The Siege of Svetigrad began on May 14, 1448 when an Ottoman army, led by Sultan Murad II, besieged the fortress of Svetigrad (now Kodžadžik village in the Macedonian Centar Župa Municipality). After the many failed Ottoman expeditions into Albania against the League of Lezhë, a confederation of Albanian Principalities created in 1444 and headed by Skanderbeg, Murad II decided to march an army into Skanderbeg's dominions in order to capture the key Albanian fortress of Svetigrad. The fortress lay on an important route between Macedonia and Albania, and thus its occupation would give the Ottomans easy access into Albania. The force prepared by Murad was the largest force with which the Ottomans had ever attacked Skanderbeg. Murad planned to take the fortress, march into the Albanian interio
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| - Siege of Svetigrad (1448)
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| - The Siege of Svetigrad began on May 14, 1448 when an Ottoman army, led by Sultan Murad II, besieged the fortress of Svetigrad (now Kodžadžik village in the Macedonian Centar Župa Municipality). After the many failed Ottoman expeditions into Albania against the League of Lezhë, a confederation of Albanian Principalities created in 1444 and headed by Skanderbeg, Murad II decided to march an army into Skanderbeg's dominions in order to capture the key Albanian fortress of Svetigrad. The fortress lay on an important route between Macedonia and Albania, and thus its occupation would give the Ottomans easy access into Albania. The force prepared by Murad was the largest force with which the Ottomans had ever attacked Skanderbeg. Murad planned to take the fortress, march into the Albanian interio
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- 80000(xsd:integer)
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| Caption
| - Engraving of an engagement during the siege of Sfetigrad.
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| Casualties
| - Fortress surrendered but the garrison was spared.
- Up to 20,000 casualties ref|The graves for the soldiers who died during the siege of Sfetigrad have been found in the village of Kodžadžik near Debar. They contain approximately 300 Christian corpses and approximately 900 Muslim corpses; the graves were separated to correspond to the religious affiliations of the fallen.
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| Result
| - Ottoman Victory: garrison surrenders and Ottomans seize the fortress
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| Place
| - Svetigrad, now Kodžadžik, a village in the Macedonian Centar Župa Municipality
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| abstract
| - The Siege of Svetigrad began on May 14, 1448 when an Ottoman army, led by Sultan Murad II, besieged the fortress of Svetigrad (now Kodžadžik village in the Macedonian Centar Župa Municipality). After the many failed Ottoman expeditions into Albania against the League of Lezhë, a confederation of Albanian Principalities created in 1444 and headed by Skanderbeg, Murad II decided to march an army into Skanderbeg's dominions in order to capture the key Albanian fortress of Svetigrad. The fortress lay on an important route between Macedonia and Albania, and thus its occupation would give the Ottomans easy access into Albania. The force prepared by Murad was the largest force with which the Ottomans had ever attacked Skanderbeg. Murad planned to take the fortress, march into the Albanian interior, and capture the main citadel of Krujë, thus crushing the Albanian League. At the same time, Skanderbeg had been at war with Venice. Realizing the magnitude of his challenge, Skanderbeg attempted to relieve the garrison by engaging in skirmishes with the Ottoman army. His forces succeeded in inflicting heavy casualties on the Turkish forces through guerrilla-style attacks. Efforts were made by Skanderbeg to use intelligence forces, operating as far as Constantinople, to gather information on Murad's plans of action. Meanwhile, near Scutari, he had been able to defeat a Venetian force and managed to considerably weaken the Venetian presence in Albania. Despite these efforts, on July 31 the garrison of Svetigrad surrendered due to a cut-off in the water-supply to Svetigrad. The garrison was spared and a force of Ottoman Janissaries was stationed inside the fortress instead. Two years later, Murad would march against Krujë, only to suffer a heavy defeat.
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