Kosovo Raid (1448)

The Kosovo Raid of 1448, was a military campaign launched by Albanian commander Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg against the Despotate of Serbia.[1][2][3] The raid was a response to Đurađ Branković, who had prevented Skanderberg from joining army of John Hunyadi, who was leading a Crusade against the Ottomans, and had clashed with Murad II on the Kosovo field.[1][4][5][6][7] However, Brankovic's exact role is disputed.[8][9][10]

Kosovo Raid
Part of Albanian–Serbian conflict
LocationKosovo field, Serbian Despotate
DateOctober–November 1448
TargetSerbian villages (now Kosovo)
Attack type
Raid, arson, massacre
PerpetratorsSkanderbeg and League of Lezhë

Background

It is not clear what led up to this event. During the Albanian–Venetian War, Skanderbeg agreed to sign the peace treaty with Venice due to the advance of John Hunyadi's army in Kosovo and his invitation for Skanderbeg to join the expedition against the sultan.

Some scholars believe the Albanian army under Skanderbeg might have been prevented from joining forces with Hunyadi's army, who was possibly delayed by Đurađ Branković, then a vassal of Sultan Murad II, whose army occupied the mountain passes on the Serbian-Albanian border.[4][5][6]. [1] Other scholars argue that a Venetian attack on northern Albania delayed Skanderbeg in coming to Hunyadi's aid, making it impossible for Skanderbeg to join forces with Hunyadi.[8][11]

However, Hunyadi decided not to wait for reinforcement before giving battle, and was defeated when the Hungarian army broke.[12][13]

Raid

Little is known about the raid or the aftermath of it. After having been prevented from reaching the battle by Branković, Skanderberg ravaged the land of Branković in punishment, because he was outraged that he had been prevented from participating in a battle that may have changed the fate of Albania and the whole Balkan peninsula. Skanderbeg let his armies plunder, burnt Serbian villages and put them to the sword. He then returned towards Krujë in November.[14][15][16][17]

References
  1. Frashëri, Kristo (2002). Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu: jeta dhe vepra (1405-1468) (in Albanian). Botimet Toena. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-99927-1-627-4. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  2. Ciriacono, Salvatore (October 15, 2014). "Scanderbeg tra storia e storiografia" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2020. «Indignato per non aver potuto correre in aiuto di Hunyadi, in una guerra che forse poteva mutare il destino dell'Albania e dell'intera penisola balcanica, Scanderbeg corse per la Serbia saccheggiandola e mettendola a ferro e fuoco, per punire il krajl infedele. Se ne tornò poi a Croia, amareggiato, verso la fine di novembre»
  3. Setton, Kenneth Meyer (1976). The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571: The fifteenth century. American Philosophical Society. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-87169-127-9. Scanderbeg intended to go "peronalmente" with an army to assist Hunyadi, but was prevented from doing so by Branković, whose lands he ravaged as punishment for the Serbian desertion of the Christian cause.
  4. Sedlar, Jean W. (1994). East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500. University of Washington Press. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-295-80064-6. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  5. Babinger, Franz (1992-11-08). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Princeton University Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-691-01078-6. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  6. Vaughan, Dorothy Margaret (1 June 1954). Europe and the Turk: a pattern of alliances, 1350–1700. AMS Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-404-56332-5. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  7. Housley, Norman (2017-02-20). Reconfiguring the Fifteenth-Century Crusade. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-46281-7.
  8. Sedlar 1994, p. 393.
  9. Babinger 1992, p. 40.
  10. Vaughan, Dorothy Margaret (1 June 1954). Europe and the Turk: a pattern of alliances, 1350–1700. AMS Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-404-56332-5. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  11. Vaughan, Dorothy Margaret (1 June 1954). Europe and the Turk: a pattern of alliances, 1350–1700. AMS Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-404-56332-5. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  12. The Cambridge Medieval History volumes 1-5. Plantagenet Publishing. p. 1814. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  13. Malcolm, Noel. Kosovo: A Short History, 1998, pp 89–90
  14. Frashëri, Kristo (2002). Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu: jeta dhe vepra (1405-1468) (in Albanian). Botimet Toena. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-99927-1-627-4. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  15. Ciriacono, Salvatore (October 15, 2014). "Scanderbeg tra storia e storiografia" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2020. «Indignato per non aver potuto correre in aiuto di Hunyadi, in una guerra che forse poteva mutare il destino dell'Albania e dell'intera penisola balcanica, Scanderbeg corse per la Serbia saccheggiandola e mettendola a ferro e fuoco, per punire il krajl infedele. Se ne tornò poi a Croia, amareggiato, verso la fine di novembre»
  16. Setton, Kenneth Meyer (1976). The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571: The fifteenth century. American Philosophical Society. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-87169-127-9. Scanderbeg intended to go "peronalmente" with an army to assist Hunyadi, but was prevented from doing so by Branković, whose lands he ravaged as punishment for the Serbian desertion of the Christian cause.
  17. Waterson, James (2016-07-04). Dracula's Wars: Vlad the Impaler and his Rivals. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-6916-1. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-04-12.

Sources
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