Mehmed II's Albanian campaign

The Ottoman invasion of Albania in 1452 was a campaign by the newly acceded Ottoman sultan Mehmed II against Skanderbeg, the chief of the League of Lezhë. Shortly after the first siege of Krujë, Murad II died in Edirne, and was succeeded by his son Mehmed II. Mehmed ordered nearly annual invasions of Albania which often resulted in multiple battles in one year. The first of these expeditions was sent in 1452 under the dual command of Hamza Pasha and Tahip Pasha, with an army of approximately 25,000 men.

Albania at the time was suffering a crisis of power as Skanderbeg, the chief of the League of Lezhë, became a vassal of Alfonso the Magnanimous, the king of Aragon. Worried about another growing adversary in the Venetian Gulf, the Republic of Venice tried to turn Skanderbeg's allies against him in order to weaken Alfonso's influence. Realizing his opportunity, Mehmed ordered an invasion of Albania. Skanderbeg, knowing the impetuous nature of the new sultan and the effect it would have if his army were not immediately defeated, acted quickly. When the Ottoman army split into two separate forces, Skanderbeg attacked and defeated both Hamza and Tahip. Tahip was killed in battle and Hamza was captured and ransomed for 13,000 ducats along with his staff. Soon thereafter, Skanderbeg cajoled his former Venetian adversaries into easing Albanian-Venetic relations.