Skanderbeg

Gjergj Kastrioti was born around 1405 into Albanian nobility, handed over as a hostage to the Ottoman court, and trained at the Enderun School. For two decades he served Sultan Murad II, climbing to sanjakbey of Dibra by 1440. In 1443, during the Battle of Nish, he deserted, seized control of Krujë and surrounding territory, and by March 1444 had founded the League of Lezhë, unifying Albanian principalities under his command. In 1451 he struck a deal with Naples - formal sovereignty in exchange for protection, though he ruled in fact as he pleased. He sent troops to southern Italy in 1460 to back Ferdinand I, was tapped to lead a papal crusade in 1463 that collapsed when the Pope died, and fought alongside Venice against the Ottomans until his own death on 17 January 1468. He never lost.