Albanian revolt of 1432–1436
The Albanian revolt of 1432–1436 was a series of conflicts between Albanian rebels and the Ottoman Empire during the early period of Ottoman rule in the region. Prompted by the replacement of large parts of the local nobility with Ottoman landowners, centralized governance, and the Ottoman taxation system, the population and the nobles, led principally by Gjergj Arianiti, revolted against the Ottomans.
| Albanian revolt of 1432–1436 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Ottoman Wars in Europe | |||||||||
A map of the military activities during the Albanian Revolt of 1432–6 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Albanian rebels | Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Gjergj Arianiti Andrea Thopia Depë Zenebishi † Nicholas Dukagjini |
Sinan Pasha Turahan Bey Ali Bey Ishak Bey | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||||
During the early phases of the revolt, many land (timar) holders were killed or expelled. As it spread, the nobles, whose holdings had been annexed by the Ottomans returned to join the revolt and attempts to form alliances with the Holy Roman Empire were initiated. While the leaders of the revolt were successful in defeating successive Ottoman campaigns, they failed to capture many important towns of the sanjak of Albania. Protracted sieges like that of Gjirokastër, capital of the sanjak, gave the Ottoman army time to assemble large forces from other parts of the empire and to subdue the main revolt by the end of 1436. Ottoman forces conducted a number of massacres in the aftermath of the revolt.
After the revolt had largely been suppressed, those who accepted Ottoman suzerainty were initially allowed to retain their holdings and partial autonomy. Many timars were also granted to local Albanians holding high posts of the administration, especially during the rule of Yakup Bey Muzaka and Skanderbeg. Throughout the pacification process, various primarily rural areas were still in revolt and new rebellions erupted, like that of Theodor Corona Musachi in 1437. As the empire further extended its area of rule in the Balkans, centralization attempts and the replacement of local timar holders with Ottoman landowners resumed. These policies would lead in part to the formation of the League of Lezhë under Skanderbeg in 1444, and a new era in the Ottoman–Albanian wars.