During these opening stages of the War, Gjon Kastrioti dies in Albania and Sultan puts Hassan Bey in command there. In 1442 while Skanderbeg was fighting under the banner of Sultan Murat II, his father Gjon died. The death of this valiant Albanian Prince induced the Sultan to occupy, without losing time, this region also, thus adding more territory to his conquests. Gjergj Kastrioti, undoubtedly the ablest of the sons of Gjon was islamized and the other three sons were of no value whatsoever, and Murat II therefore bequeathed the principality to an Albanian renegade named Hassan Bey, who in a short time betrayed his country by putting the entire domain under the rule of the Crescent Moon.
Since Djuradj amassed some 200 gold in treasury, he easily organizes sufficiently large army and while the main Hungarian army is gathering far away to face mighty Ottoman and allied Albanian forces crossing the Danube and entering Banat and Siebenburgen, our Army enters the province of Croatia and attacks a small Hungarian post there, to their utter amazement, to see whom they thought to be an ally attacking them in January to that as well! Of course, all resistance is shattered and it takes Hungarians some months to gather an additional small force to try to push back our army. We give them battle in July 1443 and crush them. Additional force is assembled near Smederevo, just in time to stop the river-crossing Hungarian forces, two times the size and in October they’re pushed back over the Danube. Finally, Smederevo pays off, we all rejoice while Danube is red with blood of the unfortunately slain!
In 1443, during the battle against the Hungarians of Hunyadi in Siebenburgen, Gjergj Skanderbeg Kastrioti abandoned the Ottoman Army, went back and captured Kruja, his father's seat in middle Albania. Above the castle he rose the Albanian flag, the present-day Albanian flag, a red flag with the black double-headed eagle
(albeit heraldically speaking a disaster, trust me, oh friends, as I’m a heraldist, that breaks the most basic rule of heraldry, metal on coulour and colour on metal) and pronounced to his countrymen the famous words: 'I have not brought you liberty, I found it here, among you'. Albania leaves the Sultan’s alliance, who’s pissing mad
(if you’d pardon my Serbian) for it and makes him realize just how worth small Serbia is for keeping his back safe in the West for the time being. During that time Venetia enters a prolonged war as well against Hanover, something to remember for next chapter.
In January 1444, the town of Zagreb falls to Serbian hands. Croatians are bewildered and do nothing either to help us or to frustrate our efforts. Djuradj gathers all the forces he has there, some 20.000, that cost a fortune to keep, and sets off to Pest where in series of small battles he approaches the castle of the king, who’s busy east. In July, it falls, even we are surprised at how quickly the castle crew gave in!
(this later, in 1654, inspired one artist to make his famous picture “The Crossing of the Drava”, but it was not as near as so pompous…) Djuradj and count of Cilli meet there and
on 29th July 1444 a peace is signed - Kingdom of Croatia, a similar Slav nation to Serbia, for centuries an autonomous part of the Hungarian kingdom, is hereby given to Serbia to rule! Also, the lands around Belgrade are reincorporated into Serbia, but Smederevo stays the capital of our country.
You can imagine that this accord would never have taken place if the Hungarians were not badly loosing all over the land, count Cilli being practically close family to Djuradj and at the same time with a particularly nasty headache of seeing Hungary undergoing a similarly nasty revolt spree.
(actually, the first time I played this, the government of Hungary collapsed and we got Pest as well and the Turks some four provinces, effectively making Hungary a minor country, but I decided that would be unrealistic at this stage, and played again). Indeed, no chances would any European state at that time have with feudalism against the rising might of Sultan’s. In this fashion Hungarians could try to concentrate battling the Turks, having somehow easily swallowed loss of Croatia, couped with former loss of Dalmatia to Venice, which will come to us under unfortunate Vuk II, the slain-by-son king.
Mehmed II rose to the throne in Ottoman Empire in August of the same year, 1444, and it was very easy now to persuade him to prolong our alliance, as the war in Hungary was particularly fierce. But this time we are a free state, not vassals!
Serbia never controlled the lands of Croatia before. Serbia was completely independent for the first time in some 60 years and in good relations with the Ottomans (+25) and Hungarians (+140)! Reputation is -5,9, whish is not that bad, but treasury is only 76 gold, after tax collector is organized in our Croatia. Long live Mara Brankovich, who has just returned to Smederevo a widow, our saviour!
Croatian populace isn’t too happy with the solution, but this is the end of the middle ages and they see Djuradj as yet another foreign ruler in an endless row of uncroatian rulers. At least he speaks a similar language, although a schismatic in their eyes.
“But little profits a man to gain Earth if he looses his Soul”, thinks Djuradj.
Well, he gained Croatia
