Albanian Rebellion of 1481–1484
Albanian Rebellion of 1481–1484
The Albanian Rebellion was an uprising in Ottoman Albania led by Gjon Kastrioti II, the son of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. After Skanderbeg’s death, his family left Albania and were given lands in Italy. Local leaders in Himara and Naples encouraged Gjon to revolt.
In early 1481, Gjon Kastrioti II sailed to Albania with Neapolitan ships. He landed near Durrës with his cousin Konstantin Muzaka, who moved on to Himara. Gjon recruited allies, including Krokodeilos Kladas, and sent him with Albanian ships to raid Ottoman positions in the Morea.
The Ottomans, led by Ahmed Pasha, tried to crush the rebellion. Gjon defeated them, captured their weapons, and slowed their plans to sail to Italy. During a power struggle between Bayezid II and Cem Sultan, Ahmed Pasha left Albania with his army but was blocked by Albanian forces and forced to retreat, leaving behind supplies.
Suleiman Pasha then sent a strong force to expel Gjon Kastrioti II. At first Gjon’s men were defeated, but he regrouped and gained more support. With a larger army, he defeated the Ottoman threat again. The rebels in Himarë, led by Konstantin Muzaka and with Kladas’ galleys, besieged Himarë and Sopot. Suleiman Pasha tried to reinforce them but was defeated and captured. Himarë fell to the Albanians on 31 August, followed by Sopot, strengthening Albanian control in the region.
Gjon then attacked Krujë, retaking it and other lost Kastrioti lands by 1483. In 1483 Naples and the Ottoman Empire reached a peace agreement, and Naples stopped supporting the rebels, allowing the Ottomans to push back.
In January 1484 Gjon defeated an Ottoman army near the Erzen River, but by the summer of 1484 the Ottomans reconquered Himarë, ending the rebellion. Gjon Kastrioti II went into exile once again.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:38 (CET).