Chandra Prakash Bhongir, Civil Engr, May04 - Repositories

defeat the Turkish troops also began to enter in agreements with the Porte. Such were
Gjergj Arianiti and Pal Dukagjin. In a letter to the Pope, Scanderbeg’s ambassador to
the Republic of Ragusa, Gjon Gazulli, wrote that some of the Albanian nobles has
already turned their loyalty to the Turkish Sultan. 31
However, as Scanderbeg began to have success after success against the
Turkish troops especially in defeating the Ottoman army in front of the walls of Kruja,
many nobles reconsidered their alliance with the Porte. Scanderbeg, won the support
of the nobles in Albania primarily because he capitalized in one of the provisions of
the League of Lezha: military support. His army even though small in numbers was
very loyal to Scanderbeg, which meant that he had sole control of the troops. By
controlling the military, he began to exert his power over the other nobles, at times
stripping them of their titles and lands and awarding them to his loyal officers. As
Scanderbeg’s influence over the military and nobles grew, he annexed into his
property the lands of the Thopia, Stresi and Balsha families, and thus with control of
the military and expansion of territory, Scanderbeg brought into existence the first
unified Albanian state.
Demetrio Franco, one of the first biographers of Scanderbeg noted in his work,
that when Scanderbeg began to solidify his control in Albania after the battle of Kruja,
his control extended also to lands of his relatives, as much as it extended to other
nobles. 32 Thus the League of Lezha, in the beginning of Scanderbeg’s war against
31 Ibid., 178.
32
D. Franco, Commentario delle Cose de Turchi et del S. Georgio Scanderbeg, Principe di
Epyrro, (Venetia, 1539): 19, 20, 24.
“.. e dopo che fu stato Capitano generale delli Signori d’Albania…tende designo
d’insignorirse de tutto quello paese, fe prigione il signor Giovani e il Signor Coico Balsa…e li tolse il
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