Key Facts
- Date
- 14 or 15 September 1464
- Ransom earned
- 40,000 ducats from captured Ottoman officers
- Venetian troops involved
- 1,000 soldiers under Cimarosto
- Planned crusade leader
- Pope Pius II (died before crusade began)
Strategic Narrative Overview
Skanderbeg's forces and their Venetian allies assaulted Ottoman troops stationed in and around Ohrid. The Albanians employed a tactical ruse, luring the Ottomans out of their defensive positions within the town and into the open, where Albanian cavalry were waiting to spring an ambush. The Ottomans, drawn out of their fortifications, were defeated in the ensuing engagement, suffering significant losses including the capture of several officers.
01 / The Origins
In 1464, Pope Pius II was organizing a crusade against the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, with Albanian lord Skanderbeg designated as one of its principal military leaders. Amid this broader effort to halt Ottoman expansion in southeastern Europe, Skanderbeg launched an Albanian incursion into Ottoman-held territory near Ohrid, supported by 1,000 Venetian soldiers under the commander Cimarosto, as part of pressure against the Ottomans before the full crusade could be mounted.
03 / The Outcome
The battle ended in a clear Albanian victory. Skanderbeg's forces ransomed the captured Ottoman officers, earning 40,000 ducats. However, the broader strategic context rapidly deteriorated when Pope Pius II died before the planned crusade could begin, leaving Skanderbeg without promised allied support and compelled to continue resisting Ottoman pressure largely on his own.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Skanderbeg, Cimarosto.
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.