A 2007 Illyria Entertainment Group History Documentary narrated by Peter Carey.
The documentary reconstructs the portrait of the Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Scanderbeg, based mainly on the earliest work "History of the life and deeds of Scanderbeg, Prince of the Epirotes" (Latin: Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi, Epirotarum Principis; Rome, 1508), written by the Albanian monk and historian Marin Barleti (Latin: Marinus Barletius), who, after experiencing the Ottoman capture of his native Scutari firsthand, settled in Padua where he became rector of the parish church of St. Stephan. Barleti dedicated his work to Don Ferrante Kastrioti, Skanderbeg's grandchild, and to posterity.
Now an obscure figure outside Albania, for centuries Skanderbeg was lauded throughout Europe. "Land of Albania! Where Iskander rose; Theme of the young, and beacon of the wise," wrote Byron in 1812.
Gjergj Kastrioti (6 May 1405 – 17 January 1468), known as Skanderbeg (Albanian: Skënderbej or Skënderbeu), was an Albanian nobleman and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia.
Skanderbeg was born Gjergj (George) Kastrioti in 1405 in the town of Krujë in the Albanian mountains. He was the youngest son of a local ruler, but tiny Albania was under pressure from both west and east. His father, Gjon (John) Kastrioti, tried to walk a delicate political line to avoid being overthrown by either the Venetians or the Ottoman Turks. As part of this policy, he sent some of his sons east as political hostages, to be raised in the Ottoman court. Gjergj left his homeland for Adrianople (Edirne, in modern Turkey), where he was converted to Islam from Christianity and given a new name: Alexander, or in Turkish, Iskander.
He was trained in the art of war and granted the title bey (lord or chieftain) and so the warrior ‘Skanderbeg’ came into being. During a major Turkish defeat at Niš, Serbia, in 1443, Skanderbeg abandoned the Turkish side and turned homewards. At the head of a small force of Albanians who had also deserted, he put his expert military skills towards reclaiming his father’s lands. He established himself in the mountainous stronghold of Krujë and from there set about expelling the Ottomans from Albania. For 25 years he held the Ottoman Empire at bay in Albania and weakened and harassed them in neighbouring territories.
Skanderbeg is considered today a commanding figure not only in the national consciousness of Albanians but also of 15th-century European history. According to archival documents, there is no doubt that Skanderbeg had already achieved a reputation as a hero in his own time. Over 1,000 works have been written on Skanderbeg in 20 languages. A portrait hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. His sword, a Damascan scimitar, is held in the Vienna Art History Museum. His statue stands in half a dozen European capitals and a bust in London carries an inscription describing him as ‘the Defender of Western Civilisation’.
Yet he is barely remembered outside the Balkans. Which is the reason I'm sharing this documentary. A man who dedicated his life to fighting for his people and his culture against overwhelming odds - and won - is worth knowing his story.
The documentary includes a series of materials and interviews with a panel of Albanian and foreign historians, experts of the late Middle Ages, such as: Dr. David Nicolle from Nottingham University, Dr. Musa Ahmeti scholar of the Secret Archives of the Vatican, Kenneth Walters from Wayne State University, Dr. Isa Blumi from New York University, Kristo Frasheri Professor of History at the University of Tirana, Oliver Schmitt from Vienna University, David Abulafia Professor of Mediterranean History at Cambridge University.
Personal note: The only thing I didn't like about this docu. is the ending, his last words. Since this is an invention, I would've liked for them to have kept what is said in the popular history.
