The Battle of Torvioll (Albanian: Beteja e Torviollit), also known as the Battle of Lower Dibra, was fought on 29 June 1444 on the Plain of Torvioll, in what is now Albania. Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg was an Albanian nobleman who decided to return to his homeland and take the reins of a new Albanian league against the Ottoman Empire. He and 300 other Albanians who fought in the Battle of Niš deserted the Ottoman Army and made their way to Krujë, which quickly fell due to subversion. He then formed the League of Lezhë, a confederation of Albanian princes united in war against the Ottoman Empire. Realising the threat, Murad II sent one of his most experienced generals, Ali Pasha, to crush the new state with a force of 25,000–40,000 men.
Skanderbeg organised an army of 10,000-15,000 men assembled from the League of Lezhë to defeat Ali Pasha's army. The Albanians confronted Ali Pasha on his way to Krujë, and on 29 June 1444, Skanderbeg's forces split into three groups and pretended to retreat, drawing the Ottomans into the gorge of Torvioll as they dispersed in the surrounding mountains.
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