TRENDEFRARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Siege · 1478
In 1474–1478 Mehmed II launched major campaigns against Venetian territory. According to the TDV article on Mehmed II, Hadım Süleyman Pasha, governor-general of Rumelia, fiercely besieged Shkodër, the strongest Venetian fortress in Albania, from 15 July to 28 August 1474 without taking it. In the spring of 1478 the sultan came in person and besieged it; when the steep fortress withstood heavy artillery fire, he had the nearby forts of Žabljak, Lezhë and Drivast taken, built two forts at the mouth of the Bojana to cut Shkodër off from the sea, and withdrew leaving it under blockade (8 September 1478). Shkodër was ceded to the Ottomans by the peace of 1479.
| Date | 1474 and 1478 (ceded by treaty in 1479) |
|---|---|
| Location | Shkodër, Albania |
| Result | The fortress withstood the sieges; it was ceded to the Ottomans by the peace of Constantinople in 1479 |
| Belligerents | Ottoman state | Republic of Venice |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Mehmed II Hadım Süleyman Pasha |
Took place during the reign of Mehmed II (1451–1481). Mehmed II
Open the reign of Mehmed II on the mapBy the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 1,127,000 km² in 1478; at the start of Mehmed II's reign they measured 664,000 km², at its end 1,140,000 km².
During Mehmed II (1451–1481) the atlas records 13 regions gained and 0 regions lost.
Regions gained: Istanbul and the Straits (1453), Moldavia (1455), Athens–Central Greece (1456), Morea (Peloponnese) (1460), Trabzon (Pontus) (1461), Kastamonu–Sinop (Candar) (1461), Aegean Islands (Lesbos–Lemnos–Samos) (1462), Bosnia (1463), and 5 more.
The conquest of Constantinople (1453) ended the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), turned the Ottoman state into an empire and moved the centre of the state permanently to Istanbul. By eliminating most of the independent states in the Balkans and Anatolia he consolidated the borders between the Danube and the Euphrates; his first reign was in 1444–1446.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “İŞKODRA” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.
Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Siege of Shkodra (1478–1479): Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/siege-of-shkodra-1478-1479/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections