Kidnapped as a child,
taken from his homeland, and raised by them to go to war for them, the enemy.
The Ottoman Empire… Gjergj Kastrioti or Skanderbeg, an Albanian hero, is a
person all Albanians admire for his strength and bravery.
Bravery means one thing;
you know what you stand for and you won’t back down, even if the odds are
against you, even if it means death. Stand for what you believe in because you
never know if you’ll win the war.
Skanderbeg was sent as a
hostage to the Ottoman court. He grew up in the Ottoman’s empire with their
education and religion. He soon started to take part in serving the Ottoman’s
Sultan for the next 20 years. Over the course of time, he quickly rose through
the ranks and gained the loyalty and trust of the Ottoman. He became the
governor of the Sanjak of Dibra.
Skanderbeg was soon
called to fight in a war and lead some of the Ottoman’s troops, but during this
war in 1443, he left the Ottoman along with other Albanian men and his troops.
After he went back to Albania, with the help of the church, he converted to
Christianity and told all the people who followed him to do the same. With the
help of local nobles, the council, and the church, he became the leader of
Albania. The people loved him and still do today.
When the Ottoman Sultan
heard of this he was extremely outraged. The Ottoman Sultan called Skanderbeg a
traitor and sent troops to go to war with him. Skanderbeg had only 10,000 men
while the Ottoman had much larger forces and had better-supplied men. But Skanderbeg
knew how the Sultan’s men fought; after all, he was one of them. He knew
their weaknesses, and he used that to his advantage, as well as the mountainous
geography and isolated space(s); these were perfect for defeating the Ottoman
army.
To the surprise of the
Ottomans, Skanderbeg won! After this, they knew that Skanderbeg's military
expertise presented a major obstacle to the Ottoman’s extension. And for the
next 25 years, he and his 10,000 men marched through the Ottoman territory,
winning battles against larger and better-supplied forces consistently. But
before Skanderbeg abandoned the Ottoman, Albania already had a rebellion for
years against the Ottoman. They wanted to have more freedom, such as the right
to religious freedom, and the right to keep their land without being forced to
pay taxes to the Ottoman Sultan, but the Ottoman expansion was combating this.
After Skanderbeg won the battle of Albulena, the morale of the Albanians
strengthened, and it was marked as a high point of the Albanian resistance.
From then on all of Skanderbeg's victories became more and more enjoyable each
time.
Skanderbeg had a huge
impact on the Albanian people's lives. The quality of life had skyrocketed.
People were living in peace; they knew they were finally safe. They were still
wary of trusting their government because of the suppression and massacres the
Ottomans committed. But they had a little more money in their pockets and a
little more cattle than before.
Skanderbeg nearly did the
impossible; he believed in himself, and he won all of those battles. His
bravery did not let him down, and he helped millions of people in his lifetime.
We may not help millions of people like Skanderbeg did, but each little time we
are brave could make a huge difference in someone’s life.
-Alba H.
I think the central idea is bravery. From what I have just read bravery is important. I can connect to this because one thing I've done was made friends back in elementary school. I was shy when I was younger and was not able to easily talk to people. I liked when you stated what year it was; I also liked that you said about how many soldiers were in each group {Otterman and Skanderbeg}. You said how many men were in each when you stated, “Skanderbeg had only 10,000 men while the Ottoman had much larger forces and had better-supplied men. But Skanderbeg knew how the Sultan’s men fought; after all, he was one of them.”
ReplyDeleteYou used a great example of bravery for this writing piece. It made it very clear what bravery was, even if no one today is standing up for that many people. A quote I really like was: “After this, they knew that Skanderbeg’s military expertise presented a major obstacle to the Ottoman’s extension.” It included a lot of mature vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteDear Alba, Your writing piece captured my attention from the very beginning! “Kidnapped as a child, taken from his homeland, and raised by them to go to war for them, the enemy. The Ottoman Empire… Gjergj Kastrioti or Skanderbeg, an Albanian hero, is a person all Albanians admire for his strength and bravery.”The words painted a clear picture in my mind and helped me visualize what was going on. It was very interesting to learn about Skanderberg, because I had never heard of him, but now I’m eager to learn more! I couldn’t stop reading! This writing piece perfectly captures the definition of bravery! It was fantastic, thanks for sharing your amazing writing piece with me, I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDelete“Bravery means one thing: you know what you and you won't back down…” said in the passage she talks about how Gjergj Kastrioti or Skanderbeg is an Albanian hero and that people admire him for his bravery and strength. Skanderbeg was “kidnapped as a child… and raised to go to war”. I liked all of the important facts about his past that You added. I also liked the great words that you used. I can tell that the central idea is bravery an that you added alot of detail to it.
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