Skanderbeg (
1405-
1468) was a medieval warlord who repulsed numerous
Turkish invasions and is the national hero of
Albania.
Born George (Gjergj) Kastrioti, he was the son of a
prince of
Emathia. While quite young, he was given as a
hostage to the Turks, as was a common practice in those days. He was converted to
Islam and educated in
Edirne in
Turkey.
Sultan Murad II elevated him to the rank of
Bey and named him
Iskander after
Alexander the Great. (The name Skanderbeg is a combination of "Iskander" and "Bey".)
In
1443, after the defeat of the Turks at
Nis, Skanderbeg jumped ship and rejoined the Albanians and converted to
Christianity. Based out of his citadel at
Krujë, he became commander of a league of princes he organized to repulse the Turks, which he successfully did 13 times over the next two decades. This made him a hero in
Europe, and
Pope Calixtus III named him
captain general of the
Holy See.
After his death, Krujë and the rest of Albania fell under Turkish domination.
Skanderbeg has been the subject of a few British plays and three operas, by
Francois Francouer,
Bernard Germain le Comte de Lacepede, and
Antonio Vivaldi.
His helmet and sword are in the
Kunthistorisches Museum in
Vienna,
Austria.