Battle of Albulena

Battle of Albulena
Part of the Albanian–Ottoman Wars (1432–1479)
Engraving of an Albanian assault on the Turkish camp during the battle
Date 2 September 1457[1] Location North-central Albania, south of Laç Result Albanian victory
Belligerents
League of Lezhë	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Skanderbeg	Isak Bey Evrenoz Hamza Kastrioti (POW)
Strength
8,000[2]	80,000
Casualties and losses
Minor	15,000 killed 15,000 captured

The Battle of Albulena, also known as the Battle of Ujëbardha, was fought on 2 September 1457 between Albanian forces led by Skanderbeg and an Ottoman army under Isak bey Evrenoz and Skanderbeg's nephew, Hamza Kastrioti.

Skanderbeg had been the leader of the Albanians for over a decade and had seen many victories over the Ottoman armies. However, after his unsuccessful Siege of Berat in 1455, Skanderbeg was betrayed by some of his most trusted officers, among them Moisi Arianit Golemi. Golemi returned the next year with an Ottoman force under his command, but was defeated at the Battle of Oranik and later re-joined Skanderbeg's army. Later, Skanderbeg's dissatisfied nephew, Hamza Kastrioti, betrayed Skanderbeg and was offered joint-command with Isak bey over a second Ottoman invasion force.

The Ottomans arrived in late May 1457 and marched through the Mat River Valley. Skanderbeg tried to delay the vanguard, composed of Akıncı cavalrymen, but upon the approach of the main force, decided to retreat. Both Isak bey and Hamza were familiar with Skanderbeg's tactics so the Albanian leader adopted a new one. He split his army into several groups and ordered them to march in separate directions through the mountains and remain unseen by the Ottoman forces until the signal to reassemble was given. The Albanians remained in separate formations until September, by which time the Ottomans had become both exasperated and convinced that Skanderbeg had been defeated. On 2 September 1457, Skanderbeg finally gave the order for his armies to regroup and launched a surprise attack on the Ottoman camp, killing and capturing up to 30,000 men. Among them was Hamza who was later sent as a prisoner to Naples in Italy.

The victory strengthened the morale of the Albanians. There were few, if not any, officers and soldiers who deserted afterwards. The Battle of Albulena has been seen as Skanderbeg's most brilliant victory over the Ottomans. However, it also marked the high point of the Albanian resistance, beginning a new phase in Skanderbeg's quarter-century long war which would include its fiercest Ottoman invasions. Even though Skanderbeg himself had died in January 1468, the war would drag on until 1478 and later in the same year the main Albanian fortress at Krujë fell, finally effecting the annexation of Skanderbeg's Albania by the Ottoman Empire.