Skenderbe Hats
Description: A member of the noble Kastriot family, he was taken hostage in the Ottoman imperial court, where he was educated and entered the service of the sultan for the next twenty years. He rose in rank, culminating in the appointment as Sandzakbey of the Sandzak of Dibra in 1440. In 1443, he abandoned the Ottomans during the Battle of Nis and became ruler of Kruja, Sfetigrad and Modric. In 1444, he led the League of Lezha. Despite its military value, it was unable to do more than maintain its holdings within a very small area in northern Albania, where almost all of its victories against the Ottomans took place. Skanderbeg waged defensive warfare, and for 25 years, from 1443 to 1468, his 10,000-man army fought and won against the Ottoman.
