The Battle of Nish (early November 1443) was fought between the Crusaders led by John Hunyadi and Đurađ Branković and the Ottoman Empire led by Kasım Pasha. It saw the Crusaders capture the Ottoman stronghold of Nish (Niš) in Serbia, and defeat two armies of the Ottoman Empire. The Battle of Nish was part of Hunyadi's expedition known as the long campaign. Hunyadi, at the head of the vanguard, crossed the Balkans through the Gate of Trajan, captured Nish, defeated three Ottoman pashas, and after taking Sofia from the Ottomans, united with the royal army and defeated Sultan Murad II at Snaim (Kustinitza). The impatience of the king and the severity of the winter then compelled him (in February 1444) to return home.
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Battle of Nish (1443) in the context of Skanderbeg
Gjergj Kastrioti (c. 1405 – 17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian nobleman and military leader who led the League of Lezhë in the Ottoman-Albanian Wars until his death. Skanderbeg is considered to be a major figure of medieval Albanian history and today is the national hero of Albania.
A member of the noble Kastrioti family, Skanderbeg was sent as a hostage to the Ottoman court. He graduated from the Enderun School and entered the service of the Ottoman sultan Murad II (r. 1421–1451) for the next twenty years. His rise through the ranks culminated in his appointment as sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Dibra in 1440. During the Battle of Nish in 1443, he deserted the Ottomans and became the ruler of Krujë and nearby areas extending from Petrelë to Modrič. In March 1444, he established the League of Lezhë, with support from local noblemen, and unified the Albanian principalities.
Battle of Nish (1443) in the context of Albania in the Middle Ages
Albania in the Middle Ages was a period during the European Middle Ages when the Roman Empire divided into east and west in 395, the territories of modern Albania became a part of the Byzantine Empire. At the end of the 12th century, the Principality of Arbanon was formed which lasted until mid-13th century, after its dissolution it was followed with the creation of the Albanian Kingdom after an alliance between the Albanian noblemen and Angevin dynasty. After a war against the Byzantine Empire led the kingdom occasionally decrease in size until the Angevins eventually lost their rule in Albania and led the territory ruled by several different Albanian chieftains until the mid-14th century which for a short period of time were conquered by the short-lived empire of Serbia. After its fall in 1355 several chieftains regained their rule and significantly expanded until the arrival of the Ottomans after the Battle of Savra.
After the Battle of Savra in 1385 most of local chieftains became Ottoman vassals. In 1415–1417 most of the central and southern Albania was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and its newly established Sanjak of Albania. In 1432-36 local Albanian chieftains dissatisfied with losing their pre-Ottoman privileges organized a revolt in southern Albania. The revolt was suppressed until another revolt was organized by Skanderbeg in 1443, after the Ottoman defeat in the Battle of Niš, during the Crusade of Varna. In 1444, Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg was proclaimed as the leader of the regional Albanian chieftains and nobles united against the Ottoman Empire in the League of Lezhë disestablished in 1479. Skanderbeg's rebellion against the Ottoman Empire lasted for 25 years. Despite his military valor he was not able to do more than to hold his own possessions within the very small area in the North Albania where almost all his victories against the Ottomans took place. By 1479 the Ottomans captured all Venetian possessions, except Durazzo which they captured in 1501. Until 1913 the territory of Albania would remain part of the Ottoman Empire.