Skanderbeg, The Dragon of Albania

Born Gjergj Kastrioti, Skanderbeg is one of, if not the most famous Albanian national hero. Taken from his home a young age and raised in the center of the Ottoman empire, Skanderbeg returned to his homeland to free them from the Turks, and was moderately successful for more than 25 years.

Gjergi's father was Gjon Kastrioti, the rebellious Albanian prince of Emathia. The sultan was determined to keep Gjon in line, so, as was common in the day, he had Gjon's children kidnapped, and taken to the Ottoman court at Adrianopel, modern Edirne, Turkey. He was converted to Islam, and given an excellent education. He was intelligent, and a cunning commander. This prompted the Turkish army to call him 'Iskander Bey' or 'Alexander of the Albanians', in honor of Alexander the Great. Over time, these names have morphed to become Skanderbeg.

In 1443, Skanderbeg was done fighting for the Ottomans. He had been made governor of Albania, and he was ready to throw off Ottoman oppression. Instead of attacking the Hungarian forces like he was supposed to, Skanderbeg defected along with 300 of the Albanians under his command. Under the cover of having a command from the Sultan, Skanderbeg and his 300 Albanians gained access to the Turkish castle at Kruje. They slaughtered the inhabitants, and the next day Skanderbeg's family sigil flew over the battlements--the double headed eagle.

Skanderbeg's sigil of the double-headed
eagle would become the basis for the Albania
flag.

Sultan Murad II was, understandably, not too thrilled about this turn of events. He sent his troops to attack Skanderbg and the Albanians at Kruje, but despite the Ottoman forces being significantly larger than the Albanian forces, Skanderbeg was able to see the Ottomans off.

This happened several times, and Skanderbeg was able to keep the Ottomans at bay until 1461, when he and the Sultan finally made peace, and Albanian was absorbed back into the Ottoman empire. Skanderbeg was able to keep the Ottomans at bay for so long because he had some pretty hefty allies, mainly the Kingdom of Naples, as well as the Vatican.

When Skanderbeg defected from the Ottomans, he also defected from Islam, and converted back to Christianity. This made him a natural ally for the people on the Italian peninsula, who feared an Ottoman invasion. The Papal States and Naples sent him troops and supplies, and Skanderbeg held off the Ottomans, and furthered Pope Eugenius IVs crusade against Islam.


Skanderbeg was a genius general, and very popular with the people. He had been elected as chief of all the Albanian armies, and he was the key to Albanian resistance against the Turks. So when Skanderbeg died of malaria in 1468, Albania was in a precarious place. The resistance managed to hold out for another 10 years before the Turks reconquered the country.

Today Skanderbeg is a national hero. There are statues of him in every major Albanian city, and he is remembered for having fiercely protected Albanian sovereignty. It was his fierceness that earned him the nickname, 'Dragon of Albania'.

Sources
Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg (1405-1468)
Skanderbeg
Gjergi Kastrioti Skanderbeg-Facts

Damn, Girl-Teuta, Queen of the Illyrians

Ancient Illyria covered the same space as modern Albania. Or modern Bosnia-Hezergovinia. Or modern Serbia. Or modern Croatia. Or modern Montenegro. Historians really can't agree. No matter where they may have lived, the Illyrians were a fierce nation of seafarers, with a penchant for piracy. The pillaged all around the Adriatic, making themselves rich off of the goods of trading ships. They were a wealthy nation, and in the early 200 BCE's, they were still holding strong, despite the rise of the land hungry Roman Republic.

A reasonable guess as to where Illyria may have been.

Teuta was the second wife of king Agron. Agron was your typical ancient king. He liked pillaging, booze, and sex. And after a particularly successful raid, he engaged in all three so enthusiastically that it lead to his demise, leaving Teuta to serve as regent for their young son, Pinnes.

Impossibly enough, Teuta liked pillaging even more than her dead husband. One of her first acts upon being appointed regent was to give out letters of marque to the majority of the ships in her navy, authorizing them to pillage whoever they wanted, so long as they paid their tax.

In Illyria, piracy was just as much an industry as fishing. It was an acceptable career, and the Illyrians didn't see anything wrong with it. Teuta encouraged it among her people, and told them to attack everyone and anyone. Not only did piracy bring in money to the Illyrians, but it also brought in new lands and cities, because the Illyrians weren't content to just steal things, they also had to conquer lands.

Teuta was known to have led some of these raids herself, and for several years the Illyrians were the scourge of the Adriatic. No one could stop them, until someone snitched to Rome.

Teuta

The Roman Republic was about 250 years old, and going pretty strong. The senate was dedicated to protecting the financial interests of Roman citizens, so when reports of Illyrians indiscriminately attacking their ships reached Rome, the senate sent out two ambassadors--the Coruncanius brothers--to try and broker a peace with Teuta.


Unfortunately for all involved, one of those ambassadors, Lucius, wasn't very good at being an ambassador. Lucius and Gaius approached Teuta when she was in the middle of a seige, pulling her away from the thick of the fight. When they presented their argument she was obviously distracted, and when they finished speaking she told them that she and her government couldn't regulate the actions of private citizens. This is when Lucius lost it.

There's no account of exactly what Lucius said to Teuta, historians just record it as 'plain speech'. However, the gist of what he told her was that Illyria should change its customs to suit the needs of Rome. Bad move.

When the brothers were on a ship back to Rome Lucius was killed by an assassin that is widely believed to have been sent by Teuta. Killing an ambassador is a major no-no, so when word reached Rome, the Romans retaliated brutally, sending 200 ships and 20,000 infantrymen to suppress the Illyrians.

Teuta on Albanian currency.

Teuta held her own for a very long time against the Romans, and would have been able to beat them back, if not for the treachery of Demetrius. Demetrius was a high ranking Illyrian with designs on the throne. He sold out the Illyrians to the Romans, and Teuta was forced to surrender, and ceed Illyria to the Romans.

Today Teuta is remembered most often as a Pirate Queen. She's on the back of Albanian currency, and she's claimed as a national hero by the Albanians. Teuta was known in her day for being fierce and indomitable, to the point that following her peace treaty with Rome she was no longer allowed to sail out of her harbor with more than two unarmed ships. Despite not knowing much about Teuta before or after this incident with Rome, there is no doubt that she was a strong, fearless woman.

Sources
Queen Teuta and Rome
Teuta-The Pirate Queen of Illyria
Lady Pirates-Queen of the Illyrians
The Fierce Queen of the Illyrians: Teuta the Untameable
Ancient Piracy and Teuta: The Illyrian Pirate Queen
Queen Teuta