Siege of Svetigrad
1448 capture of the Albanian-ruled city of Svetigrad by the Ottoman Empire / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Siege of Svetigrad (1448)?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The siege of Svetigrad or Sfetigrad began on 14 May 1448 when an Ottoman army, led by Sultan Murad II, besieged the fortress of Svetigrad (now Kodžadžik, North Macedonia).[8] 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.
First siege of Svetigrad | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Albanian–Ottoman Wars (1432–1479) | |||||||
Engraving of an engagement during the siege of Svetigrad. | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
League of Lezhë | Ottoman Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Pjetër Perlati Skanderbeg |
Murad II Prince Mehmed[2] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2,000 men garrisoned;[3] 8,000 men stationed in the surrounding countryside[3] | 80,000-120,000[3] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Fortress surrendered but the garrison was spared.[4] | 20,000 casualties[5][7] | ||||||
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.