Ottoman chroniclers reported the difficulties of ascending the fortress mount. Foreseeing
siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
warfare, in 1458, Venetian architects Andrea and Francesco Venier and Malchiore da Imola drew plans for the citadel's reinforcements and a cistern system designed to collect rain water.Kamsi, Vili. “Kështjella e Shkodrës dhe Restaurimi i Saj” in ''Monumentet'', 1 (ed. Gani Strazimiri). Tiranë: Ministria e Arsimit dhe e Kulturës, 1971 Additionally, the Venetians added a
barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...
and extra gate to reinforce what they (correctly) forecast to be the main point of conflict. In the failed Ottoman siege of 1474, the outer walls were damaged significantly. According to Barleti's firsthand account, the citizens rebuilt the walls, but when they sensed that the Ottomans were approaching again with an even stronger attack, they constructed secondary fortifications and redoubts made of wood and earth.Barleti, Marin (trans. Henrik Lacaj). ''Rrethimi i Shkodrës''. Tirana: Instituti i Historisë, 1967.


The siege

In the Spring of 1478, Mehmed II sent out advance scouts and then his commanders to march on Shkodra, inducing panic across the countryside. On May 14, the first soldiers arrived in Shkodra: 8,000 Ottoman akinci led by Ali Bey, 4,000 horsemen led by Iskender Bey, and 3,000 horsemen led by Malkoch (Malkoçoğlu). The citizens intensified their work to fortify the citadel, adding secondary defenses in anticipation of seeing the outer walls demolished by the Ottoman cannonade. The Ottomans set fire to surrounding villages and many citizens of the Shkodra region fled to safer haven. Five days later, the pasha of Rumelia, Davud Pasha, arrived and set up camp on the hill due north of the castle, known as "Pasha's Hill," where much of the Ottoman cannonade would be positioned (at approximately the same altitude as the fortress). The defenders were stationed on all sides but concentrated their resources on the main gate area where the Ottomans focused their attack. Around June 5, Davud Pasha climbed St. Mark's Mountain (today's Mt. Tarabosh, opposite the castle to the west) to survey the positions and strategize. Several days later, the pasha of Anatolia (Mustafa Bey) arrived bringing approximately 46,000 cavalry. On June 15, about 5,000 of the sultan's
janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
came to prepare for Mehmed II's arrival on July 1. Mehmed was in Kruja to conclude a year-long siege. Those in Kruja, dying of hunger, were given the choice of staying and submitting to Ottoman rule or withdrawing safely with their possessions. They chose the latter, but instead were "mercilessly beheaded". By June 16, 1478, Kruja was finally under Ottoman control. Ottoman soldiers continued to flow into Shkodra throughout the latter half of June. Around June 18, a small delegation of Ottoman leaders demanded the Shkodrans surrender, offering peace and rewards if they chose to comply and threatening torture and execution if they chose to resist. On behalf of all the Shkodrans, Peter Pagnanus refused the offer with threats of his own. On June 22, the first two Ottoman cannons were installed and began to fire on the city. By July 11, eleven cannons were being employed, as well as two mortars whose projectiles exploded upon impact. Babinger records artillery of enormous caliber and "incendiary rockets, balls of rags impregnated with wax, sulfur, oil, and other inflammable materials" being "used for the first time". The besieged also had cannons of their own. The Shkodran priest Marin Barleti recorded a daily tally of incoming cannon fire, with the total reaching over 3,200 shots. Von Hammer gives a figure of 2,534 total shots.Von Hammer, Joseph. ''Geschichte des osmanischen Reiches, Grossentheils aus bisher unbenützten, Handschriften und Archiven.'' Pest: C.A. Hartlenben's Verlage, 1828. On July 11, the sultan launched the first of five ground attacks. The climb proved difficult for the Ottoman soldiers, who were repulsed in every attack. On July 27, the Ottomans launched their fifth and final assault. Shkodran Jacob Moneta roused his ailing troops with a thrilling speech. The sultan climbed Pasha's Hill to observe the battle. Determined to triumph, the sultan ordered heavy artillery fire simultaneous to the ground assault, resulting in at least three instances of devastating "
friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while eng ...
" upon the Ottomans. Incredibly, the Shkodran garrison held yet again. Barleti records that the arrows fired by the Ottoman archers were so copious that the Shkodrans used them for kindling to start fires—and needed no other kindling for an entire month. The Venetian historian Sabellicus reported anecdotal accounts from eyewitnesses inside the castle, such as: "a miserable cat, scared from her hiding place by the war-cries, fell pierced by eleven rrowshafts at once" On July 30, the sultan gathered his general council desiring to plan a sixth ground attack, but was persuaded to halt attacks on the Shkodrans who, according to Ottoman historian Kivami, were fighting "like tigers on the mountaintops". The sultan accepted this counsel at the end of August and ordered his commanders to attack the smaller fortresses nearby who were aiding Shkodra. Žabljak, "where Ivan Crnojevic (1465–1490), 'lord of the Zeta,' had established his court, surrendered to the governor of Rumelia almost without a blow (not by Crnojević but by his cousin and small number of men). Drisht, however, ... resisted bravely," but the Ottomans captured it easily on 1 September 1478, using their artillery. 300 captives from Drisht were taken to Shkodra and executed in the sight of the besieged. Then the Ottomans marched on
Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. One of the main strongholds of the Labeatai, the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typical Illyrian const ...
but found it nearly completely abandoned; on the
Drin River The Drin (; sq, Drin or ; mk, Дрим, Drim ) is a river in Southern and Southeastern Europe with two distributaries one discharging into the Adriatic Sea and the other one into the Buna River. Its catchment area extends across Albania, K ...
they captured two Venetian galleys with 200 sailors, who were taken near the walls of Shkodra and killed in front of the people of Shkodra. Mehmed II ordered bridges to be built on the Bojana River to prevent Venetian ships from coming to Shkodra's aid via the Adriatic Sea. He ordered a siege force to remain in Shkodra—led by
Gedik Ahmed Pasha Gedik Ahmed Pasha (; died 18 November 1482) was an Ottoman statesman and admiral who served as Grand Vizier and Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy) during the reigns of sultans Mehmed II and Bayezid II. Very little was known abou ...
and said to have contained between 10,000 and 40,000 soldiers—to starve the city into surrender. Then, "disappointed at the outcome of his Albanian campaign, Mehmed started the return journey" to Constantinople, "with 40,000 men".


Conclusion

In November 1478, as the siege wore on and as the besieged had resorted to eating mice and rats, Antonio Da Lézze (the proveditore of the city) continued to appeal for help to the
Signoria of Venice The Signoria of Venice (''Serenissima Signoria'') was the supreme body of government of the Republic of Venice. The older Commune of Venice was replaced by the Signoria from 1423 on, being later officially adopted in the ''Promissione Ducale'' by ...
, which decided to send forces to lift the siege; four days later, however, the decision was reversed. On January 25, 1479,Pitcher, Donald Edward. ''An historical geography of the Ottoman empire from earliest times to the end of the sixteenth century''. Leiden, Brill, 1972,
973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Constantinople which ceded Shkodra to Mehmed II on the condition that the citizens be spared. Venice did not include its ally
Ivan Crnojević Ivan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Црнојевић, italics=no, lit=Ivan the Black) was the lord of Zeta and Serbian leader from 1465 to 1490. Having formed an alliance with the Republic of Venice, he led the Serb resistance against the expandi ...
in this peace treaty; therefore Crnojević was forced to leave
Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...
and find a haven in Italy. The treaty was ratified in Venice on April 25, 1479. The Shkodrans in the castle had to choose between emigrating to Venice or dwelling under the rule of their enemies. Marin Barleti records that every citizen chose emigration. Babinger records that, after the 1479 peace treaty, the old Albanian families "such as the Arianiti, the Dukagjins, the Castriotas, the Musachi, and the Topias were obliged to take refuge in Naples, Venice, or northern Italy". Many Albanians, however, did remain in their fatherland. Some espoused Islam and some retreated deeper into the mountains and organized occasional uprisings, maintaining a "rigorous resistance" against the Ottomans until well into the seventeenth century. Both the besieged and the besiegers acknowledged both victory and loss. The Shkodran garrison indeed withstood the military assault, but they eventually lost and left the city; whereas the Ottomans indeed gained the city, but only after failing to conquer it by military force and sustaining significant casualties.


Casualties

Franz Babinger Franz Babinger (15 January 1891 – 23 June 1967) was a well-known German orientalist and historian of the Ottoman Empire, best known for his biography of the great Ottoman emperor Mehmed II, known as "the Conqueror", originally published as ''Me ...
claims that the Ottomans lost "12,000 of their best troops" on the attack of July 22 alone, then describes a further one-third of the Ottoman army being lost on July 27; the Shkodran garrison is said to have lost 400 on July 22. Ottoman historian Kemal Pashazade (1468–1534) recorded that "hundreds of the infidels and Muslims died each day and hundreds more escaped with wounded heads … swollen with lumps and craters like the surface of the moon." Another Ottoman historian, Tursun (ca. 1426–1491), recorded "A great war unfolded and an unmerciful bloodshed that had never before been seen in history".
Marin Barleti Marin Barleti ( la, Marinus Barletius, it, Marino Barlezio; – ) was a historian and Catholic priest from Shkodër who was a humanist. He is considered the first Albanian historian because of his 1504 eyewitness account of the 1478 siege o ...
recorded thousands of Ottoman casualties and hundreds of Shkodran casualties. Albanian historian Aleks Buda, in his analysis of Venetian chronicles of the event, concludes that of the approximately 1,600 Shkodran men and women who fought in the citadel, approximately 450 men and 150 women survived.


Significance

After the fall of Shkodra in 1479, the Ottomans effectively controlled the entire territory of Albania and could focus on advancing to Italy. Ottoman chronicler Ashik Pashazade (ca. 1400–1481) claimed "Shkodra has been conquered, a fortress near land and sea ... the hope of passage to Italy!" Indeed, the Ottomans would pass on to Italy in July, 1480, at the invasion of Otranto. So important was Albania to the Otranto invasion that Gedik Ahmet Pasha (the Ottoman army and navy commander) utilized it as a supply station and place of quick retreat. Goffman records a 1548 battle off the coast of Préveza in which an inferior Ottoman fleet led by
Barbarossa Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to: * Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor * Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral * Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Un ...
routed
Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Repu ...
's Catholic galleys largely because of the fresh reinforcements coming from the Ottoman-controlled Albanian shores. Thirty-six of Doria's vessels were captured, whereas Barbarossa lost none. In Shkodra and other parts of northern Albania, the Ottomans transformed churches into mosques and promoted conversion to Islam. According to the Albanologist
Robert Elsie Robert Elsie (June 29, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was a Canadian-born German scholar who specialized in Albanian literature and folklore. Elsie was a writer, translator, interpreter, and specialist in Albanian studies, being the author of numerou ...
, an estimated thirty to fifty percent of the population of northern Albania eventually converted by the early seventeenth century. They "converted … mainly not for theological reasons, but primarily to have the right to bear weapons, to have access in the Ottoman state high ranks, to make career in the military and to avoid higher taxes". Franciscan missionary activity helped to stem this tide; nevertheless, conversions "continued unabated throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries". According to Albanian historian and Osmanolog Dritan Egro many high ranking Ottoman Albanians would push other Albanian to convert in Islam in order to fill Ottoman ranks and create an Albanian pyramid of power inside the Empire. It is not a confidence that the 2 Pashas that were send to take Shkodra, Ghedik Pasha and Davut Pasha were both Albanian. Shkodra became an administrative and military center known as a
sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian language, Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησι ...
and it was one of the main Ottoman cities in the Balkans. The city became famous for its artisan weapon manufacturing by the locals for the Albanian mercenaries to use in battle or show as a sign of power. In between the 1750s to 1830s the city was the centre of the semi indepdent Pashalluk of Shkodra lead by the powerful Albanian
Bushati family The Bushati family ( sq, Bushatllinjtë) was a prominent Ottoman Albanian family that ruled the Pashalik of Scutari from 1757 to 1831. Origins They are descendants of the medieval Bushati tribe, a pastoralist tribe (''fis'') in northern Albani ...
who would expand its power in large areas of western Balkans. In 1867 it merged with the sanjak of Skopje to form the Vilayet of Shkodra. In 1912, Albania declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, procuring the favor of the London Conference of Ambassadors.


Art and literature

The siege of Shkodra is depicted in several works of European literature and art. The façade of the former School of the Albanians in Venice contains a relief created by an unknown sculptor and placed there in 1532 (it has been erroneously attributed to
Vittore Carpaccio Vittore Carpaccio (British English, UK: Help:IPA/English, /kɑːrˈpætʃ(i)oʊ/, American English, US: Help:IPA/English, /-ˈpɑːtʃ-/, Italian: Help:IPA/Italian, itˈtoːre karˈpattʃo c. 1460/66 – 1525/26) was an Italians, Italian pai ...
). Sultan Mehmed II is depicted with his Grand Vizier below a cliff on which the Rozafa Castle is perched. The hero commanders of both the 1474 and 1478 battles — Antonio Loredan and Antonio da Lézze—are honored by the inclusion of their coats-of-arms. The Latin inscription means: “The people of Shkodra put up this everlasting monument of their outstanding loyalty toward the Republic of Venice and of the Venetian Senate's extraordinary beneficence.” In 1503, Marin Becikemi wrote and published a panegyric about the siege, in praise of the Republic of Venice. In 1504, Marin Barleti's ''The Siege of Shkodra'' (''De obsidione Scodrensi'') was published in Venice. It is a firsthand account the siege presented to the Venetian Senate. It was republished several times and translated into other European languages in the sixteenth century (and later into Albanian and English). In 2018 Venetian scholar Lucia Nadin discovered a manuscript of Marin Barleti, dated ca. 1500, presumed to be the original manuscript of ''De obsidione Scodrensi'' (scholars have begun to study this manuscript). In 1585,
Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...
painted ''The Siege of Scutari'', oil on canvas, which is located on the ceiling of the
Doge's Palace The Doge's Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale; vec, Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme auth ...
in Venice. In 1860,
Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri (18 September 1829 – 1 December 1884) was an artist from Trieste, now in Italy. Later he was well known for his drawings and paintings in the romantic historical style, including numerous book illustrations. His fresc ...
depicted the great battle of July 27 with an etching entitled '' I Turchi respinti da Scutari''.


Citations


References

* * * * *


Primary sources

* Barletius, Marinus. ''De obsidione Scodrensi'' he Siege of Shkodra Venice: B. de Vitalibus, 1504. * Barleti, Marin (trans. David Hosaflook).
The Siege of Shkodra
'. Tirana: Onufri Publishing House, 2012. * A. Pashazade, Tursun, et al., in Pulaha, Selami (ed.).
Lufta shqiptaro-turke në shekullin XV: Burime osmane
' lbanian-Turkish Wars in the Fifteenth Century: Ottoman Sources(a compendium of Ottoman chronicles including Kivami, Bidlisi, Tursun, A. Pashazade, K. Pashazade, etc., in both the original languages and Albanian translations). Tiranë: Universiteti Shtetëror i Tiranës, Instituti i Historisë dhe Gjuhësisë, 1968. * Zamputi, Injac (ed.).
Dokumenta të shekullit XV për historinë e Shqipërisë v. IV (1479-1506)''
ocuments of the Fifteenth Century about the History of Albania, v. IV (1479–1506)(containing archival documents). Tiranë: Universiteti Shtetëror i Tiranës, Instituti i Historisë dhe Gjuhësisë, 1967.


Further reading

* {{Wars and battles involving Albanians Battles of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars Medieval Albania Military campaigns involving the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Albania 1478 in Europe 1479 in Europe Conflicts in 1478 Conflicts in 1479 History of Shkodër Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire 1478 in the Ottoman Empire 1479 in the Ottoman Empire Battles involving Albania