Gjergj Kastrioti was taken as a hostage-page by the Ottomans, converted, renamed İskender Bey, Skanderbeg, and trained into one of the Sultan's own commanders. In November 1443 he abandoned the Ottoman army at the Battle of Niš and rode for home.
He retook Krujë on 28 November 1443. Four months later, on 2 March 1444, he bound the fractious Albanian princes into the League of Lezhë, the first time they acted as one.
For a quarter of a century he held. Three major sieges of Krujë, 1450, 1466, 1467, all failed. Rome named him Athleta Christi, athlete of Christ, and sent money. He died at Lezhë on 17 January 1468; Krujë fell in 1478 and Shkodër in 1479.
The first great wave of migration to Italy begins here, the ancestors of the Arbëresh.
Key points
| 28 Nov 1443 | Krujë retaken, the date later chosen for independence day |
| 2 Mar 1444 | League of Lezhë, the princes unite |
| 1450 · 1466 · 1467 | Three great sieges of Krujë, all survived |
| 17 Jan 1468 | Skanderbeg dies at Lezhë; resistance outlives him a decade |
Research by ARBËR, the Living Museum of Albania. Published facts are verified or presented as open debate.