On this day George Castriotis or Skenderbeis dies

On this day in 1468, one of the greatest heroes of the entire Balkan region will die.
Georgios Kastrioitis, also known as Skenderbeis
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His father, Ioannis Kastrioitis, was a ruler in what is now Albania,
who had a loose relationship with the Byzantine Empire
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when the violent Muslims attacked the Kastrioitis area,
He struck a deal with them to charge them a (very high) tax
and for them to leave the area in peace
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However, to make sure that Kastrioitis would keep his word, the Ottomans took his four children as reemia (something like hostages).
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In the end, only one child made it out.
was
worthy,
capable,
possible,
courageous
And so they made him a bey and named him Iskender (Alexander)
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He took command as a military leader, and that was something else entirely.
the man who is said to NEVER be defeated
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He beat everyone.
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Ten years before the fall of Constantinople, he left the Ottomans and went to the lands of his late father to rule them himself.
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changed his name,
became a Christian
and married a Byzantine princess
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He raised a flag featuring the Byzantine double-headed eagle on a red background at his castle,
(the current flag of Albania)
and waited for the Ottomans, who were sure to come
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During the Ottomans' first attack, he did something diabolical.
He hid his army—made up of rugged, mountain-dwelling Albanians—deep within a dense forest
and gave the Ottomans the impression that he would surrender
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The Ottomans were in a hurry to get rid of him so they could continue on their way
(They wanted to enter Italy)
And suddenly the Albanians rushed out of the forest and slaughtered them all.
We're talking about nearly 20,000 Muslim victims who didn't have time to react
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From time to time, the sultans sent armies to subdue Kastriootis and invade Italy,
but Skenderbeg and his warriors defeated them all
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From that time on, the tradition of Albanian warriors—who for hundreds of years were by far the best warriors in the Balkans—began and was upheld
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Just imagine: four years after the fall of Constantinople, a sultan set out with 120,000 askeri to defeat Skenderbeg, but was ultimately defeated.
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Unbelievable?;
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Georgios Kastrioitis was just such a young man; there will never be another like him in the Balkans.
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He died on this day in 1468 from malaria
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The amazing thing is that,
because its shadow has left an indelible mark on the peoples,
Everyone tried to claim that it was theirs,
their patriot…
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the Serbs, because his mother was from Serbia.
the Albanians, both because he was active in their region and because his father was Albanian.
The Greeks, because he was baptized as a Christian, married a Byzantine woman, and chose a Greek name.
the Turks, because they raised him in their own culture and educational system
and so on…
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The reality is that Georgios Kastrioitis, or Skenderbeis, was a product of his time,
that whatever he achieved, he achieved on his own.
The nonsense about nationality is a later invention that had no significance in his time, because back then there was no national consciousness like the one we have today.
People lived under the empires, and no one felt Greek or Albanian or Serbian or anything else.
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Skenderbeg is one of the most iconic figures in world history, and blood tests are used to determine the ’purity“ of one’s blood or lineage,
It's a pastime for idiots

Author of the article:

Yannis Golias