Skanderberg, Gjerg, Alexander
This is about a legendary Albanian warrior Gjerg Kastrioti, known as Skanderberg. He was a 15th century Albanian nobleman who had been taken hostage by the Ottoman sultan when child and served in the Janissary Corps, an elite military unit of the Ottoman war machine. In 1443 he deserted the Turkish forces at the Battle of Nis (Serbia) while fighting a battle against the Hungarian Knights led by John Hunyadi. He, along with three-hundred of his men, fled to his stronghold in Kruja and led an Albanian resistance that quelled the country from Ottoman rule for over twenty years. Known for being a valiant warrior and military genius, he earned the name Skanderberg, an Albanian and Turkish pseudonym for Alexander the Great or Prince Alexander. To this day Skanderberg is regarded as the national hero of the Albanian peoples and has been recognized by the world for his bravery and cunning.
