Skanderbeg

Gjergj Kastrioti, celebrated across Europe as Skanderbeg (from Iskander Bey / Lord Alexander), was born in 1405 into the noble Kastrioti family in northern Albania. Given as an imperial hostage to Ottoman Sultan Murad II, he converted to Islam and rose rapidly as a brilliant cavalry general.

During the Battle of Niš in 1443, Skanderbeg abandoned the Ottoman ranks, returned to Albania, and reclaimed his ancestral mountain fortress of Krujë. Reverting to Christianity, he forged the League of Lezhë in 1444, uniting rival Albanian princes into a single nation. For twenty-five years, utilizing brilliant guerrilla tactics, he defeated repeated Ottoman invasions led by Sultan Murad II and Mehmed II the Conqueror. Pope Nicholas V bestowed upon him the title Athleta Christi (Champion of Christ).