Берат қамалы және Осман соғыстары

Battle of the Ottoman wars
other sieges of the city
Moisi Arianit Golemi deserted to the Ottomans
| combatant1 = League of Lezhë
Crown of Aragon
| combatant2 = Ottoman Empire
| commander1 = SkanderbegGjergj Arianit KomneniKarl Muzaka ThopiaVrana Konti
| commander2 = Isak bey Evrenuz
| strength1 = 14,000 men

When Skanderbeg began his rebellion, Berat belonged to the Albanian prince Theodore Muzaka. When in 1449 Theodore Muzaka was dying, he sent for Skanderbeg to take over the castle in the name of the League of Lezhë. Skanderbeg sent an Albanian detachment led by Pal Kuka, to claim the castle. In the meantime a force of Ottoman soldiers came from their garrison in Gjirokastër, quietly scaled the poorly guarded walls of Berat at night, slaughtered the Albanian garrison of about 500 soldiers, hanged the dying Theodore Muzaka, and claimed the castle, while the captain Pal Kuka was later ransomed. Berat was located on an important strategic position as it controlled much of southern Albania as well as the vital supply routes leading to southern Macedonia and Greece.

Skanderbeg and his forces besieged the Ottoman occupied castle and began pounding it with the help of the Aragonese Neapolitan artillery. The commander of the Ottoman garrison then proposed to hand over the city if no reinforcements would come for a month. thus the army lifted the siege and retreated. Around 6,000 of Skanderbeg's men died, The commander of the siege, Muzaka Thopia, also died during the conflict.

Skanderbeg himself was not at the battle, having moved southwest to inspect the routes to Vlorë and hinder a potential surprise attack from the garrison there. Upon hearing the news, he rushed back, but by the time of his arrival the battle was already over. Italian chronicles of the time describe Skanderbeg as performing feats of bravery “with sword and mace” and that many owed their life to his opportune intervention. The results at Berat were disastrous and badly crippled the Albanian resistance for a time. Berat remained in the hands of the Ottomans and was never again to be taken by the League.