Authored by Petrit Latifi

Skanderbeg’s letter to the Senate of the Republic of Siena on the Albanian victory achieved during the first Siege of Kruja (the letter is dated August 8, 1451)

“To the excellent nobles and wise men. To the dear friends of the Commune of the city of Siena, I am telling you about what happened last year. The Sultan of Turkey, with 400,000 soldiers, kept Kruja, the capital of Arbëria, under siege, launching attacks against the Christians who defended the castle. The Turks were unable to conquer Kruja. In these battles against the besieged, the Turks left over 60,000 captives and dead…and for this, you as faithful Christians and as a commune with great authority, we ask you to pray for us before Almighty God, to protect the lands of Kruja, which have been destroyed by the invaders, and to help us. God is on our side and together with your prayers and your help will be in the defense of the land of Kruja. For what I wrote above, you will also hear what my trusted one, the monk Lazër, our chaplain, who brings you this letter, will tell you.

Written in Kruja on the 8th day of the blessed month of August XIIII.
Yours with all kindness, Gjergj Kastrioti, Lord of Arbëria. Presented on XIII September”.

At the end of the letter, there is a note from a person from the Assembly of Siena, who wrote “Presentate di XIII settembre”, that is, he wrote the date September 13, when he received the letter from the monk Lazër. The letter was discovered by the Albanian historian, Lufti Alia in the Archives of Siena.