Travels in Southeastern Europe

The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.

48 THE BURDEN OF THE BALKANS. In I403 was born Albania's great man, George Kastriot, called Skenderbeg. Into the vexed question of his ancestry we have no space here to enter. His father has been variously described as Lord of Kastoria, of a village near Dibra, and of Kruja. The latter tale is the most popular. Portents, of course, foretold George's greatness, and his mother dreamed she had been delivered of a dragon. George's career began dramatically: his father, so the story runs, fell into Turkish hands, and had to yield all his four sons as tribute children to be reared as Moslems and trained for the Turkish army. George alone survived. He showed great ability, rose in rank, and was given the name and title of Iskender Bey and the command of the Albanian soldiery, tribute children like himself. He covered himself with glory fighting for the Turks, not only in Asia, but also against the Serb Prince, George Brankovich, the first, but by no means the last, of his race to joyfully aid Turk against Slav. The victories won against the Turks by the Hungarian champion, John Hunyades, first seem to have inspired George with the idea of fighting for his own nation. Entering into a pact with Hunyades, he secured his ends by a trick. Giving the Turks no sign that he meant to betray them, he appeared suddenly before the Sultan's secretary and demanded that the post of Lord of Kruja be given him in the Sultan's name. He was backed by his Albanian soldiery; the secretary must either write the order or die, and he wrote
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Title
The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.
Author
Durham, Mary Edith, 1863-1944.
Canvas
Page 48
Publication
London :: Nelson,
[1905]
Subject terms
Eastern question (Balkan)
Balkan Peninsula -- Description and travel.

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"The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham." In the digital collection Travels in Southeastern Europe. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 1, 2025.
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